Comparing Approaches

?
  • Created by: asusre
  • Created on: 07-04-21 22:34
In what ways can you compare approaches?
You can compare approaches on scientific methods, the free will/determinism, reductionism/holism, idiographic/nomothetic and nature/nurture debates, gender bias and culture bias.
1 of 37
What is the structure of a paragraph on the similarities between approaches?
Point - One similarity between (approach 1) and (approach 2) is ...
Explain - This is because they both…
Example - For example, (approach 1) …
Example - Similarly, (approach 2) …
Evaluate – this has positive/negative implications…
2 of 37
What is the structure of a paragraph on the differences between approaches?
Point - One difference between (approach 1) and (approach 2) is ...
Example - On one hand, (approach 1) …
Evaluate – this has positive/negative implications…
Example - Whereas (approach 2) …
Evaluate – this has positive/negative implications…
3 of 37
What is the nomothetic and idiographic debate?
Nomothetic - studies large numbers of people and seeks to create general laws
Idiographic - focuses on unique individuals
4 of 37
Where do the 4 approaches stand on the nomotheitic/idiographic debate?
All four approaches are nomothetic.
5 of 37
What is the determinism/free will debate?
Free will - behaviour is consciously chosen
Determinism - behaviour is pre-determined by internal or external influences
6 of 37
Where do the 4 approaches stand on the determinism/free will debate?
Biological - hard biological determinism
Cognitive - soft determinism
Behaviourist - hard environmental determinism
Social learning - soft reciprocal determinism
7 of 37
What is the reductionism/holism debate?
Holism - behaviour must be understood as a whole
Reductionism - behaviour must be understood by breaking it down into its basic parts
8 of 37
Where do the 4 approaches stand on the reductionism/holism debate?
Biological - biological reductionism
Cognitive - holism/machine determinism?????
Behaviourist - environmental reductionism
Social learning - ???????
9 of 37
What is the nature/nurture debate?
Nativists - behaviour is determined by innate characteristics e.g. genetics
Empiricists - behaviour is determined by learning from environmental influences
10 of 37
Where do the four approaches stand on the nature/nurture debate?
Biological - nativists
Cognitive - interactionists
Behaviourists - empriricists
Social learning - empiricists
11 of 37
What scientific methods are used by the four approaches?
Biological - EEG, PET, fMRI brain scans
Cognitive - lab experiments, EEG, PET, fMRI brain scans
Behaviourist - lab experiments
Social learning - lab experiments
12 of 37
How would you use gender and culture bias?
dunno yet
13 of 37
Give a positive implication of nativism.
It can be beneficial for finding cause and effect relationships, treat mental illness e.g., genetic predisposition to depression can be treated using SSRIs
14 of 37
Give a negative implication of nativism.
Researchers have linked race to genetics and intelligence to advocate for eugenic policies
15 of 37
Give a positive implication of biological determinism.
Neurological studies of decision-making revealed evidence against free will – Libert et al (1983) recorded activity in motor areas of the brain before a person had a consciousness of the decision to move their finger, so decision-making is pre-determined.
16 of 37
How is the biological approach nomothetic?
The biological approach seeks to find the basic principles of how the body and brain work. To do so, it has conducted brain scans to make generalisations about localisation of function.
17 of 37
Give a negative implication of the nomothetic approach.
In its search for generalities, the nomothetic approach may be guilty of looking over the nuances and richness of human experience. E.g., knowing the concordance rate for schizophrenia doesn’t tell us what it Is like to live with the disorder.
18 of 37
Give a positive implication of biological reductionism.
Biological reductionism has led to drug therapies and greater tolerance of mental illness.
19 of 37
Give some negative implications of biological reductionism.
Drug treatments not always effective, they treat symptoms rather than causes so may not have lasting effects, ignores other potential causes of illness, cognitive and environmental
20 of 37
Give a positive implication of using scientific methods.
Scientific research methods are objective, which gives psychology scientific credibility.
21 of 37
What is interactionism?
Interactionists believe that behaviour is a result of both nature and nurture.
22 of 37
Give an example of interactionism.
Interactionists suggest the diathesis-stress model of explaining schizophrenia.
23 of 37
Give a negative implication of interactionism.
It is more difficult and costly to make treatment plans for both nature and nurture causes of mental illness.
24 of 37
What is soft determinism?
Soft determinism argues that we are free to choose what we think about and how we behave, but that it only operates within our existing experience.
25 of 37
Give a positive implication of soft determinism.
Skinner agrees, arguing that a decision that appears to be a free choice is in fact influenced by previous reinforcement experiences.
26 of 37
How is the cognitive approach nomothetic?
The cognitive approach seeks to infer the structure and processes of human memory to generalise to all people. For example, Miller’s law did this by measuring the performance of large samples of people in laboratory tests.
27 of 37
Give a positive implication of the nomothetic approach.
The nomothetic approach uses scientific methods which allow psychologists to establish norms of typical behaviour e.g., average IQ of 100, gives psychology scientific credibility.
28 of 37
Give a positive implication of empiricism.
Empiricism can be useful to find cause and effect relationships e.g., systematic desensitisation is a behaviourist treatment of schizophrenia.
29 of 37
What is a negative ethical implication of environmental determinism?
Environmental determinism can be used to justify crimes e.g., Stephen Mobley's 1981 murder defence that he was ‘born to kill’ as evidenced by a family history of violence.
30 of 37
How is behaviourism a nomothetic approach?
To find the laws of learning, behaviourists such as Skinner studied the responses of hundreds of rats, cats, pigeons, etc.
31 of 37
What is environmental reductionism?
Environmental reductionism meams that all behaviour can be explained by simple stimulus-response links.
32 of 37
Give an example of environmental reductionism.
Dollard and Miller (1950) explain caregiver attachment using classical conditioning - the attachment forms because the infant associates the caregiver with food.
33 of 37
Give a positive implication of reductionism.
Reductionism allows us to operationalise variables to conduct research and establish causal relationships.
34 of 37
Give a negative implication of environmental reductionism.
Environmental reductionism may be oversimplified, may be appropriate for non-human animals but humans are influenced by social context as well as cognitive and biological factors which are ignored.
35 of 37
What is soft reciprocal determinism?
Soft reciprocal determinism means that as well as being influenced by our environment, we also exert some influence upon it in return.
36 of 37
Give a positive implication of soft reciprocal determinism.
Research suggests that people who have an internal locus of control tend to be more mentally healthy (they believe that they exert influence on their environment).
37 of 37

Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

What is the structure of a paragraph on the similarities between approaches?

Back

Point - One similarity between (approach 1) and (approach 2) is ...
Explain - This is because they both…
Example - For example, (approach 1) …
Example - Similarly, (approach 2) …
Evaluate – this has positive/negative implications…

Card 3

Front

What is the structure of a paragraph on the differences between approaches?

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

What is the nomothetic and idiographic debate?

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

Where do the 4 approaches stand on the nomotheitic/idiographic debate?

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
View more cards

Comments

No comments have yet been made

Similar Psychology resources:

See all Psychology resources »See all Approaches resources »