Comparison of approaches | AQA A-Level Psychology Revision
Updated: Sep 9
For 7182 specification, first teach in September 2025
AQA A-Level Psychology | Free Revision Notes
Estimated study time: 60 minutes
These Comparison of approaches A-Level Psychology revision notes bring together the six main perspectives required by AQA. You will compare what each approach sees as the main cause of behaviour, how each investigates psychology and the extent to which each recognises biological, environmental, cognitive or unconscious influences. Understanding these similarities and differences will help you construct analytical comparisons rather than writing six separate descriptions. It also prepares you to apply debates such as determinism, nature and nurture, and reductionism across the course.
Learning Objectives 🎯
By the end of this revision page, you should be able to:
Describe the basic assumptions of the six psychological approaches.
Compare how the approaches explain human behaviour.
Analyse similarities and differences between related approaches.
Compare the approaches in relation to free will and determinism.
Compare the relative importance given to biological and environmental influences.
Evaluate the scientific and explanatory strengths and limitations of the approaches.
Revision Notes đź“š
Comparison of approaches A-Level Psychology revision overview
The AQA specification requires students to understand and compare:
The behaviourist approach
Social learning theory
The cognitive approach
The biological approach
The psychodynamic approach
Humanistic Psychology
Each approach attempts to explain behaviour, but they differ in:
The causes they emphasise.
Whether they focus on observable or internal processes.
The role given to choice.
The importance given to biology and experience.
The way psychological explanations are investigated.
The level at which behaviour is explained.
The course plan places comparison after all six approaches so that their assumptions can be considered together.
Overview of the six approaches
Approach | Central focus | Key specification concepts |
Behaviourist approach | Behaviour learned through interaction with the environment | Classical conditioning, operant conditioning, reinforcement, Pavlov and Skinner |
Social learning theory | Behaviour learned by observing other people | Imitation, identification, vicarious reinforcement, mediational processes and Bandura |
Cognitive approach | Internal mental processing | Internal mental processes, schemas, models and inference |
Biological approach | Physical and inherited influences on behaviour | Genotype, phenotype, evolution, biological structures and neurochemistry |
Psychodynamic approach | Unconscious processes and personality conflict | Unconscious, Id, Ego, Superego, defence mechanisms and psychosexual stages |
Humanistic Psychology | Personal choice, growth and fulfilment of potential | Free will, self-actualisation, Maslow’s hierarchy, congruence and conditions of worth |
A comparison answer should go beyond reproducing this table. It must explain how the assumptions lead to different accounts of the same behaviour.
The behaviourist approach
The behaviourist approach explains behaviour as learned through experience.
Its two main forms of learning are:
Classical conditioning, learning through associations between stimuli.
Operant conditioning, learning through the consequences of behaviour.
Behaviourists focus strongly on observable and measurable responses. They aim to identify environmental conditions that cause behaviour to develop, increase or decrease.
For example, a fear response could be explained as learned through an association between a previously neutral stimulus and a frightening event.
Avoidance of the feared stimulus might then be maintained because escaping reduces anxiety. The reduction in anxiety acts as negative reinforcement.
Review these learning processes through associations between stimuli and learning through consequences.
Social learning theory
Social learning theory also explains behaviour as learned from the environment, but it introduces a social and cognitive element.
Behaviour can be acquired by observing a model.
The theory includes:
Imitation
Identification
Vicarious reinforcement
Mediational processes
Unlike operant conditioning, the observer does not need to receive reinforcement personally. They may be influenced by seeing a model rewarded or punished.
Social learning theory also recognises that observation does not automatically lead to imitation. Attention, retention, motor reproduction and motivation intervene between what is observed and what is performed.
This is examined in detail through observational learning and mediational processes.
The cognitive approach
The cognitive approach studies internal mental processes.
These processes cannot be observed directly, so psychologists:
Observe behaviour.
Record measurable responses.
Use models to represent mental processes.
Make inferences about the processing that may have occurred.
The approach also proposes that schemas organise knowledge and influence how people attend to, interpret and remember information.
Unlike the behaviourist approach, the cognitive approach does not explain behaviour only through external stimuli and consequences. It considers how the individual processes information.
Review these assumptions in schemas, models and inference.
The biological approach
The biological approach explains behaviour through physical processes.
It includes:
The genetic basis of behaviour.
Genotype and phenotype.
Evolution.
Biological structures.
Neurochemistry.
A biological psychologist might explain differences in behaviour through inherited genetic information, the functioning of the nervous system or chemical communication within biological systems.
Phenotype shows that observable characteristics may result from the interaction between genotype and environment. Therefore, a biological contribution does not always mean that environmental influences are irrelevant.
These assumptions are covered through genetic and biological influences on behaviour.
The psychodynamic approach
The psychodynamic approach explains behaviour through unconscious psychological processes.
Personality is described in terms of:
The Id, which seeks immediate satisfaction.
The Ego, which manages the Id, Superego and external reality.
The Superego, which represents moral standards.
Conflict between these parts of personality may be managed through:
Repression
Denial
Displacement
The approach also uses psychosexual stages to account for how experiences during early development may influence later behaviour.
Unlike the cognitive approach, which studies information processing, the psychodynamic approach focuses on unconscious wishes, memories and conflicts.
Review the main assumptions through unconscious conflict and defence mechanisms.
Humanistic Psychology
Humanistic Psychology emphasises free will, personal growth and self-actualisation.
It proposes that:
Individuals have the capacity to make choices.
People may work towards fulfilling their potential.
Maslow’s hierarchy connects the fulfilment of needs with movement towards self-actualisation.
Congruence supports personal development.
Conditions of worth may create incongruence and restrict growth.
Humanistic Psychology differs sharply from approaches that explain behaviour mainly through determining causes.
Its assumptions are covered through free will and personal growth.
Comparing the behaviourist approach and social learning theory
These approaches share a focus on learning from the environment.
Similarity or difference | Behaviourist approach | Social learning theory |
Role of the environment | Behaviour is learned from environmental stimuli and consequences | Behaviour is learned within a social environment |
Reinforcement | Usually experienced directly | May be experienced directly or observed vicariously |
Observation of models | Not central | Central to learning |
Internal processes | Gives limited attention to mental processing | Includes mediational processes |
Learner’s role | Behaviour is shaped by associations and consequences | The observer attends to, remembers and decides whether to reproduce behaviour |
Key similarity
Both approaches emphasise nurture because experience affects behaviour.
Key difference
Social learning theory includes processes between environmental experience and behaviour. The observer does not automatically copy the model.
For example, a child may observe a behaviour but fail to imitate it because they:
Did not retain it.
Cannot reproduce it.
Are not motivated.
Do not identify with the model.
Social learning theory therefore provides a less automatic account of learning than strict conditioning.
Comparing the behaviourist and cognitive approaches
The behaviourist and cognitive approaches differ in their treatment of internal mental processes.
Behaviourist approach | Cognitive approach |
Focuses on observable behaviour | Studies internal mental processes |
Explains learning through conditioning | Explains behaviour through information processing |
Emphasises environmental stimuli and consequences | Emphasises interpretation, schemas and cognitive models |
Avoids relying heavily on unobservable processes | Makes inferences about processes that cannot be directly observed |
Often studies measurable responses | Also uses measurable responses as evidence |
The approaches nevertheless share an important similarity. Both can use controlled procedures and objective measurements.
The difference lies in how the evidence is interpreted:
A behaviourist uses observable change to investigate learning.
A cognitive psychologist uses observable performance to infer internal processing.
Comparing the cognitive and biological approaches
The cognitive approach explains how information is processed. The biological approach explains how physical systems influence behaviour.
Cognitive approach | Biological approach |
Studies internal mental processes | Studies biological processes |
Uses schemas and models | Uses genetic, structural and neurochemical explanations |
Makes inferences from behaviour | Relates behaviour to biological functioning |
Explains behaviour at a cognitive level | Explains behaviour at a biological level |
These explanations can be linked rather than treated as competing alternatives.
Cognitive neuroscience investigates relationships between mental processing and biological structures or processes. It combines behavioural evidence, cognitive models and biological measurements.
This relationship is explored in linking cognition with biological functioning.
Comparing the cognitive and psychodynamic approaches
Both approaches propose that important psychological processes cannot be directly observed.
Cognitive approach | Psychodynamic approach |
Investigates information processing | Investigates unconscious wishes and conflict |
Uses models and schemas | Uses the Id, Ego and Superego |
Makes inferences from controlled task performance | Infers unconscious processes from behaviour |
Produces predictions about observable performance | Some explanations may be more difficult to test directly |
Focuses on processes such as interpretation and memory | Focuses on personality conflict and early experience |
Both approaches go beyond surface behaviour, but the processes they propose are very different.
The cognitive approach is concerned with how information is processed. The psychodynamic approach is concerned with hidden psychological causes.
Comparing the biological and behaviourist approaches
The biological and behaviourist approaches both search for causes of behaviour, but they locate those causes differently.
Biological approach | Behaviourist approach |
Causes are located in inherited or physical processes | Causes are located in environmental learning |
Emphasises genotype, structures and neurochemistry | Emphasises conditioning and reinforcement |
Closely associated with nature | Closely associated with nurture |
May be biologically deterministic | May be environmentally deterministic |
May use biological reductionism | May use stimulus-response reductionism |
Both can generate testable predictions and use objective measurements.
However, a purely biological account may overlook learning, while a purely behaviourist account may overlook inherited and physical influences.
Comparing the psychodynamic and humanistic approaches
These approaches present sharply different views of human behaviour.
Psychodynamic approach | Humanistic Psychology |
Emphasises unconscious causes | Emphasises conscious choice |
Associated with psychic determinism | Emphasises free will |
Gives a major role to early experience | Focuses on personal growth and potential |
Explains behaviour through conflict | Explains behaviour through movement towards or barriers to self-actualisation |
Includes defence mechanisms | Includes congruence and conditions of worth |
The psychodynamic approach suggests that people may not understand the true causes of their behaviour.
Humanistic Psychology gives individuals a more active role in choosing their direction and pursuing development.
Comparing the approaches through free will and determinism
The free will and determinism debate asks whether people choose their behaviour or whether behaviour is caused by factors outside their control.
Approach | Position suggested by its assumptions |
Behaviourist | Behaviour is caused by environmental learning |
Social learning theory | Social experience influences behaviour, but mediational processes affect performance |
Cognitive | Behaviour is influenced by internal processing and interpretation |
Biological | Behaviour is influenced by genetics, biological structures and neurochemistry |
Psychodynamic | Behaviour is influenced by unconscious psychological causes |
Humanistic | Emphasises conscious choice and free will |
The three forms of determinism named in the specification are:
Environmental determinism
Biological determinism
Psychic determinism
These correspond most clearly with the behaviourist, biological and psychodynamic approaches.
Humanistic Psychology offers the clearest contrast because free will is one of its central assumptions.
Evaluating deterministic explanations
Deterministic explanations have scientific value because they encourage psychologists to identify causes.
If behaviour has causes, psychologists can:
Develop predictions.
Test relationships.
Explain patterns.
Investigate interventions.
However, strict determinism may underestimate:
Conscious choice.
Personal responsibility.
The possibility that people respond differently to similar influences.
A balanced comparison should recognise both the scientific value and the possible limitation of determinism.
Comparing the approaches through nature and nurture
The nature-nurture debate concerns the relative importance of heredity and environment.
Approach | Main emphasis |
Behaviourist | Environmental learning |
Social learning theory | Observation within the social environment |
Cognitive | Information processing and schemas developed through experience |
Biological | Genetics, evolution, structures and neurochemistry |
Psychodynamic | Unconscious processes and early experience |
Humanistic | Choice, subjective experience and personal development |
The biological approach provides the clearest emphasis on nature.
The behaviourist and social learning approaches provide the clearest emphasis on nurture.
However, phenotype demonstrates that genetic and environmental influences may interact. An interactionist approach may therefore provide a more complete explanation than treating nature and nurture as completely separate.
Comparing the approaches through reductionism
Reductionism involves explaining complex behaviour by breaking it down into simpler components.
The specification identifies:
Biological reductionism
Environmental or stimulus-response reductionism
Biological reductionism
Complex behaviour is explained through:
Genetic factors.
Biological structures.
Neurochemistry.
This can make behaviour easier to measure and test, but may overlook cognitive, emotional or social influences.
Environmental reductionism
Behaviour is explained through:
Stimuli and responses.
Associations.
Reinforcement and punishment.
This also supports scientific testing, but may simplify behaviour by overlooking interpretation, choice or biology.
Reductionism is therefore not entirely negative.
Strength of reductionism | Limitation of reductionism |
Produces focused explanations | May oversimplify behaviour |
Variables can be measured | Other levels may be ignored |
Predictions can be tested | Context and personal meaning may be lost |
Cause and effect may be investigated | Complex interactions may be missed |
Comparing the scientific status of the approaches
Psychology is scientific when explanations are based on features such as:
Objectivity
Empirical investigation
Replicability
Falsifiability
Theory construction
Hypothesis testing
The approaches differ in how easily their concepts can be tested.
Approach | Scientific contribution or challenge |
Behaviourist | Observable behaviour and controlled conditioning procedures can be measured |
Social learning theory | Observable imitation can be measured, although identification and mediational processes are inferred |
Cognitive | Models produce testable predictions, but internal processes remain inferred |
Biological | Biological variables may be measured objectively, although association does not always establish causation |
Psychodynamic | Unconscious processes and personality structures are difficult to observe directly |
Humanistic | Personal experience and self-development may be difficult to reduce to simple objective measurements |
The use of observable data is a strength, but technology or numerical measurement does not automatically make a conclusion valid.
Researchers must still consider:
How variables were operationalised.
Whether procedures were controlled.
Whether evidence supports causation.
Whether findings generalise beyond the study.
General laws and individual experience
Some approaches aim to identify general principles applying across people.
For example:
Conditioning principles explain how associations and consequences affect behaviour.
Cognitive models represent common mental processes.
Biological explanations investigate general physical mechanisms.
Humanistic Psychology places greater emphasis on personal experience and individual goals.
This creates a connection with the distinction between:
Nomothetic investigation, which aims to develop general laws.
Idiographic investigation, which focuses on individuals and unique experience.
An approach may use both types of evidence, but its assumptions may make one form of explanation more prominent.
Comparing explanations of the same behaviour
Suppose a student avoids speaking during class discussions.
Each approach could offer a different explanation.
Approach | Possible explanation |
Behaviourist | Avoidance may have been reinforced because remaining silent reduced an unpleasant experience |
Social learning theory | The student may have observed another person being criticised and learned vicariously |
Cognitive | A schema or interpretation may lead the student to expect a negative response |
Biological | Biological factors may contribute to the student’s emotional or behavioural response |
Psychodynamic | Unconscious conflict or earlier experiences may influence the reaction |
Humanistic | Conditions of worth or incongruence may restrict confident self-expression |
These explanations need not be completely incompatible.
A student’s behaviour could be influenced by:
Previous learning.
Observation of other people.
Expectations.
Biological processes.
Earlier psychological experience.
Personal choices and goals.
This suggests that different approaches may explain different aspects of the same behaviour.
Applying comparisons to unfamiliar contexts
When asked to compare approaches in a scenario:
Identify what each approach would treat as the cause.
Apply the relevant terminology to the person’s behaviour.
State a clear similarity or difference.
Explain why the approaches reach different conclusions.
Avoid writing two separate descriptions without connecting them.
For example:
The behaviourist approach would explain repeated avoidance through negative reinforcement because leaving the situation removes anxiety. In contrast, the cognitive approach would focus on the person’s interpretation of the situation, such as a schema that leads them to expect danger. Both explain the same behaviour, but one emphasises environmental consequences while the other emphasises internal information processing.
The comparison words are essential:
Whereas
In contrast
Similarly
Both
Unlike
However
Writing a direct comparison
An effective comparison contains four parts:
Name the comparison point.
Explain the first approach.
Explain the second approach.
State the significance of the similarity or difference.
For example:
Both the behaviourist approach and social learning theory explain behaviour through environmental experience. However, behaviourism focuses on direct associations and consequences, whereas social learning theory explains how behaviour can be learned by observing a model. Social learning theory also includes mediational processes, giving the learner a more active role.
This is stronger than writing one paragraph on behaviourism followed by an unrelated paragraph on social learning theory.
Evaluating comparisons
A comparison can also be used to evaluate an approach.
For example:
The cognitive approach may provide a more complete explanation than strict behaviourism because it recognises that people interpret environmental information. Two people may experience the same event but respond differently because their schemas differ. However, cognitive processes cannot be observed directly, so psychologists must infer them from behaviour.
This evaluation:
Identifies what the cognitive approach adds.
Explains why it may improve the explanation.
Recognises a limitation of that approach.
Overall comparison of the approaches
No single approach focuses equally on every possible influence.
Approach | Particular contribution |
Behaviourist | Clear explanation of learning through association and consequences |
Social learning theory | Explains indirect learning through models and observed outcomes |
Cognitive | Explains active information processing |
Biological | Explains inherited and physical contributions |
Psychodynamic | Highlights unconscious processes and early experience |
Humanistic | Emphasises choice, personal meaning and growth |
The main limitation of relying on only one approach is that complex behaviour may involve several interacting influences.
The approaches are therefore useful not only because they disagree, but because they ask different questions about behaviour.
A balanced conclusion is that each approach contributes a particular level of explanation. Comparisons should identify both what an approach explains effectively and what it may overlook.
Common Mistakes ⚠️
Mistake: Writing separate descriptions without making a comparison.
Why this is incorrect:A comparison requires an explicit similarity or difference between approaches.
How to improve:Use connecting language such as “both”, “whereas”, “unlike” or “in contrast”.
Mistake: Claiming that social learning theory and operant conditioning are identical.
Why this is incorrect:Operant conditioning focuses on direct consequences. Social learning theory includes observation, vicarious reinforcement and mediational processes.
How to improve:Identify who receives the consequence and whether a model is involved.
Mistake: Saying the cognitive approach directly observes thoughts.
Why this is incorrect:Internal mental processes cannot be observed directly. They are inferred from behaviour.
How to improve:Explain how models, tasks and observable responses are used.
Mistake: Describing the biological approach as entirely separate from environmental influence.
Why this is incorrect:Phenotype develops through the interaction between genotype and environment.
How to improve:Distinguish biological influence from complete biological determination.
Mistake: Saying all approaches are equally deterministic.
Why this is incorrect:They differ in the type and degree of causation emphasised. Humanistic Psychology explicitly emphasises free will.
How to improve:Identify environmental, biological or psychic determinism where appropriate.
Mistake: Treating reductionism as entirely negative.
Why this is incorrect:Simplifying behaviour can create measurable and testable explanations.
How to improve:Balance scientific precision against the risk of overlooking other influences.
Mistake: Saying an approach is scientific only because it uses an experiment or technology.
Why this is incorrect:Scientific quality also depends on objectivity, operationalisation, replicability, falsifiability and valid conclusions.
How to improve:Explain the specific scientific feature and why it matters.
Mistake: Comparing approaches using evaluation points that do not relate to their assumptions.
Why this is incorrect:A comparison must show how the approaches differ in explaining or investigating behaviour.
How to improve:Link each evaluation point to a particular assumption, such as learning, biology, cognition, unconscious conflict or free will.
Mistake: Claiming that evidence for one approach automatically disproves all others.
Why this is incorrect:Different approaches may explain behaviour at different levels.
How to improve:Consider whether the explanations could be complementary rather than completely incompatible.
Mistake: Using vague statements such as “the cognitive approach is better”.
Why this is incorrect:The statement does not identify the comparison criterion.
How to improve:State what the approach adds, such as internal processing, and explain why that improves or limits the explanation.
Exam-Style Questions ✍️
Question 1
Which one of the following approaches places the greatest emphasis on free will?
A. Behaviourist approach
B. Biological approach
C. Psychodynamic approach
D. Humanistic Psychology
[1 mark]
reveal mark scheme and indicative content
Answer: D. Humanistic Psychology
Question 2
Identify one similarity between the behaviourist approach and social learning theory.
[2 marks]
reveal mark scheme and indicative content
Mark scheme
AO1 = 2
1 mark for identifying an appropriate similarity.
1 mark for briefly explaining the similarity.
Indicative content
Credit any appropriate similarity, for example:
Both emphasise the role of environmental experience in learning behaviour.
Both therefore place considerable emphasis on nurture.
Both recognise that consequences such as reinforcement can influence behaviour.
Both have been investigated using controlled, scientific methods.
Both take broadly nomothetic approaches and seek general principles of learning.
AQA's 2024 mark scheme explicitly credits both approaches as emphasising nurture, learned behaviour and scientific investigation.
Example answer
Both approaches emphasise nurture because they explain behaviour as being learned through experience with the environment rather than being entirely innate.
Question 3
Explain one difference between operant conditioning and social learning theory.
[3 marks]
reveal mark scheme and indicative content
Mark scheme
AO1/AO3 = 3
Award credit for one clearly developed difference.
Indicative content
For example:
In operant conditioning, reinforcement is usually direct, meaning the individual personally experiences the consequence of their behaviour.
In social learning theory, behaviour can be learned indirectly through observation.
An observer may see a model being rewarded and experience vicarious reinforcement, without personally receiving the reward.
Alternatively:
operant conditioning does not require cognitive mediational processes
SLT includes attention, retention, motor reproduction and motivation.
AQA's June 2024 mark scheme explicitly identifies direct versus indirect reinforcement and the role of cognitive mediational processes as comparison points.
Example answer
Operant conditioning involves direct learning from the consequences of one's own behaviour. Social learning theory allows behaviour to be learned indirectly by observing a model. For example, an observer may imitate behaviour after seeing the model rewarded, which is vicarious reinforcement.
Question 4
Compare the cognitive and psychodynamic approaches in relation to processes that cannot be directly observed.
[4 marks]
reveal mark scheme and indicative content
Mark scheme
AO3 = 4
Award credit for clear comparison rather than two separate descriptions.
Indicative content
Similarity
Both approaches propose important internal processes that cannot be directly observed.
Cognitive psychologists study mental processes such as memory and thinking.
Psychodynamic psychologists propose unconscious wishes and conflicts.
Difference
Cognitive psychologists make inferences from observable, measurable behaviour and often test predictions from models using controlled research.
Psychodynamic concepts such as unconscious conflict are harder to operationalise and falsify.
The cognitive approach is therefore generally more compatible with scientific investigation.
The cognitive approach explicitly uses models and inference to investigate internal mental processes.  AQA has identified the difficulty of testing unconscious psychodynamic concepts as a problem of falsifiability and scientific rigour.
Example answer
Both approaches explain behaviour partly through processes that cannot be directly observed. The cognitive approach studies internal mental processes such as memory and attention, while the psychodynamic approach proposes unconscious conflicts and drives. However, cognitive psychologists usually infer mental processes from objectively measured behaviour and test predictions from cognitive models. Psychodynamic unconscious processes are harder to operationalise and falsify, so they are generally less open to scientific testing.
Question 5
Explain one similarity and one difference between the biological and behaviourist approaches.
[6 marks]
reveal mark scheme and indicative content
Mark scheme
AO3 = 6
Award up to 3 marks for the similarity and 3 marks for the difference.
Indicative content
Possible similarity: determinism
Both approaches assume that behaviour has causes outside the individual's conscious control.
The biological approach emphasises genetic, neural and evolutionary causes.
Behaviourism emphasises learning from environmental stimuli and consequences.
Both therefore challenge a strong free-will explanation.
Possible difference: nature versus nurture
The biological approach places greater emphasis on nature, such as genotype, biological structures and neurochemistry.
The behaviourist approach places greater emphasis on nurture, explaining behaviour through learning from environmental experience.
Other valid similarities include:
scientific methods
reductionism
nomothetic explanations.
Other valid differences include:
biological versus environmental reductionism
inherited versus learned explanations.
The specification explicitly distinguishes biological determinism and environmental determinism, and biological reductionism and environmental stimulus-response reductionism.
Example answer
One similarity is that both approaches are deterministic. The biological approach explains behaviour using factors such as genes, brain structures and neurochemistry, whereas behaviourists explain behaviour using environmental learning. In both cases, behaviour is viewed as having causes that may be outside conscious control.
One difference concerns nature and nurture. The biological approach places much greater emphasis on inherited and physiological influences, whereas behaviourism argues that behaviour is mainly learned through interaction with the environment, for example through conditioning.
Question 6
A student avoids contributing to class discussions.
A psychologist gives the following explanation:
The student remains silent because previous silence has allowed them to escape anxiety. This relief has strengthened the avoidance behaviour.
Another psychologist suggests that the student expects classmates to judge every mistake negatively.
Compare the two approaches used to explain the student’s behaviour.
[6 marks]
reveal mark scheme and indicative content
Mark scheme
AO2/AO3 = 6
5 to 6 marks:Â Comparison is clear, accurate and effectively applied to the student's behaviour. Appropriate terminology from both approaches is used.
3 to 4 marks:Â Some effective comparison and application, although one approach may be better developed.
1 to 2 marks:Â Limited or muddled comparison.
0 marks:Â No relevant content.
Indicative content
First explanation: behaviourist approach
The explanation uses operant conditioning.
Remaining silent removes or reduces anxiety.
Removal of the unpleasant anxiety is negative reinforcement.
This increases the likelihood that avoidance or silence will be repeated.
The explanation focuses on learned associations between behaviour and environmental consequences.
Second explanation: cognitive approach
The explanation focuses on an internal mental process.
The student expects classmates to judge mistakes negatively.
This expectation or schema affects how the student interprets the social situation.
Behaviour therefore follows from cognitive processing rather than simply from reinforcement history.
Comparison
Both attempt to explain the same avoidance behaviour.
Behaviourism focuses primarily on observable behaviour and environmental consequences.
The cognitive approach focuses on internal mental processes and beliefs.
Behaviourism is more environmentally deterministic and stimulus-response reductionist.
The cognitive approach gives a mediating role to thought between the situation and behaviour.
Example answer
The first psychologist is using a behaviourist explanation based on operant conditioning. When the student stays silent, anxiety is reduced or avoided. This is negative reinforcement because removal of the unpleasant feeling makes silence more likely to occur again.
The second psychologist is using the cognitive approach because the explanation focuses on the student's expectation that classmates will judge mistakes negatively. This belief affects how the student interprets class discussion and may lead to avoidance. Therefore, behaviourism explains the silence mainly through environmental consequences, whereas the cognitive approach explains it through internal mental processing. Both explain the same behaviour, but they propose different mechanisms.
Question 7
A group of students classify six statements according to the psychological approach they represent.
Statement | Approach selected by the students |
Behaviour is influenced by unconscious conflict | Psychodynamic |
Behaviour develops through associations and consequences | Behaviourist |
Behaviour is influenced by information processing | Cognitive |
Behaviour is entirely a conscious choice | Biological |
Behaviour may be learned by observing a model | Social learning theory |
Behaviour may reflect movement towards fulfilment of potential | Humanistic |
a)Â Identify the statement that has been classified incorrectly.
[1 mark]
b)Â Name the correct approach.
[1 mark]
c)Â Explain why the corrected classification is appropriate.
[2 marks]
reveal mark scheme and indicative content
a)
Answer
"Behaviour is entirely a conscious choice."
b)
Mark scheme
1 mark for Humanistic Psychology.
Strictly, saying behaviour is entirely consciously chosen is stronger than the humanistic position requires. However, of the approaches listed, Humanistic Psychology is clearly the intended classification because it places the strongest emphasis on free will.
c)
Mark scheme
AO2 = 2
1 mark:Â Humanistic Psychology emphasises free will/personal agency.
1 mark:Â It proposes that individuals can make conscious choices about their behaviour and development rather than being completely determined.
Example answer
The statement is most consistent with Humanistic Psychology because humanistic psychologists emphasise free will. They view people as active agents who can make conscious choices about their behaviour and personal development.
The specification explicitly includes free will as part of Humanistic Psychology.
Question 8
Explain how the biological and humanistic approaches differ in their positions on free will and determinism.
[4 marks]
reveal mark scheme and indicative content
Mark scheme
AO3 = 4
Award up to 2 marks for each approach, with credit for an explicit contrast.
Indicative content
Biological approach
Generally associated with biological determinism.
Behaviour may be explained through genetic inheritance, brain structures, neurochemistry or evolved mechanisms.
Behaviour is therefore influenced by biological processes over which the individual may have little conscious control.
Humanistic Psychology
Strongly emphasises free will.
People are viewed as active agents capable of conscious choice.
Individuals can choose how to develop and move towards self-actualisation.
The specification explicitly identifies biological determinism within the free will and determinism debate, while free will is named within Humanistic Psychology. Â
Example answer
The biological approach is largely deterministic because it explains behaviour using influences such as genes, neurochemistry and biological structures, which individuals do not consciously choose. Humanistic Psychology takes the opposite position by emphasising free will. It proposes that people have personal agency and can make conscious choices about their behaviour and movement towards self-actualisation.
Question 9
Discuss similarities and differences between any two approaches in psychology.
[8 marks]
reveal mark scheme and indicative content
Mark scheme
Suggested allocation: AO1 = 3, AO3 = 5
7 to 8 marks:Â Knowledge of the selected approaches is accurate with some detail. Similarities and differences are compared thoroughly and effectively. The answer is clear, coherent and focused, with effective specialist terminology.
5 to 6 marks:Â Knowledge is generally accurate and comparison is mostly effective, although some points may lack development.
3 to 4 marks:Â Some relevant knowledge is present, but comparison is limited. The answer may contain largely separate descriptions of the approaches.
1 to 2 marks:Â Very limited relevant comparison.
0 marks:Â No relevant content.
AQA's June 2021 comparison question and June 2024 operant conditioning versus SLT question both used AO1 = 3 and AO3 = 5Â for an 8-mark response. Â
Indicative content
For behaviourism and social learning theory:
Similarity: learning and nurture
Both propose that behaviour can be learned from environmental experience.
Both therefore emphasise nurture rather than explaining behaviour purely through inheritance.
Difference: direct versus observational learning
Behaviourism explains operant learning through consequences directly experienced by the individual.
SLT proposes that behaviour can also be acquired by observing models.
Reinforcement may therefore be vicarious rather than directly experienced.
Difference: cognitive processes
Traditional behaviourism focuses on observable stimulus-response relationships.
SLT includes the mediational processes of attention, retention, motor reproduction and motivation.
SLT therefore gives cognition a greater role.
Difference: determinism
Behaviourism is strongly environmentally deterministic.
AQA's 2024 mark scheme characterises operant conditioning as taking a hard environmental determinist position.
SLT allows mediational processes to influence whether observed behaviour is actually performed, making it less strongly deterministic.
Difference: reductionism
Behaviourism may reduce complex behaviour to basic stimulus-response associations.
SLT is less stimulus-response reductionist because cognitive processes mediate between observation and behaviour.
Similarity: scientific investigation
Both have been investigated experimentally.
Skinner used controlled research into reinforcement.
Bandura used controlled research into observational learning.
Both attempt to establish general principles of behaviour.
AQA's mark scheme explicitly credits these comparison dimensions, including nurture, direct versus indirect reinforcement, mediational processes, determinism, reductionism, nomothetic assumptions and scientific investigation.
Example answer
The behaviourist approach and social learning theory are similar because both explain behaviour largely through learning from the environment. Behaviourists propose that behaviour can be acquired through classical and operant conditioning, while social learning theory proposes that environmental role models also influence behaviour. Both therefore place considerable emphasis on nurture.
However, they differ in how learning occurs. In operant conditioning, an individual learns directly from the consequences of their own behaviour. For example, reinforcement increases the likelihood that a response will occur again. Social learning theory proposes that learning can occur indirectly through observation. An individual may observe a model being rewarded and experience vicarious reinforcement without personally receiving that reward.
They also differ in the importance they give to cognitive processes. Traditional behaviourism focuses on observable behaviour and stimulus-response relationships. Social learning theory includes mediational processes such as attention, retention, motor reproduction and motivation. This makes SLT less reductionist and less strongly deterministic because cognitive factors influence whether an observed behaviour is actually performed.
However, both approaches have scientific features. Skinner and Bandura used controlled experimental methods to investigate learning and attempted to establish general principles of behaviour. Overall, SLT developed some of the basic learning principles associated with behaviourism but added observational learning and cognitive mediation, producing a less purely environmental explanation of behaviour.
Question 10
Compare approaches in psychology.
In your answer, refer to their assumptions, explanations of behaviour and scientific investigation.
[16 marks]
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