Issues and Debates Flashcards

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1
Q

What is Universality?

A

The idea that a concept or conclusion can be applied to anyone and everyone, regardless of time, culture, upbringing etc.

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2
Q

What is Bias?

A

Where a belief leans towards a subjective view that doesn’t necessarily reflect objective reality.
When considering human behaviour, bias is a tendency to treat one group differently to another.

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3
Q

What is Gender Bias?

A

Where psychological research does not justifiably represent the experience and behaviours of men or women, usually women. Gender Bias can be split into two forms - Alpha bias and Beta bias.

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4
Q

What is Alpha Bias?

A

Where research focuses on the differences between men and women, and exaggerates these differences. These differences are presented as fixed and inevitable. They can highlight the value of women, but typically devalue women in relation to men.
Example - Freud’s Theory of Psychosexual development - Argues that women are morally inferior to men due to them having a weaker superego, as they do not experience castration anxiety in the phallic stage
Chodorow (1968) - suggested that mothers and daughters have greater connectedness than sons and mothers due to their biological similarity. As a result of the child’s closeness, women develop a better ability to bond and empathise with others

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5
Q

What is Beta Bias?

A

Where research focuses on the similarities between men and women, and ignores or underestimates differences. This can happen when it is assumed that research findings apply equally to both men and women, when one gender (usually women) has been excluded from the research process.
Example - Fight or Flight - Biological research favours the use of male animals as female behaviour is affected by hormonal changes due to ovulation, so excludes females from the research process. This was the case with fight or flight research, and the theory itself. However Taylor et.al (2000) argued that women actually have a ‘Tend and Befriend’ response. The ‘love’ hormone oxytocin is more plentiful in women than in men, and research suggests that women respond to stress by increasing oxytocin production. This reduces the fight or flight response and encourages the tend and befriend response, which is an evolved response to look for others.

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6
Q

What is Androcentrism?

A

Alpha and Beta bias are both products of androcentrism, where behaviour is judged by a male-centric standard. This means that female behaviour tends to be labelled as abnormal or deficient.
Only 6 of the APA’s 100 most influential psychologists of the 20th century were women, which suggests that psychology is a subject that has been produced for men, about men, and by men.
Often women’s behaviour, if it has been considered, has been misunderstood or pathologised. For example, premenstrual syndrome has been criticised on the grounds that it medicalises women’s emotions, explaining anger in hormonal terms. Meanwhile men’s anger is often seen as a rational response to pressure (Brescoll and Uhlmann 2008)

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7
Q

What is a limitation of Gender Bias in psychology - stereotypes and scientific fact?

A

Gender differences are incorrectly presented as fixed and enduring - Maccoby and Jacklin (1974) presented the findings of several gender studies which concluded that girls had superior verbal ability, while boys had better spatial ability. Maccoby and Jacklin suggested that these differences are ‘hardwired’ into the brain before birth, an idea which was later accepted as fact (along with the findings). However Joel et.al (2015) found no such sex differences when conducting brain scan research, in terms of brain structure or processing. It is possible that Maccoby and Jacklin’s theory was so widely accepted because it fitted existing stereotypes of girls as ‘speakers’ and boys as ‘doers’. This suggests that we must be careful when accepting research findings as biological fact, as they may be influenced by alpha bias, and may be more social stereotypes than scientific fact.

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8
Q

What is a counterargument - Stereotypes/scientific fact?

A

There is research which suggests sex differences have a biological basis. Ingalhalikar et.al (2014) found that women’s brains may have better connections between the right and left hemisphere than mens, which could explain the popular stereotype that women are better at multitasking.

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9
Q

What is a limitation of Gender Bias - promotes sexism in research?

A

Murphy et.al (2014) found that despite the majority of undergraduate psychology students being women, lecturers in psychology departments are more likely to be men, meaning that women are underrepresented in universities, and that research is more likely to be conducted by men, so may disadvantage women. For example, a male researcher may be more likely to assume that women will be irrational and unable to complete complex tasks (Nicolson 1995). These expectations lead to women underperforming in research studies. Furthermore, research challenging gender biases may be unpublished. Formanowicz et.al (2018) studied over 1000 articles relating to gender bias, and found that research on gender bias is funded less often, and published by less prestigious journals. As such, fewer scholars are aware of it when conducting their own research. Institutional structures and methods of psychology may produce findings which are gender-biased, and when this occurs it is often not taken seriously.

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10
Q

What are WIERD people (Henrich et.al)

A

WIERD is a term created by Henrich et.al to describe people most likely to be studied by psychologists.
It describes Westernised, Educated people from Industrialised, Rich Democracies.
It comes from a review by Henrich et.al (2010) which looked at studies from leading psychology journals and found that 68% of research participants came from the United States, and 96% were from industrialised nations.
This suggests that many of psychologies ‘universal’ facts and theories are subject to cultural bias.
If the norm for behaviour is set by WIERD people and research into them, then the behaviours of people from non-Westernised, less educated, agricultural, and poorer countries may be seen as abnormal and inferior.

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11
Q

What is Cultural Bias?

A

A tendency to interpret all phenomena through the lens of ones own culture, ignoring any effects that cultural differences might have on behaviour.

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12
Q

What is Ethnocentrism?

A

A form of cultural bias, centred around a belief in the superiority of ones own cultural group. It involves judging other cultures by the standards and values of ones own culture. In an extreme form, the belief in the superiority of someone’s social group can lead to prejudice and discrimination toward other cultures.
This idea can be applied to Ainsworth’s Strange Situation and its different variations. It is argued that its definitions of secure and insecure attachment are based on western norms. This means that variations, such as Takahashi (1986) where Japanese infants were classed as more likely to be insecurely attached, are more likely to be wrong, blaming attachment style on the relationship with the mother when findings are actually the result of cultural bias.

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13
Q

What is Cultural Relativism?

A

The idea that norms, values, ethics and moral standards can only be meaningful and understood when viewed within specific social and cultural contexts.
Berry (1969) drew a distinction between etic and emic approaches to studying human behaviour.
An etic approach looks at behaviour from outside a culture, and attempts to describe those behaviours as universal
An emic approach functions from inside a culture and identifies behaviours specific to that culture.
An emic approach functions from inside a culture and identifies behaviours specific to that culture

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14
Q

What is a limitation of cultural bias in psychology - influential research?

A

Many influential studies in psychology are culturally biased. Both Asch and Milgram’s studies of social involved American participants exclusively, most of whom were white and middle-class. Replications of these studies in different cultural contexts produced different results, for instance replications of Asch’s line study in collectivist cultures found higher rates of conformity than the original study (Smith and Bond 1993). However it is the original studies and their culturally biased findings which are most well known. This suggests that there is a need to expand research so that it looks at several cultures, or, if not, to only apply findings to a culture similar to that of the participants eg. individualistic for Asch’s participants.

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15
Q

What is a counterargument - cultural bias - influential research?

A

It could be argued that in an age of increased media globalisation the individualist-collectivist distinction doesn’t really exist. Takano and Osaka (1999) found that in 14/15 studies comparing the US and Japan there was no evidence of individualism or collectivism, describing the distinction as lazy and simplistic. In modern psychology, cultural bias may be less of an issue.

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16
Q

What is a strength of research into cultural bias - cultural psychology?

A

Research into cultural bias has led to the emergence of cultural psychology - Cohen (2017) described cultural psychology as the study of how people shape and are shaped by their cultural experience. This field aims to avoid ethnocentric assumptions, taking an emic approach and conducting research from within a culture. This often involves working alongside local researchers and using culturally-based techniques. This suggests that modern psychologists are mindful of the effects of cultural bias, and are taking steps to avoid it.

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17
Q

What is a limitation of cultural bias - ethnic stereotyping?

A

Gould (1981) explained how early intelligence tests led to eugenic policies in the US. Psychologists in WWI piloted IQ tests on 1.75 million army recruits. Many of the items on the test were ethnocentric (eg. assuming that everyone would know the names of the US Presidents). Results showed that recruits from south-eastern Europe and African-Americans received the lowest scores, and were used to inform racist discourse about the genetic inferiority of particular cultural and ethnic groups. Ethnic minorities were deemed ‘mentally unfit’ and denied educationally and professional opportunities as a result. This illustrates how cultural bias can be used to justify prejudice and discrimination.

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18
Q

Outline the freewill-determinism debate:

A

Asks if our behaviour is selected without constraint or if it is the product of internal/external influences

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19
Q

What is Free will?

A

The idea that humans are free to choose their own thoughts, actions and beliefs. The approach recognises that biology/the environment may exert some influence on behaviour, but we are able to reject these forces if we wish. The approach is advocated by the humanistic approach.

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20
Q

What is Determinism?

A

The view that an individuals behaviour is shaped or controlled by internal or external forces, outside of their control. There a two levels of determinism, and 3 types.

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21
Q

What are the two levels of Determinism?

A

. Hard determinism - Sometimes referred to as fatalism - Argues that all behaviour has a cause, which should be identifiable. It assumes that everything we do is dictated by internal or external forces outside of our control, so free will is an illusion.
. Soft determinism - The view that behaviour may be predictable and be caused by internal or external factors, but this does not detract from the freedom we have to make rational, conscious choices. There is room for personal choice from a limited range of possibilities (restricted free will). It is an important feature of the cognitive approach.

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22
Q

What are the three types of Determinism?

A

. Biological determinism - The belief that behaviour is caused by biological (genetic, hormonal, evolutionary) influences that we can’t control
. Environmental determinism - The belief that behaviour is caused by features of the environment (eg. systems of reward and punishment) that we can’t control. Skinner argued that all behaviour is the result of conditioning, and that our experience of ‘choice’ is the product of reinforcements throughout our lives.
. Psychic determinism - The belief that behaviour is caused by unconscious psychodynamic conflicts that we can’t control. Freud emphasised the importance of biological drives and instincts, with behaviour a result of conflicts repressed in childhood.

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23
Q

What is a strength of free will - fatalism?

A

Free will has practical value - Roberts et.al (2000) looked at adolescents who had a strong belief in fatalism (the idea that their lives were shaped by forces out of their control). The study found that these children were at a significantly higher risk of developing depression than their peers who did not believe in fatalism. This suggests that thinking that we can exercise free will in everyday life can improve mental health. Even if we do not have freewill, the belief that we do may have a positive impact on mind and behaviour, demonstrating its value.

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24
Q

What is a strength of free will - legal system?

A

The position of the legal system on responsibility - the hard determinist stance is that individual choice is not the cause of behaviour. This idea is inconsistent with the way the legal system, which views offenders as being responsible for their actions. The main principle of the legal system is the idea that the defendant has exercised free will in committing their crime, so can be held personally and morally accountable. A deterministic viewpoint would make societies current version of justice, as it would suggest it is wrong the punish an offender for behaviours caused by factors out of their control. A free will stance is arguably necessary in the real world in order to maintain order and justice.

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25
Q

What is a strength of determinism - evidence from brain scan studies?

A

Evidence from brain scan studies supports the concept of determinism - Libet et.al (1983) instructed participants to chose a random moment to flick their wrist while he measured activity in their brain (‘readiness potential’). Participants had to say when they felt the conscious will to move. Libet found that the unconscious brain activity leading up to the conscious decision to move came half a second before the participant felt they had consciously decided to move. This can be seen as suggesting that even our most basic experiences are determined by our brain before we are consciously aware of them. This strengthens the idea of determinism.

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26
Q

What is the nature-nurture debate?

A

Part of the interactionist approach, it seeks to answer whether our behaviour is more a product of inherited or acquired characteristics. It is not a ‘debate’ between one or the other - not ‘either or’ as behaviours and characteristics tend to arise from a combination of both factors
eg. Kagan (1984) proposed that a baby’s innate temperament also affects the attachment relationship. So nature creates nurture - they interact.
For this reason, psychologists are are more likely to ask what the relative contribution of each influence is - so the debate really looks at how nature and nurture interact (interactionist approach)

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27
Q

What is meant by nature?

A

Inherited or hereditary influences. Early nativists eg. Descartes argued that all human characteristics, and even some aspects of knowledge, are innate. Physiological characteristics such as intelligence or personality are determined by biological factors. eg genes just as physical characteristics are.

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28
Q

What is meant by nurture?

A

The influence of experience and the environment. Empiricists eg. Locke argue that the mind is a blank slate at birth (tabula rasa), which is then shaped by the environment (an important feature of the behaviourist approach)
Lerner (1986) identified different levels of the environment, which includes prenatal factors (how physical and psychological influences affect a foetus). More generally development is influenced postnatally eg. the social conditions a child grows up in

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29
Q

How can nature and nurture interact?

A

. Diathesis stress model - Suggests behaviour is caused by a biological or environmental vulnerability (diathesis) which is only expressed when coupled with an environmental or biological trigger (stressor)
. Epigenetics - Refers to changes in genetic activity where the gene itself doesn’t change, caused by interactions with the environment eg. smoking, trauma. These external factors affect the way in which a gene is expressed. These epigenetic changes can also influence the genetic codes of the individuals children, and several generations of descendants. As such, epigenetics adds a third element to the nature-nurture debate, as the life experience of previous generations also impacts behaviour

30
Q

How is nature and nurture measured?

A

. Concordance - The degree to which two people are similar in terms of a specific trait. It is represented by a correlation coefficient.
. Concordance can be used to provide an estimate about the extent to which a trait is inherited (heritability)
. Heritability - the proportion of differences between individuals in a population regarding a particular characteristic, that is due to genetic variation
. A figure of 1% (0.01) means genes contribute almost nothing to an individual difference
. A figure of 100% (1.0) means genes are the only reason for an individual difference
. In the case of IQ, the general figure for heritability is 0.5 (Plomin 1994). So half of a persons intelligence is determined by genetic factors, and the other half by the environment

31
Q

Spectrum of the following approaches:
. Biological
. Psychodynamic
. Cognitive
. Humanistic
. Behaviourist
on the nature-nurture spectrum?

A

Nature:
Biological - Emphasis on hereditary traits, hormones, chemicals ect. although interaction with the environment is aknowledged
Nature-Interactionist:
Psychodynamic - Basic instinctive drives, such as sex and aggression, drive behaviour, but a persons relationship with their parents is also important in development
Interactionist:
Cognitive - Innate information processing abilities are constantly refined by interaction with the environment - combination of nature and nurture
Interactionist-Nurture:
Humanistic - Accepts the influence of basic physiological needs, but focus is on a persons experience of their social environment
Nurture:
Behaviourist - Argues that the mind is a blank slate at birth (tabula rasa) so behaviour is purely determined by learning experiences in the environment

32
Q

What is a strength of the nature-nurture debate - adoption studies?

A

Research support from adoption studies - Adoption studies are crucial in the nature-nurture debate as they separate the competing influences of nature and nurture. If adopted children are found to be more similar to their adoptive parents, it suggests nurture and the environment have a greater influence. Conversely, if they are more similar to their biological parents, it suggests genetic factors and nature dominates. Adoption studies can be helpful in determining where nature and nurture contribute to development.

33
Q

What is a counterargument - nature/nurture - adoption studies?

A

Plomin (1994) suggested the influences of nature and nurture cant be easily pulled apart. He suggested that people create their own ‘nurture’, in that they select environments appropriate for their ‘nature’. Eg. a naturally aggressive child is more likely to spend time with children who share these aggressive tendencies. So their chosen environment further influences their development (niche-picking). This suggests that it doesn’t make sense to look at nature and nurture independently

34
Q

What is a strength of the nature-nurture debate - real world application?

A

Research suggests that OCD is a highly heritable disorder - Nestadt et.al (2010) said the heritability rate was 0.76. Such understanding can inform genetic counselling, as it is important for individuals to understand that high heritability does not mean they will go on to develop the disorder. People with a high genetic risk can learn methods of preventing the disorder eg. managing stress, but also are reassured that they aren’t pre-determined to develop the disorder, which can help alleviate worries and stress. This shows the debate to be more than just theoretical - it is also important on a practical level.

35
Q

What is a strength of the nature-nurture debate - evidence from epigenetics?

A

Real world evidence for the effects of epigenetics comes from WW2. In 1944, Nazi’s blocked the distribution of food to the Dutch people, resulting in 22,000 dying of starvation (the Dutch Hunger Winter). Susser and Lin (1992) reported that women who gave birth during this time had children with low birth rates. When these children grew up, they were 2x as likely to develop schizophrenia than typical populations. This supports the view that the experiences of previous generations can leave ‘epigenetic markers’ that influence the health of their offspring, showing how nurture can have an effect on nature

36
Q

Outline the holism-reductionism debate:

A

The holism-reductionism debate assesses the question of whether to use a holistic or reductionist approach when studying human behaviour. The holistic approach is about studying a person or behaviour as a ‘whole. If you begin to break down this person or experience, your analysis becomes reductionist. As such, the debate can’t exist on a continuum - it favours either holism or reductionism.

37
Q

What is holism?

A

The belief that behaviours/experiences can only be studied as a whole - they must be studied as an indivisible system. Any attempt to subdivide behaviour into smaller units is considered inappropriate.
This was the view of Gestalt psychologists, who believed the whole was greater than the sum of its parts, so any attempt to break the whole down prevents us from seeing its ‘essence’.

38
Q

What approach favours holism?

A

The humanistic approach - focuses on the individual experience, which cannot be broken down into separate components. They use qualitative methods to investigate the ‘self’, where themes are analysed.

39
Q

What is reductionism?

A

The belief that human behaviour is best understood when it is broken down into its constituent parts. It is based on the scientific principle of parsimony - that all phenomena should be explained using the simplest principles - the lowest level.
There is a continuum within the reductionist approach - known as the ‘Levels of explanation’

40
Q

What approach favours reductionism?

A

The behaviourist approach

41
Q

What are the ‘Levels of explanation’ in psychology (reductionism)?

A

Different ways of looking at behaviour
. Socio-cultural level
. Psychological level
. Physical level
. Environmental/behavioural level
. Physiological level
. Neurochemical
Each level is more reductionist than the last - so the socio-cultural level is the least reductionist, and the neurochemical level is the most.

42
Q

Explanation of the ‘levels of explanation’ using OCD:

A

. Socio-cultural - OCD interrupts social relationships
. Psychological - The persons experience of anxiety
. Physical - Movement, so for OCD the persons compulsions eg. hand washing
. Environmental/behavioural - Learning experiences
. Neurochemical - Underproduction of serotonin

43
Q

What is the ‘hierarchy of science’?

A

. Sociology
. Psychology
. Biology
. Chemistry
. Physics
Again, the most reductionist level is at the bottom
Reductionist researchers would see psychology as being replaced by explanations derived from the three sciences (bio, chem, physics) at the bottom of the hierarchy

44
Q

What is meant by ‘biological reductionism’?

A

A form of reductionism which attempts to explain behaviour at the lowest biological level. It includes the neurochemical and physiological levels, and considers evolutionary and genetic influences.
It is based on the idea that we are biological organisms, so all behaviour must be, on some level, biological
Biologically reductionist arguments often work ‘backwards’. In the case of OCD, a biologically reductionist researcher would note that drugs that increase serotonin are effective in treating OCD. Working backwards, they would conclude that low serotonin may be a cause of OCD. OCD has been reduced to levels of neurotransmitter activity by working backwards from treatment to cause.

45
Q

What is environmental reductionism?

A

The attempt to explain all behaviour in terms of stimulus-response links, which have been learned through experience.
The behaviourist approach is built upon environmental reductionism, as it proposes that all behaviour is learned and acquired through interaction with the environment. Behaviourists explain behaviour as being a product of conditioning, which is learned through stimulus-response links (eg. classical conditioning and Pavlov’s dogs). It reduces behaviour down to basic elements
eg. the learning theory of attachment suggests love is a learned association between the person feeding the baby (neutral stimulus) and food (unconditioned stimulus) resulting in pleasure (conditioned response)

46
Q

What is machine reductionism?

A

Linked to early cognitive models of information processing. It compares the operations of the mind to the operations of a computer, producing input-processing-response models of the mind eg. the multi-store model of memory

47
Q

What is a limitation of holism - practical value?

A
  • Holism may lack practical value - Holistic accounts of human behaviour tend to be difficult to use as they are complex, presenting researchers with a practical dilemma. For example, if you look at depression from a humanistic perspective and assume that there are several factors that contribute to the illness (eg. a persons past, their job) it is difficult to learn which is the most influential, and by extension difficult to know what to prioritise in therapy. As a result, holistic accounts may lack practical value, as they can’t really be applied in everyday situations such as therapy.
48
Q

What is a strength of reductionism - basis of the scientific approach?

A

In order to conduct well-controlled research, target behaviours must be broken down into categories - they must be operationalised. This allows researchers to conduct experiments or record observations in a way that is objective and reliable. This scientific approach gives psychology greater scientific credibility, giving it equal status among the natural sciences.

49
Q

What is a counterargument - reductionism - basis of science?

A

Reductionist approaches have been accused of oversimplifying complex phenomena, leading to reduced validity. They can only form part of an explanation, and more elements of a situation need to be considered to explain it fully

50
Q

What is a limitation of reductionism - some behaviours can only be studied at a higher level?

A

There are often aspects of social behaviour that only emerge within a group context, and cannot be understood when looking only at individual group members. Eg. the effects of conformity to social roles in the Stanford Prison Experiment - it was the interactions between participants that was important in drawing conclusions. Conformity is a social process, so can only be explained at the social level at which it occurs. For at least some behaviours. higher level explanations (or holistic ones) provide a more valid account.

51
Q

What is the idiographic-nomothetic debate?

A

A debate centered on two opposing approaches: the idiographic approach, which focuses on understanding the individual, and the nomothetic approach, which focuses on studying human behaviour through the development of universal laws and principles. The extent to which a debate is favoured by a researcher affects the research methods used by them.
The approaches can overlap.

52
Q

What is the idiographic approach?

A

. Derived from the Greek ‘idios’ meaning private or personal
. It focuses on the individual case as a means of understanding behaviour, rather than aiming to form general laws of behaviour

53
Q

What is the idiographic approach to psychological investigation?

A

. Often a case study. If multiple participants are used, it is often a small number eg. from a single institution
. Idiographic research tends to be qualitative, focused on detail.
Case studies are frequently used, where participants and their family members/friends are studied, perhaps with a focus on a particular aspect of human behaviour (differs from the holistic approach - doesn’t necessarily look at the whole self)
If participants are interviewed, these are in-depth and unstructured
. Data is analysed and themes are identified.
. Conclusions may help people going through similar experiences, or, more widely, be used to help professionals determine best practice when dealing with particular experience.
eg. Carl Rogers’ Unconditional Positive Regard - as part of his attempt to explain the process of self-development. The theory was based on in-depth conversations with clients in therapy.
Psychodynamic approach - Freud using the case study of Little Hans to develop his ideas about psychosexual development and the Oedipus complex

54
Q

What is the Nomothetic approach?

A

. From the Greek ‘nomos’ meaning law
. Aims to study human behaviour with the purpose of creating generalisations, which are then used to create universal ‘laws’ of behaviour and general principles. These principles can then be used in individual cases eg. drug therapy for a schizophrenic patient

55
Q

What is the Nomothetic approach to psychological investigation?

A

. Uses quantitative methods - Nomothetic research closely fits traditional models of the ‘scientific method’ in psychology. Hypotheses are formulated, samples of people are assessed, potentially using structured questionnaires or psychological tests, and numerical data is produced
. This numerical data is analysed for its statistical significance
. Nomothetic approaches seek to quantify human behaviour
. Eg. behaviourist approach - Skinner Rats - studied animals in order to generate universal laws of behaviour (operant conditioning)
. Biological approach - Sperry’s split brain research - involved repeated testing, part of the basis for understanding hemispheric lateralisation

56
Q

How does objectivity/subjectivity relate to the idiographic-nomothetic debate?

A

. Objectivity lies at the heart of the nomothetic approach - generating laws of behaviour is only possible if methods of assessment are delivered in a standardised and objective way. This ensures true replication occurs across several samples of behaviour, and removes bias
. The idiographic approach argues that objectivity in psychological research is impossible. People’s experience of their own individual environment/context is the most significant aspect of a piece of research.

57
Q

What is a strength of the idiographic approach - can contribute to the nomothetic approach?

A

The idiographic approach uses in-depth, qualitative methods of investigation, as they provide a global description of one individual. This can contribute to the nomothetic approach by providing more information on general laws, or by encouraging researchers to challenge these laws. A single case may generate hypotheses for further study, as in the case of Henry Molaison (HM) which encouraged research into stores in Long Term Memory. These cases can reveal insights about normal functioning, which may contribute to overall understanding. Even though the focus is on fewer individuals, the idiographic approach can still help generate universal laws of behaviour.

58
Q

What is a counterargument - idiographic approach - contributor?

A

However meaningful generalisations can only be made when there are multiple examples of and studies into a particular topic, as without this there is no adequate baseline with which to compare behaviour. Also, methods associated with the idiographic approach such as case studies tend to lack scientific credibility, as their conclusions rely on subjective interpretations. The idiographic approach can help contribute to the nomothetic approach, but it is still restricted.

59
Q

What is a limitation of the nomothetic approach - losing the individual?

A

+ The nomothetic approach risks losing understanding of the individual being studied - The nomothetic approaches preoccupation with general laws means that the actual humans involved in the research are ignored. For example, knowing that there is a 1% lifetime risk of developing schizophrenia tells us little about what life is like for someone living with the disorder. Understanding the subjective experience of schizophrenia is valuable, as it can help to determine appropriate treatment options. The nomothetic approach is limited in that its search for generalisations means it fails to relate to ‘experience’

60
Q

What is a strength of both the idiographic and nomothetic approach - aims of science?

A

Both approaches fit with the aims of science. The processes involved in nomothetic research are similar to those used in the natural sciences eg. establishing objectivity through standardisation, control and statistical testing. Researchers favouring the idiographic approach also seek to objectify their methods, such as by using triangulation (where findings from a range of studies, all using different qualitative methods, are compared as a way of increasing their validity). This suggests that both nomothetic and idiographic approaches can be used to elevate psychology’s scientific credibility.

61
Q

What are ethical implications?

A

The consequences that a piece of psychological research - be that a study or theory - might have on individual participants within the study, on a wider social group, or on social policy. Ethical implications must be considered in all areas of psychological research, but some areas are more socially sensitive than others.

62
Q

What is ‘social sensitivity’?

A

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’.

63
Q

Examples of social sensitivity in research:

A

. Low social sensitivity - Research into Long Term Memory within a student population - this is unlikely to have consequences for the individual participants or for the social group the participants may represent. In fact, in some research such as this, participants may not represent a particular social group, as they are drawn from several groups. There is unlikely to be any consequences on social policy
. High social sensitivity - Research into depression - May have consequences on individual participants (eg. if personal information is revealed during the study, and later accessed by a potential employer), on the wider social group they represent (eg. if the findings suggested that people with depression never fully recovered, so would be a risk as an employee) and on social policy (eg. if the findings of the study influenced which treatment options were recommended by professionals).
. Even seemingly innocuous research can have ethical implications eg. long term memory research resulting in a change to exam policy

64
Q

How do ethical implications affect the research process?

A

. Affect the research question
. Affect the way researchers deal with participants
. Affect the way findings are used

65
Q

How do ethical implications affect the research question?

A

Sieber and Stanley (1988) warned that the way research questions are phrased and investigated can influence the ways in which findings are interpreted.
Kitzinger and Coyle (1995) noted that research into relationships has been guilty of ‘heterosexual bias’, where homosexual relationships are judged against heterosexual norms.

66
Q

How do ethical implications affect how researchers deal with participants?

A

Issues such as informed consent, confidentiality and psychological harm may be especially important in socially sensitive research.
Eg. A study looking at the effects of domestic abuse - clearly socially sensitive research. Researchers need to consider confidentiality, as victims will be worried about ex-partners finding out about their participation and what they have revealed, about protection from psychological harm, as recounting experiences would be highly stressful, and informed consent. as participants might give consent but only come to fully understand what is involved in the research as it unfolds.

67
Q

How do ethical implications affect the way findings are used?

A

. Researchers need to consider in advance how findings are used, which may impact what data they collect
. Findings from studies could be seen as giving a scientific basis to existing prejudices eg. Lombroso’s atavistic form supporting eugenic attitudes at the time, or studies examining the ethnic basis of intelligence
. Also, sensitive information tends to be what the media will interested in and publicise. Adrian Owen’s research into reaching brain-damaged patients received enormous media attention.

68
Q

What is a strength of socially sensitive research - benefits for target population?

A

In 1952 the DSM-5 listed homosexuality as a form of sociopathic personality disorder. However it was removed in 1973, a change credited to the Kinsey report. This was based on anonymous interviews with over 5000 men about their sexual behaviour. The report concluded that homosexuality is a typical expression of human sexual behaviour. This illustrates the importance of researchers tackling socially sensitive topics, as it can encourage change on a theoretical and social level.

69
Q

What is a strength of socially sensitive research - real world application?

A

Certain groups, such as policymakers, rely on research on socially sensitive issues in order to make decisions. The government looks to research when making decisions on social policies such as childcare, metal health provision and education. The existence of socially sensitive research means these policies can be based on factual, objective evidence, rather than politically-motivated views. This means that psychologists play an important role in providing high quality research on socially sensitive topics.

70
Q

What is a limitation of socially sensitive research - poorly designed research can have serious implications?

A

Poor research design in socially sensitive research could have serious impacts on public life - This was the case in Burt (1955) who used twin studies to suggest that IQ was highly heritable and could be detected by age 11. These findings were used to influence government policy, and were involved in the establishment of the 11+ exam, which determines the type of school a child attends for secondary education. Burt was later discredited, as many discrepancies in his data were revealed. However the idea that children should be separated based on their natural intelligence persisted, even when the research that supported the idea was abandoned. Use of the 11+ also continued, with it still used as a selection tool in parts of the UK today, such as Belfast. The example of childhood intelligence measures clearly demonstrates the importance of carefully planning research into socially sensitive research in order to ensure the findings produced are valid, as they can have enduring effects upon society.