Psychology approaches essay plans

• Humanistic approach


  The third force in psychology alongside behaviourism and the psychodynamic approach
• Humanist beliefs


  • People are essentially self-determining and therefore have free will
  • Psychology should be concerned of subjective experiences not general laws
• Maslow's hierarchy of needs


  A hierarchy of needs that must be worked through before we can fully function in person and not able to self-actualise (achieve our full potential)
• Levels of Maslow's hierarchy


  • Physiological and safety needs
  • Psychological needs
  • Self-fulfilment needs
• Conditions of work


  When a parent places limits or boundaries on their love of their children (e.g. 'I will only love you if...')
• Incongruence


  When ideal self, real self, and self-concepts are not the same/similar
• Evaluation of the humanistic approach- Person-centred therapy

  A therapy created by the humanistic approach where the therapist demonstrates the unconditional positive regard and empathy that the individuals lacking in childhood to reduce incongruence and help the person to become a fully functioning person who has the potential to self-actualise
• Humanistic approach


  An approach in psychology that suggests people are active agents who are able to change and determine their own development
• Strength of the humanistic approach

  • It has made a significant contribution to psychology
  • It put forward an alternative viewpoint to other approaches
  • It promoted the idea of personal responsibility
  • Concepts such as self-actualisation have been widely accepted
  • Maslow's hierarchy of needs has been very influential within and outside of the world of psychology e.g. within business
• Humanistic approach


  • Practical applications
  • Produced a successful treatment (person-centred therapy)
  • Based on concepts of unconditional positive regard, congruence and self-actualisation
  • Evidence suggests it is effective
• Evaluation of the humanistic approach-Evidence of effectiveness

  • Sexton and Whiston (1994) found that client-centered therapies were successful to certain people
• Humanistic approach


  Psychological approach that focuses on the individual's potential for growth and self-actualisation
• Limitation of the humanistic approach

  • Criticised for being culturally biased
  • Promotes concepts like personal growth, self-actualisation and the fully functioning person
  • Suggests self-actualisation leads to good mental health
• Evaluation of the humanistic approach These concepts are valued more in Western (individualist) societies than in collectivist cultures where people tend to value the needs of the group over one's own needs
• Biological approach


  Behaviour is affected by biological structures such as genetics, biochemistry and evolution
• Biological approach


  • Genes influence behaviour through heredity
  • Level of hormones and neurotransmitters in the body can affect behaviour
  • Evolution influences behaviour through natural selection
• Random change (mutation) in genetic make-up


  Leads to a trait occurring
• Trait increases reproductive success and/or survival


  Trait will be passed on to future generations and will eventually become a prevalent trait within the human race
• Strength of the biological approach

  It has practical applications
• Successful treatments produced by the biological approach

  • Depression
  • Stress
  • Addiction
• How biological treatments work

  1. Target chemical imbalances in the brain

  2. SSRI antidepressants prevent re-uptake of serotonin to increase availability of the neurotransmitter
• Effectiveness of biological treatments

  • Soomro et al. (2009) found that SSRIs showed significantly better results than a placebo for reducing depressive symptoms
• Biological approach


  • Scientific
  • Nomothetic
• Experiments


  Main method of investigation used by the biological approach
• Biological approach


  • Provides a rigorous method for understanding behaviour
  • Uses largely objective and empirical techniques such as brain scans
  • Use of brain scans has increased the precision of research in this area
• The assumption of the biological approach are based on research that is likely to be objective and reliable
• The biological approach has enhanced the scientific status of Psychology and has led to scientific progress within the discipline
• Biological approach


  Partially based on experiments that use non-human animals
• Biological psychologists


  • Use animals such as rats and mice within their research as they are easy to control and manipulate
  • Such experiments can establish cause and effect
  • Evolutionary explanation of behaviour is based on Darwin's theory which originated from studying animals on the Galapagos islands
• Biological research using animals

  Might not provide a valid explanation for human behaviour
• Humans have very different brains, cognitions and emotions compared to animals
• Humanists claim that, unlike animals, humans have freewill so behaviour isn't purely determined by biological structures/instincts like animal behaviour is
• Psychodynamic approach


  Believes that behaviour is rooted in the unconscious and childhood experiences
• Unconscious conflict


  Between the two opposing parts of our personality - ID and Super-Ego
• Parts of personality (Freud)

  • ID
  • Super-Ego
  • Ego
• ID


  Childlike, selfish and hedonistic part of our personality
• Super-Ego


  An individual's morals (opposite of ID)
• Ego


  Acts as a balance between the ID and Super-Ego
• If the Ego doesn't dominate over the ID and Super-Ego, an individual will suffer from mental illness
• Anxiety


  The product of unconscious conflict between the ID and the Super-Ego