Comparing the approaches Flashcards
How the approaches are compared
1) Assumptions
2) Real-world applications
3) Free will vs determinism
4) Nature-nurture
5) Holism vs reductionism
6) Psychology as a science
https://docs.google.com/document/d/14oAyd_NjIatQwcH26jhUsk3tdwQItuuC6KQNHlOpbO8/edit
Comparing real world applications
1) Behaviourism - Behaviour therapies such as systematic desensitisation have been successfully applied to the treatment of phobias to reduce destructive behaviour patterns
- Similarities - To SLT – can explain destructive behavior.
2) Social learning theory - Principles of modelling and observational learning have been used to explain how negative behaviours such as aggression can be learned through the influence of dysfunctional role models. Little application to treatment.
- Similarities - To behaviourism
3) Cognitive approach - Very effective use of cognitive therapy and CBT in the treatment of depression. It aims to identify and eradicate faulty thinking which is assumed to be the root cause of maladaptive behaviour.
- Similar to behaviourism and biological – also both effective at treating mental illnesses
Comparing the real-world applications cont.
4) Biological approach - Has revolutionized the treatment of mental disorders through the development of drug therapy which regulates chemical imbalances in the brain.
- Similar to behaviourism – in that therapies don’t require lots of effort from the patient.
5) Psychodynamic approach - Freud saw anxiety disorders as emerging from unconscious conflict, childhood trauma and the overuse of defence mechanisms.
- Psychoanalysis has had some success as a therapy but it isn’t appropriate for everyone because it requires a considerable input from the patient in terms of time and the ability to talk about and reflect on emotions.
- Similar to humanistic – therapy focuses on past rather than present/future although the client isn’t in control, whilst they are in humanistic. Both idiographic approaches.
6) Humanistic approach - Rogers’ client-centred therapy is effective at closing the gap between the self and ideal self to stimulate personal growth.
- Similar to psychodynamic – as they have fewer real-world applications than others.
Determinism v free will
Determinism proposes that all behaviour has an internal or external cause beyond our control, and is thus predictable.
Free will - The idea that humans can make choices and are not determined by biological or external forces.
- This doesn’t mean that we aren’t affected by external or internal influences, but we are active agents who have the ability to determine our own development.
- This commonly features in the humanistic approach, as they emphasise that people have control over their own experience
Hard determinism approaches
1) The behaviourist approach sees all behaviour as environmentally determined by external influences that we are unable to control. It is the consequences of our behaviour (i.e. our reinforcement history) that determines the likelihood of a behaviour reoccurring.
2) The biological approach advocates biological determinism in its assumptions that much of our behaviour is directed by
innate influences such as genetics and neurochemistry.
3) Psychic determinism is a key feature of the psychodynamic approach as we cannot know the unconscious forces that
drive our behaviour; these are simply rationalised by our conscious minds.
These positions are all known as hard determinism. The cognitive approach and SLT take a softer view
Soft determinist approach
4) SLT put forward the notion of reciprocal determinism – the idea that as well as being influenced by the environment, we also exert some influence upon it through the behaviours we choose to perform. Behaviour is determined by observations of others (vicarious learning) and so behaviour is largely a product of our experience (determinism),
- However, although he learning process provides the tools to conduct a particular behaviour, it is up to the individual
how and when to apply these tools (free will).
5) The cognitive approach suggests that we are the ‘choosers’ of our thoughts and behaviours, yet these choices can only operate within the limits of what we know and have experienced. Therefore, our behaviour is determined by our own thought processes, but the individual has some degree of control over their behaviour.
6) Only the humanistic approach stands alone its assertion that human beings have free will and operate as active agents who determine their own development.
Holism v Reductionism
Reductionism refers to the belief that human behaviour can be most effectively explained by breaking it down into constituent parts. The opposing view is holism, that phenomena are best understood by looking at the interplay and
interaction of many different factors
H v R - Behaviourism and SLT
1) Behaviourism is reductionist in the sense that it breaks up complex behaviour into stimulus-response units for ease of testing in the lab.
2) Like behaviourists, SLT reduces complex learning to a handful of key processes (imitation, modelling etc.) thought they do at least place emphasis on cognitive factors that mediate learning and how these interact with external forces.
H v R - Psychodynamic and biological approaches
3) The psychodynamic approach reduces much of our behaviour to the influence of sexual drives and biological instincts, although Freud’s argument that personality is a dynamic interaction between the three parts of the personality is often viewed as a more holistic explanation.
4) Also reductionist is the biological approach in the way that it explains human behaviour and psychological states at the level of the gene or neuron.
H v R - cognitive approach
The cognitive approach has been accused of machine reductionism by presenting people as information processing systems and ignoring the influence of emotion on behaviour.
H v R - humanistic approach
Humanistic psychology is quite distinct from the other approaches; it formulates a holistic approach to understanding human behaviour. This involves investigating all aspects of the individual, including the effects of interaction with
others and wider society.
Psychology as a science - positive commitment
1) Behaviourism is positively committed to the scientific method as it is highly objective and experimentally based. By
focusing only on responses that can be accurately measured, it aligns itself with the rigour of the scientific method more than most other approaches. This also allows for a high degree of replication, which is an important part of the
scientific process.
2) SLT is also positively committed to the scientific method as its research investigations are reliable and allow inferences about cause and effect to be drawn. However, this does mean that research tends to be carried out in rather artificial settings, so can lack validity in terms of real-life behaviour.
3) The biological approach is also positively committed to the scientific method as it lends itself to experimental study.
For example, the influence of neurotransmitters in a behaviour can be investigated by administering drugs which can
change the levels of a particular neurotransmitter in the brain and then measuring any change in that behaviour.
Psychology as a science - partial commitment
4) The cognitive approach is positively committed to the scientific method to a degree. Most of its propositions can be easily tested. However, because mental processes are largely unobservable, a great deal of inference is necessary to
develop models of cognitive processing.
5) The psychodynamic approach’s commitment to the scientific method is mixed. Although some aspects of this approach are open to scientific investigation, there tends to be much greater reliance on case studies and subjective
interpretation.
Psychology as a science - negative commitment
6) The humanistic approach’s commitment to the scientific method is largely negative. Humanistic psychologists argue
that scientific research methods are derived from and suited for the natural sciences, but are not appropriate for studying the complexities of human consciousness and experience.
Nature v Nurture
Human behaviour is either the product of a person’s genes and biology (nature) or what they experience as a result of
interacting with the environment (nurture). It is rare that any behaviour is entirely one or the other.
