Issues And Debates Flashcards
what is reductionism?
reducing behaviour to different parts e.g. genes
what is holism?
studying behaviour as a whole
what are the 3 levels of reductionism?
Lowest level- biological explanations. (most reductionist)
Middle level- psychological explanation’s (cognitive behavioral)
Highest level- social and cultural explanations- influence of social groups on behavior (least reductionist)
what is bio. reductionism?
when biological psychologists try and reduce behaviour to a physical level, explaining it in terms of hormones etc. E.g, the MAOA-L gene causes low seretonin, which causes aggressive behaviour
what is environmental reductionism?
reduce behaviour to env. Level and explain it in terms of learned responses. E.g., SLT of aggression argues that aggression is learnt through imitation
what is nature?
Nativist approach- human characteristics are innate
Down to genes etc.
what is nurture?
Empiricist approach- characteristics result of environment
3 evaluation points of nature vs nurture?
-: impossible to seperate nature vs nurtutre, best to consider interactionism
-: twin studies- mz may have more similar environments than dz twins, thus they may be treated more similarly, thus nature vs nurture may be invalid
-: psychologists taking an extreme nurture stance show hard environmental determinism. E.g., token economy is unethical
what is the idiographic approach?
focuses on individuals to understand behaviour, uses qualitative methods like interviews
what is the nomothetic approach?
develops laws of behaviour based on the study of groups; often uses quantitative data. So findings can be genralised. Uses lab experiments
what is universiality?
aim to develop theories that apply to all people
what is gender bias?
research that doesn’t represent experience and behaviour of both males and females
what is alpha gender bias?
theories exaggerate differences between males and females
what is beta gender bias?
when theories ignore differences between males and females
what is androcentricism?
when normal behaviour is jugded according to male standard (when there is an all male sample)
what is determinism?
behaviour is controlled by internal or external factors
what is the difference between hard and soft determinism?
Hard determinism: – all behaviour can be predicted as freewill is not possible
Soft determinism: – behaviour does have causes but there is some freewill
what is biological, environmental and psychic determinism?
Biological determinism: – behaviour is controlled by pysiological influences
Environmental determinism: - behaviour is controlled by features of environment
Psychic determinism: - behaviour is controlled by unconcious conflicts
what is free will and fatalism?
chosing to make decision
Fatalism- Events are pre-determined and inevitable
what is the difference between ethics and ethical guidlines and ethical implications?
Ethics – consideration of what is acceptable or right behaviour in pursuit of scientific goal
Ethical Guidelines: – protection from harm, no deception, informed consent, debrief, right to withdraw, privacy/confidentiallity
Ethical Implication: – impact of psychological research may have in terms of rights of others especially p’s
what is socially sensitive research?
Socially sensitive research: – studies where there are potential social consequences either directly for the p’s or the group of individuals represented by the research
what is cost benefit analysis?
Weighs potential rewards against potential costs before making a choice
what is cultural bias?
research doesnt represent behaviours of all cultures
what is ethnocentricism?
judging other cultures by the standards and values of your own culture
what is cultural relativism?
behaviour cant be understood properly unless it is viewd in the context of the specific culture
