issues and debates Flashcards

1
Q

holism

A

the idea that behaviours and individuals should be researched and looked at as a whole

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2
Q

reductionism

A

the idea that behaviours/ individuals can be split into different parts and explained in the simplest form

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3
Q

environmental reductionism

A

explaining all behaviour in terms of stimulus and response links that have been learned through experience

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4
Q

biological reductionism

A

attempts to explain social and psychological things at a lower biological level such as genes

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5
Q

+ holism

A

some behaviour only happen in group settings. eg conformity. provides complete global understanding of behaviour

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6
Q
  • holism
A

does not go through scientific testing. lack of empirical evidence difficult to narrow down the most influential aspect of things. simple solution is more appropriate

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7
Q

+ reductionism

A

basis of scientific research. you have to break down behaviour to make operationalised variables. means you can do experiments. psych has greater cred

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8
Q
  • reductionism
A

over simplifying ideas so loosing validity. does not include social analysis when coming from genes etc. does not tell us why, only how. only shows part of the explanation

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9
Q

nature

A

human characteristics and aspects of knowledge are innate.

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10
Q

nurture

A

the environmental influence. eh. culture/ social situations

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11
Q

rene descartes

A

people posses ideas they are born with and characteristics occur without environmental influence - nature. he is know as a natavist

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12
Q

john locke

A

emphasises the role of the environment and social experiences as fully contributing to human development - nurture. he is known as a empiricist

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13
Q

heritability coefficient

A

numerical scale from 0-1 seeing if something is nature or nurture. 1 being nature

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14
Q

interactionist approach

A

nature creates nurture so two must interact. may get characteristics from our parents but this can change your environment

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15
Q

diathesis stress model

A

genetic vulnerability= nature which can be triggered by an event in the environment. when they interact we develop disorders such as schizophrenia.

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16
Q

epigenetics

A

we leave marks on our dna without changing genetics. our body can highlight genes to pass/ ignore. interactions w environment causes this eg. smoking

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17
Q

+ nurture

A

real world application of therapy. behaviour can be changed by altering patients environment. we can reinforce positive behaviours. useful when designing therapy programmes

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18
Q
  • nature
A

believe genetic makeup determines behaviour. socially sensitive research says there are genetics reasons for lower intelligence in certain races. this is scientific racism

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19
Q
  • separating nature and nurture
A

issues w separating the two. ideal candidates= MZ twins as 100% same genetic makeup however the often grow up in same environment but experience life differently. it is hard to separate the influence of the two

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20
Q

free will

A

we have full control over our behaviour and are free to make choices we want to make
- humanistic approach

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21
Q

determinism

A

all human behaviour has a cause. we have no control over our actions everything is down to internal and external factors
- cognitive approach

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22
Q

nomothetic

A

studying human behaviour as a whole to make general laws

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23
Q

idiographic

A

focusing on individual behaviour and cases

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24
Q

psychic determinism

A

behaviour is caused by unconscious conflicts we cannot control
- psychodynamic

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25
Q

soft determinism

A

human behaviour has causes but can also be determined by our conscious mind in the absence of coersion
- SLT

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26
Q

biological determinsim

A

behaviour is caused by biological influences we cannot control e.g. genes
- biological approach

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27
Q

environmental determinsim

A

behaviour caused by features in the environment we cannot control.
- behaviourist approach

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28
Q

hard determinism

A

free will is not possible as our behaviour is caused by internal and external factors out of our control

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29
Q

do scientists believe in free will ro determinism?

A

determinism because it shows a cause and effect relationship

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30
Q

do genes make you criminal

A

defendant may have criminal gene and were born to kill meaning they did not experience free will and their behaviour was determined by biology.

31
Q

example of biological determinism

A

unbalanced levels of dopamine and serotonin can increase the risk of someone developing schizophrenia

32
Q

example of environmental determinism

A

bandura found children with violent parents are more likely to violent from observing the behaviour

33
Q

example of psychic determinism

A

repressed unconscious thoughts control little hans behaviour from his fear of horses being developed from the fear fro his dad during the oedipus complex.

34
Q

+ determinism

A

therapies/ treatments developed from it. allows us to get to route of cause and problem. free will - patients unlikely to choose mental disorders. therefore treatments based around it

35
Q
  • determinism
A

individual choice does not cause behaviour. not consistent with legal system. offenders held accountable for actions. determinism is unfalsifiable. cause for behaviour has not been found - impossible to prove wrong. not scientific

36
Q

+ free will

A

necessary for our mental health. Roberts 2000 - internal loc are more mentally healthy. demonstrates people with belief in determinism are more likely to have depression. positive impact on the mind.

37
Q

universality and bias

A

studies carried out in western countries cannot be applied to whole population. when repeated they get different results

38
Q

culture bias

A

a tendency to ignore culture differences and interpret everything through one’s own culture

39
Q

culture

A

the belief, customs, and values a group of people share

40
Q

ethnocentrism

A

the superiority that people believe their own ethnic group/ culture has. our own culture is a standard we measure by

41
Q

cultural relativism

A

behaviour cannot be judged properly unless it is viewed in the origin in which it originates

42
Q

avoiding culture bias

A

respecting cultural relativism helps to avoid culture bias. this means not applying findings to other cultures

43
Q

emic approach

A

an investigation of a culture within the culture. it identifies behaviour/ findings specific to the culture

44
Q

etic approach

A

looks at behaviour from outside a culture, findings are considered universal and can be applied across all cultures.

45
Q

imposed etic approach

A

generalising behaviour from one culture to another that can’t be done

46
Q

ainsworths strange situation

A

is ethnocentrism and imposed etic as american culture is forced onto other countries

47
Q

intelligence testing - BRISLIN

A

western testing > timed conditions completing tasks. Brislin questions relationship between mental quickness and intelligence. Uganda measure intelligence as slow and careful thought. this many make western countries view them as unintelligent.

48
Q

individualism/ collectivism evaluation - culture bias

A

psychologists make distinctions between individualism and collectivism. individualist = western culture. collectivism = india/ china. critics have said due to increased communications the gap between the 2 have shrunk. Takano found 14/15 studies comparing US/ Japan found no distinctions. means culture bias may not be a massive issue

49
Q

individualism

A

western culture. value personal freedom and independence

50
Q

collectivism

A

China/ India. emphasis on interdependence and needs of a group

51
Q

cultural relativism vs universality - culture bias evaluation

A

Berrys work on imposed etic reminds psychologists of culture specific research. however, there is such thing as universal behaviour. Ekman said facial expressions for emotions are the same everywhere. However ainsworth is criticised for imposed etic therefore you need both to fully understand bahaviour

52
Q

challenging implicit assumptions - culture bias evaluation

A

cross cultural research challenges our western way of thinking. seeing knowledge we have is not shared around the world may promote sensitivity to culture differences in the future. this challenges scientific racism and helps draw more valid findings for culture.

53
Q

idiographic v nomothetic work together - evaluation

A

not be seen as conflicting. Bowlby - nomothetic maternal deprivation = irreversible. idiographic = genie md was overcome. they work together. idiographic sheds light on laws. cases provide more understanding

54
Q
  • idiographic
A

restricted nature of work. many of freuds key concepts are based on individuals - criticised for this. these generalisations can’t be made w/o more examples as u can’t compare behaviour. case study - less scientific/ more subjective

55
Q

+ nomothetic

A

nomothetic = more scientific. testing done in standardised conditions, using data to provide averages/ analysis. allowed psychologists to establish norms of behaviour, gives it greater credibility.

56
Q
  • nomothetic
A

loses sight of the individual. ppts treat as a group of averages/ scores rather then individuals w subjective experiences. may overlook richness of human experience

57
Q

gender bias

A

when research does not equally represent the behaviour of men and women

58
Q

androcentrism

A

normal behaviour judged according to the male standard

59
Q

beta bias

A

underestimating the differences between men and women

60
Q

universality

A

a piece of research that can apply to all people

61
Q

alpha bias

A

over exaggerating the difference between men and women

62
Q

sexual selection theory

A

men’s best interest to impregnate as many women as possible. women protect off spring they have. if females sleep around it goes against their nature according to psych.

63
Q

gender bias in milgrim/ asch

A

all ppts were men but findings were generalised to women. this is beta bias as suggest the two genders are the same

64
Q

kholbergs theory of moral development and gender bias

A

all ppts were men and he argued findings could be applied to everyone

65
Q
  • gender buds promotes sexism
A

women are under-presented in uni departments. research is more likely to be conducted by males which disadvantages females. (murphy 2014. male researchers may expect female ppts to be irrational and unable to complete complex tasks (nicholson 1995) which may mean they underperform. this means it may produce gender bias findings.

66
Q
  • gender bias - research challenging bias may not be published
A

researcher analysed 1000 articles on gender bias. it is less funded and published in less prestigious journals. gender bias was compared to ethnic bias and this became true. suggest gender bias isn’t taken as seriously as other forms of bias.

67
Q
  • gender bias - gender differences are fixed
A

maccoby and jacklin concluded girls have better verbal ability and boys better spatial ability due to biological brain differences. Joel et al did brain scans found this to be untrue. suggests we should be wary of accepting things as biological fact when it can be explained by social stereotypes

68
Q

research w ethical implications

A

impact research has on society, either ppts or beyond. influencing public policy and how certain groups are viewed. e.g. Bowlbys md - separation from primary caregiver amy hinder development

69
Q

socially sensitive research

A

research that effects ppts and society. not always bad and sometimes necessary.

70
Q

implications of socially sensitive research

A

wider effect of research should be considered as could be giving scientific credibility to prejudice/ discrimination. however, this can be difficult to predict

71
Q

uses of socially sensitive research

A

findings may be used by the government for political ends or to shape society.

72
Q

validity of socially sensitive research

A

objective research has came out as highly suspect. many modern researchers are open about biases and comment on the reflexive nature of their work

73
Q

+ socially sensitive research

A

was important for the introduction of ethical guidelines, which ensures ppts safety in research todsy

74
Q
  • socially sensitive research
A

must be careful when forming hypothesis and questions so we don’t ask ethnocentric questions