Issues and Debates Flashcards
nature/ nativists
we inherit influences from our parents
bescarles on the nature side of the debate
all human characteristics are innate, and some aspect of knowledge
characteristics including personality and intelligence are determined by genes, physical characteristics too e.g. height
heritability co-efficient (0-1)
designed to indicate the extent to which a trait has a biological basis
1 is entirely genetically determined
0.5 intelligence, Plomin
nurture/empiricists
empiricists believe in the intelligence of the environment
John Locke - born as a blank slate - he developed the behaviourist approach
levels of environment
there are different levels of the effect of the environment
learning whether learnings pre (from conception) or post natal (after birth)
examples of pre-natal can be the mother drinking, drugs, smoking
interactionism
looking at the extent to which side is influential e.g. eye colour argued to be interactional, melanin affects eye colour 0.8
diatheses stress model
models of mental illness which emphasis the interaction of nurture and nature
epigentics
environmental behaviour leave marker on our genes, doesnt change the genes but leaves a marker this has been found due to trauma, diet and smoking
nature: A03: anatomy is destiny
if we accept that anatomy is destiny we are on dangerous ground, because this is an extreme determinism stance, linking genetics to behaviour characteristics e.g. genetics + intelligence
leads to eugenics policies (master race)
1917 - IQ tests issued to immigrants before going into US, certain groups in society were labelled as feeble minded (hungarians, jews, russians)
1952 - genetics was suggested as the reason for IQ differences between white and black Americans, this is socially sensitive and has lead to issues in future
nature: A03: diatheses stress model
for some traits we see high concordance rates, suggesting there may be a genetic element, but pure nature is too extreme
diathesis stress explanations strengthen this idea highlighting that both nature and nurture play a role
nurture: A03: real life application - shape behaviour
it has been argued that nurture allows you to shape behaviour therefore can be used to shape society this has been applied to token economies however this a short term and unethical solution, e.g. in a prison a prisoner becomes reliant on the token economy in there which is not existent in real life therefore they struggle in the real world and have a great possibility of ending back in prison
nurture: A03: research to establish effect of environment is complicated
research cant easily establish the influence of the environment on behaviour, cant easily isolate role of learning (monozygotic twins)
shared and unshared environments, just become same environment or experience e.g. school doesn’t mean two sibling or twins will experience it the same way, this could be down to their own temperament
this helps explain why we cant get 100% concordance rates even in mz twin studies
constructivism
the idea that we shape our own nature by seeking appropriate environments for their nature
an aggressive child will feel more comfortable around children showing similar behaviour so will seek that out, this then further influences their behaviour
Plomin
niche-building ad niche-picking
gene-environment interaction: A03: scarr and mccartney
passive interaction - parents genes influence the way they treat their child
evocative interaction - the childs gene influences and shape the environment they grow up in
active interaction - the child creates their own environment through people and experiences
epigenetics: A03: environmental effects span generations
in 1944 - Nazis blocked distribution of food to dutch, 20,000 died of starvation
susser and lin (1992), women who fell pregnant during famine, had low-birth weight babies, these babies were twice as likely to develop schizophrenia than normal babies, trauma suffered left epigenetic marks impacting health of future offspring
free will
ability to make choice, empowering, gives our existence purpose
some lower levels in maslows hierarchy, food and water are deterministic, we exercise free will more up the levels
free will really important in terms of reward, responsibility and morality all require free will
determinism
external and internal factors beyond our control
fatalism
is an extreme belief in determinism
types of determinism
hard, soft, psychic, biological, environmental
hard determinism
extreme belief everything is beyond our control e.g. biological
soft determinism
some factors are beyond our control, but allows for some choice e.g. cognitive all born with ability to think, choice in thoughts
psychic determinism
freud, unconscious mind (childhood experiences) free will is an illusion
biological determinism
genetics, physiology drives behaviour
environmental determinism
behaviourism, reinforcement + conditioning, agents of socialisation free will is an illusion
features of science
predict, cause, effect
case for determinism - consistent with science
determinism is consistent with the aims of science in addition the value of such research means the prediction and control of human behaviour and potentially developing treatments
case against determinism - no 100% concordance and chaos effect
never get 100% concordance, no behaviour purely genetic (80% intelligence - predetermined)
chaos theory/butterfly theory - small change in initial conditions, can lead to big changes down the line, flap of butterfly wings can set of action of events that cant be predicted therefore this does against determinism because it goes against prediction
case for determinism - mental health
if we accept it is genetically/ biologically driven then that has implications for the future we can find cause, start treatment, predict at risk individuals and targeted interventions
case against determinism - justice system
a criminal gene, never accepted in a court of law, needs responsibility
case against determinism - depression linked to fatalism
internal locus of control - 2000 adolescents with belief in fatalism at greater risk of developing depression
case for free will - taking responsibility
results in people taking responsibility and being held accountable this aids functioning in society
however could still be an illusion of free will - freud/skinner - product of reinforcement we have experienced
case for free will - protects our mental health
even if free will is an illusion it protects our mental health
Libet et al (1983) - activity in motor area occurs before they made conscious awareness of the decision to move their finger up to 1/10 second
holism
Gestalt psychology famously declared ‘that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts’, this view is the basis of holism in psychology and any attempt to break up behaviour and experience is inappropriate as these can only be understood by understanding the person or behaviour as a whole
reductionism
analyses behaviour by breaking it down into its constituent parts, based on the scientific principle of parsimony: that all phenomenon should be explained using the most basic principles
levels of explanation in psychology
different ways of viewing the same phenomena in psychology
biological reductionism
we are biological organisms made up of physiological structures and processes
thus all behaviour is at same level biological and so can be explained through neurochemical, neurophysiological, evolutionary, and genetic influences
environmental reductionism (stimulus-response)
behaviourists study observable behaviour only and in doing so break complex learning into simple stimulus-response links that are measurable within the laboratory
case for holism - research studies
zimbardos spe shows how the effects of conformity to social roles and the deindividuation of the prisoners and guards couldnt have been understood by just studying the individuals. it was their interactions and group behaviour that were important in understanding the way we conform to social roles
case against holism
Over complicates behaviours which may have simpler explanations. It is often difficult to study lots of explanations at once. This can mean that it gathers little data on lots of explanations, therefore lacking depth in its explanations.
case for reductionism - practical applications
biological reductionism has led to development of biological therapies by breaking complex behaviours into small parts for example research into the genetic basis of mental disorders has enabled researchers to identify specific genes that could cause a vulnerability to developing schizophrenia, the reductionist approach enables the scientific causes of to be identified and potentially dealt with
case against reductionism - low level explanation
low level explanations can cause problems by overlooking the true meaning of behaviour
wolpe (1973) treated a woman who had a fear of insects with systematic desensitisation, however there was no improvement and it was later revealed that her fear stemmed from her husband having an insect related nickname, therefore her fear of insects was also linked to her worries about her marriage, this highlights that a reductionist view cannot treat complex problems, because a low level explanation is very simplistic it couldnt explain why wolpes patient felt the way she did
idiographic
describes the nature of the individual, people are studied as unique entities, each with their own private/subjective experiences, motivations and values
idiographic methods
qualitative data, such as case studies, unstructured interviews and other self report measures, reflecting the central idiographic aim to describes the richness of human experience
nomothetic
produces general laws of human behaviour which provide a benchmark against which people can be compared, classified and measured and future behaviour can be predicted and or controlled
three kinds
classifying people into groups
establishing principles
establishing dimensions
nomothetic methods
more closely aligned with those methods that would be regarded as scientific within psychology such as experiments and observations
uses scientific and quantitative data
group averages are statistically analysed to create predictions