comparison of approaches Flashcards
nature vs nurture debate
concerned with the extent to which particular aspects of behaviour are a product of either genetics or learned behaviours
what does nature refer to?
inherited / genetic
what does nurture refer to?
all environmental influences after conception
free will vs determinism debate
whether our behaviour is the result of forces that we have no control over or whether people can decide for themselves whether to act in a certain
way
free will
assumes that we have agency & have free to choose our behaviour
determinism
all behaviour is determined by forces that we have no control
holism vs reductionism debate
should behaviour be looked at in small parts or as a whole
reductionism
-the belief that human behaviour can be explained by breaking it down into smaller component parts
holism
refers to any approach that emphasises the whole rather than their constituent parts
idiographic vs nomothetic debate
should psychologists make general laws or focus on what makes each of us unique
nomothetic
-comes from the greek word “nomos” meaning “law”
-psychologists who adopt this approach are mainly concerned with studying what we share with others
-establishing laws or generalizations
idiographic
-comes from the greek word “idios” meaning “own” or “private”. -psychologists interested in this aspect of experience want to discover what makes each of us unique
practical applications of the psychodynamic approach:
1) freud developed a new type of therapy called psychoanalysis
↳ the first attempt to treat mental disorders psychologically rather than physically
↳ therapy used a range of techniques designed to access the unconscious
↳ this application has reduced suffering for people and is useful to society
2) talking therapies
↳ you talk to a therapist, one-on-one, about your thoughts and feelings
practical applications of the behaviourist approach:
1) the principles of conditioning have been applied to token economies
↳ appropriate behaviour is awarded with tokens that can be exchanged for privileges
↳ gives the approach more credibility and it has been useful for the wider population
2) has led to the development of
treatments, like systematic desensitisation & aversion therapy
practical applications of the cognitive approach:
1) cognitive research into internal mental processes has led to the development of CBT
↳ a form of therapy for a range of illnesses like depression that aims to try to identify maladaptive thoughts which could contribute to depression & try to change them to more rational thoughts
↳ successful treatment has emerged using the cognitive theory, supporting the cognitive approach
2) has helped improve the accuracy and reliability of EWT
practical applications of the humanistic approach:
CCT
↳ help them solve their own problems, in constructive ways and move towards to become a more fully functioning person
↳ unconditional positive regard is provided
practical applications of the social learning theory:
-explain many psychological disorders including: eating disorders and aggression
-has led to positive change (e.g. the introduction of the watershed on TV)
practical applications of the biological approach:
development of numerous drug therapies to treat disorders like: OCD, schizophrenia
biological approach: freewill vs determinism
biological determinism:
-suggests that behaviour is controlled by factors such as: genes, neurotransmitters, hormones and brain
structures
biological approach: nature vs nurture
nature:
-the biological approach argues that behaviour is determined by biological factors such as: genes & hormones)
biological approach: reductionism vs.
holism
biological reductionism:
-the biological approach reduces behaviour to biological structures/processes and ignores the whole
biological approach: idiographic vs nomothetic
nomothetic:
-the biological approach suggests that humans share similar physiology and that we invest can make universal laws regarding behaviour
biological approach: scientific?
the biological approach promotes scientific methods of investigation
behaviourist approach: determinism vs free will
environmental determinism:
-the behaviourist approach suggests that behaviour is determined by stimulus response conditioning
behaviourist approach: nature vs nurture
nurture:
-the behaviourist approach argues that human are born tabula rasa (blank slate) and behaviour is learned
behaviourist approach: reductionism vs holism
environmental reductionism:
-the behaviourist approach reduces behaviour to simple stimulus
response associacions
behaviourist approach: idiographic vs nomothetic
nomothetic:
-the behaviourist approach creates general laws of behaviour (stimulus
response relationships)
behaviourist approach: scientific
social learning theory: determinism vs free will
soft determinism:
-acknowledges stimulus response but suggests that humans have some personal responsibility & free choice
social learning theory: nature vs nurture
nurture:
-suggests that behaviour is learned via classical & operant conditioning, ignores biological factors
social learning theory: reduction vs holism
no stands
social learning theory: nomothetic vs idiographic
nomothetic:
-SLT aims to establish laws of behaviour (e.g. imitation or role models)
-SLT uses lab experiments to generate quantitative data to make generalisations
social learning theory: scientific?
-SLT utilises scientific methods of investigation, which researchers can replicate (e.g. bandura’s bobo doll experiment)
-SLT also considers mediational processes which are unobservable
cognitive approach: deterministic or free will
soft determinism:
-cognitive approach suggests that behaviour is the result of mediational processes however human can
choose what information they attend to
cognitive approach: nature vs nurture
nature & nurture:
-the cognitive approach suggests that information processing is modified as a result of experience
cognitive approach: holism vs reductionism
experimental reductionism:
-the cognitive approach studies cognitive processes, reducing behaviour and processes into isolated variables for testing
cognitive approach: nomothetic vs idiographic
mainly nomothetic:
-the cognitive approach typically uses nomothetic approaches to establish general laws of cognitive processing
-however, case studies are sometimes used (e.g. patient KF, HM, etc.) utilising idiographic approaches
cognitive approach: scientific?
-utilises scientific s methods of
investigation (e.g. studies of memory & observation)
-however, researchers are unable to directly observe cognitive processes
psychodynamic approach: determinism vs free will
physic determinism:
-according to the psychodynamic
approach, behaviour is determined by unconscious drives and early childhood experiences
psychodynamic approach: nature vs nurture
mostly nature:
-the psychodynamic approach suggests that behaviour is caused by innate drives -although early childhood experiences also shape our behaviour.
psychodynamic approach: reductionism vs holism
reductionism & holism:
-the psychodynamic
approach suggests that behaviour is reduced to innate drives, however the approach also takes into account all aspects of human behaviour
psychodynamic approach: nomothetic vs idiographic
nomothetic & idiographic:
-the psychodynamic approach uses nomothetic approaches to create general laws about innate drives
-it also takes into account the unique experience of early childhood experiences (idiographic)
psychodynamic approach: scientific?
not scientific:
-the psychodynamic approach uses many concepts/ theories which can not be empirically tested (e.g. ID)
-there is a large element of subjective interpretation
humanistic approach: free will vs determinism
free will (main assumption)
humanistic approach: nature vs nurture
mostly nurture:
-the humanist approach argues that humans have an innate drive to self-actualise
-the environment and our experiences shape this journey
humanistic approach: holism vs reductionism
holism:
approach rejects scientific methods of
investigation and focuses on understanding all aspects of human experience and interaction
humanistic approach: nomothetic vs idiographic
idiographic:
-the humanistic approach is the only approach to focus on subjective human experience and makes no attempt to generalis
humanistic approach: scientific?
-rejects scientific methods
-is unable to provide empirical evidence to support its theories
