Issues and Debate - Advanced Information Flashcards
16 Marker Plans
Discuss free will and determinism in psychology [16 marks]
AO1
- Free will – Notion humans can make own choices and aren’t determined by biological and external forces. Belief in free won’t deny external forces but we can reject them.
- E.g., humanistic approach - idea that self-determinism and freedom is possible for development.
- Determinism - view that individual behaviour is shaped/controlled by internal or external forces.
- Hard – free will not possible
- Soft – all behaviour has causes but also determined by conscious choices.
- Biological determinism: biological influences we cannot control
- Dopamine (Schizophrenia)
- Environmental determinism: environmental features we cannot control
- Behaviourist Explanation (phobias)
- Psychic determinism: unconscious conflicts we cannot control
- Freud (Oedipus and Electra complex)
Discuss free will and determinism in psychology [16 marks]
AO3
AO3 – DW, DW, HB, HB
+ Determinism consistent with science. Hard – behaviour is orderly and obeys laws. ∴ psychology = footing with established sciences. Meant predicting behaviour led to treatments, therapies etc benefitting many.
+ Free will exercised daily. Choices believed to be ourselves. Face validity. Research suggests internal LOC = more mentally healthy so thinking we have free will = +tively effects behaviour.
- Legal system position on responsibility. Court – offender held responsible, ∴ free will used to commit crime. So, in real world determinist arguments don’t work.
- Brain scan evidence. Libet (1983) – participants random flick. Say when conscious action felt. Unconscious decision leading to conscious action ½ second before feeling to move. So basic experience of free will by brain before aware.
Discuss ideographic and nomothetic approaches to psychological investigation [16 marks]
AO1
- Idiographic- Individual & emphasises unique personal experience. People studied independently & own experiences, motivations & values. No laws/generalisations made, no attempt to compare to large individuals, standards/norms.
- Qualitative research methods (case studies, unstructured interviews) - depth insight of behaviour (richness of experience).
- Humanistic approach. Rogers & Maslow interested in documenting conscious experience of individual self. Anti-scientific - unique experiences than general laws.
- Nomothetic- general laws study, large groups, statistical techniques used. General laws provide benchmark for comparison, classification & measurement. Predict future behaviour.
- Quantitative measurement methods (experiments, correlations). Scientific - involves large no. of people.
- Behaviourist approach. Response of rats used to develop laws of learning. Infer structure in process of human memory looking at large number of people completing lab experiments. Approach looks at brain scans to make generalisations about localisation and function.
Discuss ideographic and nomothetic approaches to psychological investigation [16 marks]
AO3
AO3 – CW, CW, HB
+/- Compliment idographic provide support/challenging general laws. E.g., study of KF - two types of STM, challenge MSM said it was unitary store. However, uses unscientific methods to find out in depth information about individual e.g., case studies. Methods tend not to be scientific; conclusions rely on subjective interpretation of researcher open to bias.
+/- Nomothetic = more scientific (testing standardised, data sets = group averages used, statistical analysis: prediction & controls used e.g., field of IQ established average IQ is 100 and that normal 70- 130. However, focus predicting/controlling behaviour whole person is lost. 1% probability someone will develop schizophrenia doesn’t tell us what it’s like - richness of human experience is overlooked.
+ possible to consider issue from both perspectives. E.g., Shaffer stages of attachment nomothetic (all children go through same order). Bowlby 44 study – idiographic - based on detailed case studies showing can happen during early development. Consider both approaches – rich, detailed descriptions & explanation of such behaviour within general laws framework.
Discuss ethical implications of research studies and theory, including reference to social sensitivity [16 marks]
AO1
- Ethical Implications – impact psychological research terms of rights of others, especially participants. Includes, at societal level, influencing public policy and/or in way which certain groups of people regarded.
- Milgram’s (1963)- showed German’s weren’t “different” so may’ve helped change perception of those who followed Hitler as “evil”. Positive ethical implications - useful reducing negative labels attached to nation. Helped understand how people made to obey.
- Bowlby’s Theory of Attachment - children form one special attachment bond (mother), within critical period so affects future relationships through IWM. Contribution to development of childcare practices - positive ethical implication. However, also encouraged mother’s place at home with children. Negative implication - can make mothers’ feel guilty for wanting to return to work.
- Social sensitivity describes studies where there are potential social consequences for the participants, or the group of people represented by the research.
- Sieber and Stanley (1988) identified four aspects in the scientific research process that raise ethical implications in socially sensitive research. These points should ideally be considered before research is carried out.
- Research Question, Methodology Used, Institutional Context: Interpretation and Application of Findings
Discuss ethical implications of research studies and theory, including reference to social sensitivity [16 marks]
AO3
AO3 – DW, DW, HB, HB
+ Can benefit society. Promote greater sensitivity and understanding of underrepresented groups/ issues. E.g., effect culture bias can have diagnosis of schizophrenia - auditory hallucinations experienced by African and West Indian individuals. Helps reduce prejudice and encourage acceptance demonstrating positive outcomes of socially sensitive research.
- Support discriminatory practices. In America (1920’s and 1930’s), large number of US states approved laws for compulsory sterilisation of citizens deemed “feeble-minded” and drains on society. Based on research from psychology and science that had suggested people were “unfit to breed”. Shows has negative impacts as used inappropriately to “support” discriminatory practices.
- Important psychologists free to carry out whatever research seems important to them. Problematic if governments start passing laws to prohibit certain kinds of research (e.g., race-related research), due to being issues of social sensitivity. Real danger research will be stopped for political than ethical reasons.
+ Realisation are issues regarding ethical implications of socially sensitive research meant researchers more reflexive. Includes thinking more about what research findings likely used for. As a result, can make researcher’s take more responsibility for findings and ensure work they do, doesn’t lead to abuse/discrimination. Need to be mindful that benefits of socially sensitive research outweigh costs.
