debates in psychology

Question 1

6 ethical considerations

Answer 1

consent, withdrawal, deception, protection from harm, confidentiality, debriefing

Question 2

observational research

Answer 2

participants should only be observed in places where they could reasonably expect to be observed

Question 3

advantages of psychological research being ethical

Answer 3

avoids the participant leaving the study in a different state to when they entered, makes replication of the study possible, enhances the reputation of psychology, researcher are more likely to get other participants for research in the future

Question 4

disadvantages of psychological research being ethical

Answer 4

can place limits on the sort of research carried out, it can reduce the validity of the research if participants know the aim, sampling bias can be a problem if participants are able to withdraw, insisting on participants being anonymous could silence them

Question 5

4 broader ethical principles and what they consist of

Answer 5

RESPECT:
-informed consent
-right to withdraw
-confidentiality
COMPETENCE:
-researchers should not give advice beyond that which they are competent to give
RESPONSIBILITY:
-protection of participants from harm
-debrief
INTEGRITY:
-deception

Question 6

individual/situational explanations

Answer 6

situational explanation: behaviour is best explained by reference to the situation a person is in
individual explanation: behaviour is best explained as arising from a persons own personality or characteristics

Question 7

s+w of individual explanations of behaviour

Answer 7

s: it is supported by evidence of individual differences between people, could be useful, means people can be held to account for how they behave
w: it makes it difficult to predict how people will behave, it makes generalisations difficult

Question 8

s+w of situational explanations of behaviour

Answer 8

s:supported by evidence of people being influences by situations, useful as suggests we can change behaviour by altering the situation that creates it
w: it could be used as an excuse to explain bad behaviour, it underplays individual differences in response

Question 9

nature/nurture explanations

Answer 9

nature= we are the product of our genetic inheritance, and how we behave is due to factors innate within us
nurture= we are the products of our upbringings, such that how we behave is due to our personal encounters and experiences

Question 10

s+w of behaviour being explained by nature

Answer 10

s:supported by evidence of behaviour being hard to change, can be useful in genetic modifications, not situational as will affect people the same way anywhere
w: of limited use as hard to change, too reductionist, can be socially sensitive as people are unable to change their problematic behaviour

Question 11

s+w of behaviour being explained by nurture

Answer 11

s: supported by evidence of behaviour being open to change with social learning/operant conditioning, can be useful in bringing up children
w: may be ethnocentric, could be socially sensitive by bringing blame on parents for childrens behaviour

Question 12

benefits of psychological research being useful

Answer 12

it can have positive practical applications to improve the quality of peoples lives
this means it is more likely to attract funding, making the research more able to be carried out
it can improve the reputation of psychology as an academic subject

Question 13

drawbacks of psychological research being useful

Answer 13

research can be put to bad socially sensitive uses
psychologists may not carry out research if it is not useful, but it could be useful in the future
can put pressure on researchers to breach some ethical guidelines so the research is useful

Question 14

reductionism/holism debate

Answer 14

reductionism= investigating the most basic underlying reasons behind behaviour
holism= investigates multiple factors that interact to explain human behaviour

Question 15

how reductionism/holism research is conducted

Answer 15

reductionism= by isolating variables one at a time to establish cause and effect to collect data at the most basic level
holism= collect data in lots of different ways , including multiple IVs and DVs so the researchers can see how these interact

Question 16

s+w of conducting reductionist research

Answer 16

s: more scientific, possible to draw more accurate conclusions about cause and effect as more highly controlled, so more replicable
w: human behaviour is often too complex to be reduced down to single factor explanations so can lack construct validity, can lack ecological validity, can encounter the ‘decoupling problem’ of isolating a factor which always operates with in conjunction with others

Question 17

s+w of holism approach

Answer 17

s: high validity in explanations of behaviour, can account for emergent properties that only appear through the interaction of diff factors
w: can be hard for researchers to pin down which factor is having the greatest effect, can be quite vague which can undermine the claim of psychology as a science, may be of limited use as it means it will be hard to make predictions

Question 18

3 features of a science

Answer 18

1. objectivity - findings are fact rather than opinion
2. falsifiability - it would be possible to prove the findings false
3. replicability - the same results are obtained if the study was repeated

Question 19

drawbacks of psychological research being scientific

Answer 19

scientific research often lacks qualitative data, so its explanatory power is reduced
the research is often reductionist by testing the impact of a single factor, so can miss out other factors that may be involved
scientific studies are often conducted in tightly controlled labaratory settings which reduces ecological validity

Question 20

benefits of psychological research being scientific

Answer 20

quantitative data is often gathered which can be analysed to see significant effects
scientific research is less vunerable to being affected by researcher bias
scientific research typically involves the use of lab experiments that enable cause and effect to be inferred
controlled lab experiments can be replicated to see if findings are reliable

Question 21

socially sensitive research

Answer 21

research that could lead to prejudice or discrimination against the class of people represented by those in the study
it is therefore important to ensure that findings of research are as valid as possible and ensured they are not used inappropriately

Question 22

benefits and drawbacks of socially sensitive research

Answer 22

b: can answer important questions to improve our understanding of human behaviour, can lead to practical uses to improve quality of life
d: can lead to stigma of people beyond the study, could be used for negative purposes

Question 23

free will/determinism debate

Answer 23

freewill= our behaviour is the product of our own choices such that we are able to choose how we behave
determinism= our behaviour is caused by factors outside our control

Question 24

s+w of claiming behaviour can be explained from freewill

Answer 24

s: not socially sensitive, useful as people can be held accountable for their actions, has face validity as people often feel their behaviours are their choices
w: hard to prove, no predictability or pattern to behaviours reducing usefulness

Question 25

s+w of claiming that behaviour can be explained through determinism debate

Answer 25

s: often to positive uses as we can make behaviour occur again if we know what caused it, scientific as usually lab experiments which establishes cause and effect, recognises people cannot always be blamed for their actions
w: open to negative uses, socially sensitive if people think they dont control their behaviour, can be reductionist by searching for the cause of behaviour