Different perspectives on behaviour (Psychology HL)

In one line: The same behaviour can be explained in more than one way — each perspective sees a different part of the picture.

Perspective is one of the six concepts. Psychology explains behaviour from several angles at once, and no single one tells the whole story.

Think of a person who cannot sleep. A doctor sees biology (stress hormones), a therapist sees thinking (racing worried thoughts), a friend sees the situation (a noisy new flat, exam season). All three are looking at the same insomnia through different lenses.

Memory hook: Same behaviour, different lens. Change the perspective and you notice a different cause.

Key idea: IB Psychology uses three levels of analysis — biological, cognitive and sociocultural — each asking a different kind of question.

Take someone who becomes very anxious in exams. Biological: their stress response floods the body with adrenaline. Cognitive: they interpret the exam as a threat and expect to fail. Sociocultural: family and cultural pressure to succeed raises the stakes. Together, the three explain the anxiety far better than any one alone.

Go further — higher-level insight: The perspectives complement each other. They are not rivals fighting to be 'the' explanation — they operate at different levels, and a complete account usually weaves several together. Naming which perspective a study takes, and what it misses, is a high-level evaluation move.

How this is tested: Perspective is a favourite framing. A common prompt: 'explain [a behaviour] from two perspectives', or 'evaluate an explanation that uses only one perspective'. Name the level, give its explanation, and note what it leaves out.

Common mistakes: 1. Two explanations from the SAME perspective. They must be different levels.



2. Just labelling. Explain how each perspective accounts for the behaviour.



3. Treating one as 'the truth'. Show they complement, not compete.