Approaches REVISION Debates Debates Debates Biological Approach o

Approaches REVISION

Debates

Debates

Debates

Biological Approach o Our behaviours and experiences can be explained by looking at activity in the nervous system (particularly the brain) o Brain development is determined by genetic inheritance – so behaviours and experiences can also be explained by looking at our genetic make-up o Evolution can be used to explain why certain behavioural and psychological characteristics are genetically inherited Ø E. g. women release more oxytocin during birth, which is thought to increase maternal bonding. From an evolutionary point of view, this is necessary to ensure that mothers bond with their offspring as an incentive to take care of them

Brain Areas o Relationships between brain structures & experiences/ behaviours can be investigated by: Ø Studying people who have undergone brain surgery/ sustained brain damage Ø E. g. Paul Broca – small area of brain (Broca’s Area) is responsible for speech Ø Using non-invasive brain imaging techniques: f. MRI, PET, CT Ø E. g. Brain scans have provided evidence that people with schizophrenia have tissue loss Ø E. g. Brain scan studies have suggested that violence may be associated with frontal and temporal lobe malfunction

Chemical Processes o Relationships between brain chemistry & experiences/ behaviours can be investigated by: Ø Changing levels of neurotransmitters in the brain Ø E. g. The symptoms of Parkinson's disease are associated with low levels of dopamine, whilst Schizophrenia is associated with high levels of dopamine Ø Increasing or decreasing dopamine levels can alleviate symptoms associated with both diseases Ø Changing levels of hormones in the brain Ø E. g. increasing testosterone has been shown to lead to more aggressiveness and risk-taking whilst increasing oxytocin has been shown to increase social responsiveness and nurturing behaviour

Genetics o People can be thought of as biological machines o The brain and physical body exerts an important influence on experiences and behaviours o Relationships between genetics & experiences/ behaviours can be investigated by: Ø Studying twins monozygotic (identical: share 100% of their genes), dizygotic (fraternal: share 50% of their genes) – comparing the concordance rates to determine if a disease, behaviour or trait is due to genetics (e. g. heritability) Ø Studying inheritance rates for disease Ø E. g. Relatives of schizophrenic peoples are 18 x more likely to develop disease – which suggests the disorder is the result of faulty inherited genes

Biological Approach - Evaluation Very Scientific: Tend to use objective quantitative methods which are well controlled Ø The findings tend to have high levels of reliability and validity Ø Studies have scientific credibility because they are based on objectivity not subjectivity Practical Implications: Findings have furthered our understanding of the processes involved in human behaviour Ø Medicine and surgery has benefitted from this understanding Ø Studies have provided explanations for many psychological disorders that can now be treated with drug therapy

Biological Approach - Evaluation Very Scientific: Tends to neglect the subjective experiences that make people human Ø Underestimates the complexity of human behaviour Reliance on animal studies: There tends to be an assumption that animals NS can be used to explain human behaviour, but our evolutionary pathways have been different – so perhaps these kinds of conclusions are incorrect Reductionist: Only looks at the biological explanation for human behaviour and experience Ø Fails to account for the potential combination of social, cultural, environmental AND biological explanations for behaviours and experiences Determinist: Suggests that we are predetermined to behave in certain ways and experience certain things Ø Fails to account for free will – people can make choices about their behaviours and experiences

Evolutionary Approach o Behaviours can be explained as the product of natural selection o Darwin’s theory of natural selection: Ø All individuals have unique set of genetic characteristics Ø Natural selection: Individuals who have are able to adapt and survive are able to breed and pass on their genetic characteristics (e. g. behaviour patterns and physical characteristics), whilst the genetics of those who are unable to adapt and survive are lost o Sexual selection: Individuals who are most successful at finding mates to breed with, produce the most offspring and therefore pass on the most genetic characteristics o Sociobiology: Individuals behave in a way that ensures that they maximise genetic survival rather than individual survival. E. g. We look after our genetic relatives (altruism), even if it is at the expense of our individual survival. Therefore, behaviours that promote survival of kin will be naturally selected

Evolutionary Approach - Evaluation Combines nature/nurture: emphasises that we all have a genetic make-up, but this is determined by natural selection (i. e. our experience with our environment) Determinism: Looks at the ultimate causes of our behaviour (i. e. why behaviours exist), rather than the proximate causes of our behaviour (i. e. how behavioural operations work)

Evolutionary Approach - Evaluation Poor Scientific Evidence: Difficult to determine whether certain behaviours are kept in the gene pool because they are beneficial, or whether certain behaviours are simply neutral and survived because they weren’t challenged Reliance on animal theory: The approach is more applicable to animals than humans. We have conscious thought, culture, language etc. which may influence our experience more than animals Reductionist: Suggests that all behaviour is the result of natural selection which is a direct result of our genes Determinist: Looks almost exclusively at ultimate causes (i. e. genetic selection due to historical evolution) and puts a really strong emphasis on genetic predisposition - but fails to account for more immediate causes (e. g. social, cultural and environmental contexts). Individual Differences: Doesn’t provide explanation for why certain individual differences (e. g. differences in intelligence or learning) exist

Sigmund Freud Psychodynamic Perspective o Behaviours can be explained in terms of the unconscious processes (forces we are unaware of) operating in the mind o Everything we do (our thoughts, our actions and our behaviours) is strongly influenced by our instinctive biological drives and our early childhood experiences o How we were treated by our parents in childhood determines how we act in adulthood

Psychodynamic Perspective Levels of Consciousness o Human mind has conscious and unconscious areas o Human personality is structured into 3 parts: the id, the ego and the superego o Id (primary process thinking): Ø Lies in the unconscious area of our mind Ø It’s the dominant personality when we are born and consists of all the biological components of personality e. g. sex instincts, aggressive instincts Ø It is selfish, primitive, and doesn’t care about social rules

Psychodynamic Perspective Levels of Consciousness o Ego (secondary process thinking): Ø Dominates the conscious area of our mind Ø It is the part that has contact with the outside world and considers the consequences of our actions Ø It works out realistic ways that we can satisfy the demands of the id o Defence mechanisms: converting conscious impulses from (from the id) into more acceptable forms (by the ego)

Psychodynamic Perspective Levels of Consciousness o Superego: Ø Develops as we become more aware of the rules of society Ø Tries to control the id’s forbidden impulses e. g. sex and aggression Ø Tries to convince the ego to be moral rather than just realistic Ø Acts as our social conscious – making us feel guilt and anxiety when our ego gives in to our id’s demands

Psychodynamic Perspective Psychosexual Stages o The development of the id, ego and superego is determined during our childhood as we go through 5 psychosexual stages o Each stage is characterised by different demands for sexual gratification and different ways of achieving the demands o Too little or too much gratification at any of the stages causes fixation resulting in problems in adulthood

Psychodynamic Perspective Psychoanalysis o Neurotic problems in adulthood are a result of unresolved conflicts in childhood o Problems are repressed (buried in our subconscious) – because the undeveloped ego was unable to deal with them at the time o Freud believed that in order to fix a persons unresolved childhood conflicts, we need to find out what the unconscious conflicts are , by looking at their dreams and using hypnosis and free association therapy

Psychodynamic Perspective - Evaluation Recognises the complexity and irrationality of human motives and behaviour Practical Implications: Paved the way for more talking centred therapies Historical Importance: Freud was a pioneer – He lead the way in our recognition of the importance of early experiences, and was the first to look into the concept of unconsciousness Interactionist: See’s behaviour as a product of nature (e. g. biological drives) and nurture (e. g. our upbringing) Determinism: Looks at the ultimate causes of our behaviour (i. e. why behaviours exist), rather than the proximate causes of our behaviour (i. e. how behavioural operations work)

Psychodynamic Perspective - Evaluation Lacks Falsifiablity: Study of behaviour is carried out by looking for hidden meanings in what people think/ do. Therefore, results are heavily prone to researcher bias – researcher favour the interpretations that they want to see and that support their own beliefs Lack of Objectivity: Two researchers have the potential to interpret the same data in two completely different ways because the method relies so heavily on subjective concepts (like the unconscious mind) which aren’t easily proven Impossible to test empirically: Theory is based on unobservable constructs (e. g. unconsciousness), which are impossible to test properly Determinist: Completely rejects the idea of free will – peoples behaviour is part of an unconscious process which was shaped in childhood and his dominated by biological drives

Behavioural Perspective o Our behaviours are learned from out environment and we become who we are as a direct result of our interactions with our social world o Believes that Psychology should be seen as a science – based on empirical data and controlled observations (differs greatly from Psychodynamic Approach)

Behaviourist Perspective Classical Conditioning o New behaviours can be acquired through the use of association o Pavlov: By pairing a neutral stimulus (e. g. a bell), with a unconditioned stimulus (e. g. some food), we can produce a conditioned response (e. g. salivating when we hear a bell ring) o Watson & Rayner (1920): the case of Little Albert Ø Albert placed in cot with white rat (neutral stimulus), he showed no fear. Ø Albert didn’t like loud noise (unconditioned stimulus) and would cry as a result (unconditioned response) Ø When Albert was playing with the rat, a loud noise was made – this cause Albert to cry whenever he was a white rat, even if it was not accompanied by a loud noise (conditioned response)

Behaviourist Perspective Operant Conditioning o New behaviours can be learned through reward/ punishment https: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=Q 2 v 3 Q 0 osmo. E o Thorndike: The Law of Positive Effect – any behaviour that leads to a positive outcome will tend to be repeated in similar situations o Skinner: When you carry out a behaviour, it will be met by one of three responses: Ø Neutral Operant: responses from the environment that neither increase or decrease the probability that you will carry out that behaviour again Ø Reinforcer: responses from the environment that will increase the probability that you will repeat the behaviour Ø Punisher: responses from the environment that decrease the probability that you will repeat the behaviour

Behaviourist Perspective Operant Conditioning o Positive Reinforcement: strengthens the likelihood of a particular behaviour by adding a positive stimulus (e. g. if you get good grades, you’ll get a cash prize) o Negative Reinforcement: strengthens the likelihood of a particular behaviour by removing an undesirable consequence (e. g. if you get good grades, you won’t have to get a summer job) o Positive Punishment: suppresses bad behaviours by adding a negative consequence (e. g. if you get bad grades, you’ll be told off) o Negative Punishment: suppresses bad behaviours by removing a positive stimulus (e. g. if you get bad grades, you won’t be allowed to attend your friends

Behaviourist Perspective Social Learning Theory o New behaviours are learned through observing others o Bandura (1977): Children observe people (role models) behaving in different ways o Role models give children examples of behaviours e. g. masculine, feminine, aggressive etc. o Children observe these role models and encode (store) their behaviour o Children are more likely to model (imitate) a person if they are like us (identification) o Children are also more likely to model a person if we see their behaviours being rewarded (vicarious learning). This motivates them to carry out the same behaviours in order to get the same reward (vicarious reinforcement) Ø Conversely, if a child sees a role model whose behaviour is punished, they are les likely to model that behaviour

Behavioural Perspective - Evaluation Empirical Evidence: both classical and operant conditioning have been demonstrated in lots studies – and the idea of conditioning has been widely accepted Ø Easily tested and verified because it uses highly scientific methodology Practical Implications: Findings have furthered our understanding of the processes involved in human behaviour and helped guide our understanding of how best to learn Ø Behaviour therapy is successfully used for certain mental disorders (e. g. phobias) Ø Social skills training is used to help people who lack skills (e. g. autistic children) Ø SLT has been applied to school – e. g. positive roles models; rewards for correct responses Accounts for individual differences: E. g. selective reinforcement – explains why people act differently

Behavioural Perspective - Evaluation Reductionist: Based on the assumption that any response can be conditioned in any situation – some studies have found that we may be biologically prepared to have a fear response to certain things from our ancestral past (e. g. snakes) Reliance on animal theory: The perspective assumes that animal behaviour is very much like our own, and therefore the conditioning that occurs with animal should occur with us – however since we have language it is difficult to say that our responses to conditioning would be the same as an animals Determinist: perspective sees behaviour as being a learned process through interaction with our external environment – ignores internal factors that drive our learning (e. g. internal goals) Nature/Nurture: Focuses heavily on nurture factors – largely ignores biological factors

Cognitive Approach o Unlike behaviourism – cognitivism looks at the internal, mental explanations of behaviour o Our behaviours can be explained by looking at how the mind operates o The brain works in a similar way to a computer – we receive information, we store it and then we retrieve it as and when we need it o Similar to behaviourism, cognitivism sees Psychology as a science based on empirical data and controlled lab studies (differs greatly from Psychodynamic Approach)

Cognitive Approach Schemas o A schema is a mental concept that informs a person about what to expect from a variety of experiences and situations. o We create schemas through our past experiences – they are a concept not a direct representation of reality so they are prone to distortion o Schemas are socially determined – i. e. we learn to refine our schemas based on the social exchanges we have with our environment (e. g. conversations with people, through reading books, through the media) o Scripts: are schemas that tell us about the order of expected events in a particular context (e. g. the sequence of events that are expected in a classroom – you walk in, you take out your stuff, the teacher takes the register etc. ) o Roles: are schemas that tell us about how we are expected to behave in different circumstances (e. g. acting professionally at work, but more informally at home) o Self-Schemas: are the beliefs we have about ourselves (e. g. I am talkative, I like cats, my favourite food is pizza etc)

Behavioural Perspective - Evaluation Historical Importance: Helped to move theory away from behaviourism and towards the study of mental processes Practical Implications: Findings have furthered our understanding of the processes involved in human behaviour Ø Information about the distortion of schemas has been used to provide advice to police and judicial systems about the validity of eye witness testimony Ø Cognitive therapy – which involves trying to manage problems by adapting the way you think and behave – has been very useful for patients with mental disorders

Behavioural Perspective - Evaluation Reductionist: Focuses entirely on the cognitive system – fails to address the emotional and motivational factors that influence human cognition Reliance on animal theory: The perspective assumes that animal behaviour is very much like our own, and therefore the conditioning that occurs with animal should occur with us – however since we have language it is difficult to say that our responses to conditioning would be the same as an animals Determinist: Looks entirely at the cognitive factors that influence behaviour – ignores the social, cultural, biological and environmental factors Methodological Issues: much of the research carried out by cognitive researchers is laboratory based – this means it often lacks ecological validity