Perspectives and Differences in Methods

Chapter 2Pages 38-71

Psychological Perspectives

• There are 4 different perspectives in Psychology. All interpret human behaviour differently

Biological

Paul Broca

Wilder Penfield

Roger Sperry

Behavioural

John Watson

Ivan Pavlov

B.F Skinner

Cognitive

Herman Ebbinghaus

Jean Piaget

Howard Gardner

Socio Cultural

Solomon Ash

Stanley Milgriim

Phillip Zimbardo

Psychological Perspectives

Biological Perspective• Focus on how physiological structures and bodily functions

influence our thoughts/ feelings.• View humans as biological organisms• Two major concepts

1) Materialism: all behaviour has a biological base

2) Heredity: all behaviours can be inherited.• Biological psychologist look at hormones, genes and the nervous

system and how these influence how we learn, remember, think, feel and perceive.

There are three big theorist who support the biological perspective.

They are;– Paul Broca– Wilder Penfield– Roger Sperry

Behavioural Perspective• AKA: the learning perspective. Focuses on learning.• Looks at the effect of the environment (external influences) on

behaviour. • Looks at the relationship between the behaviour (response) and the

environmental events (stimuli)

(ie) the bell rings (stimuli) ----------> pack your books up (response)

---------->

There are three big theorist who support the behavioural perspective.

They are;– John Watson– Ivan Pavlov– B.F Skinner

Cognitive Perspective

• Emphasises the effect of mental processes on behaviour.• Looks at how humans mentally deal with information

they receive from the environment.• Cognitive psychologist study memory, problem solving

and language.

There are three big theorist who support the cognitive perspective.

They are;– Herman Ebbinghaus– Jean Piaget– Howard Gardner

Socio-Cultural Perspective• This is a combination of two different but related areas of

psychology Social psychology and Cultural psychology.

• Social Psychology: how people think about, interact with, influence and are influenced by the thoughts, feelings and behaviours of others.

• Cultural Psychology: the ways in which culture can influence people and their lives.

There are three big theorist who support the socio cultural perspective.

They are;– Solomon Ash– Stanley Milgriim– Phillip Zimbardo

Evaluation of the different perspectives.

Biological ADVANTAGES• only perspective that explains behaviour in relation to the

body.• Biological psychology has advanced through the help of

technology.• Our understanding of the brain has increased dramatically.• Better understanding of mental illnessesLIMITATIONS• Lack of recognition of environmental factors• Only looks at internal activities and their effects on behaviour

Evaluation of the different perspectives.

Behavioural: aka, learning

ADVANTAGES• Behaviour principles alone are not enough to explain

learning.• Emphasised the importance of careful observation of

behaviour which influenced other perspectives.

LIMITATIONS• Only recognise behaviours that can be directly observed

and measured.• Refuse to recognise the importance of mental processes.

Evaluation of the different perspectives.

Cognitive:

ADVANTAGES• Only approach that emphasises the thinking processes as a

significant influence on human behaviour.• How cognitions influence behavour and emotions.

LIMITATIONS• Uses metaphors as the basis for its model pf the mind. Eg;

information processing model.• Comparing the mind to a computer when humans and

computer are different

Evaluation of the different perspectives.

Socio Cultural

ADVANTAGES• Led to the inclusion of a diverse range of groups in research.

Making psychology more representative.

LIMITATIONS• Stereotyping

Your assessment1) You need to make a poster or power point presentation which explains the 4

different perspectives in psychology.

2) You need to explain each perspective• Biological• Cognitive• Behavioural• Socio Cultural

3) You need to include all the theorists from each perspective and what they have contributed towards that perspective.

4)Your poster needs to be neatly organised so it can be easily read.

It needs to include pictures and diagrams and be colourful.

5) Posters need to be bigger that A3 otherwise you will not have enough room to fit everything on it.

6) DO NOT copy straight from the book or cut and paste information from the internet. You will lose marks. It needs to be in your own words.

DUE DATE: 2012