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Approaches (the Humanistic approach (humans can self-actualise by…
Approaches
the Humanistic approach
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NON-REDUCTIONIST: advocates holism which is the idea of subjective experience. This considers the whole person when looking at behaviour through an idiographic approach. This gives findings and explanations more validity.
POSTIVE APPROACH: one of few approaches which promotes a positive image of human condition. It is an optimistic alternative and sees people as good and being able to work towards full potential.
UNTESTABLE CONCEPTS: the explanations are made up of vague and abstract ideas which thus cannot be tested. Such as self-actualisation as it cannot be defined across all people. This also means there is a lack of empirical evidence which decreases the credibility.
CULTURAL BIAS: the hierarchy of needs is more associated with values of Western cultures with individualist cultures. However, this means that collectivist cultures may find it hard to identify, thus the explanations have limited generalisability.
LIMITED APPLICATION: due to the lack of evidence and abstract concepts, it has limited uses in psychology as a whole and not widespread benefits for the wider-population.
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the Biological approach
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phenotype: the expression of these genes displayed by physical characteristics- however, this is also influenced by the external environment
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SCIENTIFIC CREDIBILITY: precise methods used within scanning techniques and drug trails means that strong evidence is based on reliable data
APPLICATION: understanding of biochemical processes allows for development of treatment for mental illnesses. This benefits the lives of individuals and the wider population.
DETERMINIST: sees all human behaviour as governed by internal biological processes, such as genes. This suggests that we have no control over our behaviour and thus ignores all influence of free will. This is an unrealistic explanation.
HARD TO SEPARATE NATURE AND NURTURE: environmental conditions are important confounding variable in the case of identical twins. Thus findings of twin studies cannot isolate the exact cause of certain characteristics. This decreases the validity of findings.
ALLOWS FOR CAUSAL CONCLUSIONS: explain mental illnesses in terms of neurotransmitters. This allows for specific treatments to be developed.
the Cognitive approach
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explains the way we receive information from stimuli from our senses, and this directs much of how we behave
analogies have been made which draws similarities between the way computers work and the way in which our brains process information in a systematic way
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has lead to the emergence of cognitive neuroscience and use of techniques such as PET scanners- which have lead to the discovery of Broca's area
SOFT DETERMINISM: this takes into account the fact that we are able to think before responding to stimuli as there is a cognitive process which judges how we should respond. This means that the cognitive approach is one of the more realistic approaches.
APPLICATION TO EVERYDAY LIFE: the understanding gained through the cognitive approach has had important applications such as in the field of AI and thinking machines as it allows psychologists to understand mental processes. This is also very significant in order to develop treatments for mental disorders. Therefore there is great usefulness to this approach.
LACK OF ECOLOGICAL VALIDITY: the use of lab studies and scientific techniques such as scanning means that many of the findings are generated in artificial settings. This gives explanations low external validity and an inability to be applied to everyday life.
SCIENTIFIC CREDIBILITY: the use of highly controlled methods and lab environments ensures that replication is possible. For example, Broca's area was discovered with the use of PET scans. This increases the reliability of findings and gives the explanation as a whole greater credibility which enables the two fields of biology and cognitive psychology to come together.
MACHINE REDUCTIONISM: the computer analogy ignores all influence of human motivation and emotion within the processes of learning behaviour; such as the influence of anxiety on EWT. This means that this explanation may not be fully comprehensive and instead may not be very generalisable.
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