Areas, Debates And Perspectives Flashcards
Reductionism holism
Do psychologists use controlled experiments in which variables are isolated and tested one at a time or as the result of many different factors interacting with each other so models need to be developed to capture all the different factors and how they interact
Individual situational
Whether behaviour is caused by factors internal to an individual or because of circumstances in which they find themselves
Nature nurture
Whether the ways in which we behave are the result of genes or environment
Psychology as a science
Whether conducting scientific research is the best way to find out about human behaviour
Conducting socially sensitive research
Research is socially sensitive if it has negative implications
Should psychologists stop investigating these topics or whether doing so is the only way to find out the truth
Ethical considerations
Whether guidelines prevent worthwhile research from taking place and whether it is possible that the benefits outweigh problems with how ppts are treated
Usefulness of research
Useful if it has practical applications which improve peoples lives
Whether it needs to be useful in the practical sense or if it is okay to be intrinsically useful - methodology may increase or decrease usefulness
Methodological issues
Research method Data Ethical guidelines Validity Reliability Sample Ethnocentrism
Research method
Which method has been used and what are the strengths and weaknesses
Data
What data has been gathered and what are the strengths and weaknesses
Ethical guidelines
Have the guidelines been met?
Validity
Internal Ecological Population Social desirability bias Demand characteristics
Reliability
Refers to consistency of results
Is the sample large enough to see a consistent effect?
Sample
Population validity?
Can it be generalised?
Sampling method?
Ethnocentrism
Extent to which findings apply to people from varying cultures
The behaviourist perspective - key features
Psychology should be seen as a science and should be studied in a scientific way
The only subject matter should be behaviours which can be observed and measured
The major influence on human behaviour is learning from the environment
There is little difference between the learning that takes place in animals and humans
How does behaviourism believe we are born?
As blank slates
Who was behaviourism launched by?
John Watson in 1913
What are the 3 processes in which learning takes place?
Classical conditioning
Operant conditioning
Social learning theory
Classical conditioning
Learning through association
Pavlovs dogs
Operant conditioning
Learning as a result of rewards and punishments
Skinners rat
Social learning theory
Learning through observing and copying others
Strengths of the behaviourist perspective
Highlights the role of nurture in learning showing the importance of environment
Can be useful - practical applications - suggests ways in which phobias can be unlearned
Focusses on studying observable behaviour in controlled lab settings - scientific
Weaknesses of the behaviourist perspective
Ignores the influence of nature on behaviour
The lessons it teachers us can be hard to apply - how can we control what our children are exposed to?
Lacks ecological validity - doesn’t show real life behaviours
Who is associated with the psychodynamic perspective?
Freud
What does the psychodynamic perspective focus on?
Unconscious mind and past experiences
What does the psychodynamic perspective believe our mind operates on?
Conscious
Pre conscious
Unconscious
Conscious mind
What we are currently thinking about
Preconscious mind
Can be accessed by retrieving memories
Unconscious mind
Hidden from our awareness and can’t be accessed
How is our unconscious revealed?
In our dreams and we have no control over it
Psychodynamic perspective - personality
ID
Superego
Ego
ID
Inherited components of personality
EGO
Decision making part
Considers rules in deciding how to behave
Superego
Controls the ID - rewards us if we behave well and punishes us if we behave bad
Strengths of the psychodynamic perspective
Offers an explanation for why people develop mental disorders
Suggests way in which people with mental disorders can be treated
Highlights importance of childhood
Made the case study method popular
Weakness of the psychodynamic perspective
Very unscientific can’t be proved right
Case studies are very subjective and researcher bias may affect the results, only study one person so can’t be generalised
Similarities between the behaviourist perspective and the psychodynamic perspective
Both believe in nurture
Practical applications
Both believe in determinism
Both study human behaviour
Differences between the behaviourist perspective and the psychodynamic perspective
Research method in which they use (lab and case studies)
The behaviour they study (observable and non observable)
One uses experiments
The use of evidence to support it
The idea that it is scientific
Free will determinism
Whether we have control over how we behave or whether how we behave is out of our control
The social area
Understanding how thoughts, feelings and behaviours are influenced by the actual or imagined presence of others
What research method does the social area prefer?
Field (bickman) and lab experiments
Strengths of the social area
Research is usually high in EV
Research can be useful having practical applications
Research can help to improve our understanding of human behaviour and how it is affected by other people
Weaknesses of the social area
Findings may not be true of all times
Findings may not be true of all places
Socially sensitive research so can be hard to stay within the ethical guidelines
Responses to people in authority
People will be in positions of authority in their lives and they will also be in subordinate positions having to respond to authority over them. We usually agree with commands given which creates problems but if we disagree there are also problems.
To what extent are people obedient and disobedient? Are there characteristics of people who are disobedient?
In the death camps hitler needed to obey orders to kill people, how did this happen, how did the people respond to authority?
Cognitive area
Involved at looking at how info is processed
It covers a number of areas including memory perception language thinking and attention
Computer analogy (how the brain works)
Input - through one of the senses
Processing - using currently installed software (previous experience/knowledge)
Response
What research method does the cognitive area favour?
Laboratory experiments
Strengths of the cognitive area
Researcher can be useful having practical applications (leading questions)
Favours scientific method so shows cause and effect
Control means it is easier to test for reliability
Weaknesses of the cognitive area
Findings might not be true if the lack EV
Limitations in the way that the data is gathered (self report)
Lab experiments increase the chance of DC’s which decreases the validity
Memory
The ability to retain info
We use our memory all the time but we can’t rely on it to be accurate as human info is different to a computer
Memory can be changed as we alter things to make the event seem logical and we include things of what should have happened
Tulving
Suggested we have 2 types of memory Episodic memory (memory of episodes, events in our lives) Semantic memory (memory of facts, trees lose leaves in winter)
The developmental area
Believes our behaviour develops over time, a lot during childhood
Doesn’t focus on one particular explanation so methods used can vary
No single explanation of behaviour - more focus on how it develops
How much of behaviour are we born we and how much do we learn?
Strengths of the developmental area
Useful applications to childcare education etc
Attempts to answer the nature/nurture debate
Uses qualitative and quantitative methods
Can study ppts over time which reduces ppt variables
Weaknesses of the developmental area
Research with children may raise ethical issues such as consent and protection
Samples are often small and unrepresentative
External influences on children’s behaviour
Physical emotion social language and cognitive development
Linked to behaviourist perspective
The biological area
Behaviour can be explained in terms of biology - assumes psychologists should study the brain and nervous system
Psychology should be seen as a science, studied scientifically, measuring variables objectively
Neurons
Cells of the nervous system Carry messages from one part of the body to another. 3 types Sensory Motor Inter neurons
The brain
Where most of our neurons are
Divide into 2 hemispheres
Consists of the hindbrain , midbrain, and the forebrain
Methods of investigating brain function
MRI scans which show image of the brain
Strengths of the biological area
Favours scientific method so can see cause and effect which is useful
Control means easier to test for reliability
Understand how the brain works and how it impacts behaviour
Weaknesses of the biological area
Explanations based on just biology is too simple
Way data is gathered is negative - self reports, DC’s which affect validity
Methods eg MRI scanners show us changes but not exactly what is happening
Regions of the brain
The two hemispheres are joined by the corpus callosum
Left side - language
Right side - artistic, creative
Lateralisation of function
One side has a different role from the other side
Corpus callosum
Helps the two sides to function properly
Surgical procedure to severe the corpus callosum
Commissurotomy
