Pyscological Disorders
M1- Assess different psychological approaches to study
In this assignment I am going to look back at each theory and explain the different psychological approaches to health and social care practice and then think about and describe the strengths and weaknesses of each one. * Behaviourism:
Behaviourism has many different strengths and weaknesses. One strength of the approach is that is has successfully applied classical and operant condition to its theories. This is strength as it is used in different therapies such as systematic desensitization, which is a type of behaviour therapy to help overcome phobias and other anxiety disorders; it is based on classical conditioning. Another strength is that it uses scientific methods of research making it much more objective, measurable and observable as well as being able to obtain reliable results. An example of this is Banduras’ bobo doll of study of aggression. However, there are also weaknesses to this approach. The Behaviourism approach focuses too much on the “nurture” side of nature/nurture debate and suggests that all behaviour is learned. However, research has shown that cognitive and biological elements have been proved to affect individual’s behaviour. For example, people learn behaviour by observing others getting rewarded for certain actions. Another weakness is the ethical issues raised by using animals in experiments. This is because animals cannot consent to take part and are unable to withdraw themselves from experiments, for example, Pavlov’s dog studies. A major strength of this theory is that it is quick and affordable. As the behaviourism theory focuses on the future and what is happening now instead of the past, treatment can be quick and effective as they are not discussing past experiences which may be time consuming. However, because this theory ignores past experiences and influences, it may cause problems as individuals may need to discuss past experiences in order to sort their emotions
In this assignment I am going to look back at each theory and explain the different psychological approaches to health and social care practice and then think about and describe the strengths and weaknesses of each one. * Behaviourism:
Behaviourism has many different strengths and weaknesses. One strength of the approach is that is has successfully applied classical and operant condition to its theories. This is strength as it is used in different therapies such as systematic desensitization, which is a type of behaviour therapy to help overcome phobias and other anxiety disorders; it is based on classical conditioning. Another strength is that it uses scientific methods of research making it much more objective, measurable and observable as well as being able to obtain reliable results. An example of this is Banduras’ bobo doll of study of aggression. However, there are also weaknesses to this approach. The Behaviourism approach focuses too much on the “nurture” side of nature/nurture debate and suggests that all behaviour is learned. However, research has shown that cognitive and biological elements have been proved to affect individual’s behaviour. For example, people learn behaviour by observing others getting rewarded for certain actions. Another weakness is the ethical issues raised by using animals in experiments. This is because animals cannot consent to take part and are unable to withdraw themselves from experiments, for example, Pavlov’s dog studies. A major strength of this theory is that it is quick and affordable. As the behaviourism theory focuses on the future and what is happening now instead of the past, treatment can be quick and effective as they are not discussing past experiences which may be time consuming. However, because this theory ignores past experiences and influences, it may cause problems as individuals may need to discuss past experiences in order to sort their emotions
References: Strengths and weakness of behaviourist approach: http://pages.123-reg.co.uk/psyuk-631767/advancedsuccessltd/id23.html (Assessed 20/05/2013) Strengths and weakness of Social learning theory: http://www.ehow.co.uk/list_6592126_social-learning-theory-strengths-weaknesses.html (Assessed 20/05/2013) Strengths and weakness of psychodynamic theory: http://quizlet.com/8294726/psychological-approaches-strengths-and-weaknesses-flash-cards/ (Assessed 20/05/2013) Strengths and weakness of Humanistic approach: http://aqabpsychology.co.uk/2010/07/the-humanistic-approach/ (assessed 20/05/2013) BTEC Health and Social Care Book Level 3- Author WALSH, M (assessed 21/05/13)