In one line: A perspective is a way of explaining behaviour, with its own assumptions about what counts as a cause.
A sixteen-year-old is excluded from school for fighting. His doctor asks about sleep and family history. A psychologist asks what he thought the other boy meant. A youth worker asks who his friends are and what they admire.
Each question comes from a perspective. None of the three is wrong, and none is complete.
Remember: The question a psychologist asks shows the perspective she is working from.
Free preview
This is the free notes preview
You're reading the free notes. Aimnova Pro unlocks the full study experience — and you can try it with your first topic free to keep:
- FlashcardsLock in vocabulary and key terms with spaced repetition.
- Practice questionsAnswer exam-style questions and get instant AI marking.
- Mock exams & past-paper vaultSit full mocks and see exactly how examiners award marks.
- Personalised study planA daily plan built around your exam date and weak areas.
Key idea: The three approaches differ in what they take a cause to be, and in how they prefer to study it.
Biological
- Looks at the brain, genes, hormones
- Assumes behaviour has a physical basis
- Often uses brain scans and experiments
- The fight: a quick temper, little sleep
Cognitive
- Looks at mental processes
- Assumes behaviour follows from how information is handled
- Often uses experiments and models
- The fight: he read a look as an insult
Sociocultural
- Looks at groups, relationships, culture
- Assumes behaviour is shaped by others
- Often uses observation and interviews
- The fight: friends who admire toughness
The biological and cognitive approaches lean towards controlled research that isolates one variable. The sociocultural approach is more holistic: it studies people in their setting, from outside and from inside a group.
Exam tip: A perspective brings its methods with it.
Ask of any study which approach it takes, and what kinds of cause that approach cannot see.
Feeling unprepared for exams?
Get a clear study plan, practice with real questions, and know exactly where you stand before exam day. No more guessing.
Key idea: No single perspective explains behaviour sufficiently. Each offers one interpretation and leaves room for alternatives.
Reductionist
- Explains at one level
- Precise and testable
- Risks mistaking a part for the whole
- "He fights because of his hormones"
Holistic
- Treats behaviour as a whole
- True to complex lives
- Harder to test and to falsify
- "He fights because of who he is, what he thinks and who he is with"
The levels are connected. His friends' admiration of toughness (sociocultural) teaches him to expect insults (cognitive), and lack of sleep (biological) weakens the control that might hold him back.
An explanation from another perspective is an alternative explanation. Raising one is a way of evaluating any claim: it shows what the first account left unexamined.
Not rivals: The perspectives answer different questions about the same behaviour.
An answer that combines them is stronger than one that picks a winner.
Key idea: Within each perspective, knowledge is built in theories and models, by reasoning in one of two directions.
A theory
- An explanation of why a behaviour occurs
- Generates predictions that can be tested
- Judged by the evidence for and against it
A model
- A simplified representation of a process
- Shows parts and how they connect
- Judged by how well it fits and predicts
Two directions of reasoning
Deductive
From a general theory to a specific prediction, tested with data.
Typical of experiments and of quantitative analysis. It can show that a theory is wrong.
Inductive
From specific observations to a general explanation.
Typical of qualitative research, where themes are drawn from what people say. An explanation built in this way is said to be grounded in the data.
General to specific · Specific to general
Remember: The two directions feed each other.
Patterns found inductively become theories, and theories are then tested deductively.
Memorize terms 3x faster
Smart flashcards show you cards right before you forget them. Perfect for definitions and key concepts.
How this is asked: On Paper 1, one 15-mark essay links a concept to a context. For perspective it is usually a claim about whether one approach can explain a behaviour.
Knowledge of specific studies is not assessed. The argument is.
The essay pattern
- State a position on the claim.
- Give the explanation that the named approach offers, and credit what it does well.
- Identify what it cannot see, as an alternative explanation.
- Show how the levels connect.
- Conclude on when one perspective is enough, and when it is not.
The trap: dismissing the named approach: "Discuss" asks for a considered review.
A reductionist explanation has real strengths: it is precise, and it can be tested.
One claim in the psychology of learning and cognition is that the cognitive approach alone can explain how people learn. Discuss this claim.
Model answer plan
See the mark-by-mark plan — for / against / judgement, with marking guidance — in study mode.