Comparison of Approaches Flashcards
Views on development - psychodynamic approach
- psychodynamic approach provides the most logical theory for child development
- ties concepts of psychosexual stages determined by age
- there is, however, minimal development was seen past the genital stage in teen years
- most of these theories and concepts are also based off case studies, studying one or a few people, and making universal assumptions
Views on development - cognitive approach
- provides some info about child development
- intellectual growth is characterised by schemas becoming increasingly complex as children get older
Views on development - biological approach
- maturation is emphasised in the biological approach as an important principle with genetic change in the physiological status affecting behaviour
Views on development - humanistic approach
- emphasises development of self ongoing throughout a person’s life
- parent-child relationship is key in determining the child’s psychological health in later life
Views on development - SLT/behaviourist approach
- these approaches give no coherent stages, but the process of learning is through to be continuous and occurring throughout development
Nature v. nurture - SLT/behaviourist approach
- suggest that all behaviour comes from our environment
- behaviourism: reinforcement and associations
- SLT: modelling and imitation
Nature v. nurture - biological approach
- believes that our behaviour is solely decide by our genetic make-up
Nature v. nurture - psychodynamic approach
- Freud believes that genetic play a significant role, with much of our behaviour being governed by biological drives and instincts, but she also saw child-parent relationships as playing a very important role in future development
Nature v. nurture- humanistic approach
- environment plays a role in a person’s self-concept, with parents, friends and society having a critical impact
Nature v. nurture - cognitive approach
- info processing abilities and our schemas are innate, but also that they are being developed and built up through environmental experiences
Reductionism v. holism - behaviourist approach
- breaks down complex behaviour into testable chunks for lab testing
- reductionist
Reductionism v. holism - biological approach
- explains behaviour and psychological states based upon genes and neurons
Reductionism
- the belief that human behaviour can be explained most effectively by breaking it down into separate parts
- opposite to holism
Holism
- believes that observing interaction and interplay of different factors is the best way to understand any phenomenon
Reductionism v. holism - psychodynamic approach
- behaviour is seen as being influenced by biological instincts and sexual drives
- however, the dynamic interaction between id, ego and superego is a somewhat holistic explanation
- partially reductionist
Reductionism v. holism - cognitive approach
- likens people to computers, with processing info while ignoring any influence of emotion on behaviour, or any other
- reductionist
Reductionism v. holism - SLT
- similar to behaviourism, reducing complex learning
- but also places emphasis on factors which mediate learning, such as external influences
- partially holistic
Reductionism v. holism - humanistic approach
- the only approach supporting the idea of holism for understanding human behaviour, investigating all aspects of the individual
Determinism v. free will - behaviourist approach
- sees all behaviour as resulting from external factors out of our control
- hard determinism
Determinism v. free will - biological approach
- sees all behaviour as resulting from biological factors out of our control
- genetic determinism
- hard determinism
Determinism v. free will - psychodynamic approach
- behaviour is driven by unconscious mind, then rationalised by our conscious mind
- psychic determinism
- hard determinism
Determinism v. free will - cognitive approach
- we chose our own thoughts and behaviour, but only within the confines of what we know and past experiences
- soft determinism
Determinism v. free will - SLT
- we are influence by our environment as well as exerting influence upon it
- reciprocal determinism
- soft determinism
Determinism v. free will - humanistic psychology
- argues that humans have free will, operating actively to determine our own development
- free will
Idiographic v. nomothetic - behaviourist approach
- creates universal laws since behaviour is the result of stimulus-response associations
- nomothetic
Idiographic
- focuses on recognition of uniqueness
- uses subjective experiences
- based on study of individuals
Nomothetic
- attempts to generalise people
- uses objective knowledge
- creates universal laws that apply to all
Idiographic v. nomothetic - biological approach
- creates universal laws since humans share similar genetics and physiologies
- nomothetic
Idiographic v. nomothetic - SLT
- attempts to establish general laws of behaviour
- nomothetic
Idiographic v. nomothetic - cognitive approach
- attempts to establish general laws of processing, but uses idiographic approach with case studies
- mostly nomothetic
Idiographic v. nomothetic- psychodynamic approach
- attempts to establish general laws based off idiographic data, from case studies with one or a few individuals
- idiographic and nomothetic
Idiographic v. nomothetic
- focuses on subjective experience of individuals
- makes no attempt to establish general laws
- idiographic
