Areas and Debates

Nature

suggests that behaviour is the product of innate biological factors. e.g. Genetics, biological maturation etc

Nurture

argues that behaviour is learned or acquired through experiences in our environment.

Determinism

The argument that we do not have control over our actions but are controlled by internal factors (biology or genes) (biological determinism), or by external factors (environmental determinism).

Free Will

we have the freedom to act as we want at all times. We have the choice to behave as we wish and are responsible for our actions.

Reductionism

The idea that the nature of complex things (e.g. behaviour) can be reduced to the sum of simpler more fundamental factors.  

Holism

The idea that the ‘whole is greater than the sum of its parts’ and in order to understand behaviour researchers should consider how different factors at each level contribute to behaviour

individual explanation

Suggests that behaviours are unique to the individual and are caused by internal factors e.g. biological factors, (DNA and genetics), personality, cognitive processes

Situational explanation

Focuses on how aspects of the situation at the time may affect behaviour. Examples could be peer pressure, authority figures, ingroups/outgroups

strength of nature

help identify behaviours that are inherited so we can look at the role of inheritance and provide preventions for behaviours at an early age.

weakness of nature

It is deterministic to assume that behaviour is determined solely by our biology. This makes it harder to change behaviour or develop interventions as if behaviours are innate it may not be possible to change them.

Strength of nurture

If behaviours are solely due to nurture they are useful as we can find the cause of behaviour and treat it with relevant application. This is further supported with scientific research

Weakness of nurture

If we assume that all behaviours are due to solely nurture, this is reductionist as we may be ignoring the importance of biological factors in human behaviour. It may be better to take an interactionist approach.

Strength of determinism

Is that studies tend to be scientific as the research infers cause and effect between an IV and a DV ___ suggests that all behaviours have a cause

Weakness of determinism

A weakness is that it removes moral responsibility from the individual causing problems in the criminal system, as surely we wouldn’t punish behaviours that people have no control over.

Strength of Free will

is that it recognises freedom of choice. This therefore then gives people responsibility for their actions which is ultimately what the legal system is based on.

Weakness of Free Will

it suggests no predictability or patterns to behaviour, this means interventions/treatments may be pointless.

Strength of reductionism

tends to be scientific as they tend to focus solely on a single cause for a behaviour which is also the idea behind manipulating an independent variable in an experiment.

weakness of reductionism

oversimplifies human behaviours as it is complex and involves many interactions with various factors. Behaviour cannot be defined by one factor.

Strength of Holism

A strength is that it is more likely to explain why things happen. This therefore then gives a more valid and complete picture of human experience.

Weakness of Holism

A weakness is it makes it more difficult to research. When investigating multiple variables, it’s harder to control extraneous variables and measure accurately.

Strength of individual

Shows how behaviours are strongly influenced by individual factors – allows predictions/interventions to be made

Weakness of individual

Issues relating to labelling and stigmatization would occur if we solely accept individualism as the cause to all behaviour.

Strength of situational

If behaviour is determined by ___ factors then we can use these findings to improve society in some way - predictions/interventions to be made

Weakness of situational

It can be difficult to isolate one cause from the other and it may be argued that it is reductionist to believe there is one explanation to the complexity of human behaviour.

Principles of the social area

It is about understanding individual behaviour in a social context.

It looks at how people interact and can be influenced by their social environment.

Social psychology focuses on how feelings, beliefs thoughts, intention and goals are formed and how they impact how people interact with others.

It also looks at the influence of the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others on us

Applications of social area

Increasing obedience in schools, prisons

Reducing blind obedience – grooming, radicalisation

Strengths of the social area

The social area can explain many phenomena e.g. Social obedience

Social influences have been shown to have a strong influence on people’s behaviour.

Weaknesses of the social area

Can often create unethical situations which can cause psychological stress to participants e.g. This area’s research has been criticised for having restricted samples.

Key principles of the cognitive area

Mental processes are key to understanding human behaviour.

The mind can be seen as an information processor i.e. Input, processing and output of information

Thought patterns can be changed

Applications of the cognitive area

Improving memory – we can suggest techniques such as context dependency or avoid using leading questions

Strengths of the cognitive area

Useful due to its practical applications in the real world which can improve human welfare e.g.

Takes a scientific approach with the use of well controlled experiments, reducing the effect of extraneous variables.

Weaknesses of the cognitive area

Lab experiments can be criticised as this reduces the ecological validity of research e.g.

Lack validity, as mental processes can’t be studied directly. We can only infer what someone is thinking.

Principles of the bio area

all that is psychological must first be biological

Changes to brain structure cause changes to behaviour

Different areas of the brain are responsible for different behaviours.

applications of the bio area

Brain damage rehabilitation – localisation of function and neuroplasticity can help treat traumatic brain injury e.g. stroke

Strengths of the bio area

It is very scientific with the use of well controlled experiments and precise scientific apparatus e.g.

It is useful as it can explain the biological basis of our behaviours.

Weaknesses of the bio area

The methods used have been criticised for lacking ecological validity e.g fMRI

Criticised for being reductionist, trying to explain complex behaviours in terms of simple biological features.

Principles of the developmental area

The area suggests that behaviours develop over our lifespan and may be in response to nature or nurture influences.

Individuals change their thinking and behaviour systematically through crucial stages of development

Develoment may happen in pre determined stages

Applications of the dev area

Improving child welfare –we can promote positive behaviours through role modelling or reinforce healthy behaviours using rewards like the funhaler

strengths of dev area

Widen our understanding of how children learn and develop

Many useful applications to society

weaknesses to dev area

the study of children has many issues e.g. demand characteristics, attention span etc.

Ethical issues e.g. parental consent, protection from harm

principles of indiv diff area

Individuals differ in their personality, thinking and behaviour.

Everyone is unique

It is possible to measure and study individual differences.

applications of indiv diff area

Psychometric testing – we can measure aspects of psychological functioning e.g. intelligence, theory of mind to help understand/treat others

strenths of indiv diff area

Helps to explain diversity and why people’s behaviour differs

Useful as it helps to improve how we measure differences and understand disorders.

Weakness of indiv diff area

Sometimes uses measures which may not be objective and are open to bias

Sometimes be unethical when studying individual differences and disorders

principles of psychodynamic area

Behaviour is strongly influenced by the drives of the unconscious mind

Our unconscious mind protects the conscious mind from uncomfortable thoughts and feelings through ‘Defence mechanisms’.

Development is affected by early relationships

applications of psych dy area

Treating disorders – psychoanalysis identifies unconscious causes of disorders so they can be processed

Dealing with attachment disorders

Displacement strategies for aggression

strengths of psych dy area

The perspective can be used to explain a wide variety of behaviours, including phobias, dreams and anxieties associated with a phobia.

The psychodynamic perspective is useful as it can suggest treatments such as psychoanalysis.

Weaknesses of psych dy area

Unconscious mind, and Freud’s theory of the Oedipus complex are impossible to test scientifically. 

- The perspective’s use of case studies to analyse individual’s dysfunctional behaviour are considered unscientific.  It is hard to generalise from the small samples studied in case studies.

Principles of behaviourist perspective

Psychology should study observable behaviour.

We are products of our environment.

We acquire our behaviour through learning

Applications of behaviourist area

Behaviour modification – we can change behaviours through reinforcement or modelling behaviours

strengths of behaviourist area

The perspective takes a scientific approach with the use of well controlled experiments which reduce the effect of extraneous variables e.g.

The perspective is useful as it has many applications e.g. operant conditioning can be used to modify behaviours

weaknesses of behaviourist area

Reductionist as it ignores mental processes and just focuses on stimulus -> response

The use of controlled investigations can often lack ecological validity

What does HMC SQUID FORCE stand for

Hypothesis Testing - using a statistical test to see whether the hypothesis can be supported

Manipulation of Variables - manipulating the IV to create a condition

Control of Variable - attempting to control extraneous variables

Standardisation - when things are kept the same for each participant in a condition

Quantifiable Measurements - using quantitative data to compare differences between the condition

Induction - working backwards from the conclusion/observation to develop a theory

Deduction - working from the theory to get a conclusion/observation

Falsification - providing the truth of a hypothesis by proving the null is false

Objectivity - an unbiased view which will be interpreted the same way by everyone

Replication - repeating the study and obtaining similar results

Cause and Effect - the effect of manipulation on IV and DV