What Is An Approach in Psychology?

1. What Is An Approach in Psychology? • In Psychology there are very few ‘right’ answers. • ‘Approaches’ are different ways of trying to explain behaviour or psychological events.

2. What’s a ‘Perspective’? • It’s very similar to an approach. The two ‘perspectives’ you study are Psychodynamic (Freud) and Behaviourist (Bandura). • Perspectives are slightly less ‘broad’ than an ‘approach’.

3. How many do I have to learn? • You learn 5 ‘approaches’ and 2 ‘perspectives’ in this course. • The Approaches are: Cognitive, Biological (physiological), Social, Developmental and Individual Differences. • Each approach has 3 Core studies to learn

4. The Developmental Approach • Developmental Psychology studies changes in behaviour over a person’s lifespan. • These include changes in thinking, understanding your own identity and who influences your behaviour. • The 3 Core Studies look at these topics

5. The three Core Studies • Samuel and Bryant looks at Cognitive development (changes in thinking with age) • Freud looks at causes of a phobia and understanding of self identity • Bandura looks at how other people might affect behaviour.

6. The approach makes some assumptions or principles • The Core Studies illustrate these assumptions • 1. Children are different from adults: Samuel and Bryant’s study supports differences in thought patterns between children of different ages. • Freud supports the idea of different understanding of self identity in children of different ages

7. 2. Behaviour can be affected by both Nature and Nurture • Both the Freud and Bandura studies say that children’s behaviour can be affected by others around them (Nurture) • Both Freud and Samuel and Bryant studies say that behaviour is affected simply by age (Nature)

8. 3. Experiences in childhood can affect later behaviour • Freud says experiences at certain ages have specific effects in later life • Bandura says the role models we have in childhood can affect later behaviour

9. 4. Some developmental theories say development happens in distinct stages • Samuel and Bryant’s study is testing the stage theory of Piaget who says thought develops in a certain order at particular ages • Freud says that all children go through fixed psychosexual stages. • (Bandura says role models can affect behaviour at any time).

10. 5. Development can be studied under controlled conditions • Samuel and Bryant and Bandura study development under controlled conditions, using experiments, trying to uncover causes of behaviour . • Freud says control is not needed, and we simply need to watch and ask about development to understand it and uncover the causes.