Issues And Debates Flashcards
Describe free will
The idea that humans can make choices that are not determined by biological or external forces
Describe determinism
The view that an individuals behaviour is shaped or controlled by pre-determined, external forces rather than an individuals will to do something
Describe hard determinism
Implies free will is not at all possible as our behaviour is always determined by external events beyond our control
Describe soft determinism
All behaviour has external causes but our behaviour can also be shaped by conscious choices
Describe biological determinism
The idea that behaviour is caused by biological (genetic, hormonal, or evolutionary) influences that we cannot control
Describe environmental determinism
The idea that behaviour is caused by features of the environment (systems of reward and punishment) that we cannot control
Describe psychic determinism
The belief that behaviour is caused by unconscious conflicts that we cannot control
Describe Holism
An argument that says it only makes sense to study indivisible systems as a whole, rather than its constituent parts
Describe the reductionists approach
The belief that human behaviour is best explained by breaking it down into smaller parts
Describe biological reductionism
A form of reductionism that attempts to explain psychological and social phenomena at a lower, biological level
Describe environmental reductionism
The attempt to explain behaviour in terms of stimulus-response links that have been learnt through experience
Describe the Idiographic approach
An approach to research that focuses on more on the individual case as a means for understanding behaviour
(Associated with qualitative data such as case studies)
Describe the nomothetic approach
Attempts to study human behaviour though the development of general principles and universal laws
