essay plans Flashcards
discuss free will and determinism in psychology AO1
-does our behaviour result from forces we have no control over or do we have free choice to behave as we wish
-free will is the idea that humans are free to choose their actions
-determinism is the belief that we have no control over our behaviour
-hard determinism suggests that all human behaviour has a cause either internal and external causes that we cannot control
-soft determinism suggests that we have some control over the way we behave
-biological determinism is the belief that our behaviour is caused by biological influences that we cannot control for example the fight or flight response our sympathetic nervous system is activated during times of stress that is not under our conscious control
-psychic determinism is the belief that behaviour is caused by unconscious conflicts that we cannot control as they have been repressed in childhood for example the idea of defence mechanisms in the psychodynamic approach
-environmental determinism is the belief that our behaviour is caused by features of the environment that we cannot control for example the behaviourist approach using the two process model
discuss free will and determinism in psychology AO3
determinism
-it removes blame from the person for their behaviour
it removes guilt and may reduce the negative stigma
however this removes responsibility from people for their behaviour is could be negative as it creates issues for how we should manage behaviour for example custodial sentencing which can have negative implications on the economy as the neural explanation of offending behaviour is based on biological determinism
-it has allowed us to develop treatments to help with mental disorders
because we can predict and control behaviour then develop treatments from this which improves human conditions
for example the use of token economies in prisons is based on environmental determinism
free will
-it allows people to take responsibility for their behaviour
it gives people hope and control over their lives which gives them the potential to grow and develop for example the concept of self-actualisation and mallows hierarchy of needs in the humanistic approach
-however it doesn’t allow for clear causes to be identified which undermines the scientific credibility of psychology because clear predictions can’t be made therefore it is not useful and cannot predict behaviour for example the humanistic concept of self
it psychology wants to be a science then it has to adopt a determinist view as free will is not scientific maybe to overcome this the solution is to adopt a soft determinist viewpoint
discuss ideographic and nomothetic approach to psychological investigation AO1
nomothetic
attempts to study human behaviour through the development of general principles and universal laws
-investigates large numbers of people
-uses quantitative experimental methods
-finds general laws
-objective
-allows us to predict and control future behaviour
-an example of this is the biological approach
idiographic
-attempts to focus research more on the individual as means of understanding behaviour
-investigates individuals
-uses qualitative data
-subjective
-gets rich and detailed information of an individual
-no attempt to make general laws
-for example the humanistic approach
discuss ideographic and nomothetic approach to psychological investigation AO3
nomothetic approach
-adds to the scientific credibility of psychology as it collects quantitive data which is controlled
-enables us to make general theories that we can apply to others and therefore identify people who are different in some way and help them
-however it loses the person in psychology losing the meaning of individuals behaviour as lab studies have been used to investigate memory and people are treated as stores rather than people ignoring their subjective experience
idiographic approach
-cases studies help us gain insight into new behaviour and generate further hypotheses about behaviour for example shellice and warrington KF case study helped provide evidence that there may be more than one STM memory store
-case studies can enable us to falsify a theory and lead to the development of new hypothesis where general theories can be made and applied to other
-however it is less scientific and can damage the credibility of psychology
-and we struggle to generalise from case studies as we are not able to generate laws about behaviour so it may not be useful
-both approaches have their uses in psychology so we should consider behaviour from both perspectives
discuss holism and reductionism is psychology AO1
holism
-behaviour can only be understood by analysing the person and behaviour as a whole
for example the humanistic approach as it focuses on the individual and the interaction of all parts rather than its components
reductionism
-breaks down complex psychological processes into small parts and reduces them to simple explanations
-levels of explanation suggests that there are different ways of viewing the same phenomena in psychology
e.g biological level (genes), psychological level (cognitive explanations), socio-cultural level (behaviour is due to social and cultural norms)
-biological reductionism
this reduces behaviour to a physical level and explains it in terms of neurons, neurotransmitters and genes
for example the biological approach in psychopathology suggests OCD is caused by lower levels of serotonin
-environmental reductionism
attempting to explain all behaviour in terms of stimulus response links that may have been learnt through experience
for example the behaviourist approach for explaining phobias as we learn through classical and operant conditioning
discuss holism and reductionism is psychology AO3
reductionism
-increases the scientific credibility of psychology as it allows use to develop simple ideas to produce new hypothesis for example stimulus response relationships in the behaviourist approach
-it is easier to test and falsify allowing us to develop treatments to help with mental disorders easily such as SSRI drug treatments for OCD
-however human behaviour is far too complex for it to be reduced and understood such as eating behaviour , the cognitive theory as an explanation for AN uses machine reductionism suggesting that we a systems
holism
-it takes into account the whole person allowing us to explain behaviours more fully for example the humanistic approach
-some behaviour need a holistic approach as they are too complex such as forensic psychology explanations for offending behaviour
-however it is not scientific and cannot be tested this makes it difficult to be applied to everyone and create treatments for disorders as there is little empirical evidence
if psychology wishes to remain a science then it needs an element of reductionism to establish cause and effect relationships so the solution may be using different levels of explanation that are suitable for different behaviours
discuss socially sensitive research in psychology AO1
-ethical implications is when research is done in a potentially sensitive area
-implications of research are the consequences of constructing theories and conducting research for the groups of people it represents
socially sensitive research is defined by Siebar and Stanley
it is studies where there are potential implications either directly for the participants or for the class of individuals represented by the research
before research is taken place they must consider if the results could be used to support prejudice or discrimination, it they could be misused in society and whether the research is free from bias and valid
-an example of socially sensitive research could be Bowlbys monotropic theory as it could have a negative impact on mothers making them feel like they should stay at home more to avoid disrupting attachment, which can lead to implications for the economy if the mother doesn’t go back to work. it can also have negative effects for the father as they may feel less important to their childs development
-also family systems theory for AN is another example of socially sensitive research as it can have negative effects on parents as they may feel they are to blame for the childs development of AN causing psychological harm
discuss socially sensitive research in psychology AO3
-socially sensitive research could have benefits for the group being studied for example research into homosexuality it used to be listed as sociopathic personality disorder but from research it has been removed this illustrates the importance of researchers tackling topics that are sensitive
-however it could also have negative effects for the group being studied for example biological explanations for offending by having the MAOA gene
-it has real world application as certain groups rely on research related to socially sensitive issues when developing important social policies such as mental health issues and finding treatments for them such as CBT for depression
-however poor research designs may lead to errors in findings so research must be planned carefully to ensure the findings are valid before they are used as it can affect many people negatively for example Burts 11+ exam was found out to be wrong and was continued to be used even after the fraud was exposed
-to deal with socially sensitive research researchers must consider Seibar and Stanleys criteria, do a cost benefit analysis and consider how the findings will be interpreted in the real world
discuss the nature/nurture debate in psychology AO1
-is our behaviour shaped by our genes or by our upbringing?
nature side
-this is the belief that our behaviour is a result of biological influences that are innate
-nativists believe that our behaviour is a product of nature
nurture side
-this is the belief that the environment has the greatest influence on behaviour
-at birth we are a blank slate and our experiences and the environment create our behaviour
-empiricists believe that the environment is the greatest influence on our behaviour
-the interactionist view claims that genes do affect our behaviour however, this depends on whether the right environmental triggers are there
discuss the nature/nurture debate in psychology AO3
-there is a lot of research support to suggest that behaviour is due to biology such as twin studies into developing OCD as concordance rate is higher in MZ twins than DZ twins
-however no concordance rate in 100% when it should be in twins who share the exact same genes therefore we need to take an interactionist approach as it suggests the environment must come into account
-there are negative implications of taking a nativist approach as it may be socially sensitive it ignores free will and is reductionist suggesting that an individual cannot change their behaviour e.g eating behaviour suggesting that they will forever be obese so we should use an interactionist approach by suggesting that the environment also is a fact in the development and treatment of obesity to prevent bias and prejudice
-we need to take an interactionist approach as it is difficult to separate nature and nurture as they both influence each other we must use the diathesis stress model for example explanation for obesity, someone may have a genetic predisposition but an environmental trigger such as the obecogenic environment in the modern day
discuss gender and culture bias in psychology AO1
-psychology tries to develop laws of behaviour which can be applied equally to all people this is known as universally
culture bias
-this is when research is done on one culture and the findings are applied to the majority and considered the norm
-ethnocentrism is when we look at behaviour totally from our own cultural perspective and believing our cultural practices are superior to others
for example ainsworths strange situation where we developed attachment types this is culturally relative as they can only be understood within the culture is was made in
gender bias
-androcentrism is a male centred standpoint of behaviour
for example Kohlberg’s level of moral reasoning as it can only be applied to males
-alpha bias is when researchers overemphasise the differences between males and females
for example Bowlbys monotrophy theory that mothers and fathers roles are completely different
-beta bias is minimising the differences between males and females
for example Milgrams study was only done on males and applied the findings to females
discuss gender and culture bias in psychology AO3
-they both have affected our view of behaviour
culture bias
-most research focuses on individualist cultures so leads to ethnocentrism and a westernised view of behaviour
-other behaviour could then be judged as abnormal
economic theories of romantic relationships are culturally bias as they were not investigated on collectivist cultures who have different priorities in relationships not inputs and outputs being equal
gender bias
-research has lead to androcentrism
this is an issue because it can lead to the belief that means behaviour represents the norm and therefore any behaviour typical of women might be judged abnormal
for example Blackburns theory of offending are female offenders viewed differently?
-culture bias may be less important in the 21st century with increased globalisation because the world is becoming more universal with different cultures living in different countries so the distinctions of individualist and collectivist cultures may not exist anymore for example theories of romantic relationships can be applied to everyone now
-findings may be misused in society by reinforcing stereotypes for example evolutionary explanation for partner preference is alpha bias and suggests that women only look for good genes and resources and males look for fertility which may not be the case anymore especially when partners do not reproduce
-to reduce culture and gender bias psychologists need to
TAKE A REFLEXIVE APPROACH
be sensitive to cultural norms/gender norms
no not minimise/ignore gender difference s
no not attempt to extrapolate findings
use cross-cultural research/use both genders
