issues and debates

Question 1

free will and determinism debate question

Answer 1

the extent to whether our behavior is down to our own free choice or if there are factors that cause our behavior to be pre-determined.

Question 2

free will

Answer 2

humans are self determining and free to choose our own thoughts and actions. does not deny that there my be biological and environmental forces that have influence on our behavior but implies we are able to reject theses forces.

advocated by the humanistic approach

Question 3

determinism

Answer 3

ranges from hard and soft determinism. believe free will is an illusion

Question 4

soft determinism

Answer 4

James (1890) developed this. All human behavior has a cause people have a certain degree of control over the way they behave within he realms of what they know.

Question 5

hard determinism

Answer 5

behavior is always caused by internal or external forces beyond our control. further broken down into 3 types…..

Question 6

biological determinism

Answer 6

• all human behavior is innate and and by our genes,hormones and brain chemistry
  e.g. nestadt et al (2010) found that 68% of identical twins shared OCD as opposed to only 31% of non-identical twins.

Question 7

environmental determinism

Answer 7

behavior is caused by features of the environment such as conditioning and reinforcement, our behavior has been shaped by environmental events.
e.g. phobias have been acquired through classical conditioning and maintained through operant conditioning.

Question 8

psychic determinism

Answer 8

behavior is caused by unconscious conflicts that we cannot control
e.g. the psychodynamic approach suggest behaviors such as smoking and overeating are a result of fixation in the oral stage

Question 9

for determinism

Answer 9

• consistent with the aims of science. places psychology in line with other sciences.
• prediction of human behavior and control has led to development of treatments and therapies. e.g. anti-depressants
• the experience of mental disorders such as schizophrenia cast doubt on the concept of free will as no one would choose to have schizophrenia loosing control over their thoughts

Question 10

against determinism

Answer 10

• not favorable amongst the legal justice system. can provide an excuse for criminal acts. e.g. Stephen mobley argued that he was ‘born to kill’ after killing a pizza shop manager because his family had a deposition towards violence and aggressive behaviour.
  undesirable stance allowing people to migrate their own liability, lead to vexing legal issues regarding the nature of responsibility and intent

Question 11

for free will

Answer 11

everyday we are constantly exercising freewill through the choices we make, therefore the concept has face validity.
research suggest people with a internal locus of control tend to be more mentally healthy.
Robert (2000) demonstrated adolescence with a strong belief in determinism were at significant risk of developing depression. suggesting even if we do not have free will, believing we do have a positive impact on our mind and behaviour

Question 12

against free will

Answer 12

• Libert (1985) found that brain activity related to whether to press a button with the left or right hand occurs in the brain up to 10 seconds before the participants report being consciously aware of pressing the button.
  shows most basic experiences of freewill are decided and determined by our brain activity before e become aware of them

Question 13

alpha bias

Answer 13

• exaggerates or overestimates differences between the sexes. differences are represented as fixed and inevitable.
• tends to devalue females.
  e.g., the sociobiological theory of relationship formation suggesting it’s in a man’s nature to impregnate as many women as possible to increase the chance of his genes being passed on. for females the best chance of preserving her gene to ensure the healthy survival of her offspring so is picky. therefore, suggesting sexual promiscuity is genetically determined but for females is going against her nature.

Question 14

beta bias

Answer 14

-minimises or underestimates differences between men and women.
- e.g. Kohlberg’s the flight or fight response. Early research into this involved male animals and assumed to be a universal response. Taylor et al (2000) suggest female biology has evolved to inhibit the fight or flight response, shifting attention towards caring for offspring and forming networks with other females (tending and befriending)

Question 15

androcentrism

Answer 15

• example of beta bias
• when normal; behaviour is judged by a male standard meaning female behaviour is often judged to be abnormal.

Question 16

gender bias evaluations

Answer 16

• may create misleading assumptions about female behaviour and validate discriminatory practises.
  -may provide a scientific ‘justification’ to deny women opportunities within the workplace or in wider society so may have damaging consequences which affect the lives and prospects of real women. e.g., the statistic the women are twice as likely to be depressed than men.
• lack of females in research means that female concerns are not being reflected in the researched question asked. Males are more likely to have their research published in articles than women and in lab studies female participants are placed in an inequitable relationship with a male researcher with power. means the psychology may be guilty of supporting a form of institutional sexism that creates bias in theory and research
• Beta bias has consequences for women. although equal treatment under the law as allowed women greater access to educational and occupational opportunities. However Hare-Mustin and Marecek point out that arguing for equality between men and women draws attention away from women’s special needs and from differences in power between men and women benefiting men. e.g. equal parental leave ignores biological demands of pregnancy.childbirth and breastfeeding therefore disadvantaging women.
• greater understanding into gender bias has led psychologist to put forward a number of solutions. e.g. some psychologist attempt to develop theories that emphasis the importance or value of women
  cornwell et al (2013) noted females are better at learning, as they are more attentive and organised,thus emphasizing both the value and the positive attributes to women. research like this help to reduce or challenge stereotypes which is important in reducing gender bias

Question 17

cultural bias

Answer 17

• a tendency to ignore cultural differences and interpret all phenomena through the ‘lens; of ones own culture
  -ethnocentrism is a form of cultural bias and is when researchers judge other cultures by the standards and values of their own cultural perspective,presuming this is whats normal and correct. E.g. ainsworth strange situation (1970) critised as reflecting only the norms and values of American culture which led to misinterpretation of child-rearing practices in other countries which were seen to deviate from the American norm. For instances German mothers were seen as cold rather than encouraging independence in their children.
  Cultural relativism- Behaviours, norms and values, as well as ethics and moral standards, can only be meaningfully understood if we study it within it’s specific social and cultural contexts. E.g. Sternberg (1985) argued that the meaning of intelligence is different for different cultures
  • For example, coordination may be more valued in a pre-literate society, which is not the case for literate or
  “developed” societies. The only way to understand intelligence is to take
  the cultural context into account otherwise we start to devalue other cultures.

Question 18

Evaluation of cultural bias

Answer 18

• can have real life consequences and lead to ethnic stereotyping. For example The US Army used an IQ test before WWI which was culturally and showed African-Americans as being at the
  bottom of the IQ scale.The data has led to enduring stereotypes concerning
  certain ethnic groups and their IQ, which highlights the negative impact that culturally biased research can have.
• with the rise of globalisation in the media,some critics have argued that this divide no longer applies. For example, Takano and Osaka (1999) compared US
  and Japanese results of Asch-like experiments, and in 14 out of 15 studies there was no evidence of traditional distinctions between individualism and collectivism. . Therefore suggesting cultural bias is less of an issue than it was before
• One way to deal with cultural bias is to recognise it when it occurs
  Smith & Bond found in their 1998 survey of European textbooks on social psychology that 66% of the studies
  were American, 32% European & only 2% were from the rest of the world. Research has led to the emerge of indigenous psychologies such as Afrocentrism. This is a movement which suggests that because black people have their roots Africa,theories about them must recognise the African context
  of behaviours and attitudes.Theories that have emerged from Afrocentric research which not only in Africa, but also to those far removed from their African origins, making their research more generalisable.
• carrying out cross-cultural research may challenge our typical western ways of thinking and viewing the world . Ring able to see some concepts we take for granted are not shared by other people around the world which may promote a greater sensitivity to individual difference and cultural relativism in the future. Counters the charge of ‘scientific racism’ that has been made against some psychological theories in the past and also means that the conclusions psychologist draw are more likely to have more validity.

Question 19

Nature and nurture debate A01

Answer 19

• the naturals and nurture debate refers to the extent to which aspects of behaviour are a result of inherited or down to environmental influences
• Nativists argued that human characteristics are innate and hereditary. E.g monozygotic twins show a 40% concordance rate for schizophrenia whereas dizygotic twins show 7%. This closer similarity for individuals who share the same genes shows that nature has a major contribution to the disorder.
• evolutionary explanation also supports the nature argument suggesting that innate behaviour are developed for survival e.g. Bowlbys monotropic theory explains babies have natural behaviours to ensure attachment occurs which is needed for survival
• Empiricist argues that behaviour is a result of our environment. E.g. behaviourism which assumes our behaviour is learned through experiences from the environment by classical and operant condition. Social learning theory is also an example. Bandura proposed we learn behaviour directly and indirectly from the environment. Lerner identified two levels of the environment, pre-natural= experiences within the womb and post-natal=social conditions during a child’s upbringing

Question 20

Nature and nuture debate A03- cannot be separated

Answer 20

-A limitation of the nature nurture debate is that many psychologists argue the two cannot be separated.
-When asking which is more important, psychologist Donald Hebb said that this was like asking whether the width or length of a triangle was more important when measuring the area. They
both contribute and therefore should never to considered separately.
-E.g. Phenylketonuria, an inherited disorder that prevents amino acid phenylalanine being metabolised, resulting in brain damage. However, of the condition is detected at birth, an infant can be given a diet devoid of phenylalanine and thus the brain damage is averted.
- If prevention can be achieved through environmental manipulation….

Question 21

Nature and nuture debate AO3 - interactionist approach

Answer 21

The diathesis stress model conceptualises the interaction between nature and nurture.
- This model is often used to explain mental disorders such as phobias or schizophrenia.
-A diathesis is a genetic vulnerability, such as being born with certain genes that predispose a person to developing a disorder. However, research has shown that not everyone with those genes does develop the disorder. Expression of the gene or genes depends on experience, in the form of a stressor;which triggers the condition. E.g. Trauma; life change etc.
- Thus, a person’s nature is is only expressed under certain conditions of nurture and therefore the two interact.
Become

Question 22

Nature and nurture debate AO3 - complications of testing the environment

Answer 22

Teasing out the influence of the environment is complicated.
- Even if you’re raised in the same family you may not experience exactly the same upbringing.
-Dunn and Plomin (1990) introduced the idea of shared and unshared environments. Individual differences means siblings experience life events differently e.g.Age/temperament would mean a life event such as divorce would have a different meaning to each sibling. This would explain the finding that even MZ twins raised together don’t show perfect concordance rates
-This supports the view that heredity and environment cannot be meaningfully separated.

Question 23

Nature and nurture A03 to do with support for the interactionist approach

Answer 23

• Further support for the interaction between nature and nurture was suggested by Scar & McCartney, 1983
  -They suggested that genes may exert and indirect effect in a number of ways.
• Passive interactions - the parents’ genes influence the way they treat their children. E.g.Musically gifted parents are likely to play to their children and encourage engagement with music.
  Evocative interaction - the child’s genes influence and shape the environment in which they grow up (the musically talented child will be picked for school concerts and given other special
  opportunities. Active interaction - The child creates it’s own environment through the people and experiences it selects (the child itself chooses similar, musically talented friends and
  seeks out musical experiences).
  -Again, this points to a complex and multi-layered relationship between nature and nurture

Question 24

Socially sensitive research A01

Answer 24

• ethical implications consider the impact of consequences that psychological research has on the rights of people in a wider context, not just people participating in research.
• Sieber and Stanley (1988) define
  socially sensitive research as, studies in which there are potential consequences or implications, either directly for the
  participants in the research or for the class of individuals represented by the research. E.g. a study into IQ suggests that white people have higher IQ than other races which may cause superiority and discrimination.
• seiber and Stanley came up with 4 considerations; the research question should not be leading imposing prejudice or stereotypes; secondly,
  information should remain confidential before, during, and after the research; thirdly, if research is being funded by a body, then researched must ensure data is not being misused, lastly, interpretations or findings should not have an impact on participants or groups of people the research represents.

Question 25

Socially sensitive research A03 1- may be beneifical

Answer 25

• may be beneficial in society despite the ethical implications associated with controversial and ‘taboo’ topics
• can help to reduce prejudice and encourage acceptance. E.g research onto the unreliability of eyewitness testimony’s has reduced the risk of injustice within the legal system

Question 26

Ethical implications of research studies AO3 -affect in th past

Answer 26

• socially sensitive research has been used to support discriminatory practices in the past.
• in America in the 1920s and 30s a large number of US states enacted legalisation that led to compulsory sterilisation of many citizens on the grounds that they were ‘feeble-minded’ and a drain to society. This included people deemed to be low of intelligence,drug or alcohol addicts and mentally ill. The rationale are supported by many sections of scientific and psychological community was that the feeble- minded people were ‘unfit’ to breed.

Question 27

Ethical implications of research A03 3- cost and benefit

Answer 27

• it’s difficult for the ethics committee to weigh the cost and benefits of so-called sensitive research as research many involve vulnerable groups which may be difficult to anticipate.
• therefore assessments of the ‘worth’ of such research are involuntary subjective, and the real impact can only ever be know once it has been made public

Question 28

Ethical implications of research A03 4-importance of the way reasearch is phrased

Answer 28

-Stanley and seiber (1988) warn that the way research questions are phrased may influence the way findings are interpreted
- Celia Kitzinger and Adrian coyle (1995) notes how research into so-called
Alternative relationships have been guilty of a form of heterosexual bias where homosexual relationships were compared and judged against heterosexual norms.
- therefore investigators must approach research ‘open minded’ and be prepare to have their preconceptions challenged to avoid misinterpreting majority groups

Question 29

Holism and reductionism debate essay A01

Answer 29

-focuses on the important question in psychology: can complex behaviors be reduced to their simpler component parts?
-The Gestalt psychologist, a group of German researchers (1920/30s) stated ‘the whole is greater than the sum of its parts’. This became the basis of holism
- Holism is the ideas that human behaviour should viewed as a whole intergrated experience and not as separate parts as behaviour is far too complex to look at one aspect
- humanistic approach supports this as it emphasises looking at the whole individual.
- reductionism is the belief that all behaviour is best understood by breaking it down into its constituent parts.
- different levels of explanation- states that there are different ways of viewing the same phenomenon in psychology. The lowest level considers biological explanation, the middle psychological explanations, the highest level considers social and cultural explanations.
- environmental reductionist approach- breaks up complex learning into simple stimulus-response links that are measurable within labs.
E.g. the behaviourist approach
Biological reductionism- all behaviour can be explained through neurochemical, neurophysiological, evolutionary and genetic influences.
E.g. the biological approach which has led to the development of psychoactive drugs which have proven effective in treating and explanations serious mental disorders such as depression and schizophrenia

Question 30

For holism

Answer 30

• often there are aspects of social behaviour that only emerge within a group context cannot be understood at the level of the individual group members. E.g. the effects of conformity to social roles and the deindividuation of the prisoners and guards in the Stanford prison experience could not be understood by studying the participants as individuals, it was the interaction between people and behaviour of the group that was important. This fjord that holistic explanations provide a more complete and global understanding of behaviour than reductionist approaches

Question 31

Against Holism

Answer 31

• Holistic approach tend not to lend themselves to rigorous scientific testing E.g. humanistic psychology tends to be criticised for its lack of empirical evidence, and is instead seen by many as rather loose set of concepts. Higher level explanations that combine many different perspectives present researchers with a practical dilemma e.g. accepting there are many factors that contribute to depression, it may become difficult to establish which is the most influential and which one to use for a basis for therapy. This suggests that when it come to finding solutions for real-world problems lower level explanations may be more appropriate/

Question 32

For reductionism

Answer 32

• reductionist approach often forms that basis of scientific research. In order to create operationalised variables it is necessary to break target behaviours down to consistent parts. Making it possible to conduct experiments and record observations. E.g. the behaviourist approach was able to demonstrate how complex learning could be broken down into simple stimulus - response links within labs.
• this gives psychology greater credibility, placing it on equal terms with natural science lower down in reductionist hierarchy

Question 33

Against reductionism

Answer 33

• have been accused of oversimplifying complex phenomena leading to a loss of validity. Explanations that operate at the level of the gene, neurotransmitter or neuron do not include an analysis of the
  social context within which behaviour occurs and this is where the behaviour
  in question may derive its meaning e.g. the physiological processes
  involved in pointing one’s finger will be the same regardless of the context.
  However, an analysis of these will not tell us why the finger is pointed - to draw
  attention to some object or person, as an act of aggression, as part of a raised
  hand to answer a question in class, etc.
  This means that reductionist explanations can only ever form part of an explanation.

Question 34

Idiographic and nomothetic approach A01

Answer 34

• the idiographic approach focuses on people as individuals, taking into account their own subjective experiences and unique values and motivations.
  E.g. Freud’s use of case studies in the case of Little Hans, to understand his patients and help them overcome psychological disorders.
  Another example is the case study of KF (shallice and Warrington) whose STM forgetting audio information was greater than that for visual information, suggesting that STM consists of multiple components.
• uses qualitative data
• the nomothetic approach aims to produce general laws of human behaviour.
• get really associated with scientific methods such as experiments and involves studying a large group of people to establish ways in which they are similar.
  E.g. pavlov and skinner conducted experiments on a large number of animals in order to establish general laws of learning producing the theory of classical and operant conditioning. Or the multi-store model
  -uses quantitative data

Question 35

Idiographic strength

Answer 35

• uses qualitative methods of data which is beneficial as it’s more in-depth data and provides more detailed accounts of experiences which may be used to support and challenge existing theories or lead to the development of new theories. For example HM, case demonstrated long term memory are associated with different regions of the brain leading to further research on memory.

Question 36

Limitations of the idiographic approach

Answer 36

• theories developed from case studies may struggle to be generalised beyond the individual, reducing the ecological validity of theses findings. As a result generalisations cannot be made without further examples, meaning the idiographic approach alone cannot be used to improve scientific credibility in psychology. Conclusions from methods used often rely on subjective interpretations of research and are open to bias therefore are less scientific

Question 37

Strength of the nomothetic approach

Answer 37

• process involved tend to be more scientific. Such as lab studies,controlled observations. It’s highly scientific nature means that’s results obtained are objective and reliable as the conditions used to attain them are standardised and have a high degree of control. Therefore can be generalised and have scientific credibility and can be used to prove theories proposed by psychologists.

Question 38

Limitations of the nomothetic approach + stages of personality

Answer 38

• has been accused of ‘loosing the whole person’ within psychology. Knowing that there is a 1% lifetime risk of developing schizophrenia tells us little about what life is like for someone suffering the disorder.
• similarly, lab studies involved test of memory participants are treated as a series of scores rather than individual people and their subjective experiences of the situation is ignored. This means it may overlook the richness of human experiences + artifical task
• useful to consider the same tpics/subject both using approaches =greater insight=freud=stages of personality