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issues and debates Flashcards

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1
Q

what is an idiographic approach?

A
  • focuses on the individual and emphasises the unique personal experience of human nature as a means of understanding behaviour
  • they allow for a deep understanding of an individual and uniqueness and subject experiences
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2
Q

which research methods are an example of an idiographic approach?

A

qualitative data such as case studies, unstructured interviews and unstructured observations

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3
Q

which approaches can be seen as idiographic?

A
  • humanistic approach
  • some aspects of the psychodynamic approach
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4
Q

what is a nomothetic approach?

A
  • attempts to study human behaviour through the development of general principles and universal laws
  • provides an understanding of general patterns, trends and universal principles that may apply to larger populations
  • provides a benchmark against which behaviour can be compared, classified and measured
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5
Q

which research methods are an example of a nomothetic approach?

A

quantitative data such as experiments, correlations, content analysis and structured observations

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6
Q

which approaches can be seen as nomothetic?

A

seen in the biological, behavioural and some aspects of the cognitive approach

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7
Q

what is the question in debate when examining idiographic and nomothetic approaches?

A

which approach (I or N) is the most appropriate (the best) when researching the complexities of human behaviour?

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8
Q

what are pros of the idiographic approach?

A

+ specific
+ deep understanding
+ provides a basis for further investigation e.g clive wearing
+ allows for natural phenomena to be studied that wouldn’t be able to be studied experimentally

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9
Q

what are cons of the idiographic approach?

A
  • can’t be generalised
  • takes time
  • open to research interpretation
  • only focuses on unique cases
  • these research methods are criticised for being the least scientific
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10
Q

what are pros of the nomothetic approach?

A

+ mirrors elements of natural science
+ comparisons can be made
+ generalisable and universal - allows for standards of behaviour to be established

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11
Q

what are cons of the nomothetic approach?

A
  • subjective experience is ignored which is vital for the mind and behaviour
  • ignores individual differences
  • reductionist - loses the whole person
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12
Q

what is gender?

A

a group of people who share qualities or ways of behaving which society associates with being female, male, or another identity

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13
Q

what is bias?

A

a distorted view, in favour or against something without acknowledging an alternative view

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14
Q

what is gender bias?

A

the differential treatment and/or representation of males and females, based on stereotypes and not on real differences

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15
Q

what is alpha bias?

A

exaggerates or overestimates differences between M&F

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16
Q

what is beta bias?

A

ignoring or minimising sex differences by assuming that the findings from males can apply equally to females and vice versa

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17
Q

what is androcentrism?

A

a consequence of Beta Bias. Being focused on or dominated by males or the male point of view

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18
Q

what are some examples of gender bias?

A
  • asch (conformity)
  • zimbardo (conformity)
  • milgram (obedience)
  • hofling (obedience)
  • bowlby (thieves study)
  • ainsworth ( strange situation)
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19
Q

what are examples of alpha bias?

A
  • bowlby (MD)
  • Freud stating femininity is failed masculinity
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20
Q

what are examples of beta bias?

A
  • zimbardo prison experiment
  • bowlby’s theives
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21
Q

what is a positive implication of gender bias?

A

elements of GB may lead to a better understanding of the differences between each gender so any further research that challenges or reduces stereotypes will in time reduce elements of GB seen in society

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22
Q

what piece of research shows a positive implication of gender bias?

A

Eagly - claimed women were less effective leaders so this led to the development of training programmes to develop female leadership, a practical application to the real world suggesting there are slight benefits of GB

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23
Q

what piece of research shows that gender bias goes unchallenged?

A

Darwin evolutionary theory - some elements are fixed so GB will remain the same

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24
Q

what is free will?

A
  • when we can choose our own thoughts and actions
  • doesn’t deny that biological/environmental factors can influence our behaviour, but implies that we are able to resist these pressures
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25
Q

what approach is free will advocated by?

A

the humanistic approach

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26
Q

what is determinism?

A

when free will doesn’t explain our behaviour

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27
Q

what are the 5 types of determinism?

A
  • hard determinism
  • soft determinism
  • biological determinism
  • environmental determinism
  • psychic determinism
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28
Q

what is hard determinism?

A
  • all human behaviour has an identifiable cause
  • compatible with the aims of science
  • assumes everything we think and do is dictated by internal/external forces that we can’t control
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29
Q

what is soft determinism?

A
  • important feature of the cognitive approach
  • acknowledges that all human action has a cause
  • suggests some room for manoeuvre, as people have conscious mental control over the way we behave
  • we have freedom to make rational, conscious choices in everyday situations
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30
Q

what is biological determinism?

A
  • linked with biological approach
  • emphasises the role of genetics, hormones, and brain processes in explaining behaviour
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31
Q

what is environmental determinism?

A
  • all behaviour is the result of conditioning (Skinner)
  • ‘choice’ isn’t merely the sum of reinforcement contingencies that have acted upon us during our lives
  • behaviour is shaped by environmental events and ‘agents of socialisation’ (parents, teachers, institutions’)
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32
Q

what is psychic determinism?

A
  • behaviour is determined and directed by unconscious conflicts repressed in childhood (psychodynamic approach)
  • no such thing as accident, everything is determined by the unconscious
  • more emphasis on biological drives than behaviourist approaches
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33
Q

what is the scientific emphasis on causal explanations?

A
  • science states that everything has a cause that can be explained by general laws
  • knowledge of cause and the formations of laws as important as they allow scientists to predict and control events in the future
34
Q

what is a pro of freewill?

A
  • there is evidence
  • everyday experiences give us the impression that we are constantly experiencing freewill: it makes cognitive sense, so the explanation has FACE VALIDITY
  • so, even if we don’t have freewill, simply believing that we do can have a positive impact on mind and behaviour
35
Q

what is a con of freewill?

A
  • contradictory evidence from neurological studies
  • Siong Soon et al. (2008) demonstrated that brain activity that determines the outcome of simple choices may predate our knowledge of having made such a choice
  • so, even our most basic experiences of free will are decided and determined by our brain before we become aware of them, negating the notion of free will
36
Q

what is a pro of determinism?

A
  • determinism is consistent with the aims of science
  • the notion that human behaviour is orderly and obeys laws, places psychology on equal footing with established sciences, and has allowed us to predict how people will act in certain situations
  • furthermore, mental disorders where sufferers experience total loss of control over their thoughts and behaviour casts doubt on the concept of free will (nobody would ‘choose’ to have schizophrenia)
37
Q

what is a con of determinisim?

A
  • issues with hard determinism
  • hard determinism isn’t consistent with the way our legal system operates. Offenders are held morally accountable for their actions, suggesting that they have freewill
  • suggests that the deterministic approach may not be as valid or scientific as it first appears
38
Q

what is a pro of determinism?

A
  • soft determinism provides a compromise
  • psychology approaches which have a cognitive element, such as the cognitive approach and SLT, are those which tend to adopt a soft determinism position
  • therefore, an interactionist position may provide us with the best compromise in the free will-determinism debate
39
Q

what is cultural bias?

A

experience and researchers own cultural backgrounds can distort the way they interpret or research other cultures. This bias leads to misunderstandings

40
Q

what are some key studies that have cultural bias?

A
  • Milgram + Obedience
  • Asch + Conformity
  • Ainsworth Attachment Types
  • Bowlby 44 Thieves
41
Q

what is ethnocentrism in alpha/beta cultural bias?

A

seeing the world only from one’s own cultural perspective, and believing that this one perspective is both normal and correct

42
Q

what is cultural relativism in alpha/beta cultural bias?

A

behaviour can only be properly understood if the cultural context is taken into consideration

43
Q

what is imposed etic in cultural bias?

A

if the behaviour from outside of a given culture can be applied universally. E.g., Ainsworth’s Attachment Types were based on USA norm – means all children in the SS were assessed using the USA criteria

44
Q

what is imposed emic in cultural bias?

A

examines behaviours within cultures and identifies behaviours that are specific to that culture. E.g., Ainsworth’s Attachment Types can only make sense in USA where original research was carried out

45
Q

what are pros of cultural bias?

A

+ in depth info if using one culture as a case study
+ allows an understanding of differences that could explain behaviour
+ Increased connectivity globally can mean more researchers are more open-minded and well-travelled
+ differences can also serve as an educational tool, as differences highlight that some behaviours can only be understood within specific contexts

46
Q

what are cons of cultural bias?

A
  • lacks generalisability
  • creates stereotypes
  • reductionist – simplifies complexity of culture
  • ethnocentrism
  • imposed etic
46
Q

what is holism?

A

proposes that it only makes sense to study an indivisible system rather than its’ constituent parts. The whole picture.

47
Q

what is reductionism?

A

the belief that human behaviour is best explained by breaking it down into smaller constituent parts

48
Q

what is biological reductionism?

A

attempts to explain social and psychological phenomena at a lower biological level (in terms of genes, hormones, etc)

49
Q

what is environmental reductionism?

A

attempts to explain all behaviour in terms of stimulus-response links that have been learned through experience

50
Q

what is a pro of holism?

A
  • holism can explain key aspects of social behaviour that only emerge within a group context e.g stanford prison experiment - understood by studying the interaction between the group members
51
Q

what is a con of holism?

A
  • holistic explanations are difficult to test scientifically as they can become vague and speculative as they become more complex e.g humanistic psychology is criticised for its lack of empirical evidence and is seen as a loose set of concepts
52
Q

what is a pro of reductionism?

A
  • reductionism often forms the basis of scientific research which allows us to conduct experiments in a reliable way
53
Q

what is a con of reductionism?

A
  • reductionist approaches oversimplify complex behaviours, leading to a loss of validity, e.g biological explanations that consider genes and neurotransmitters ignore the social context within which behaviour occurs.
54
Q

what is a compromise between holism and reductionism?

A
  • an interactionist approach between holistic and reductionist approaches may provide a logical compromise to the debate
  • e.g diathesis stress model
55
Q

what is nature?

A

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

56
Q

what is nurture?

A

the extent to which aspects of behaviour are a product of acquired characteristics from the environment

57
Q

what is the nature v nurture debate?

A

the extent to which aspects of behaviour are a product of either inherited (genetics) OR acquired (learned) influences

58
Q

what is the diathesis stress model in regards to nature v nurture?

A

a disorder or behaviour trait is the result of an interaction between genetic predisposition vulnerability and stress, usually caused by life events and factors

59
Q

what is environment in regards to the nature v nurture debate?

A

everything outside the body, which can include people, events and the physical world

60
Q

what is heredity in regards to the nature v nurture debate?

A

is the process by which traits are passed down genetically from one generation to the next

61
Q

what are phenotypes in regards to the nature v nurture debate?

A

fixed genes (nature)

62
Q

what are genotypes in regards to the nature v nurture debate?

A

external – expressed via interaction with the environment (Nurture)

63
Q

who argued that human characteristics and even some aspects of knowledge are innate and the result of heredity factors (nature)?

A

Early Nativists such as Descartes

64
Q

who disagreed and argued that the mind is a blank slate at birth upon in which learning, and experience is written? (Nurture)

A

Empiricists such as Locke

65
Q

which topics are down to nature or nurture?

A
  • OCD - biological but could also be explained via learning (SLT - nurture?)
  • depression – via cognitive i.e Eilis and Beck, a product of nurture nut also can be biological i.e levels of serotonin?
  • phobias – behavioural and learning via nurture but could also be via nature i.e survival to be afraid of certain phobias
  • learning Theory of Attachment – i.e via nurture and the association of parent with food but could also be down to nature i.e need to survive?
66
Q

what are the 5 alternatives to just nature or nurture?

A
  • interactionist approach
  • diathesis stress model
  • epigenetics
  • niche picking
  • neuroplasticity
67
Q

what are pros of nature?

A

+ objective
+ compatible with the aims of science
+ establishes cause and effect

68
Q

what are cons of nature?

A
  • reductionist
  • determinist
  • ignores nurture and combination of N&N
69
Q

what are pros of nurture?

A

+ more holistic
+ implications for creating change - treatments?

70
Q

what are cons of nurture?

A
  • ignores nature and combination of N&N
  • reductionist (environmental) and determinist
  • not always objective or controlled
71
Q

what are ethics?

A

the moral considerations that researchers must make during their research

72
Q

what do ethical guidelines include?

A
  • brief
  • consent
  • confidentiality
  • deception
  • debrief
  • privacy
  • protection from harm
  • right to withdraw
73
Q

what are the ways to deal with ethics?

A
  • seeking advice from colleagues
  • assume full responsibility for the research
  • gain fully informed consent where possible
  • allocate numbers or change names to protect identity
  • constant opportunities for the RTW
  • gain prior general consent
  • gain presumptive consent
  • gain retrospective consent
74
Q

what are ethical guidelines?

A

moral guidelines set out by the BPS for psychological research to abide by

75
Q

what are ethical implications?

A

the impact psychological research may have in terms of the rights of other people, especially participants

76
Q

what are ethical issues?

A

issues that arise if research doesn’t follow the ethical guidelines

77
Q

what is socially sensitive research?

A

proposed by Sieber and Stanley (1988). SSR refers to studied in which there are potential social consequences or implications, either directly for the participants in the research or the class (type) of individuals represented by the research.

78
Q

what are some examples of research that are socially sensitive?

A
  • Milgram – Obedience to authority electric shocks
  • Elms and Milgram – Authoritarian personality
  • Zimbardo
  • Hofling – Obedience to authority nurses
  • Bowlby - 44 Thieves
  • Bowlby – MD Theory
79
Q
A

Psychology (12 decks)

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