comparison

• compare approaches on views of development

  • psychodynamic - clear and coherent with psychosexual stages
  • cognitive - child development through stages and development of schema
  • biological - development is due to physical elements
  • humanistic - parents have a role and self can be developed throughout life
  • learning - happens in same way at any stage of life
• compare approaches on views of nature vs nurture

  • learning - supports nature as humans are "blank states" and are products of learning and upbringing
  • biological - supports nature as behaviour is caused by physiological processes affected by genes
  • psychodynamic - supports nature (innate drives) and nurture (role of upbringing)
  • humanistic - supports nature (self-actualise) and nurture (relationship with parents)
  • cognitive - supports nature (biological processing) and nurture (schemas through environment)
• compare approaches on views of reductionism vs holism

  • behaviourist - reductionist as behaviour is due to stimulus-response
  • social learning - less reductionist as considers cognition
  • biological - very reductionist as explains behaviour in terms of chemicals and brain structure
  • psychodynamic - quite reductionist as behaviour is due to primitive drives but considers upbringing
  • cognitive - machine reductionism as treats humans as computers but considers cognitions
  • humanistic - holistic as considers range of influences
• compare approaches on views of determinism vs free will

  • behaviourist - hard determinism as due to learning processes outside of control
  • biological - hard determinism as due to brain structure, genes and neurotransmitters
  • psychodynamic - hard determinism due to unconscious drives and instincts
  • cognitive - soft determinism due to existing schemas and stages of development but some choice over thoughts
  • social learning - soft determinism as guided by learning but choice over actions we perform
  • humanistic - free will as behaviour is down to conscious free choice
• compare approaches on explanations of abnormal behaviour

  • behaviourist - faulty learning but treated by counter-conditioning
  • social learning - negative and dysfunctional role models
  • psychodynamic - unresolved conscious conflicts and overuse of defence mechanisms but treated by psychotherapy
  • cognitive - faulty and irrational thought processes but treated by CBT
  • humanistic - incongruence between concept of self and ideal self but treated by client-centred therapy
  • biological - imbalance of neurotransmitters, genetic inheritance and faulty brain structures but treated through drug therapy
• compare approaches on views of idiographic vs nomothetic

  • learning - nomothetic
  • cognitive - nomothetic but uses case studies
  • biological - nomothetic but uses case studies
  • psychodynamic - idiographic
  • humanistic - idiographic
• outline the nature vs nurture debate

  behaviour is innate vs behaviour is due to environment
• outline the reductionism vs holism debate

  breaking down behaviour into parts vs considering a range of factors
• outline the determinism vs free will debate

  behaviour determined by factors outside someone's control vs behaviour due to conscious free choice
• outline the idiographic vs nomothetic debate

  studying and explaining individual behaviour through case studies vs studying large groups to establish general laws