Issues and Debates

Question 1

Free will

Answer 1

the notion that humans can make choices are are not determined by biological or external forces

Question 2

Determinism

Answer 2

The view that an individual’s behaviour is shaped or controlled by internal or external forces rather than an individual’s will so free will has no place in explaining behaviour

Question 3

Hard determinism

Answer 3

implies free will is not possible as our behaviour is always caused by internal/external events beyond our control.

Question 4

Soft determinism

Answer 4

all human action has a cause but behaviour can be determined by our conscious choices in the absence of coercion

Question 5

Examples of determinism

Answer 5

Biological determinism: the belief that behavious is caused by biological (genetic, hormonal, evolutionary) influences that we cannot control

Environmental determinism: the belief that behaviour is caused by features of the environment (such as systems of reward and punishment) that we cannot control

Psychic determinism: the belief that behaviour is caused by unconscious conflicts that we cannot control

Question 6

The scientific emphasis on causal explanations

Answer 6

Science is heavily deterministic in its search for causal relationships (explanations) as it seeks to discover whether X causes Y, or whether the independent variable causes changes in the dependent variable.

Question 7

The case for free will

Answer 7

Face Validity as it makes cognitive sense that humans constantly exercise free will through the choices they make

Question 8

The case against free will

Answer 8

Neurological studies of decision making have revealed evidence against free will. Libet found the decision to press a button with the left/right hand occurs 10 seconds before participants are conscious of this decision. This demonstrates that the brain activity that determines the outcome of simple choices may predate our knowledge of having made such a choice.

Question 9

The case for determinism

Answer 9

In terms of mental disorders, behaviour would appear to be determined as no individual would want to ‘choose’ to have schizophrenia. This casts doubt over behaviour being a result of free will why would anyone ‘want’ to experience a total loss of their thoughts.

it allows for the prediction and control of human behaviour which has led to developments of treatments e.g psychotheraputic drugs for schizophrenia.

Question 10

The case against determinism

Answer 10

Determinism as an approach is unfalsififable as it is based on the idea that causes of behaviour will always exist even if not found, As a basic principle, this cannot be proven wrong and this suggests that the determinist approach is not scientific

The hard determinst stance that individual choice is not the cause of behaviour is inconsistent with how the legal system operates as offenders are held accountable for their actions

Question 11

Idiographic approach

Answer 11

an approach that focuses more on the individual case rather than aiming to formulate general laws of behaviour.

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Question 12

Examples of the idiographic approach:

Answer 12

Humanistic psychology: Rogers and Maslow were more concerned with investigating the unique experiences of individuals ‘on it’s merits’.

Psychodynamic approach: Freud’s use of the case study method when detailing the lives of his patients.

Question 13

Nomothetic approach

Answer 13

an approach that attempts to study human behaviour through the development of general principles and universal laws.

Closely aligned with methods in psychology that would be regarded as ‘scientific’ within psychology such as experiments.

Question 14

Idiographic vs Nomothetic research methods

Answer 14

Idiographic: produces qualitative data such as case studies, unstructured interviews and other self-report measures

Nomothetic: ‘scientific’ methods such as experiments.

Question 15

Examples of the nomethetic approach:

Answer 15

Behaviourist Psychologists: Skinner studied the responses of hundreds of rats, cats, pigeons, etc… in order to develop the laws of learning

Cognitive Psychologists: Miller inferred the structure and processes of human memory by measuring the performance of large samples of memory in order to develop the 7+/- law of the capacity of short term memory.

Biological Psychologists: psychologists have conducted brain scans on countless human brains in order to make generalisations about localisation of functio

Question 16

Three types of general law according to Radford and Kirby for the application of the nomethic approach:

Answer 16

1) Classifying people into groups - for example, the Diagnostic Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) classifies people experiencing psychological disorders//
2) Establishing principles of behaviour that can be applied to people in general
3) Establishing dimensions along which people can be placed and compared, for instance, IQ scores

Question 17

The case for the idiographic approach

Answer 17

In-depth qualitative methods of Investigation, provides a complete and global count of the individual. This may complement the nomethic approach by shedding further light on general laws or indeed by challenging such laws.

Question 18

The case against the idiographic approach

Answer 18

Methods associated with the idiographical approach, such as case studies, tend to be the least scientific in that conclusions often rely on the subjective interpretation of the researcher and, as such, are open to bias

Narrow and restricted nature of work: Freud is often criticed is as his key concepts like the Oedipus complex, were largely developed from the detailed study of a single case (Little Hans). Meaningful generalisations cannot be made without further examples, as there is no adequate baseline with which to compare behaviour.

Question 19

The case for the nomethic approach

Answer 19

The processes involved in this research tend to be more scientific, mirroring those employed within the natural sciences - testing under standardised conditions, using datasets that provide averages, statistical analysis, prediction and control, for example in the field of IQ testing.

Such processes have enabled psychologists to establish norms of ‘typical’ behaviour (such as the average IQ of 100), arguably giving the discipline of psychology greater scientific credibility

Question 20

The case against the nomethic approach

Answer 20

The preoccupation within this approach on general laws, prediction and control has been accused of ‘losing the whole person’ within psychology. knowing that there is a 1% lifetime risk of developing schizophrenia tells us little about what it is like for someone who is experiencing the disorder.

Similarly, in large studies involving tests of memory, participants are treated as a series of scores rather than individual people and their subjective experience of the situation is ignored. This means, in its search for general laws, the nomethil approach may sometimes overlook the richness of human experience.

Question 21

Ethical implications

Answer 21

the impact of psychological research may have in terms of the rights of other people, especially participants. This includes, at societal level, influencing public policy and/or the way in which certain groups are regarded.

Question 22

Social sensitivity

Answer 22

the personal ability to perceive, understand, and respect the feelings and viewpoints of others, and it is reliably measurable.

Studies in which there are potential implications either for participants in the research or individuals represented by the research.

Studies usually tackle socially sensitive ‘taboo’ topics such as aspects of ethnicity/sexuality or the genetic basis of criminality

Question 23

Ethical implications in socially sensitive research: identified by Sieber and Stanley

Answer 23

Implications: the wider effects of such research should be carefully considered as some studies may be seen as giving ‘scientific’ credence to prejudice and discrimination

Uses/public policy: the idea that findings may be adopted by the government for political ends or to shape public policy

Validity: some findings presented as objective and value-free in the past have actually turned out to be highly suspect and fraudulent

Question 24

Advantages of socially sensitive research

Answer 24

Scarr argues studies of underrepresented groups and issues may promote a greater sensitivity and understanding which can reduce prejudice and encourage acceptance

Social sensitive research has benefited society for instance the research into the (un)reliability of eyewitness testimony has reduced the risk of miscarriages of justice within the the legal system

Question 25

Limitations of socially sensitive research

Answer 25

Sieber and Stanley warn that the way in which research questions are phrased and investigated may influence the way in which findings are interpreted (e.g Goddard’s research about the IQ of immigrants in the US which found the majority of Europeans were ‘feeble-minded’ through IQ tests that required an understanding of English)

Kitzinger and Coyle note how research into ‘alternative relationships’ have been guilty to a form of ‘hetersexual bias’ where they have been compared and judged against heterosexual norms

Question 26

Impact of socially sensitive research on government policy

Answer 26

Socially sensitive research has been used by the government/insituitions to shape policy (e.g Bowlby’s research into attachement and maternal deprivation influenced the UK government’s decision to not offer free childcare places which is popular in other european countries and had an indirect effect on the legal ‘norm’ that mothers are granted custody of children in divorce cases