Core Studies - Section C

Core Studies - Section C

Social Psychology - Strengths & Weaknesses

Social Approach

+ It helps us understand how behaviour can be influenced by other people and the situation in which people find themselves.

+ It often lends itself to research being conducted in natural environments = high ecological validity.

- It is often claimed to be reductionist.

- Studies that take this approach often raise ethical issues.

• Other people and the surrounding environment are major influences on an individual’s behaviour, thought processes and emotions.

Aim

Developmental Approach - Strengths & Weaknesses

Developmental Approach

Physiological Approach

Physiological Approach - Strengths & Weaknesses

• To understand section C of the core studies exam paper.

+ Looks at how abilities develop over time - conservation.

+ It adds to the continuing nature versus nurture debate

- Validity - adults perspective of measuring children's thoughts and behaviour - e.g. Bandura - playing or aggression. Little Hans - interpreting behaviour and thoughts.

- Many proposals in relation to age-related development have been shown to be too rigid.

+ Its research methods are very reliable.

+ It uses scientific/objective methods which provide accurate unbiased data.

- Reductionist.

- Research methods have low ecological validity and therefore findings may not reflect behaviour in real life.

- Costly.

• Interested in discovering the psychological processes of development.

• e.g. conservation.

• Development across the lifespan.

• Cognitive, emotional and behavioural development is an ongoing process and that such changes result from an interaction of nature and nurture.

Objectives

• All that is psychological is first physiological – that since the mind appears to reside in the brain, all thoughts, feelings and behaviours ultimately have a physiological cause.

• Inherit traits from parents.

• Studies the brain using modern imagining techniques.

• Localisation of function.

• Describe the assumptions of each psychological approach.

• List the strengths and weaknesses of each.

• Apply this knowledge to complete past exam questions.

Cognitive Approach - Strengths & Weaknesses

Cognitive Approach

+ Favours the lab experiment - high control cause and effect.

- Low ecological validity.

+ Useful contributions - memory (eye witness) and ToM

- Can only infer what people are thinking - ToM, memory and language.

- Reductionist - overly simplistic - Autism = ToM deficit.

Individual Differences - Strengths & Weaknesses

Individual Differences Approach

Psychodynamic Perspective

+ Allows psychologists to learn more about human behaviours because all behaviours, not just average ones are studied.

+ Allows psychologists to measure differences between individuals in qualities such as personality, intelligence, memory etc.

+ Variety of methods used.

- Not fully objective.

- Small samples.

Behaviourist Perspective

• Studies mental processes, e.g. memory, perception, thinking and language.

• Information received from our senses is processed by the brain and that this processing directs how we behave or at least justifies how we behave the way that we do.

• The human mind works like a computer – it inputs, processes and responds to information and behaviour is influenced by the way information is received and processed

• To understand the complexity of human behaviour and experiences it necessary to study the differences between people rather than those things that we all have in common.

• For example the individual differences approach largely focuses on things such as personality differences, and abnormality.

• Psychometric tests.

• The main assumption of the psychodynamic perspective is that all behaviour can be explained in terms of the inner conflicts of the mind.

• For example, in the case study of Little Hans, Freud argued that Little Hans' phobia of horses was caused by a displaced fear of his father.

• Emphasises the role of the unconscious mind, the structure of personality and the influence that childhood experiences have on later life.

• All behaviour is learned and shaped by the environment. E.g. Bandura et al. study it is demonstrated how aggression is learned and shaped by role models.

• Also argues that in order for psychology to be scientific it should focus on observable behaviour which can be objectively measured rather than on things like cognitive processes which can only be inferred.

• Behaviour learnt through association or reward.

Task

Behaviourist Perspective - Strengths & Weaknesses

• Complete past exam questions.

+ Studies carried out in highly controlled environments - reliable.

- Low ecological validity.

- Main problem with the behaviourist approach occurs because by not focusing on cognitive processes it is only giving a partial explanation of human experience.

Psychodynamic Perspective - Strengths & Weaknesses

+ Allows psychologists to suggest causes of mental disorders

+ Allows psychologists to suggest why individuals behave in ways they cannot easily explain or understand.

- Highly subjective and its ideas are hard to test scientifically. For example, most of the ideas are based on case studies of individuals and are not easily tested experimentally.