APPROACHES
a.
b.
c.
G544
Cognitive Approach
Behaviourist Perspective
Individual Differences Approach
Research Methods & Approaches
EXAM STYLE QUESTIONS (ESQ)
Approaches
COGNITIVE APPROACH
January 2010
a. Briefly outline the cognitive approach to psychology (4)
b. Describe two pieces of research that use the cognitive approach to psychology (8)
c. Discuss the strengths and limitations of using the cognitive approach to explain behaviour.
Use examples of research to support your answer (12)
d. Compare the cognitive approach with the behaviourist perspective. Use examples of
psychological research to support your answer (8)
e. Discuss determinism and free will debate in psychology (8)
June 2010
a. Using your knowledge of psychology, briefly outline the cognitive approach to psychology.
(4)
b. Describe two pieces of research that use the cognitive approach to psychology. (8)
c. Discuss the strengths and limitations of using the cognitive approach to explain behaviour.
(12)
d. Compare the cognitive approach with the behaviourist perspective. (8)
e. Discuss the features of the cognitive approach that support the view that psychology is a
science. (8)
EXAM STYLE QUESTIONS (ESQ)
Approaches
BEHAVIOURIST PERSPECTIVE
Example
a. Using your knowledge of psychology, briefly outline the behavioural
perspective to psychology. (4)
b. Describe two pieces of research that use the behavioural perspective to
psychology. (8)
c. Discuss the strengths and limitations of using the behavioural perspective
to explain behaviour. (12)
d. Compare the behavioural perspective with the OTHER physiological
approach. (8)
e. Discuss how the behavioural perspective provides a situational
explanation of behaviour. (8)
EXAM STYLE QUESTIONS (ESQ)
Approaches
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES APPROACH
EXAMPLE
a. Briefly outline the individual differences approach in psychology. (4)
b. Describe two pieces of research that use the individual differences
approach in psychology. (8)
c. Discuss the strengths and limitations of research that provides an
individual explanation of behaviour. (12)
d. Compare the individual differences approach with the physiological
approach. (8)
e. Can individual explanations of behaviour be considered useful? (8)
Resources: APPROACHES
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PowerPoint
Essay Help Booklet
Exam Style Questions (ESQ)
Activity 1
Worksheet 1: KEY WORDS

Complete the key terms related to this topic

You can use the resources and internet to help

Each definition should be at least two sentences long
You should use these terms where appropriate in your
essays
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Activity 2
Worksheet 2: Summary Notes
Complete summary notes for each study
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 Cognitive
Approach
 Behavioural Perspective
 Individual Differences Approach
You can use the resources and internet to help

2a. Summary Questions:
COGNITIVE APPROACH
Main Assumptions
What are the main assumptions of
the Cognitive Approach?
What does the cognitive approach
focus on?
What does ‘how was process
information’ influences?
What does the cognitive approach
assume?
Can mental processes be studied
scientifically according to this
approach?
What analogy does the cognitive
approach use?

Research Evidence
Identify studies (AS & A2) that have
used the Cognitive Approach in
Psychology?
Strengths
3 strengths of the Cognitive
Approach
Limitations
3 limitations of the Cognitive
Approach
Cognitive Approach
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
Internal, mental processes (perception, attention, language,
memory and thinking explain behaviour).
Looks at how we input, store and retrieve information.
ASSUMTPIONS
1.
Behaviour can largely be explained in terms of how the
mind operates
2.
The mind works like a computer, inputting, storing and
retrieving data.
3.
People make decisions as to how they behave.
Assumptions of the...
Cognitive Approach



The cognitive approach focuses on how information received from our
senses is processed by our brains. This approach assumes that how we
perceive information, including how we perceive, store and retrieve
information, influences how we behave.
The cognitive approach assumes that we can and should study mental
processes such as memory, ways of thinking and problem solving in
order to further understand human behaviour. It assumes that these
mental processes can be studies scientifically, so the experimental
method is favoured by cognitive psychologists in their research.
The cognitive approach uses the computer analogy to describe how the
brain processes information, assuming that comparisons can be made
between how machines process information and how brains process
information.
2a. Summary Questions: COGNITIVE APPROACH
SUPPORTING RESEARCH
Aims
Results & Conclusions
What was the aim of this study?
What were the main findings?
What did the researchers conclude?
Method, Sample, Procedure
What research method was used in
this study?
What are the details of the sample?
If appropriate, what was the design
of the study?
If appropriate, what were the IVs?
If appropriate, what were the DVs?
What happened?
INCLUDE 2
RESEARCH
STUDIES AS
EVIDENCE
2b. Summary Questions:
BEHAVIOURIST PERSPECTIVE
Main Assumptions
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What are the main assumptions of
the Behaviourist Perspective?
What does the Behaviourist
Perspective assume?
Where does the Behaviourist
Perspective fall on the naturenurture scale?
According to the Behaviourist
Perspective, what is useless?
According to the Behaviourist
Perspective, what should
psychologists focus on?
What does the behaviourist
perspective assume about normal
and abnormal behaviour?
Research Evidence
Identify studies (AS & A2) that have
used the Behaviourist Perspective
in Psychology?
Strengths
3 strengths of the Behaviourist
Perspective
Limitations
3 limitations of the Behaviourist
Perspective
Behaviourist Perspective
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
Assumes that behaviour is learned, and that experience and
interaction with the environment make us what we are because we
learn stimulus-response units of behaviour in reaction to the
environment.
Environmental determinism – because behaviour is learned in the past.
ASSUMTPIONS
1.
2.
3.
There is no need to look at what goes on inside ‘black box’ of the
mind. Psychologists need only be concerned with external and
observable behaviour.
All behaviour can be explained in terms of conditioning theory
through classical/operant conditioning.
All behaviour is determined by the environment.
Assumptions of the...
Behaviourist Perspective
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
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The behaviourist perspective assumes that all behaviour is
learned, and that learning happens through the process of
classical conditioning, operant conditioning or social
learning. This means that the behaviourist perspective is at
the extreme nurture end of the nature-nurture debate.
The behaviourist perspective considers that explanations of
behaviour based on internal causes or mental states are
generally useless, and to study behaviour psychologists
should focus on what can be overtly observed.
The behaviourist perspective assumes that both normal and
abnormal behaviours are all learned and can be unlearned,
and behaviour can be controlled and altered, not just
described and quantified.
2b. Summary Questions: BEHAVIOURIST PERSPECTIVE
SUPPORTING RESEARCH
Aims
Results & Conclusions
What was the aim of this study?
What were the main findings?
What did the researchers conclude?
Method, Sample, Procedure
What research method was used in
this study?
What are the details of the sample?
If appropriate, what was the design
of the study?
If appropriate, what were the IVs?
If appropriate, what were the DVs?
What happened?
INCLUDE 2
RESEARCH
STUDIES AS
EVIDENCE
2c. Summary Questions:
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES
Main Assumptions
Research Evidence
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



What are the main assumptions of
the Individual Differences Approach?
Identify studies (AS & A2) that
have used the Individual
Differences Approach in
Psychology?
According to the Individual
Differences Approach, what are the
main differences between people?
Strengths
What is the name for the approach
that focuses on the way in which we
are the same?
3 strengths of the Individual
Differences Approach
What is the name for the approach
that focuses on the way in which we
are different?
Limitations
3 limitations of the Individual
Differerences Approach
Assumptions of the...
Individual Differences Approach

The individual differences approach assumes that the
differences between people, such as personality,
abnormality or intelligence, and not just the factors that
people share in common, have an important influence
on our behaviour.

This approach assumes that it is not only the ways we
are the same as one another (the nomothetic approach)
but also the ways in which we differ from others and
are individuals that is important for psychology to
investigate. This is known as the idiographic approach.
2c. Summary Questions: INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES
SUPPORTING RESEARCH
Aims
Results & Conclusions
What was the aim of this study?
What were the main findings?
What did the researchers conclude?
Method, Sample, Procedure
What research method was used in
this study?
What are the details of the sample?
If appropriate, what was the design
of the study?
If appropriate, what were the IVs?
If appropriate, what were the DVs?
What happened?
INCLUDE 2
RESEARCH
STUDIES AS
EVIDENCE
Activity 3
Worksheet 3: Evaluation
Part 1: EVALUATION & DEBATES
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Part 2: EVALUATION GRID
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3a. Evaluation Questions
COGNITIVE APPROACH
 Identify strengths and limitations of the
cognitive approach
 Identify similarities and differences of the
cognitive approach
 To what extent is the cognitive approach
useful?
 To what extent is the cognitive approach
reductionist?
Individual Differences Approach
One of the most established approaches in psychology. It is
the study of what makes individuals unique rather than what
we as humans have in common.
ASSUMTPIONS
1.
2.
3.
The studying what makes us unique as individuals is as important as
understanding norms of human behaviour
That the differences between people in terms of personality and
intelligence are important influences on behaviour as well as situational
factors.
The individual-differences approach is fundamental to an understanding
of mental health and dysfunctional psychology.
3a. Evaluation
COGNITIVE APPROACH
STRENGTH 1
This approach favours the scientific method, using the laboratory
experiment to investigate mental processes. This enables researchers to
establish cause & effect between variables, provide objective evidence in
which we can have confidence and to produce quantitative data, making it
easier to test reliability. This approach brings academic credibility to
psychology as a discipline.
STRENGTH 2
Some cognitive approach studies assume that there is a continuity between the
way animals, particularly primates, process information and the way humans
process information. By studying animals we can understand human cognitive
processes, for example, the acquisition of language. This means we can find out
about human behaviour without the practical and ethical concerns that might be
raised by an in-depth study of, for example, the language development of a
human child.
3a. Evaluation
COGNITIVE APPROACH
LIMITATION 1
The use of laboratory studies in the cognitive approach raises
concerns about the ecological validity of the research, and this
method also increases the changes of participants responding
to demand characteristics in the study.
LIMITATION 2
At present, there are limitations to the way data is gathered in the cognitive
approach. Cognitive processes can only be studies by inference, that is we cannot
study them directly – we can only gather what is going on in someone’s head by
recording what they can or cannot tell us (self-report) or can or cannot do
(observation), or at best by making and interpreting recordings of the active parts
of their brain by, for example, using MRI scance.
3b. Evaluation Questions
BEHAVIOURAL PERSPECTIVE
 Identify strengths and limitations of the
behavioural perspective
 Identify similarities and differences of the
behavioural perspective
 To what extent is the behavioural perspective
useful?
 To what extent is the behavioural perspective
reductionist?
3b. Evaluation
BEHAVIOURAL PERSPECTIVE
STRENGTH 1
The behaviourist perspective highlights the role of nurture in learning, and
shows the important influence environment has on our behaviour.
STRENGTH 2
It assumes that behaviour can be both learned and unlearned, which means we
can control and change behaviour using behaviourist technique. The behaviourist
perspective therefore offers hopeful theories about the causes of behaviours and
helps develop techniques to change them.
STRENGTH 3
In it attempt to study behaviour it favours the scientific method and laboratory
experiments in particular. This focus of the behaviourist perspective on studying
observable behaviour in laboratory experiments gave psychology as a discipline
the scientific credibility it previously lacked.
3b. Evaluation
BEHAVIOURAL PERSPECTIVE
LIMITATION 1
A weakness of the behaviourist perspective that by favouring
the laboratory experiment as a research method studies in this
approach can lack ecological validity and therefore fail to
resemble behaviours that people might perform in real life.
LIMITATION 2
Another weakness of the behaviourist perspective is that there are
moral issues and ethical objections raised against the behaviourist
perspective. If the principles of behaviourism can be used to control
people and change their behaviour, then who should decide which
behaviours should be changed and who controls the controllers?
3c. Evaluation Questions
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES
 Identify strengths and limitations of the
individual differences approach
 Identify similarities and differences of the
individual differences approach
 To what extent is the individual differences
approach useful?
 To what extent is the individual differences
approach reductionist?
3c. Evaluation
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES
STRENGTH 1
Case studies are a popular method, they are in depth and often longitudinal studies
that focus on one individual or one case. A detailed case history can be useful in
describing unusual or unique cases.
STRENGTH 2
It recognises that individual differences are an important element of people’s
behaviour, something often overlooked by other approaches. By focusing on the
ways people differ rather than how their behaviours fit in with general rules, the
individual differences approach makes an important contribution to psychology as
an academic discipline.
STRENGTH 3
This approach includes the study of abnormal behaviour. This is useful
for helping to explain abnormal behaviour and for improving the
experience of both those suffering from mental illness and those who
work with them and care for them.
3c. Evaluation
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES
LIMITATION 1
This approach often focuses on unique cases. The rarity of cases may lead to intrusive
investigations and excessive study and testing, which may not help the individual and could distress
them. This raises ethical concerns about the balance between the value of the research and
causing possible harm to the person being investigated.
LIMITATION 2
There are problems with the type of data gathered in studies in the individual differences
approach. In some studies in this approach large amounts of qualitative data is gathered
and this can present problems for the researchers as there are difficulties with its
interpretation, objectivity and analysis which leads us to question its validity.
LIMITATION 3
Psychologists have to be careful that their findings are not misused. By focusing on
the difference between people, the individual differences approach may emphasise
these differences and this can lead to discrimination. Researchers in this area must
present their data responsibility and be sensitive to the possible implications of
highlighting differences between people.
Activity 4
Worksheet 4: Essay Plans
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10 Mark Questions
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15 Mark Questions
EXAM STYLE QUESTIONS (ESQ)
Approaches
COGNITIVE APPROACH
January 2010
a. Briefly outline the cognitive approach to psychology (4)
b. Describe two pieces of research that use the cognitive approach to psychology (8)
c. Discuss the strengths and limitations of using the cognitive approach to explain behaviour.
Use examples of research to support your answer (12)
d. Compare the cognitive approach with the behaviourist perspective. Use examples of
psychological research to support your answer (8)
e. Discuss determinism and free will debate in psychology (8)
June 2010
a. Using your knowledge of psychology, briefly outline the cognitive approach to psychology.
(4)
b. Describe two pieces of research that use the cognitive approach to psychology. (8)
c. Discuss the strengths and limitations of using the cognitive approach to explain behaviour.
(12)
d. Compare the cognitive approach with the behaviourist perspective. (8)
e. Discuss the features of the cognitive approach that support the view that psychology is a
science. (8)
EXAM STYLE QUESTIONS (ESQ)
Approaches
BEHAVIOURIST PERSPECTIVE
Example
a. Using your knowledge of psychology, briefly outline the behavioural
perspective to psychology. (4)
b. Describe two pieces of research that use the behavioural perspective to
psychology. (8)
c. Discuss the strengths and limitations of using the behavioural perspective
to explain behaviour. (12)
d. Compare the behavioural perspective with the OTHER physiological
approach. (8)
e. Discuss how the behavioural perspective provides a situational
explanation of behaviour. (8)
EXAM STYLE QUESTIONS (ESQ)
Approaches
INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES APPROACH
EXAMPLE
a. Briefly outline the individual differences approach in psychology. (4)
b. Describe two pieces of research that use the individual differences
approach in psychology. (8)
c. Discuss the strengths and limitations of research that provides an
individual explanation of behaviour. (12)
d. Compare the individual differences approach with the physiological
approach. (8)
e. Can individual explanations of behaviour be considered useful? (8)