Comparison Flashcards
For a comparisons essay what aspects could you include?
- nature vs nurture
- idographic
- nomothetic
- reductionism
- determinism
What does idiographic mean?
Aiming to understand what makes people unique through case studies and unstructured interviews.
What does nomothetic mean?
Attempting to establish general laws by studying large groups of people.
Which approaches are nomothetic?
Biological:
- creates universal laws as humans share similar physiologies.
Behaviourist:
- creates universal laws as behaviour is the result of stimulus-response associations.
SLT:
- attempts to establish general laws of behaviour (e.g. vicarious reinforcement).
Which approaches are idiographic?
Humanist:
- focuses on the subjective human experience and makes no attempt to create general laws.
Which approaches are both idiographic and nomothetic?
Cognitive:
- attempts to establish general laws of cognitive processing but utilises an idiographic approach with case studies (HM and Clive Wearing).
Psychodynamic:
- attempts to establish general laws in relation to innate drives which considering unique experience during childhood
- Little Hans
What is determinism?
Suggests all behaviour is predictable - internal and external causes.
Is the biological approach determinist?
Biological determinism:
- all behaviour is controlled by internal biological factors (genes, hormones etc).
Is the behaviourist approach determinist?
Environmental determinism:
- behaviour is controlled by stimulus-response conditioning.
Is the SLT approach determinist?
Soft determinism:
- behaviour is controlled by mediational processes but humans can choose what information they attend to.
Is the cognitive approach determinist?
Soft determinism:
- behaviour is controlled by environmental forces but humans have personal responsibility and free choice.
Is the psychodynamic approach determinist?
Psychic determinism:
- behaviour is determined by unconscious and innate drives and early childhood experience.
Is the humanistic approach determinist?
Free will - humans control their own environment and are capable of change.
Is the biological approach nature or nurture?
Nature:
- behaviour is the result of innate biological factors.
Is the behaviourist approach nature or nurture?
Nurture:
- humans are born as blank slates and behaviour is learned.
Is the SLT approach nature or nurture?
Nurture:
- behaviour is learnt through observation and imitation and vicarious reinforcement.
Is the cognitive approach nature or nurture?
Nature and nurture:
- behaviour is the product of information processing and modified by experience.
Is the psychodynamic approach nature or nurture?
Behaviour is the product of innate drives, but is shaped by childhood experience.
Is the humanistic approach nature or nurture?
Behaviour is shaped by the environment as humans strive to achieve self-actualisation.
What is reductionism?
The belief that human behaviour can be most effectively explained by breaking it down into constituent parts.
Is the biological approach reductionist?
Biological reductionism:
- behaviour is broken down into biological structures and processes.
Is the behaviourist approach reductionist?
Environmental reductionism:
- behaviour is broken down into simple stimulus-response associations.
Is the cognitive approach reductionist?
Environmental reductionism:
- behaviour is investigated in terms of isolated variables, e.g. capacity of STM.
Is the psychodynamic approach reductionist?
Behaviour is reduced to innate drives while taking into account the multiple aspects of human behaviour/
Is the humanistic approach reductionist?
Holism - focuses on understanding all aspects of human experience and interaction.
Explanations and treatment for abnormal behaviour.
Behaviourist - phobias - systematic desensitisation
SLT - explain how negative behaviours may be learned through the influence of dysfunctional role models
Cognitive - CBT
Humanistic - client centered therapy
Biological - drug therapies
