Issues and Debates Flashcards
Free will
the notion that humans can make choices are are not determined by biological or external forces
Determinism
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
Hard determinism
implies free will is not possible as our behaviour is always caused by internal/external events beyond our control.
Soft determinism
all human action has a cause but behaviour can be determined by our conscious choices in the absence of coercion
Examples of determinism
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
The scientific emphasis on causal explanations
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.
The case for free will
Face Validity as it makes cognitive sense that humans constantly exercise free will through the choices they make
The case against free will
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.
The case for determinism
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.
The case against determinism
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
Idiographic approach
an approach that focuses more on the individual case rather than aiming to formulate general laws of behaviour.
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Examples of the idiographic approach:
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.
Nomothetic approach
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.
Idiographic vs Nomothetic research methods
Idiographic: produces qualitative data such as case studies, unstructured interviews and other self-report measures
Nomothetic: ‘scientific’ methods such as experiments.
Examples of the nomethetic approach:
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
Three types of general law according to Radford and Kirby for the application of the nomethic approach:
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
The case for the idiographic approach
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.
The case against the idiographic approach
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.
The case for the nomethic approach
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
The case against the nomethic approach
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.
Ethical implications
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.
Social sensitivity
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
Ethical implications in socially sensitive research: identified by Sieber and Stanley
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
Advantages of socially sensitive research
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
Limitations of socially sensitive research
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
Impact of socially sensitive research on government policy
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
