Issues and Debates

Question 1

What is ideographic? What research methods are used?
What are some examples?

Answer 1

Studying individuals.
People studied as UNIQUE ENTITIES with SUBJECTIVE EXPERIENCES.
No attempts made to compare individuals to a larger group.

Qualitative - e.g. case studies, unstructured inverviews. Describe richness of human behaviour and gain insight into people’s unique experiences.

HM - couldn’t form new LT memories - MSM
Little Hans and Dora
Humanistic approach - focus on individual - client-centred therapy

Question 2

What is nomothetic? What research methods used?
What are some examples?

Answer 2

Studying samples and generalising.
Study groups and produce general laws of behaviour - providing benchmarks which people can be compared, classified and measured against.

Scientific methods - experiments. Involves large numbers to establish how groups of people are similar to each other.

Asch - majority infuence/conformity
Sperry - Split brain patients
Bandura - Bobo doll

Question 3

What is the argument for and against idiographic reseach?

Answer 3

+ Provides a MORE COMPLETE AND IN DEPTH account of indivdual and their behaviour e.g. HM case to study memory - revealing important insight - used to generate hypothesis for further study. L: major contributions to understanding of behaviour - rich in detail.

• OFTEN UNSCIENTIFIC e.g. Oedipus complex based on Little Hans - subjective and unfalsifiable - lacking empirical evidence L: low pop validity

Question 4

What is the argument for and against nomothetic research?

Answer 4

+ MORE SCIENTIFIC e.g. Bandura - lab experiments - controlled conditions - high internal validity, objective, empirical evidence… L: more scientific credibility -> significant contributions to treating people.

• LOSES THE ‘WHOLE PERSON’ e.g. 1% lifetime risk of Sz tells us little about what life is like for Sz sufferers - subjective experience ignored - oversimplified, important detail overlooked. L: human behaviour too complex to establish general laws.

Question 5

What is Free Will? How does this apply to Humanism?

Answer 5

Idea that all behaviour results from a person’s own ACTIVE VOLITION (we are self-determining and free from external/biological influences).

Humanism argues we make choices about how we behave and we should pursue Self-Actualisation. Our inborn potential influences our behaviour.

Question 6

What is determinism? Name the types of determinism.

Answer 6

The idea that all thought and behaviour is controlled by forces outside of a person’s control.

• Biological Determinism e.g. testosterone –> aggression
• Environmental Determinism e.g. result of years of reinforcment and punishment.
• Psychic Determinism - e.g. unconscious conflicts/trauma repressed in childhood

Question 7

What is hard and soft determinism?

Answer 7

HARD: free will not possible - behaviour caused by internal/extermal factors - FATALISTIC (behaviour will happen).

SOFT: behaviour has a cause but we have mental control over the way we behave. Determining forces act upon us but we have the freedom to make choices. Predictability does not mean inevitibility.

Question 8

Why do psychologists prefer determinism to free will?

Answer 8

Because they want to be more scientific. Science includes causality (the idea everything has a cause - cause and effect - allowing general laws to be established and experimented on).

Determinism assumes behaviour has a cause. Free will is much harder to measure and control.

Question 9

What are the arguments for and against Free Will?

Answer 9

+ PEOPLE BELIEVE THEY ARE SELF-DETERMINING e.g. everyday experience gives impression we are free to choose behaviour - gives certain amount of FACE VALIDITY and has psychological benefits (high internal LOC = better mental health). H: belief in something doesn’t make it true - Skinner said FW = an illusion.

• RESEARCH AGAINST FW - e.g. brain can indicate beforehand which had a person chooses to move before the person has consciously made the choice - people do not freely choose their behaviour - determined by the brain H: low ecological validity and mundane realism.

Question 10

What are the arguments for and against Determinism?

Answer 10

+ Research - brain makes decision first
+ Practical App - drug treatments
+ SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH - CAUSE AND EFFECT PRINCIPLE - e.g. determining cause of mental illness like Sz - people do not choose to be mentally ill - casts doubt over free will and suggests causal factors. L: Science is based on causality so scientific.

• HARD DETERMISM DOES NOT AGREE WITH SOCIETY’S VIEWS ON MORAL RESPONSIBILITY - e.g. legal system relies on moral responsibility/accountabiltiy for actions - Hard D is an issue for legal systems as argues behaviour is not criminals choice. H: Soft determinism suggests although influences may increase chance of offending, person still has choice.

Question 11

What is Holism?

Answer 11

Idea that understanding human behaviour can only be done through analysing the person as a whole.

‘Whole is greater than sum of its parts’.

Behaviour is more complex and is affected by a multitude of influences at once. e.g. Diathesis stress - lead to more holistic treatments leading to lower relapse rates.

Question 12

What is reductionism?

Answer 12

Understanding behaviour by breaking it down into its constituent parts - based on scientific principle of PARSIMONY (choose the simplist scientific explanation that fits the evidence - most economical).

Question 13

What are the 2 types of reductionism?

Answer 13

BIOLOGICAL REDUCTIONISM
Biological organism made up of physiological structures and processes.
All behaviour can be explained at a biological level.
e.g. tesosterone/MAOA-L gene –> aggression

ENVIRONMENTAL REDUCTIONISM
Breaking down complex learning into simple stimulus-response relationships that are measurable in a lab.
e.g. complex emotion of attachment is reduced to food–>positive feelings.

Question 14

Why is psychology reductionist?

Answer 14

Science believes in Parsimony.
Best to understand complex behaviour through reduction of the whole to its simplist parts.
Findings can then be replicated and verified empirically.
e.g. whether increased serotonin reduces depression.

Question 15

What are the Levels of Reductionism? How do they explain OCD?

Answer 15

HIGHEST LEVEL (least reductionist) - Sociocultural explanations:
- how social groups affect behaviour.
- explained by being an unusual pattern of behaviour in relation to social norms.

MIDDLE LEVEL - Psychological Explanations:
- how cognitive thought processes affect behaviour
- explained through an experience of having obsessive thoughts

LOWEST LEVEL (most reductionist) - Biological Explanations:
- how behaviour is caused by hormones, brain strucutre and genes.
- explained by underproduction of serotonin.

Question 16

What are the arguments for and against Holism?

Answer 16

+ PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS - e.g. treatment from many perspectives- CBT + family therapy + antipsychotics for Sz reduces relapse rates to 0% - more effective. L: holistic viewpoint provides necessary understanding of behaviour what would have been missed –> healthier individuals.

• LACK OF SCIENTIFIC RIGOUR AND TESTING - e.g. Humanistic Psychology (high level of holistic explanations) is criticised for lack of empirical evidence - presents practical dilemmas for researchers as hard to determine which factor has affected behaviour most L: Psychology strives to be a science and so prefers reductionism because more scientific as more evidence.

Question 17

What are the arguments for and against Reductionism?

Answer 17

+ MANY PRACTICAL APPICATIONS - e.g. studying biological causes for behaviour - successful treatments - drug therapy - reduces use of institutionalisation - better wellbeing and lower cost H: side effects, variable success etc so holistic approach could have better success of treatment.

• OVERSIMPLIFIED - e.g. biological explanations do not consider social context - important explanations ignored - incomplete - L: poor treatment - mental illness not fully cured.

+ Scientific - MSM of memory - can test individual parts to establish cause and effect.

Question 18

Describe the Nature debate.

Answer 18

Natavists argue…

Our genes (inherited directly from biological parents and evolutionary ancestors over time) pre-program our behaviour.

Includes genetic behaviours that lie dormant and appear later through maturation.

Question 19

Describe the nurture debate.

Answer 19

Empiricists argue…

all behaviour is caused by a person’s environment.

e.g. people, individual opportunities, physical evironment and prenatal environment.

Question 20

How do we assesss the degree of nature or nurture?

Answer 20

Using a heritibility coefficient.

0-1: 1 meaning entirely genetically determined.

Question 21

Evaluate the argument for nature and nurture in relation to Forensics.

Answer 21

NATURE:
- Atavistic Form
- Genetic Theory

+ italian criminals supporting research
+ MAOA-L carriers more likely to commit violent crimes

NURTURE:
- Differential Assosiation
- Maternal deprivation

+ 40% have criminal fathers vs 13% without
+ 44 thieves study

Question 22

Evaluate the argument for nature and nurture in relation to Schizophrenia.

Answer 22

NATURE:
- Dopamine hypothesis
- Enlarged ventricles

+ PM’s - increased dopamine in Sz patients
+ CAT scans - 15% larger ventricle

NUTURE:
- Family dysfunction

+ Families with high EE, 58% relapse vs 10% in low EE families

Question 23

Evaluate the argument for nature and nurture in relation to Gender

Answer 23

NATURE:
- Role of chromosomes and hormones
- Brain Sex theory/Genetics

+ High testosterone in most violent prisoners
+ XXY and XO syndromes

NURTURE
- Kohlberg’s stages of development
- Gender schema theory
- Psychodynamic

+ Children (2-3) think that doll with male parts but in dress is a female - gender identity.
+ children misremember non-stereotypical images

Question 24

What is the importance of interactionism?

Answer 24

It is impossible to estimate the influences of nature and nurture on an individual because they are so closely intertwined.

Both nature and nurture are essential for any behaviour and it is impossible to separate them as they interact in a complex manner.

Question 25

How does nature and nurture interact?

Answer 25

• People may construct their own environments. An individual’s characteristics may elicit particular responses from other people which in turn influences a person’s behaviour.
• Individual’s genes are seen as setting upper and lower limits for potential behaviour where within these limits behaviour may be determined by the enviornment. e.g. intelligence.

Question 26

What two aspects are included in the interactionist approach for nature v nurture?

Answer 26

Diathesis Stress and Epigenetics

Question 27

What are epigenetics?

Answer 27

Change in our genetic expression without changing our genetic code - caused by environment.

e.g. smoking/diet –> switch genes on/off –> cancer

Question 28

What are the implications for supporting a nature/nurture side?

Answer 28

Nature:
- deterministic –> justice?
- eugenics and controversy

Nurture:
- behaviour shaping (punishing undesirable and rewarding desirable) - extreme cases may lead to advocating a model of society that controls and manipuates citizens using these techniques.

Question 29

What are the active and passive influences of nature on nurture?

Answer 29

ACTIVE INFLUENCE:
people create their own nurture by actively seeking enviornments that are appropriate for their nature.
e.g. more aggressive child –> more aggressive friends

PASSIVE INFLUENCE:
Parents genes determine aspects of behaviour. This might affect their offspring’s environment leading to changes in offspring behaviour.
e.g. parent = mental illness –> unsettled house –> child = mental illness

Question 30

How can nurture influence nature?

Answer 30

Brain plasticity:
e.g. taxi drivers hippocampus larger than controls and correlation between size of hippocampus and time on the job.

Question 31

What is cultural bias?

Answer 31

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

If research is based only on one culture it is only relevant to that culture (does not generalise to other cultures).

Question 32

What evidence is there that psychology is Culturally biased?

Answer 32

66% of studies American
32% European
2% rest of the world

Majority of research is done on white a Americans and then applied to all humans (universal).

e.g. Milgram and Asch - male Americans

Question 33

What is Enthocentrism?

Answer 33

A belief that one cultural group is superior - leading to classifying anything behaviour that does not conform as abnormal.

One’s own cultural perspective is taken as a standard by which we measure other cultures.

Question 34

What is cultural relativity?

Answer 34

The opposite of Ethnocentrism:

The idea that behaviour cannot be judged properly unless it is viewed in the context of the culture in which is originates.

Question 35

What is Etic Approach?

Answer 35

Looking at behaviour from outside of the culture and attempts to explain behaviours that are universal.

Question 36

What is the Emic Approach?

Answer 36

Studying cultural groups from within and identifying behaviours that are specific to that culture.

Question 37

When does a cultural bias occur?

Answer 37

When a culture-specific idea is wrongly applied to another culutre - called an IMPOSED ETIC.

Question 38

Give an example of cultural bias.

Answer 38

+ DSM-5 and ICD10 are both used universally and assume no difference between cultures, although they have both been constructed by western cultures.

Demonstrates an imposed etic and ethnocentrism. Some signs of mental illness are not applicable to other cultures e.g. hearing voices can be normal in some African cultures.

However: DSM added ‘culture bound syndromes’ to reduce cultural bias, which recognises disorderes which are more specific to certain cultures.

Question 39

What are two limitations and one practical application of cultural bias?

Answer 39

• Researchers SHOULD NOT ASSUME ALL BEHAVIOUR IS CULTURALLY RELATIVE. e.g. basic facial expressions/emotions have universality (interactional synchrony) - should not assume that there are no universal behaviours. L: we need to consider behaviour MAY be universal or MAY be culturally relative.
• BIAS IN RESEARCH AND SAMPLING - e.g. 66% studies are American, 32% european and 2% rest of world - majority conducted in western cultures so may have cultural bias L: 82% use undergraduate students as participants - unrepresentative of own country, let alone other countries.

+ INCREASING AWARENESS OF CULTURAL BIAS - prac app - e.g. understanding cultural differences in mental illness has led to updates to DSM/other classifications - less behaviours misdiagnosed as mental illness, reducing scientific racism L: ensuring greater validity of theories.

Question 40

What is gender bias?

Answer 40

The differential treatment/representation of women and men based on stereotypes rather than real differences.

Question 41

What is Androcentrism?

Answer 41

Females being seen as inferior when compared to male norms - leading to women being excluded and misjudged.

Opposite = gynocentrism

Question 42

Name the two types of gender bias.

Answer 42

Alpha Bias and Beta Bias.

Question 43

What is Alpha bias?

Answer 43

Assuming men and women are different when they are not (or exaggerating differences).

Question 44

What is Beta Bias?

Answer 44

Assuming men and women are similar when they are not.

(e.g. trying to apply a theory tested on men to women).

Question 45

Give an example of Alpha and Beta bias.

Answer 45

ALPHA BIAS
Females diagnosed more with depression. Doctors may show bias as they enquire more about symptoms in females than men. Gender bias rather than actual difference. Under and over diagnosing.

BETA BIAS
FBI top-down approach based on interviews with 36 male convicted serial killers. Used to generate typologies for all killers in America.

Question 46

Evaluate Gender Bias. (1+, 3-)

Answer 46

+ Offers suggestions for REDUCING GENDER BIAS in psychology - use evidence that women may be inferior to provide support for women to improve e.g. females = less effective leaders –> training females to be leaders. L: gender biases do not have to oppress women but can be used to help women instead.

• IMPLICATIONS of gender bias - e.g. gender biased research could provide scientific justification for discrimination - e.g. females seen as slave to their hormones - leading to wrongful assumptions and negative consequences (unemployment, lower pay. L: poor treatment could explain –> women 2x more likely to be diagnosed with depression.
• SEXISM WITHIN PSYCHOLOGY RESEARCH - e.g. lack of women appointed at senior research levels - findings interpreted from M viewpoint and so creates biases in research H: gender differences in research is decreasing (16% to 40% females).
• GENDER BIAS IN PUBLICATION OF RESEARCH - e.g. gender differences are more likely to be published in journals as more interesting - publication bias - more gender differences than they actually are (alpha bias) L: discrimination etc.

Question 47

What are ethical implications?

Answer 47

Anything that concerns the way in which reseach impacts participants and how the findings are used in public.

e.g. rights of participants, perception and treatment of certain groups of people, use of findings to allocate money/resources

Question 48

What is social sensitivity?

Answer 48

When there are potential social consequences for the p’s in research or the group represented by p’s.

Some topics tend to be more contraversial/taboo - attracting the attention of media and general public.

Question 49

Give examples of socially sensitive reseach. What are the positive and negative implications?

Answer 49

Milgram - ethical issues -> informed consent, protection from harm etc.
- could lead to more misuse of obedience BUT increases obedience to laws and less discrimination against Germans.

Bowlby - 44 thieves - MD - mothers feel guilty BUT more time with mothers in prison - less damaged kids - reduced crimes.

Loftus and Palmer - reducing trust in EWTs BUT used to reduce LQ and increase EWT validity.

Question 50

Evaluate Social Sensitivity. (2+, 1-)

Answer 50

+ BENEFITS TO CONDUCTING SOCIALLY SENSITIVE RESEARCH - e.g. studing SS topics may promote a greater understanding of certain groups of people in society - reducing prejudice and misunderstandings - L: e.g. used to improve parenting so mentally healthier kids so less crime.

+ One way of dealing with SS is to JUST AVOID CERTAIN RESEARCH - e.g. reduce research into homosexuality, race, gender etc. - resulting in less negative consequences H: rules out a lot of important research that could benefit a lot of people.

• CURRENT ETHICAL GUIDELIENS ARE TOO LIMITED - e.g. they cover the protection of p’s in research but fail to consider the wider effects of research on society - could lead to harm of group p’s are representing H: dealt with by giving consideration to impacts after publication and reducing liklihood of data being misused.

Question 51

How do you reduce social consequences in research?

Answer 51

• Avoid adding any prejudice or stereotypes.
• Confidentiality of info
• Ensure data is not misued (contact policy makers)
• Ensure interpretation of data has no impact on group/individuals.