velopment of the brain is determined (at least partly) by the genes a person inherits, that behaviour may be infuenced

by genetic fact

Behavioural
Parents often use a
reward system when
potty training a
toddler. M&M candies,
stickers, or other small
rewards can be used.
Each time a child does
a desirable behaviour
for example, sitting
on the potty, having a
dry diaper in the
morning, or going to
the bathroom on the
potty the parent
gives the child a
reward. The hope is
that the child will
continue to exhibit the
desired behaviour
because he or she

behaviour and feelings are powerfully afected by.

ings that people think and feel, say and do are caused, one way or another, by electrochemical events occurring within and between t

Our behaviour and feelings as adults (including psychological problems) are rooted in our.

Cognitive
Attention - Sometimes
our cognitive
processing systems
get overloaded and we
have to select
information to process
further. This deals with
how and why
performance improves
with attention.

Biological
Some researchers
have shown how
behaviour can be
afected by altered
levels of sex
hormones. Increased
testosterone leads to
increased risk-taking,
whereas increased
oxytocin leads to
increased nurturing
and social
responsiveness.

Psychodynamic
Rituals of nervousnes
such as completing a
task a certain number
of times (such as
opening and closing a
cabinet) could be
linked to a childhood
situation.

Psychologists from the biological approach assume that behaviour and experiences are caused
Psychodynamic

Behavioural and psychological characteristics may have evolutionary explanations.

(usually unconscious), even slips of the tongue. Therefore all behaviour is.

Biological

Psychological Approaches
behaviour consists of responses to certain stimuli.
Our behaviour can be explained as a series of responses t

Cognitive
Behavioural

r behaviour is learned from our environment.

Human behaviour can be explained as a set of scienti

Animals and humans learn in similar ways; therefore, it is appropriate to generalise animal fndings to humans.

n observable behaviour rather than the mind (which cannot be directly observed or studied)

Behaviour is controlled by our own thought processes, as opposed to genet

Our behaviour is determined by reinforcement (positive or negative) of the things we do.

wants to earn the

reward, until
eventually the
behaviour becomes a
habit.

Laboratory Experiment

Random Allocation

Independent Variable

Dependent Variable
Extraneous Variables

an experiment conducted under

highly controlled conditions. The
variable which is being manipulated
by the researcher is called the
independent variable and the
dependent variable is the change in
behaviour measured by the
researcher.
refers to the how experimenters
divide participants into each
experimental condition, to reduce any
bias in the distribution of participant
characteristics. random sample: a
technique for obtaining participants,
whereby every member of the
population has an equal chance of
being selected.
the characteristic of
apsychology experiment that is
manipulated or changed. For example,
in an experiment looking at the efects
of studying on test scores, studying
would be theindependent variable
the variable that is being measured in
an experiment
undesirable variables that infuence
the relationship between
the variables that an experimenter is
examining. Another way to think of
this, is that these are variables the
infuence the outcome of an
experiment, though they are not
the variables that are actually of
interest.
Standardisation means keeping
everything the same for all
participants so that the investigation
is fair. For example, consider the
instructions that are given to the
participants. In order to ensure that all
of the participants get precisely the
same instructions, the experimenter
should write them down.