Psychology: The Approaches and Perspectives

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "Psychology: The Approaches and Perspectives"

Bethanie Rose
7 years ago
Views:

1 Psychology: The Approaches and Perspectives Your task is to answer all the following questions that follow about the Approaches and Perspectives in Psychology. Read about the 7 different Approaches and Perspectives by visiting and clicking on Themes. You will find links to descriptions of the research studies that you are asked questions about in this assignment when you click on the appropriate Approach / Perspective. SECTION A: Approaches and Perspectives Physiological Approach 1. The Physiological approach takes a reductionist argument in explaining behaviour. a. What does the term reductionist mean? (2) b. How is the Physiological approach a reductionist approach? (2) 2. Why can the Physiological approach be considered scientific? (Hint: think about the methods used to conduct research under the Physiological approach) (4) 3. In the Physiological approach study by Sperry (1968): a) What is meant by the term split brain? (2) b) What is the role of corpus callosum in the brain? (2) 4. From the Physiological approach study by Maguire (2000), outline two pieces of evidence that suggests the brains of taxi drivers are different from the brains of non-taxi drivers (4) 5. In the Physiological approach study by Dement and Kleitman (1957), describe in detail what participants were required to do each time that they were woken up (4) Cognitive Approach 1. Why, according to the Cognitive approach, can the mind be likened to a computer? (4) 2. Why is it that studies conducted under the Cognitive approach often use self-report methods (like questionnaires) to collect data? (4) 3. In the Cognitive approach study by Loftus and Palmer (1974) on eye witness testimony, the subjects gave different estimates of the speed of the cards depending on how the question was asked. Give two explanations for this (4)

You will find links to descriptions of the research studies that you are asked questions about in this assignment when you click on the appropriate Approach / Perspective.

2 4. The Cognitive approach study by Baron-Cohen et al (1997) concludes that individuals with autism have theory of mind deficits. a. What is meant by the term theory of mind? (2) b. Briefly describe the eyes task Baron-Cohen et al (1997) used to test whether the participants in their study had theory of mind deficits (2) 5. From the Cognitive approach study by Savage-Rumbaugh et al (1986), describe the communication system designed so that Kanzi and the other chimps could communicate with the researchers (4) Social Approach 1. According to social psychologists, what are the main influences on our behaviour? (4) 2. One of the debates in psychology is referred to as the individual or situational explanation for behaviour. What is the key difference between an individual and a situational account of a person s behaviour? (4) 3. In the Social Approach study by Milgram (1963) on obedience, when the participants (teachers) administered electric shocks they were observed to show a lot of tension. Give two examples of their behaviour that showed extreme tension. (4) 4. In the Social Approach study by Reicher and Haslam (2006) they outlined a theoretical framework for understanding tyranny. a. What is meant by the term tyranny? (2) b. Reicher and Haslam also discussed social identity theory. Briefly describe social identity theory. (2) 5. In the Social Approach study by Piliavin (1969) on helping behaviour, the researchers investigated diffusion of responsibility. a. What is meant by the term diffusion of responsibility? (2) b. Give one reason why diffusion of responsibility was not found in this field study. (2) Behaviourist Perspective 1. What are the main assumptions of the Behaviourist Perspective? (4) 2. From the Behaviourist Perspective, briefly describe classical conditioning. (4) 3. From the Behaviourist Perspective, briefly describe operant conditioning. (4) 4. Social learning theory can be seen as an extension of behaviourism and was developed by theorists such as Albert Bandura. Briefly describe social learning theory. (4)

From the Cognitive approach study by Savage-Rumbaugh et al (1986), describe the communication system designed so that Kanzi and the other chimps could communicate with the researchers (4) Social

3 5. In the study by Bandura (1961) on transmission of aggressive behaviour, give two examples of behaviour that were imitated by the children. (4) Individual Differences Approach 1. Identify the main assumption of the individual differences approach. (2) 2. Outline two actual uses of some of the findings from the individual differences approach. (4) 3. What is a dispositional explanation of behaviour? (2) 4. Describe a key weakness of the individual differences approach. (2) 5. Griffiths pointed out that regular gambler suffer from cognitive distortions. Provide one example of a cognitive distortion displayed by regular gamblers (2) 6. In his study Rosenhan noted that the experience of the pseudo patients was one of depersonalisation and powerlessness. Provide two examples of this. (4) 7. Identify two differences between Eve White and Eve Black as noted in the Thigpen and Cleckley study.(4) Developmental Psychology 1. What is developmental psychology? State the main assumption of the developmental approach (2) 2. What is meant by innate and why does Piaget think that the stages of development that children go through are innate? (2) 3. What three materials did Samuel and Bryant (1984) use in their experiment on conservation? (4) 4. Explain how children learn, according to Bandura (1961). (4) 5. According to Freud, what shapes a child s personality later in life? (4) 6. What is meant by the term longitudinal? (2) 7. What is the problem with generalising results from studies with small samples to people generally? (2)

What is a dispositional explanation of behaviour? (2) 4. Describe a key weakness of the individual differences approach. (2) 5.

4 Psychodynamic Perspective 1) Briefly explain the main assumption of the psychodynamic perspective (4) 2) Who is the founder of this perspective, and which three things did he emphasise are important influences on later life? (4) 3) Freud argued that the adult personality had three main parts. What are these, and what is each one responsible for? (3) 4) Freud also argued that children go through five stages of psychosexual development. What are these, and briefly explains what happens in each one. (5) 5) In the psychodynamic perspective study by Thigpen and Cleckley (1954), the researchers noted that Eve s inner conflicts and early childhood experiences had led to the development of her multiple personalities. a. Who was Eve and how did Thigpen and Cleckley come to work with her? (2) b. What is Multiple Personality Disorder (MPD)? (2) SECTION B: Applying the approaches and perspectives Going back to first principles. March BBC News Mr Winsor also lists some of the potential causes of crime that might be a useful starting point in constructing crime prevention plans - although he accepts there is no definitive list. "The disintegration of deference and respect for authority" should be on the list, he suggests, as well as "envy, greed, materialism and the corrosive effects of readily-available hard-core pornography and the suppression of instincts of revulsion to violence through the conditioning effect of exposure to distasteful and extreme computer games and films." "And some people are just selfish, greedy or wicked," Mr Winsor adds. The words could have had their origins in a sermon from a Victorian pulpit - the stress on individual responsibility and social propriety, on the need to confront greed and wickedness. Select two approaches or perspectives which you are now familiar with and explain how each would attempt to explain the causes of crime as indicated in the above extract. (10)

(3) 4) Freud also argued that children go through five stages of psychosexual development. What are these, and briefly explains what happens in each one.

A Level Psychology. For first teaching from September 2008. www.ocr.org.uk

A Level Psychology. For first teaching from September 2008. www.ocr.org.uk A Level Psychology For first teaching from September 2008 www.ocr.org.uk A Level Psychology All units in this course cover the essential elements of Psychology, generate interest in students and provide