Issues and Debates

Question 1

Socially sensitive research

Answer 1

Research that has potential consequences for the individuals involved and the individuals represented by that research which potentially leads to a change in the way this group is treated.

Question 2

Ethical implications

Answer 2

Concern the wider impact that research may have at a societal level

Question 3

how can research have ethical implications

Answer 3

-A study on depression might have consequences for the individual
-An individual participant might reveal personal information that is later accessed by an employer
-Findings may suggest that people with depression never fully recover which is a risk to the employee

Question 4

what are the implications for research process

Answer 4

-research question
-dealing with participants
-the way findings are used

Question 5

What implication can the research question have on the research process

Answer 5

-the way in which research questions are phrased and investigated may influence the way in which findings are interpreted

Question 6

What implications can dealing with participants have on the research process

Answer 6

issues such as informed consent, confidentiality and psychological harm may be especially important in socially sensitive resarch

Question 7

How might the way findings are used have implications on the research process

Answer 7

researchers should consider in advance how research findings may be used. It may impact on what data they actually collect. This is especially important because findings may be seen as giving scientific credence to existing prejudice

Question 8

What is a strength of socially sensitive research (benefits for groups)

Answer 8

Kinsley (1948) report stated homosexual
behaviour is a normal variant of human
behaviour.
Allowed homosexuality to be removed from
DSM – 1.
This illustrates the importance of researchers tackling topics that are sensitive

Question 9

What is a limitation of socially sensitive research (poor research design)

Answer 9

Poor research leads to erroneous findings, if released into public arena they have bigger impact.
E.G Burt research for 11+ exam or entrance to
independent school at age 6, as genetic potential has revealed itself by this age.
Research must be carefully planned to ensure findings are valid due to the enduring effects on groups of people.

Question 10

Holism

Answer 10

The argument that it only makes sense to study an indivisible system rather than its constituent parts

Question 11

Which approach took on a holistic view

Answer 11

The humanistic approach

Question 12

What did the humanistic approach focus on in terms of holism

Answer 12

-individual experiences
-they used qualitative methods

Question 13

What did Gestalt psychologists argue about holism

Answer 13

The whole is greater than the sum of its parts

Question 14

Reductionism

Answer 14

The belief that human behaviour is best understood by studying the smaller constituent parts

Question 15

What is reductionism based on

Answer 15

Scientific principle of parsimony

Question 16

Levels of explanation

Answer 16

The idea hat there are several levels that can be used to explain behaviour

Question 17

Biological reductionism

Answer 17

A form of reductionism which attempts to explain behaviour at the lowest biological level

Question 18

What is an example of biological reductionism

Answer 18

-Arguments often work backwards
-drugs that increase serotonin have been found to be effective in treating OCD
-Low serotonin may be a cause of OCD

Question 19

Environmental reductionism

Answer 19

The attempt to explain all behaviour in terms of stimulus-response links that have been learnt through experience

Question 20

What is an example of environmental reductionism

Answer 20

The learning theory of attachment reduces the idea of love to a learned association between the person doing the feeding and food resulting in pleasure

Question 21

What is a limitation of holism/strength of reductionism (practical value)

Answer 21

-may lack practical value
-Holistic accounts of human behaviour tend to become hard to use as they become more complex
-Can prevent researchers with a practical dilemma
-If we accept from a humanistic perspective that there are many different factors that contribute to depression then it becomes difficult to know which is more influential
-Which to prioritise as the basis of therapy for instance
-This suggests that holistic accounts may lack practical value

Question 22

What is a strength of reductionism/limitation of holism (scientific approach)

Answer 22

-often form the basis of a scientific approach
-in order to conduct well-controlled research we need to operationalise the variables to be studied
-This makes it possible to conduct experiments or record observations in a way that is objective and reliable
-This scientific approach gives psychology greater credibility. placing it equal terms with the natural sciences

Question 23

Gender bias

Answer 23

To treat one group in a different way from others. Where psychological theory or research may offer a view that does not justifiably represent the experience of men or women

Question 24

Universality

Answer 24

An underlying characteristic of human beings that is capable of being applied to all, despite differences of experience and upbringing

Question 25

Alpha bias

Answer 25

Within psychological research exaggerates or overestimates differences between the sexes. (e.g Freud)

Question 26

What is an example of alpha bias

Answer 26

Freud’s theory of psychosexual development. During the phallic stage both boys and girls develop a desire for the opposite gender parent. However a girls identification with her mother is weaker and therefore girls are morally inferior

Question 27

How can alpha bias favour women

Answer 27

Chodorow suggested that daughters and mothers have a greater connectedness than sons and mothers because of biological similarities. therefore women develop a better ability to bond with others and empathise

Question 28

Beta bias

Answer 28

Is where research ignores or minimises the differences between the sexes. This happens when we assume that research findings can be applied equally to both men and women

Question 29

What is an example of beta bias

Answer 29

-the fight or flight response
-Biological research has generally favoured using male animals because female behaviour is affected by regular hormonal changes due to ovulation
-Recent research by Taylor shows that oxytocin is more plentiful in women and they respond by increasing production

Question 30

Androcentrism

Answer 30

When normal behaviour is judged to a male standard

Question 31

Cultural bias

Answer 31

Refers to the tendency to ignore cultural differences and interpret all phenomena through the ‘lens’ of ones own culture.

Question 32

Henrich research on culture bias

Answer 32

-reviewed hundreds of studies in leading psychology journals
-68% of research participants came from the US
-96% from industrialised nations
-These findings suggest that what we know about human behaviour has a strong cultural bias

Question 33

Who were the people most likely to be studied in research according to Henrich

Answer 33

WEIRD
-westernised
-Educated people from industries
-Rich
-Democracies

Question 34

Ethnocentrism

Answer 34

Judging other cultures by the standards and values of one’s own culture. In extreme forms is the belief in the superiority of one’s own culture which may lead to prejudice

Question 35

What is an example of ethnocentrism

Answer 35

Mary Ainsworth’s strange situation is criticised as reflecting only the norms and values of western culture.
-In Japan infants were much more likely to be classified as insecurely attached because they showed considerable distress on separation. (rarely separated from mother)

Question 36

Cultural relativism

Answer 36

The idea that norms and values as well as ethics and moral standards can only be meaningful and understood within specific social and cultural context

Question 37

Imposed etic

Answer 37

Using your own culture as the norm and comparing others to it.

Question 38

Emic approach

Answer 38

Functions from inside a culture and identifies behaviours that are specific to that culture

Question 39

What does Berry argue in terms of Cultural relativism

Answer 39

Psychology is guilty of an imposed etic approach, arguing that theories, models and concepts are universal when they actually come from emic research

Question 40

Free will

Answer 40

The notion that humans can make choices and their behaviour are not determined by biological or external forces

Question 41

What approach believes in free will

Answer 41

The humanistic approach

Question 42

Determinism

Answer 42

The view that an individuals behaviour is shaped or controlled by internal or external forces rather than an individuals will to do something

Question 43

A limitation of research into gender bias
(biological vs social explanations)

Answer 43

-Gender differences are often presented as fixed
-Maccoby and Jackline showed that girls have superior verbal ability and boys have better spatial awareness
-Suggested these differences are hardwired into us from birth
-Joel showed no such differences using brain scans
-Therefore we should be careful of accepting research findings as biological fact.

Question 44

What is a counterpoint to biological versus social explanations of gender bias

Answer 44

-This does not mean that psychologists should
avid studying gender differences in the brain.
-The popular social stereotype that females are
better at multitasking may have some biological
truth to it.
-Women’s brain benefit more from the better
connections between right and left hemispheres
than men.
-Therefore, there may be biological differences
but we should be mindful of exaggerating the effect they have on behaviour.

Question 45

What is a limitation of research into gender bias (sexism in research)

Answer 45

-gender bias promotes sexism in the research process
-women remain underrepresented in university departments, particularly sciences
-This means that research is likely to be conducted by men and this may be a disadvantage to participants that are women.
-E.g a male researcher may expect women to be irrational and unable to complete complex tasks
-This means that the institutional structures and methods of psychology may produce findings that are gender biased

Question 46

Suggest ways in which researchers might reduce cultural bias in their research.

Answer 46

-do not attempt to extrapolate findings/theories to cultures that are not represented in the research sample

-use researchers who are native to/familiar with/immersed in the culture being investigated

• carry out cross-cultural research rather than research with a sole culture

-do not assume universal norms/standards across different cultures

• study single culture to understand that culture (emic approach)
• taking a reflexive approach ie constantly reflecting on own biases when carrying out research

Question 47

A strength of research into cultural bias
(Cultural psychology)

Answer 47

-The emergence of cultural psychology
-Cultural psychology is the study of how people shape and are shaped by their cultural experience.
-Cultural psychologists strive to avoid ethnocentric assumptions by taking on an emic approach and conducting research from inside a culture.
-This suggests that modern psychologists are mindful of the dangers of cultural bias

Question 48

A limitation of research into cultural bias
(Classic studies)

Answer 48

-Many of the most influential studies are culturally-biased
-Both Asch and Milgram’s original studies were conducted with US participants
-Replications of these studies in different countries produced rather different results.
-This suggests our understanding of topics such as social influence should only be applied to individualist cultures.

Question 49

What is a limitation of research into culture bias (Ethnic stereotyping)

Answer 49

-led to prejudice against groups of people.
-Gould explained how the first intelligence tests led to eugenic social policies in the US
-Psychologists used the opportunity of WW1 to pilot their first IQ tests on army recruits
-Many of the items were ethnocentric and results from recruits from African Americans received lower scores
-These results were used were used to inform racist discourse about the genetic inferiority of particular cultural and ethnic groups
-This illustrates how cultural bias can be used to justify prejudice and discrimination towards certain cultures

Question 50

Jonny is 25 years old. He is a very anxious person. Colleagues tease him at work because he chews his pen all the time and spends hours tidying his desk. He finds it difficult to make friends and has never had a girlfriend.

Use your knowledge of psychic determinism to explain Jonny’s behaviour.

Answer 50

-psychic determinism suggests that adult behaviour, (eg anxiety, pen-chewing, tidying, relationship problems) is determined by childhood/early experiences and by innate, unconscious drives/motives ie Jonny has no free will
- experiences that occurred during stages of psychosexual development have unconsciously influenced Jonny’s adult behaviour/experience – his adult behaviour/experience has been caused by early experiences (this would be hard determinism)
-Jonny is unaware of these early experiences as his memory has been repressed, but they manifest themselves in symbolic outward behaviours. Jonny is a slave to his unconscious
- specific links between behaviours in the stem and psychosexual conflicts, eg pen-chewing related to oral fixation; tidying to anal retentiveness; relationship problems to difficulties arising in the genital stage.

Question 51

Hard determinism

Answer 51

sometimes referred to as fatalism- the view that all behaviour is caused by something

Question 52

Soft determinism

Answer 52

The view that behaviour may be predictable but there is also room for personal choice from a limited range of possibilities

Question 53

Biological determinism

Answer 53

The belief that behaviour is caused by biological influences that we cannot control

Question 54

Example of biological determinism

Answer 54

Biological approach emphasises the role of biological determinism in behaviour such as the influence of the autonomic nervous system on stress responses

Question 55

environmental determinism

Answer 55

The belief that behaviour is caused by features of the environment that we cannot control.

Question 56

An example of environmental determinism

Answer 56

B.F Skinner described free will as an illusion and argued that behaviour is the result of conditioning

Question 57

psychic determinism

Answer 57

The belief that behaviour is caused by unconscious psychodynamic conflicts that we cannot control.

Question 58

What is a strength of free will/Limitation of determinism (practical value)

Answer 58

-The common sense view is that we exercise free choice in our everyday lives on a daily basis
-even if that is not the case thinking we do can improve our mental health
-Roberts et al looked at adolescents who had a strong belief in fatalism and the study found that they were significantly more likely to develop depression
-This suggests that even if we do not have free will, the fact that we believe we do may have a positive impact on mind and behaviour

Question 59

An example of psychic determinism

Answer 59

Freud believed that free will was an illusion but emphasised the influence of biological drives and instincts. He saw behaviour as determined by unconscious conflicts, repressed in childhood

Question 60

What is a limitation of free will/strength of determinism (Research evidence)

Answer 60

-brain scan evidence does not support it but does support determinism
-Libet et al instructed participants to choose a random moment to flick their wrist while he measured activity in their brain
-Participants had to say when they felt conscious will to move
-Libet found that the unconscious brain activity leading up to the conscious decision to move came around half a second before
-This may be interpreted as meaning that even our most basic experiences of free will are actually determined by our brain before we are aware of them

Question 61

What is a limitation of determinism/ strength of free will (the law)

Answer 61

-the position of the legal system of responsibility
-The hard determinist stance is that individual choice is not the cause of behaviour
-This is not consistent with the way in which our legal system operates, as in a court of law offenders are held responsible for their actions.
-The main principle of our legal system is that defendants exercised their free will in committing the crime
-Suggests determinist arguments do not work

Question 62

With reference to a behaviour, explain the distinction between hard determinism and soft determinism.

Answer 62

-sometimes referred to as fatalism- the view that all behaviour is caused by something
-The view that behaviour may be predictable but there is also room for personal choice from a limited range of possibilities
-Depression could be genetic which would be hard determinism or if it was caused by traumatic past events it would be soft determinism

Question 63

A strength of reductionism
(Basis of scientific approach)

Answer 63

-Forms the basis of a scientific approach
-To conduct well-controlled research variables need to be operationalised
-This makes it possible to conduct research experiments in an objective way
-Scientific approaches give psychology greater credibility

Question 64

A limitation of the reductionist approach
(Understanding at a higher level)

Answer 64

-There are aspects of social behaviour that can only emerge within a group context and cannot be understood in terms of the individual group members
- This suggests that for some behaviour higher level explanations provide a more detailed account.

Question 65

Nature-nurture debate

Answer 65

the extent to which aspects of our behaviour are a product of inherited or acquired characteristics

Question 66

What is an example of the nature- nurture debate

Answer 66

-bowlby claimed that attachment type was determined by the warmth and continuity of parental love (environment)
-Kagan proposed that a child’s innate personality also affected the attachment relationship(Nature)

Question 67

Interactionist approach

Answer 67

A way to explain the development of behaviour in terms of a range of factors in terms of both biological and psychological ones. Factors combine in a way that can’t be predicted by each one separately.

Question 68

Heredity

Answer 68

The genetic transmission of both mental and physical characteristics from one generation to another

Question 69

diathesis-stress model

Answer 69

Suggests behaviour is caused by a biological/environmental vulnerability which is only expressed when coupled with a biological/environmental trigger

Question 70

What is an example of the diathesis stress model

Answer 70

A person who inherits a genetic vulnerability for OCD may not develop the disorder, but combined with psychological triggers this may result in the disorder appearing

Question 71

Epigenetics

Answer 71

refers to change in our genetic code without changing the genes themselves.

Question 72

how do epigenetics occur

Answer 72

-process that occurs throughout life
-caused by interactions with our environment
-Aspects of our lifestyle or events we encounter leave marks on our DNA which switch genes on or off

Question 73

Nature

Answer 73

refers to the inherited influences

Question 74

what does descartes argue about nature

Answer 74

All human characteristics are innate

Question 75

nurture

Answer 75

refers to influence of experience and the environment

Question 76

What does Locke argue about nurture

Answer 76

The mind is a blank slate at birth which is shaped by the environment. (behaviourist approach)

Question 77

What did Lerner identify

Answer 77

Levels of the environment

Question 78

What were levels of the environment

Answer 78

Prenatal factors such as how physical influences or psychological influences affect a foetus

Question 79

how is nature-nurture measured

Answer 79

correlation coefficient and their concordance rate

Question 80

What does concordance show

Answer 80

provides an estimate about the extent to which traits are inherited (heritability)

Question 81

What do correlation coefficients show about IQ

Answer 81

Figure for heritability in IQ is 0.5 across multiple studies in varying populations (plomin)
-This means that about half of a persons intelligence is determined by genetic factors and the other half by environment

Question 82

What is a strength of research into the nature nurture debate (adoption studies)

Answer 82

-The use of adoption studies
-They are useful because they separate the competing influences of nature and nurture
-If adopted children are found to be more similar to their adoptive parents, this suggests the environment is the bigger influence.
-A meta analysis of adoption studies by Rhee and Waldman found that genetic influences accounted for 41% of the variance in aggression
-This shows how research can separate the influences of nature and nurture

Question 83

What is a counterpoint of adoption studies on the nature nurture debate

Answer 83

-Research suggests that this approach may be misguided that nature and nurture are not two entities that can be pulled apart
-According to Plomin people create their own nurture by actively selecting environments that are appropriate for their nature
-A naturally aggressive child is likely to feel more comfortable with children who show similar behaviour (niche-picking)
-This suggests that it does not make sense to look at evidence of either nature or nurture

Question 84

what is a strength of research into the nature-nurture debate (epigenetics)

Answer 84

-Support for epigenetics
-One example of how environment effects can span generations presumably through epigenetic effects comes from events of the second WW
-NAzis blocked distribution of food to the dutch people and 22,000 died
-Susser and Lin reported that women who became pregnant during the famine went on to have low birth weight babies and were twice as likely to develop sz.
-This supports the view that the life experiences of previous generation can leave epigenetic markers that influence the health of their offspring

Question 85

idiographic approach

Answer 85

An approach to research that focuses more on the individual case as a means of understanding behaviour, rather than aiming to formulate general laws of behaviour

Question 86

nomothetic approach

Answer 86

Aims to study human behaviour through the development of general principles and universal laws

Question 87

what does the idiographic approach suggest

Answer 87

psychology should be the study of individuals because by obtaining a lot of details we can understand human behaviour better

Question 88

what does the nomothetic approach suggest

Answer 88

psychology should be the study of large and varied groups to make generalisations about what is typical in different aspects of human behaviour

Question 89

What type of data does idiographic research contain

Answer 89

qualitative
-most is often a first hand account
-interviewed in depth
-analysed and emergent themes are identified

Question 90

What are examples of idiographic research in psychology

Answer 90

humanistic and psychodynamic approach
-rogers sought to explain the process of self-development including unconditional positive regard which included client centred therapy
-freud’s careful observations of individuals were the basis of his explanation of human nature

Question 91

What type of data does nomothetic research contain

Answer 91

quantitative
-hypotheses are formulated
-samples of people are assessed in some way and the numerical data produced is analysed for its statistical significance

Question 92

What are examples of nomothetic research in psychology

Answer 92

-the behaviourist and biological approach
-skinner studied animals to develop the general laws of learning
-biological psychology may use a small sample such as sperry’s split brain research which involved repeated testing and was the basis for understanding hemispheric lateralisation

Question 93

What is the key difference between the idiographic and nomothetic approach

Answer 93

-the idea of objectivity lies at the heart of the nomothetic approach
-In contrast researchers working within the idiographic approach tend not to believe that objectivity is possible

Question 94

What is a strength of the idiographic approach/limitation of the nomothetic approach (complete acount)

Answer 94

-Contributes to the nomothetic approach
-It uses in-depth qualitative methods and this provides a global description of one individual
-this may complement the nomothetic approach by shedding further light on general laws/challenging laws
-cases like HM may reveal important insights about normal functioning which may contribute to our overall understanding
-this suggests that even though the focus is on fewer individuals it may still help form scientific laws of behaviour

Question 95

What is a counterpoint to the strength of the idiographic approach complete account ?

Answer 95

-supporters of the idiographic approach should still acknowledge the narrow and restricted nature of their work
-meaningful generalisations cant be made without further examples as this means there is no adequate baseline with which to compare behaviour
-Methods associated with the idiographic approach such as case studies tend to be the least scientific in that conclusions often rely on the subjective interpretation of the researcher (bias)
-this suggests that it’s difficult to build effective general theories of human behaviour in the complete absence of nomothetic research

Question 96

What is a strength of both idiographic and nomothetic (scientific credibility )

Answer 96

-Fit with the aims of science
-processes involved with nomothetic research are similar to those used in the natural sciences
-however researchers using the idiographic approach also seek to objectify their methods
-triangulation is used whereby finings from a range of studies using different qualitative methods are compared as a way of increasing validity
-reflect on own biases
-this suggests that both approaches raise psychology’s status as a science