two principles of the cognitive area
- centres on the study of internal mental processes such as memory, attention, language and perception.
- the mind works like a computer processor as it inputs, stores and retrieves information.
two principles of the social area
- other people and the surrounding environment are major influences on an individual’s behaviour, thought processes and emotions.
- we behave differently in different situations depending on the social roles we take and on the perceived or actual presence of others
two principles of the developmental area
- Suggests that behaviour may be innate (due to genetics) or may be learned from the environment (including other people).
- Assumes our behaviour changes throughout our lifetime (sometimes in pre-determined stages).
similarity and difference of dev and social and examples
s - both support situational explanations of behaviour (Bandura + Milgram)
d - social area higher in ecological validity (Kohlberg + Piliavin)
similarity and difference of dev and cog and examples
s - both support situational explanations of behaviour (Grant + Chaney)
d - cog mainly uses snapshot, dev mainly longitudinal (Simons and Chabris + Kohlberg)
similarity and difference of social and cog and examples
s - both support situational explanations of behaviour (Milgram + Grant)
d - social area often less ethnocentric (Levine + Loftus and Palmer)
2 strengths of social area
- often high in ecological validity (Piliavin)
- often less ethnocentric (Levine)
weaknesses of the social area
- socially sensitive, difficult to stay within ethical guidelines (Milgram)
- may not be true for all time
strengths of the developmental area
- considers both nature and nurture and how they impact development (Bandura)
- can study participants over time to reduce participant variables (Kohlberg)
weaknesses of the developmental area
- some theories often too deterministic (Kohlberg)
- research with children may raise ethical issues e.g. consent, protection from harm (Bandura)
strengths of the cognitive area
- often considered to be scientific due to use of controlled methods and standardised procedures (Simons and Chabris)
- Easier to test for reliability with controlled scientific study (Loftus and Palmer) NEED TO IMPROVE
weaknesses of cognitive area
- lab experiments often used, so can lack ecological validity + demand characteristics (Moray)
- often relies on self report, reduces validity of findings (Loftus and Palmer)
applications of the social area 3
- security camera: ppl think they are being watched and act accordingly
- can help us understand how individuals can commit atrocities
- the power that others have over individuals
- why people receive or don’t receive help
applications of the cognitive area
- can help police officers understand the validity of eyewitness accounts and informs the police to not use leading questions
- can be useful for students who can use the idea of context-dependency to improve their revision
applications of the developmental area
- can be of particular use to teachers and parents and doctors (medication, observed behaviour)
- it gives advice to parents in how to NOT act in front of their children
