the areas and perspectives evaluations Flashcards
the social area principles and concepts
principle: other people will affect our behaviour and how we act differently when others are present
concepts: response to authority, diffusion of responsibility, bystander apathy, whistle-blowing, arousal-cost reward model
studies: Milgram, Piliavin, bocchiaro, levine
the developmental area principles and concepts
principle: we change over time and what happens in childhood impacts us as adults
concepts: external influences on childrens behaviour, moral development, stages of development, social learning, operant conditioning
studies: bandura, kohlberg, Lee, Chaney
the cognitive area principles and concepts
principle:behaviour is affected by internal mental processes, info is inputted and then later retrieved like a computer
concepts: cocktail party effect, reconstructive memory, context-dependant memory, inattentional blindness, schema theory
studies: Loftus and Palmer, Moray, Grant, simon and chabris
the individual differences area principles and concepts
principle: explains why people behave differently to each other, often focuses on ‘abnormal’ behaviours such as mental illnesses, measures differences between people using psychometric tests
concepts: measuring differences, understanding mental disorders, native intellectual ability, theory of mind
studies: freud, gould, baron-cohen,
the behaviourist perspective principles and concepts
principle: all people born tabula rasa
concepts: social learning theory, operant and classical conditioning,
studies: bandura, chaney
the psychodynamic perspective principles and concepts
principle: our behaviour is due to our unconscious thoughts and we cant control it
concepts:the 3 parts of personality (ID,ego,superego), defence mechanisms, unconscious processes, psychodynamic conflict, development, emotional drives
studies: freud
the biological area principles and concepts
principles:
-our behaviour is a result of our physiology (genetics, hormones, brain structure or functioning)
-our behaviour/environment can impact our physiology
concepts:
brain plasticity, lateralisation of function, delay gratification, regions of the brain, genetic redisposition
biological area evaluation
strengths: highly scientific so standardised+replicable, lab experiments so control over extraneous variables, avoids ethnocentrism
weaknesses:limited practical use as biological factors hard to change, often reductionist, low ecological validity bc of lab experiments
biological area applications
-genetic screening for disorders
-rehabilitation after brain injury to restore functioning (based on brain plasticity)
-biological treatments of disorders to treat depression such as SSRIs, ECT or TMS
the social area applications
-using cctv to deter crime
-managers/teachers wear formal clothing and act sternly to get obedience from others
-companies to have an app/website to allow employees to whistleblow on unethical practises anonymously
evaluation of social area
strengths: help us understand the cause of historical events, practical applications-managers wanting compliance from employees, high in ecological validity by using field experiments
weaknesses: can lack controls on extraneous variables, can be ethnocentric only reflecting social behaviour in one culture, research can get out of date as social behaviour changes
evaluation of developmental area
strengths: use of longitudinal research so we can see how behaviour develops, practical applications for parents and teachers to encourage positive behaviours, helps investigate if behaviour is influenced by nature or nurture
weaknesses: often unethical by using children, can be socially sensitive if it leads to parents being blamed for children bad behaviour, often ethnocentric as parenting and upbringing vary across cultures
evaluation of cognitive area
strengths: practical applications for students wanting to remember material, often scientific so controlled and replicable, unlikely to be ethnocentric as mind works the same way in all cultures
weaknesses: often lacks ecological validity, often relies on self report which can have socially desirable answers or demand characteristics
cognitive area applications
- police avoiding use of leading questions
- crime reconstructions in the same place as the crime scene to mentally reinstate the context
-revision sessions for students in exam halls
-using someones name in an emergency to get their attention (e.g fire alarm)
-ban mobile phones for people who are driving
individual differences applications
-teaching children with autism how to recognise different emotional states and theory of mind
-developing different psychometric tests which can be used in recruitment
-developing psychological treatments for disorders
-psychometric tests to determine sporting success
evaluation of individual differences area
strengths:useful to develop treatments for individuals with disorders, holistic approach so can get fuller understanding of how factors interact to produce complex behaviours, case study methods gain a greater level of detail and understanding of reasons of behaviour
weaknesses: samples hard to generalise from as focuses on those with disorders, investigates socially sensitive topics could lead to discrimination, less scientific methods used
behaviourist perspective evaluation
strengths: useful and practical applications for teachers and parents, treating people with addictions or phobias, lab experiments are controlled and scientific, evidence for nurture side of debate
weaknesses: unethical when researching punishment, ignores genetics and biology as a cause of behaviour, no room for freewill side of debate by saying behaviour is a result of environmental influences and learning, could be used to encourage bad behaviours
psychodynamic perspective evaluation
strengths: useful to explain why people get mental disorders and develop treatments, case studies allow detailed qualitative data on participants
weaknesses: often not scientific as focusing on the unconscious mind so not falsifiable or objective, using small groups of people stop us from establishing a consistent effect, and using specific groups (with mental disorders) limits generalisability
