Comparison of approaches Flashcards
how are behaviorists research seen as highly scientific?
- focus on observable stimulus and responses
- Pavlov’s and skinner’s experiments
- use large samples in controlled conditions
- allows for precise replications
why is social learning theory not fully scientific?
- use experimental methods and large samples
- look at modelling, vicarious reinforcement and mediational processes
- but internal mental processes cant be observed= inferences have to be made
- inferences could be mistaken which reduces scientific credibility
why is cognitive psychology not fully scientific?
- use controlled experiments to research the working memory model
- models show internal mental processes= cant be fully observed
- inferences made arent fully scientific
how is biological psychology highly scientific?
- directly observe physical processes
- use objective measuring devices =fMRI scanners, DNA sequences and blood tests
- placebo controlled trials are used to test drugs
- objective measurement= highly scientific
why can the psychodynamic theory not be scientifically studied?
- freud based theories on case studies
- not scientific due to bias in the researches interpretation
- concepts like superego arent operationally defined
- so cant be scientifically studied
why do humanists reject the scientific method completely?
- human behaviour is too complex to be reduced to simple variables
- reject cause- and - effect principle that scientific research depends on
- also lacks empirical evidence to support its claims
how are behaviourists hard environmental determinists?
- behaviour entire result of creatures interactions with the environment
- behaviour individuals found rewarding in the past will more likely be repeated
- free will has no role in behvaiourist theories
- they are hard determinists
how is SLT environmentally deterministic?
- environmentally deterministic
- reciprocal determinism
- behaviour caused by the environment and our behaviour determines the environment
how are cognitive psychologists soft determinists?
- causal factors that influence behaviour
- people learn schema through experiences
- automatic templates for our behaviour
- suggest that with conscious effort = free will
- maladaptive automatic internal mental processes can be modified
how are biological psychologists biologically deterministic?
- behaviour is completely caused by our physical nature
- hormones, genes, brains, neurotransmitter,
- mental disorders explained through imbalance of neurotransmitters due to inheritance of dysfunctional genes
- hard determinists
how are psychodynamic psychologists psychic determinists?
- idea that unconscious thoughts, drives and repressed memories shape our conscious behaviours
- unconscious forces are formed in childhood and influence adult behaviour
why do humanists believe in free will?
- humans have agency
- make our own decisions free from restraints
- we have moral responsibility for our choices
behaviourists on the nature nurture debate:
- most important influences on behaviour are environmental= nurture
- rewards cause behaviours to be repeated
- but we still have innate reflex actions= nature
SLT on the nature nurture debate:
- explain behaviour through nurture
- direct S-R mechanisms of behaviourists and social experiences= nurture
- observing models and vicarious reinforcement
cognitive psychologists on the nature nurture debate:
- argue both aspects are important
- internal mental processes run on the physical, biological hardware of the brain
- can be argued as being closer to nurture
- explanations of mental processes like schemas are formed through experiences