Approaches
Biological approach:
It explains behaviour in terms of physical causes in our brains and bodies, and this includes our genes
The most likely biological source of causes of behaviour is the brain which produces chemicals called neurotransmitters
Such as Serotonin
Which plays an important role in regulating moods
The methods used by this approach to investigate behaviour are physical too
Brain scans can show us the structure and functioning of the brain
Researchers then try to relate these to normal as well as abnormal behaviours
In the last 20 years, the development of brain scanning techniques has led to a massive increase in understanding how the brain relates to behaviour
Research on animals can be helpful too because we can’t deliberately make changes to the human brain to observe the effect on behaviour
This approach to understanding behaviour is largely ‘nature’ - though many aspects of the brain and body and even your genes can be changed by nurture
Behaviourist approach:
The central concept of this approach is the influence of experience on our behaviour, and how we learn behaviours
We are born as ‘blank slates’ and what we become is shaped by experience
We either learn through association or reinforcement
You probably also know the usefulness of treats with animals
If you have cats you will know that they come running as soon, as they hear a cupboard door being opened. They have learned to associate that noise with food.
A small reward reinforces a behaviour and makes it more likely to happen in the future
These are examples of classical and operant conditioning
Whatever characteristics we might be born with, these take second place to the crucial roles of our experience and the environment
Because this approach is most closely associated with scientific psychology
It is no surprise that behaviourists are cheerleaders for the experimental method in psychology because it involves precise and objective measurement of behaviour in controlled conditions
The approach also uses research with animals, because it sees no significant qualitative differences between human and animal behaviour
Psychodynamic approach:
This is the approach that originates with Sigmund Freud
He believed that the causes of behaviour lie within the unconscious mind
The part of the mind that is normally closed off to us but is extremely active
The iceberg metaphor has been used to represent the ‘invisible’ unconscious mind that has powerful effects
There is a constant dynamic conflict between parts of the unconscious and conscious mind
We can get a brief glimpse of this conflict when we dream
This is why Freud advocated the use of dream interpretation to help us understand what’s in the unconscious and why it affects us
The approach also emphasises the importance of childhood experiences
Which have a major impact on our personality development and our behaviour as adults
Humanistic approach:
It is firmly based on the concept of the self
This concerns issues to do with your self-concept and self-esteem
It also emphasises the importance of being able to make our own rational choices
All of the other approaches suggest that our behaviour is directed by other forces not always under our control
Genes
The environment
Our thought patterns
Or by our unconscious mind
Humanistic psychologists believe the goal of psychology is not prediction or control but to understand the whole person
Cognitive approach:
This approach focuses on thinking
Our feelings, beliefs, attitudes and expectations
The effects they have on our behaviour
The approach employs the ‘computer metaphor’ to explain how our minds work
Like computers we process information
The approach has been used to explain many things including mental disorders such as depression
According to the cognitive approach, depression occurs because people think negatively
They put the worst possible interpretation of events and play down the good things that happen to them
They think it will never get better
According to the cognitive approach depression lies in the way they are thinking rather than in reality
Like behaviourist psychologists, cognitive psychologists use lab experiments as a key research method
But a big difference is that while behaviourists have no interest in what goes on inside the mind
They are precisely what they are interested in and have an important link to the behaviours we observe
Whatever works best:
The distances from the biological approach to the humanistic perspective represent the huge range that is psychology
Although researchers working on these two approaches may call themselves psychologists
They have very little in common in terms of their assumptions about behaviours
Their preferred explanations
Their philosophical viewpoints
The methods they use to investigate behaviour
Or even the research questions they are interested in answering
That’s how broad a subject like psychology is
These different approaches also reflect the undoubted truth that human behaviour is complex and is probably not going to be fully understood from just one approach
Because of this, there has been growth in the eclectic approach
This is preferred by psychologists who aren’t committed to any one particular approach
The eclectic approach uses the assumptions, explanations and methods from many different approaches
The goals of psychology:
The goals of psychology include
understanding and explaining behaviour
predicting behaviour
and controlling or influencing behaviour to enhance individual and societal well-being
Psychology aims to study and understand various aspects of
human and animal behaviour
cognition
emotions
and mental processes
It also seeks to apply this knowledge to improve mental health, promote positive behaviour change, and enhance overall psychological well-being
Describing behaviour:
Psychologists want to be able to describe what happens when people ‘behave’
This is mostly a matter of observation
Psychologists observe how behaviours are related to each other
They might, for example, notice that certain behaviours occur together quite often and form a pattern
They might even begin to get an indication of which behaviours are normal and abnormal
After enough studies have been conducted, possible explanations of the behaviour emerge
Explaining behaviour:
Describing behaviour is just a starting point
Psychologists want to go beyond merely describing the behaviour that is happening and try to explain where it comes from, the reasons for it and what causes it
To do this, they formulate theories of behaviour and then use the scientific method to test them
This of course is where disagreements emerge
There are many competing theories about the causes of behaviour, which often reflect the general approach psychologists adopt within psychology
Predicting behaviour:
Once we are confident that certain behaviours consistently occur under certain conditions, we can use this knowledge to predict how a person’s behaviour (including their thoughts) might change in the future
These predictions (known as hypotheses) can be turned into statements that can be tested in studies
Controlling behaviour:
The idea that psychology should be in the business of controlling behaviour may have sinister overtones for some people
But what if we changed the language a little bit?
What if the ultimate goal of psychology is to change behaviour?
This is unquestionably something that many branches of psychology attempt to do
For example, psychological therapies for mental disorders are not just about trying to understand or explain behaviours such as phobias or depression
The intention is to change people’s behaviour, maladaptive ‘abnormal’ behaviour that causes pain and suffering to adaptive, ‘normal’ behaviours that bring happiness (or less pain, at least)
Change behaviour:
The nudge unit:
This is a popular name for the Behavioural Units Team, a department that was formed to apply psychology to government policies
It aims to change behaviour one small step at a time
That is, to ‘nudge’ people into small changes, because they are more achievable
For example, the Nudge Unit has devised projects to get more people to sign up for:
Organ donation or giving blood
To encourage people to pay their takes on time
To give more time and money to charity
Reduce food waste
They even tried to offer some advice to England's team at the World Cup in 2014, by applying psychological research to taking better penalties
Ironically, the team never had the chance to put this advice to the test
Here’s another example of behavioural control:
The people at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam wanted to know how you might stop men from missing the urinals and making a mess on the airport toilets
You could put up signs telling to be careful, or warning them of the dire consequences if they don’t get their aim straightened out
Men like nothing more than having something to aim at
So men’s urinals at Schiphol Airport were given a small but significant redesign
A tiny black spot, in the shape of a fly, was inlaid into the middle of the pristine white porcelain urinal
Although no truly scientific studies have been conducted into the effectiveness of this methods, apparently Schiphol’s cleaning costs were reduced by 8%
The origins of psychology:
Psychology means ‘study of the soul’
Conscious mental life, both of its phenomena and their conditions (James, 1890)
Introspection was developed to expose the mind to specific research
The first experimental psychology laboratories began to appear in universities
William Wundt:
(1832-1920)
Father of experimental psychology
Psychologist at Heidelberg University and Leipzig University
While at Heidelberg, He delivered the first university course on scientific psychology
He wrote the first textbook on psychology ‘principles of physiological psychology’ (1873-4)
At Leipzig University, He set up the first laboratory dedicated to experimental psychology
He separated Psychology from philosophy and biology and became the first person to be called a psychologist
His approach became known as structuralism because he used experiments methods to find the basic building blocks (structures) of thought and investigate how they interacted
He studied sensation and perception, breaking participants’ observations of objects
Images and events down into constituent parts in the same way that an anatomist would study a body trying to find its constituent parts and how they interact
First he did this by studying reaction time
Systematically changing the stimuli he presented to participants and measuring how long it took them to respond
Inferring that the longer it took to respond, the more mental processes must be involved.
He adapted and developed a process called introspection to infer more about the nature of the processes involved
Wundt’s contribution to psychology:
He wrote first textbook of psychology (Principles of Physiological Psychology, 1873-4)
Set up first laboratory of experimental psychology (1879)
Used the scientific method to study the structure of sensation and perception
Showed that introspection could be used to study mental states in replicable laboratory experiments