comparison of approaches

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  Determinism – the cause of behaviour

  -          Determinism refers to the belief that behaviour is determined by forces other than the individuals will to so something.

  -          Free will is used to refer to the alternative end of the spectrum where the individual is seen as being capable of self-determination.

  -          As in most debates in psychology the answer usually lies somewhere in between, and our behaviour is probably explained by one of the two extremes.

   

   

   
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  The approaches and determinism

  -          Behaviourist – our behaviour is the consequences of classical and operant conditioning where we have no conscious insight into our behaviour – skinner empathised the importance of external forces in the environment like rewards and punishments that shaped our behaviour.
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  The approaches and determinism

  -          Social learn – we learn through the observation of others and so largely behaviour is a product of our experiences so it is determined but although the learning process provides us with the tools/ resources to conduct particular behaviours it is up to the induvial how and when to apply these tool so there is some degree of free will
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  The approaches and determinism

  -          Cognitive – concludes that our own thought processes determine our behaviour – therefore we have some degree of control over our own behaviour.
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  The approaches and determinism

  -          Biological – psychological factors like hormones and neurochemicals and our inherited genetics which are both outside controls can impact / control our behaviour.
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  The approaches and determinism

  -          Psychodynamic – explores how unconscious factors which are largely unknow to us and therefore beyond our control impact our behaviour – Freud believed that every trivial phenomenon such as the Freudian slip like calling someone by the wrong name what caused by unconscious factors operating within an individual’s nervous system which was all determined not free will.
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  The approaches and determinism

  -          Humanistic – concludes are behaviour is down to our own free will – Maslow and Rodgers believed that people exercise choice in their behaviours, rather than being at mercy to external factors such as biological predispositions or reinforcement history
• Nature vs nurture – the role of innate and experimental factors

  -          Human behaviour is either a product of a person genes and biology so their nature or what they experience as a result of interacting with their environment which is nurture.

  -          It states behaviour is entirely a result of either nurture or nature and is more likely to be explained by how the tow interact with each other.
• nature / nurture and the approaches

  -          Behaviourist – nurture – behaviour is the consequence of our interactions with the environment and the consequences of our behaviour within that environment.
• nature / nurture and the approaches

  -          Social learning – primarily due to nurture because people learn as a result of observing, however, is generally assumed that the capacity to learn from the observation of others has some adaptive value which is likely to be innate and so explained by nature
• nature / nurture and the approaches

  -          Cognitive – both nature and nurture as thought processes may be a product of innate factor or our experiences – we all share the same means of cognitive processing (nature), but problems may arise when people develop irrational thoughts and beliefs as a result of experiences (nature)

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• nature / nurture and the approaches

  -          Biological – primarily nature – biological systems such as central nervous system  and the endocrine system are the product of innate factors (nature) – however experience may be modified by these systems – Maguire et all on study of taxi drivers in London found that there were structural changes in the brain as a result of having to learn to navigate London’s complex road layout
• nature / nurture and the approaches

  -          Psychodynamic – nature and nurture – the approach focuses on the inures side of human behaviour and the unconscious forces like the demands of the id and the conflicts surrounding these unconscious forces but the way we cope with these forces is a large product of the way we were brought up (nurture)
• nature / nurture and the approaches

  -          Humanistic – both nature and nurture – this approach makes various assumptions about human nature like our drive t self-actualise which is nature but is also acknowledge the problems in achieving elf actualisation that arises from our experiences and up bringing like our experiences with conditional positive regard and conditions of worth which is all nurture
• Psychology as science

  -          Psychology lies in the intersection of many other different disciplines like biology, philosophy and sociology so the application of scientific methods is not universal across the subject.

  -          Some psychologists who are allied with biology ay adopt methods associated with the natural sciences but a psychologist who is more aligned with philosophy may not always see scientific methodology as appropriate to their areas of interest.

   
• Psychology as science and the approaches

  -          Behaviourist – uses scientific methods this is because the behavioural approach is highly objective and experimentally based- by focusing only on responses that can be accurately measured which is why it aligns itself with scientific methods movement author approaches- this methodology also allows for higher degree of replication which simpleton in scientific processes.
• Psychology as science and the approaches

  -          Social learning - also uses scientific methods as its research investigations are reliable and allow inference about Kohl's in effect however this does mean that research like banduras bobo doll studies tend to be carried out on rather artificial settings can lack validity in terms of real life behaviour
• Psychology as science and the approaches

  -          Cognitive – uses scientific methods to a degree as most propositions can be easily tests but mental process is largely unobservable meaning a great deal of inference is needed to develop models of cognitive processing
• Psychology as science and the approaches

  -          Biological – uses scientific methods as it lends itself to experimental study – for example the investigation of the influence of neurotransmitters on behaviour can be investigated by administering drugs which change the levels of a particular neurotransmitter in the brain and then measuring any change in behaviour.
• Psychology as science and the approaches

  -          Psychodynamic – is mixed uses both scientist methods and non-scientific methods as some aspects of the approach are open to scientific investigation but there tends to be much greater reliance on cases studies and subject interpretation.
• Psychology as science and the approaches

  -          Humanistic – is largely negative when it comes to scientific methods humanistic psychologist argue that scientific research methods are derived from and suited for the natural sciences but not appropriate for studying the complexities of human consciousness and experience.
• Overall summary

  Behaviourist

  -          External forces from environment shape our behaviour (determined)

  -          Explanation empathises the role of humane nurture more than nature.

  -          Behaviourism aligns itself strongly with scientific methods.

   

   
• Overall summary

  
  

  Social learning

  -          Behaviour is learned as a result of observation of others (determine)

  -          Explanation of behaviour empathises the role of nurture over nature.

  -          Aligns itself with scientific methods but research can lack validity.
• Overall summary

  Cognitive

  -          thought process is determined behaviour and we have some degree of control over our behaviour.

  -          the explanation of behaviour emphasises the role of nature and nurture.

  -          cognitive psychology alliance itself with scientific methods despite some inference
• Overall summary

  biological

  -          psychological and inherited factors determine behaviour.

  -          explanation of behaviour emphasises the role of nature more than nurture.

  -          biological psychology aligns itself with the scientific method.
• Overall summary

  psychodynamic

  -          unconscious factors beyond our conscience control and determine behaviour.

  -          explanations of behaviour emphasise the role of nature and nurture.

  -          psychodynamic psychology does not really align itself with the scientific method.
• Overall summary

  humanistic

  -          behaviour is under our conscious control -we have free will.

  -          explanation of behaviour emphasises the role of nature and nurture.

  -          humanistic psychology mostly rejects the use of the scientific method.