Issues And Debates Flashcards
A01
Explain nomothetic approaches and what they aim to do
- try to establish general laws for everyone by assuming criteria’s for certain behaviour
- objective knowledge through scientific methods e.g lab experiments, structured observations
- seen as scientific as making general laws help develop predictions for behaviour
- quantitative methods used
A01
Explain idiographic approaches and what they aim to do
- focus on individual differences and uniqueness
- qualitative methods used e.g case studies, unstructured interviews
- case study example is patient HM and KF where research was discovered for different types of LTM
- seen as unscientific as the individuals experiences are subjective
A01
Which of the approaches primarily have a nomothetic approach?
(However some use idiographic methods e.g case studies)
- behaviourist
- social learning theory
- biological
- cognitive
- psychodynamic
A01
What approach is only ever idiographic
- Humanistic approach
A01
What are examples of nomothetic methods?
- lab experiments and controlled observations
- nomothetic methods as they gather quantitative data and focus on explaining and predicting general patterns of behaviour rather than focusing on details of individual people
A01
What methods are examples of methods used for an idiographic approach
- open ended questions and unstructured interviews as they gather qualitative data, in words
A01
What methodology combines both idiographic and nomothetic methods
- Q methodology
- questions are given in a survey where ppts rank their answers accordingly
- this gives detail about the individuals and also can be done by large sample size
A03
Explain Gordon Allports position on the idiographic vs nomothetic debate
- his argument was that the predictions of nomothetic methods were usually predictions about how people tend to behave on average. These predictions state that a certain percentage of people behave one way, and the rest behave another way. However, Allport argued that nomothetic methods do not give us any way of knowing whether a particular individual will fall into one category or the other. Idiographic methods like case studies and interviews, on the other hand, provide much richer detail, which allows us to make more accurate predictions of an individual
A03
What is a strength of nomothetic methods
- seen as scientific
- aims to create general laws of behaviour, therefore allows predictions for behaviour to be made
- subjective bias is removed through standardised methods and measurements
- data is also easier to replicate, making it more generalisable
A03
What is a weakness of nomothetic methods
- misinterpretation: general trends may not accurately represent every individual in a group
- superficial: fixed criteria does not give complete picture of individual. E.g two ppl with depression diagnosis have different experiences
A03
What are weaknesses of idiographic methods
- unscientific, conclusions are open to researcher bias, reducing reliability of findings
- however Allport argued, by providing greater insight into an individual, idiographic methods might allow better predictions
-time consuming: due to depth and detail can be a very time consuming process
A03
What are strengths of idiographic methods
- rich detailed data, argued to provide more valid perspective on human behaviour e.g patient HM and diff types of LTM
- hypothesis generation- while unusual cases are not generalisable, they can generate new interesting areas of research or overturn incorrect theories
A01
What is reductionism
- studying behaviour by breaking them down into smaller components e.g biological approach doesn’t take into account environmental factors
A01
What is holism
- behaviour can be understood by analysing the person and behaviour as a whole
- behaviour must include all an individuals experiences and factors influencing behaviour
A01
What are the levels of explanation for reductionism and holism (1 being the most holistic, 3 being the most reductionist)
1) social/cultural
2) psychological/cognitive
3) biological
A01
What is biological reductionism
- explains behaviour using biological systems, including genetics, hormones and neurotransmitters
- seen in the biological approach
A01
What is environmental reductionism
- explains behaviour in terms of stimulus-response relationships from the environment
- seen in the behaviourist approach
A01
Explain where all the approaches lie on the levels of explanation
- cognitive and social learning theory are somewhat reductionist but are more holistic than the behaviourist approach
- psychodynamic approach is somewhat holistic as it breaks personality down into 3 parts, but says we need to look at all aspects of behaviour to understand how these parts interact
- the humanistic approach is the most holistic as it says that we can’t break down behaviour at all
A03
What are the strengths of reductionist explanations
- scientific: reduces behaviour down into cause and effect relationships that are empirically testable, therefore falsifiable.
- supports the development and empirical testing of treatments like drug therapies. These therapies have helped millions of ppl manage mental health symptoms
- e.g ppl with schizophrenia from a biological perspective have either too high/low levels of dopamine, therefore drugs are made to target the dopamine system , however, treatment resistant + holistic explanations may be more useful for long term
-supported by the principle of parsimony which says that we should choose the simplistic explanation, as reductionism says that we can break down explanations into their simplest parts
A03
What are the weaknesses of a reductionist explanation
- overly simplistic: oversimplifies complex behaviour leading to a loss of validity. Genetic explanations don’t analyse the social context within which the behaviour occurs
A03
What are the strengths of a holistic explanation
- led to development of therapeutic approaches such as ‘client centred therapy’
- they aim to provide more personalised treatment options than alternatives like drug therapies