debates Flashcards
strength of breaking deception guidelines?
to reduce demand characteristics
weakness of breaking deception guidelines?
ps may not have signed up if they were told true aim = issues with consent
strength of breaking consent guidelines?
reduces demand characteristics, especially in covert or field studies
weaknesses of breaking consent guidelines?
ps may not want to take part ( +in future research), discredits psychology
strengths about breaking confidentiality?
if someone said something or did something that needed to be reported in order to protect themselves or others
weakness of breaking confidentiality
people may not want findings from the study to be revealed publically with their details, issues with protection
strengths of breaking observation guidelines
higher ecological validity
weaknesses of breaking observation guidelines
issues with consent and protection due to invasion of privacy, discredits psychology
strengths of breaking withdrawal guidelines?
get to keep all your data
weaknesses of breaking withdrawal guidelines?
issues with protection
strengths of breaking protection guidelines
ecological validity
weaknesses of breaking protection guidelines
people can be harmed, may not want to participate in future studies
strengths of breaking advice guidelines
if you are not competent to give the advice it can cause less harm
weaknesses of breaking advice guidelines
breach of protection sometimes
strengths of breaking debrief guidelines
not practical sometimes
weaknesses of breaking debrief guidelines
ps may become worried about their actions = protection issues
what is determinism
the belief that behaviour is governed by forces outside of our control and we do not have a choice in how we behave
strengths of determinism
- interventions can be put into place to prevent behaviours
- we can predict behaviours
- more scientific as focus is on cause and effect
weaknesses of determinism?
- reductionist
- takes away an individual’s responsibility for their actions
- can be socially sensitive to label a group and say they will behave in a certain way
what is free will?
we have a choice in how we behave, behaviour is self-determined
strengths of free will?
- makes individuals responsible for their own behaviour
- emphasises the value of subjectivity
weaknesses of free will?
- doesn’t support difficult to control processes eg adrenaline rush
- less scientific and harder to research
- suggests no predictability or patterns to behaviour
- hard to prove– if someone exercises free will then it may be that they are just responding to a command to do so, which would support determinism
how could Loftus and Palmer be considered deterministic?
- ‘smashed’ and ‘contacted’ verbs prompted different speed estimates
therefore behaviour is determined by the verbs
how could Grant be considered deterministic
- context-dependent memory effects shown through MCQ scores, thus behaviours like memory are determined by environments
how is Milgram deterministic?
- 65% pts were obedient and administered full 450 volt shock
behaviour determined by situation + presence of authority figure
how is Milgram free will based?
35% pts were defiant and refused to administer full 450V shock
resisted the situation and chose to be defiant
how is Bocchiaro free will based?
14 people whistleblew and chose to fill in the form
how is Bocchiaro deterministic?
76.5% people obeyed
behaviour determined by situation
faith determined likelihood to whistleblow
what does the nature side of the debate believe?
that behaviour is innate and has biological causes eg hormones, genes and evolution
can be studied with studies from the biological area
strength of the nature side of the debate?
useful applications: we can focus on treating biological causes of behaviour eg medication for anxiety
what does the nurture side of the debate believe?
behaviour is a result of our upbringing and environmental factors eg punishment, reinforcement and influences such as stimuli in the environment
weakness of the nature side of the debate?
is reductionist as it simplifies the cause of behaviour down to biological causes and ignores the influence of the environment
strength of the nurture side of the debate?
useful applications
we can focus on supporting people when behaviour is the result of nurture eg a child is aggressive due to witnessing aggression
weakness of the nurture side of the debate?
reductionist as it simplifies the cause of behaviour down to environmental causes, ignores the influence of biology
what is a longitudinal study?
where a group of participants are followed over a period of time
strength of longitudinal studies?
can show how behaviour develops so there are practical applications
weaknesses of longitudinal studies?
high levels of participant attrition? withdrawal
more time consuming and expensive
what are snapshot studies?
carried out over a short period of time eg hours or days
strength of snapshot studies?
quicker and cheaper
weakness of snapshot studies?
only show one period of time, can make the research dated and hard to generalise
cannot explain how behaviour develops
what is reductionism?
the cause of behaviour is simplified into smaller individual parts
research can be reductionist if it:
- only focuses on one explanation of behaviour
- only has one IV/DV
- only gathers quantitative data
strengths of reductionism?
more scientific as you are focusing on one cause of behaviour therefore it’s easier to identify cause and effect
weaknesses of reductionism?
lacks validity as it is too simplistic and ignores other causes of behaviour
what is holism?
looks at behaviour as a whole including the multiple causes
research can be holistic if it:
- considers multiple explanations of behaviour
- has multiple IV/DVs
- gathers qualitative data, or both quantitative and qualitative data
- is longitudinal
strengths of holism?
increases validity as all explanations for the cause of behaviour are explored
weaknesses of holism?
less scientific as it is hard to determine which one variable is causing behaviour
what are the factors that determine the usefulness of a study?
- usefulness of findings, does it tell us something useful about behaviour?
- usefulness of sample, can it be generalised to the real world?
- does it have ecological validity?
- is it reliable?
- is it valid?
what does socially sensitive research mean?
any research that could cause offense or upset to the ps or a group in society
what can make research socially sensitive?
any research which looks at differences between groups based on:
culture
gender
age
race
social class
diagnosed disorders
beliefs
advantages of conducting socially sensitive research?
it allows us to find out about differences between groups
progresses our understanding of human behaviour
could lead to ways to support or improve behaviour
can establish patterns of behaviour to prevent atrocities eg Milgram
disadvantages of conducting socially sensitive research?
can lead to stereotyping and discrimination
difficult to replicate due to their sensitive nature
people may not want to participate in future research
could cause psychological harm
what does the individual side of the debate believe?
behaviour is a result of an individual’s unique internal characteristics, eg personality, genes, age, gender etc
the focus is on causes of behaviour that come from within the individual and ignores external factors
strength of assuming behaviour is dispositional?
provides explanations for unique behaviours
deterministic, allows for prediction of behaviour
useful applications, knowing the cause means interventions can be put in place
weakness of assuming behaviour is dispositional?
reductionist, ignores the influence of situation
difficult to change behaviour if it is innate
personality can change depending on the situation
what does the situational side of the debate believe?
behaviour is a result of environment, context and situation, eg upbringing, peer group, location
the focus is on causes of behaviour that come from the environment and ignores internal factors
strength of assuming behaviour is situational?
provides explanations for group behaviours, can remove blame
deterministic, allows for prediction of behaviour
useful applications, knowing the cause means interventions can be put into place
weakness of assuming behaviour is situational?
reductionist, ignores influence of individual factors
removes personal responsibility for behaviour
