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Paper 3 psychology > Issues and debates > Flashcards

Issues and debates Flashcards

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1
Q

Determinism

A

understanding that behaviour is controlled and we do not
exercise free will over our own behaviour

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2
Q

Biological determinism

A

behaviour is controlled by aspects of biology eg genes,
chemicals etc

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3
Q

Environemntal determinism

A

– behaviour is controlled by external influences eg
parents, society etc

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4
Q

psychic determinism

A

adult behaviour is controlled by childhood trauma, unconscious fears, desires etc

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5
Q

Hard determinism

A

all behaviour is caused by forces outside a
person’s control

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6
Q

Soft determinism

A

behaviour is still caused but not by force

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7
Q

Scientific emphasis on causal explanations

A

If results are seen to be significant then it can be deemed something is causing the behaviour.
However if we have free will behaviour should be more erratic and unpredictable

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8
Q

Free will

A

Notion that we have full choice over our actions without influence or manpilation

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9
Q

Humanism and free will

A

Carl rogers and Maslow believe free will is needed for self- actualisation only humanism belives in free will

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10
Q

Free will evaluation

A

Impossible to objectively or empirically study as it cant be observed

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11
Q

Free will scientificity compared to determinism

A

Determinism is more scientific as causes can be measured and tested however free will can never be empirically tested

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12
Q

Free will less socially sensitive than determinism

A

Determinism can be soiccaly sensitive stating people have no free will or control over their behaviour, but free will belives u have control

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13
Q

Reductionism

A

When behaviour is explained by simplifying the reasons to one single variable cause - eg dopamine hypothesis

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14
Q

Holism

A

Argues that behaviour should be viewed as complex and viewed as a whole not as separate parts

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15
Q

Holistic levels of explanation

A

Social groups, family
interpersonal emotion
Cognition and emotion
Learned associations

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16
Q

Morgan 1903 Parsimony principle

A

Idea that there is no need to explain behaviour in terms of complex processes and explanations should be simple as possible

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17
Q

Biological reductionism

A

Explaining human behaviour by using biological systems such as genetics or biochemistry.
This is the most reductionist psych can be

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18
Q

Pros and cons of biological reductionism

A

It is more precise and simple explanation making it more scientific

This type of explanation is more easily tested

There are practical applications of viewing biological factors as explaining human behaviour

However its too simple and inadequate for describign complex human behaviours

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19
Q

Environmental (S-R) Reductionism

A

This is simplifies behaviour to a stimulus response action as seen in classical conditoning

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20
Q

Pros and cons of environmental reductionism

A

This can e xplain acquistion of many behaviours such as phobias.
Very easy to test explanation
Very simple explanation

Too simple so too limiting and inadequate for complex human behaviour

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21
Q

Holism influences

A

Family infuences, social context are important influences on behaviour and whole person needs to be understood

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22
Q

Advantages and limitations of holism

A

Does not ignore the complexity of human behaviour

Seen as less scientific and makes behaviour hard to predict unlike reductionist explanations

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23
Q

Interactionist perspective

A

This stance on the debate believes that several levels of explanation are necessary to explain behaviour ranigng from the more reductionist to the more holistic

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24
Q

Interactionist perspective middle ground

A

This is a method to reduce the debate by taking the middle ground and ideally all explanations of behaviour should take into account several levels of explanation

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25
Q

Is family dysfunction reductionist or holistic?

A

Holistic

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26
Q

Is partner preferences reductionist or holistic?

A

biological reductionism

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27
Q

is Theories of relationship maintenance and attraction more holistic or deterministic

A

Look at interaction between two people so is more holistic

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28
Q

Universality

A

When research assumes the findings can be applied to both genders and all cultures equally

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29
Q

Ethnocentrism

A

Inappropriately generalising the values and research findings of one culture to another without bothering to test other cultures and believing our own culture should be the basis for judgements of other groups.

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30
Q

Cultural Relativism

A

Belief that you need to consider the behaviour being studied and the context it is in.

Some behaviours are affected by cultural norms so need to be studied in different cultures, whereas some are not

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31
Q

Androcentrism

A

Bias on males only in research

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32
Q

Alpha bias

A

This occurs when the differences between men and women are exaggerated

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33
Q

Beta bias

A

This occurs when the differences between men and women are minimised

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34
Q

Emic approach

A

Refers to research that aims to study behaviour in one culture, without applying that behaviour elsewhere

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35
Q

Etic approach

A

Looks at behaviour from the outside of a given culture and attempts to find trends that can be generalised.

Universal behaviours

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36
Q

Imposed etic

A

When a behaviour is assumed to apply to other cultures, so is inappropriately applied to other cultures without researching within the context of that culture

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37
Q

Cultural bias

A

The act of interpreting and judging behaviour and psychological characteristics of one culture by holding them to the standards of your own

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38
Q

Examples of cultural bias

A

Milgram - American ppts
Zimbardo - American ppts
Beck and Ellis - American norms to depression
Ainsworth - only looked at attachment types in 100 American families

39
Q

Exposure stat in psychology

A

From 2003-2007 93% of the studies in the top 6 psychological journals were from Westernised countries

40
Q

Example of ethnocentrism

A
  • Ainsworth’s research found that the most common attachment type was securely attached (70%) and 15% for the other two. This cannot be applied to all cultures.
  • As Van ijzendoorn found differences in cultures
41
Q

Universal behaviours

A

Not all behaviours have to take culture into account.

For example, emotionality and evolutionary reactions to threats in the flight or fight response appear to exist across cultures.

42
Q

Evaluations of Cultural bias

A
  • Not all behaviours need to take culture into account e.g. fight or flight
  • Theories that suffer culture biases have negative effects on society. e.g. Yerkes skewed intelligence test inaccurately measured African-Americans intelligence lower due to the biased test, limiting promotional opportunities during WW1.
43
Q

Smith and Bond 1998

A

Survey of European textbooks on social psychology found that 66% of the studies were American and 32% European and only 2% from the rest of the world.
Suggesting psychological research is severely unrepresentative

44
Q

Gender bias

A

When bias is made towards one gender and this behaviour is then applied to the other gender.
This is mainly caused by using a sample of just one gender in research then applying the findings to all people

45
Q

Factors causing gender bias

A

Androcentrism
Alpha bias
Beta bias

46
Q

History of gender bias

A
  • Historically, there have been clear preferences to study male behaviours and inappropriately
    apply it to females.
  • As women were not deemed worthy of research, this trend has only recently been addressed in the past 30/40 years.
  • Which is why much psychological research can be criticised for being androcentric.
47
Q

Androcentric studies (gender biased)

A
  • Milgram - all males looking at obedience
  • Zimbardo - all males looking at conformity to social roles
  • Asch - All males looking at conformity
48
Q

Evaluations of gender bias

A
  • Significant issues with alpha biases can lead to prejudices and stereotypes, limiting an individual liberty to do what they want
  • Validity issues, as it can be argued we are different and need to embrace these differences, theories that state no difference are therefore only accurate for one sex, huge implications e.g. treatments for mental health
49
Q

Nature

A

Refers to all of the genes and hereditary factors that influence who we are. e.g. physical appearance and personality characteristics

50
Q

Heredity

A

The term for a characteristic being inherited. within the genes

51
Q

Nurture

A

Refers to all the environmental variables that impact who we are, including our early childhood experiences and how we were raised

52
Q

Empiricism

A

The nurture side of the debate

53
Q

Nativism

A

The nature side of the debate

54
Q

Plato and Descartes (philosophers)

A
  • Suggested that certain things are inborn, or they occur naturally regardless of environmental factors.
  • They take the position that our behaviours and characteristics are as a result of genetic inheritance and evolution.
55
Q

John Locke

A

Believed in tabula rasa (blank slate). suggesting everything we are and all our knowledge is determined by our experience.

56
Q

Empiricist’s beliefs

A

Take the position that all or most behaviours and characteristics result from learning and learning theories, such as behaviourism and social learning theory.

57
Q

John B Watson

A

Believed that people could be trained to do and become anything, regardless of their genetic background

58
Q

Twin studies Nature/nurture

A

Key way to investigate influence of heredity.
- MZ twins share almost 100% of their genes, so if behaviour is genetically determined they should act the same.

Studies have shown, however this is not the case so environment must also be important

59
Q

Furnham (1996)

A
  • Argues that as MZ twins look similar they are more likely to be treated similarly than DZ twins by parents.
  • This means differences in behaviour occurring between MZ and DZ twins could be down to parenting styles and not genes
60
Q

Genotype

A

Refers to the composition of an individuals genetics. Humans have estimated 20,000 - 25,000 genes.

61
Q

Phenotype

A

Refers to the observable behaviours shown as a result of the interaction between genes and environment.
- For example hair colour can be determined by genetics and their interactions with the environment. e.g. the sun

62
Q

Heritability

A

Heritability is how much of the variation seen in a certain trait within a population can be attributed to genetic variation, as opposed to environment

63
Q

High heritability

A

Means that for all the variation of a certain trait in the population a large portion is caused by genetic differences

64
Q

Heritability Coefficient scale

A
  • A heritability close to 1 indicates that almost all of the variability in the trait comes from genetic differences, with very little contribution from environmental factors.
  • Various studies have found the heritability of IQ to be between 0.7 and 0.8 in adults
65
Q

Examples of nature and nurture

A
  • Relationships evolutionary explanations for human reproductive behaviour. Nature
  • Schizophrenia genetics vs family dysfunction
    Nature vs nurture
66
Q

Evaluation of Nature/Nurture

A
  • The argument has evolved from its initial origins as it is now generally accepted that both sides have an effect upon behaviour. The debate is now evolved to consider the extent to which nature or nurture plays a role.
  • Mass support for both sides. For example, Bandura supports the nurture argument, whilst Gottesman supports the nature side
  • Nature debate more socially sensitive
67
Q

Idiographic Research

A

Focus on the individual and recognition of uniqueness.
- Private, subjective and conscious experiences
- Investigations gain written info unique to individual being studied

68
Q

Nomothetic Research

A

Attempts to establish laws and generalisations about people.
- Objective knowledge through scientific methods
- Investigations gain numerical data or data that can be categorised

69
Q

Idiographic methods

A

Interviews
Case studies
- Producing non numerical data. Thoughts feelings and emotions.

70
Q

Nomothetic Methods

A

Experiments,
Questionnaires
Content analysis
Observation
- Numerical or categorised data that can be measured. In tables, graphs or charts

71
Q

Idiographic AO1

A
  • Offers little to no insight into social patterns and regularities
  • Suggests everyone is unique and should be studied in an individual way
  • No general laws possible because of chance, free will and uniqueness of individuals
72
Q

Idiographic pros

A
  • Provides a complete understanding of the individual
  • Satisfies a key aim of science - description and understanding of a behaviour
  • Unique individuals allow us to study problems we could not create on a mass scale in a lab e.g. Phineas Gage
73
Q

Idiographic cons

A
  • Difficult to generalise from detailed subjective knowledge about one person
  • Often regarded as non-scientific as subjective experience cannot be empirically tested and lacks reliability
  • Largely neglects biological, especially genetic influences
74
Q

3 nomothetic general laws of human behaviour

A
  1. Classifying people into groups e.g. DSM criteria for schizophrenia
  2. Establishing principles of behaviour
  3. Establishing dimensions on which people can be placed and compared on e.g. comparing people due to IQ
75
Q

Nomothetic pros

A
  • Regarded as scientific as it uses precise measurements and objective and controlled methods allowing replication and generalisation
  • Has helped Psychology as a whole become scientific by developing laws and theories that can be empirically tested
  • Combined biological and social aspects
76
Q

Nomothetic cons

A
  • Predictions can be made about groups but these may not apply to individuals
  • Approach has been accused of losing sight of the whole person
  • Gives a superficial understanding as people may act the same but for different reasons
  • Extensive use of controlled laboratory experiments creating a lack of generalisation to everyday life
77
Q

Idiographic and Nomothetic working together

A

Both have a role but relative value of each depends n the purpose of the research.
The two approaches can be complementary
For example,
- Idiographic methods to consider the uniqueness of the individuals behaviour
- Nomothetic methods to consider the similarities between the individual and others.
This is needed for a complete understanding of human behaviour

78
Q

Socially sensitive research

A

Research where the findings can be used to support prejudiced or discriminatory attitudes and behaviour.
Any psychologist considering conducting socially sensitive research needs to take time to consider any negative consequences that could arise from the findings of their research.

79
Q

How to deal with socially sensitive research

A

Avoid doing it as this appears to be what people are doing.
The American Psychological Association (APA 2001) reported that ethical committees approved 95% of non-sensitive proposals that didn’t include ethical problems, whereas sensitive proposals were only approved about 50% of the time

80
Q

Issues due to APA 2001 report

A
  • Given these figures researchers are unlikely to submit sensitive research proposals in the first place if there is significant risk of them not being approved.
  • Also some topics in psychology are likely to become even more taboo if they remain under-investigated
81
Q

Socially sensitive research

A
  • Schizophrenogenic mother as blames mothers for the development of schizophrenia in their children
  • Milgram’s obedience research
82
Q

Who decides whether research should be conducted

A

Funding bodies that provide the money for psychological research will play a huge role in this decision. if they decide the research shouldn’t be conducted they wont fund it.

83
Q

The British Psychological Society (BPS)

A
  • Has a stringent set of ethical guidelines designed to protect all people involved in the research process as well as wider society.
  • The guidelines are regularly reviewed and amended to keep it updated with the laws and time
  • Some argue that the BPS ethical guidelines are too stringent and prevent some potentially very helpful research from being conducted
84
Q

BPS section on social responsibility

A

The BPS guidelines state that psychologists have a collective duty for the welfare of human and non-human beings both within the psychology researchers live and work and beyond them.

85
Q

BPS social responsibility guidelines

A

Emphasises the importance of
- Respect for social structures
- Avoidance of unnecessary disruption
- Ensuring that the benefits of any disruption caused by research outweighs the costs

86
Q

BPS 4 ethical principles of research

A

Respect - showing respect for ppts

Competence - writing up reports clearly and improving personal knowledge

Responsibility - taking responsibility for poor study practises

Integrity - keeping to the professional standards of the field and having strong moral values.

87
Q

Sieber and Stanley (1998)

A

Identified four aspects in scientific research process that raise ethical implications in socially sensitive research

88
Q

Sieber and Stanleys 4 aspects

A
  1. The Research Question
  2. The methodology used
  3. The institutional context
  4. Interpretation and Application of findings
89
Q

The Research Question

A

The researcher must consider their research question carefully.
Asking questions like “Are there racial differences in IQ” may be damaging to members of a particular group

90
Q

The Methodology Used

A

The researcher needs to consider the treatment of the ppts and their right to confidentiality and anonymity.
For example if someone admits to committing a crime should the researcher maintain confidentiality?

91
Q

The institutional context

A

The researcher should be mindful of how the data is going to be used and consider who is funding the research.
For example if the research is funded by a private institution or organisation, it should be known how they intent to use the findings

92
Q

Interpretation and Application of findings

A

The researcher needs to consider how their findings might be interpreted and applied in the real-world.

93
Q

What to consider with potentially socially sensitive research

A
  • Carefully consider the potential implications
  • Brief the ppts about potential implications
  • Ensure you have obtained fully informed consent from ppts after telling them about implications
  • Give ppts right to withdraw from the research at any time
  • Protect the identity of the ppts
  • Publish with discretion and a carefully worded info
94
Q

Reductionist levels of explanation

A

Biochemistry
Genetics
Physiology
Cellular biology

Paper 3 psychology (4 decks)

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