Issues and Debates Flashcards
1
Q
What is the human colony?
A
Neuron
Network of neurons
Region
Lobe
Hemisphere
Brain
Social group
State-nation
2
Q
What is distributed intelligence?
A
The description of a complex system comprising individual agents. Each with limited intelligence and information.
If we accept humans. groups etc. are a form of distributed intelligence than what level should we look at?
Eg. does society affect your neurones? does a neuron ‘behave’?
3
Q
What is holism?
A
Viewing people as indivisible being consisting of a self that can only be studied in context.
4
Q
What is reductionism?
A
Viewing people as a complex system that consists of many small parts we should study separately
5
Q
What are the three levels of explanation between holism and reductionism?
A
- Socio-cultural (social eg. conformity)
- Psychological (cognitive/behavioural eg. Ellis)
- Biological (Genetic, biopsychological and neuroscience eg. SERT/COMT. dopamine hypothesis.)
6
Q
What is interactionism?
A
The belief that you should use holism and reductionism at the same time.
Eg. social alienation - social psychology, learned helplessness - behaviourist.
7
Q
What are three types of reductionism?
A
- Biological
- Environmental
- Experimental
8
Q
What are three types of holism?
A
- Gestalt (whole)
- humanist
- Cognitive
9
Q
Give examples of biological reductionism
A
SERT + COMT to help with OCD
Schizophrenia is caused by excessive activity of the neurotransmitter dopamine.
10
Q
Give examples of environmental reductionism
A
Behaviourism
Social learning therapy
Bowlby - orphans study - thinking it was all-natural and not biological.
Opposed by Rutter and genes.
11
Q
Give examples of experimental reductionism
A
Underlying the experimental approach where behaviours are reduced to operationalised variables that can be manipulated and measured to determine causal relationships.
Milgram (person, uniform) and Ainsworth - had to redo studies to control variables.
12
Q
Give examples of Gestalt holism
A
Speech - in damage of Brocas or Vernickes areas breaks down everything else.
13
Q
Give examples of humanistic holism
A
Matters most is a personal sense of unified identity and thus a lack of identity or a sense of wholeness leads to a mental disorder.
Maslow Hierarchy - All layers needed before the next stage can be achieved. Contracted through biological approached.
14
Q
Give examples of cognitive holism
A
Ellis’ ABC model - depression.
15
Q
What is biological reductionism?
A
Reduce behaviour to the action of neurons, neurotransmitters, hormones and so on.
This is a popular way to explain mental illness.
16
Q
What is environmental reductionism?
A
Suggesting that all behaviours can be explained in terms of simple stimulus-response.
17
Q
What is experimental reductionism?
A
Reducing complex behaviours to isolated variables is a useful strategy for conducting research.
Underlying the experimental approach where behaviours are reduced to operationalised variables that can be manipulated and measured to determine causal relationships.
18
Q
What is Gastalt holism?
A
Meaning the whole in german
Focused especially on perception, arguing that explanations for what we see only made sense through a consideration of the whole rather than the individual elements.
19
Q
What is humanistic holism?
A
Believe that the individual reacts as an organised whole rather than a set of stimulus-response links.
Matters most is a personal sense of an unified identity and thus a lack of identity or a sense of wholeness leads to a mental disorder.
20
Q
What is cognitive holism?
A
The idea of a network is that each unit is linked to many other units. These links develop through experience and with each new experience the links are strengthened or weakened.
Connectionist networks are described as holist because the network as a whole behaves differently than the individual parts, linear models assume that the sum of the parts equals the whole.
21
Q
Describe cutural relativism
A
Appreciating that behaviour varies between cultures.
22
Q
Describe ethnocentrism
A
Emphasising the importance of the behaviour of ones own culture
23
Q
Describe universality
A
Believing that some behaviours are the same for all cultures.
24
Q
Write a PEEL paragraph explaining how holism and reductionist beliefs are biologically oversimplified
A
- Oversimplification
- Reductionist thinking means some approaches produce over-simplified explanations in psychology.
- For example, the biological approach focuses on genes and hormones as the cause of mental illness, but ignores the social context from where the behaviour derives its meaning. The point at which a behaviour becomes clinical is determined by functional impairments rather than hormone levels or genotype.
- This means a biological approach alone cannot fully explain psychological disorders; instead a more eclectic approach is necessary, as evidenced by the success of multidisciplinary treatment which combines psychological and drug therapies to better effect than either alone.
25
Write a PEEL paragraph explaining how holism and reductionist beliefs don't look at **interactionism**.
* Rather than thinking in terms of reductionism or holism, an interactionist approach has been very successful in psychology.
* Holists want to look at higher level explanations for behaviour, such as group dynamics, and reductionists only consider small contributory factors, such as genes. An interactionist approach looks at how all levels of explanation link together and influence each other.
* An example is the diathesis-stress model; currently the leading explanation for schizophrenia and depression, where biological factors create a vulnerability which is triggered by environmental stressors. Tarrier et al. (2004) showed that combining psychological and biological treatments produced significantly lower relapse rates for SZ.
* This shows that combining individual reductionist explanations can help us piece together a “holistic” overall picture that answers more questions. In modern psychology, this is considered the best solution to the H/R debate.
26
Explain Genotype as a category of nature arguments
Inherited genetic information determines who we are.
Eg. High SERT and low COMT activity cause OCD
27
Explain Evolution as a category of nature arguments
Adaptive pressures from natural selection are behind our characteristics.
Eg. attachment behaviour evolved for better survival SWM formation and more healthy development.
28
What are the two categories for Nature Arguments?
Evolution
Genotype
29
What are the three arguments for nature arguments?
1. Behaviourism / Tubula Rasa
2. Social learning theory
3. Environment
30
Explain Behaviourism/Tubula Rasa as a category of nurture arguments
We are 100% shaped by experience eg. Skinner
31
Explain how the social learning theory is a category for the nurture argument
Our behaviour is learned and reinforced vicariously through observation of role models eg. Bandura
32
Explain how the environment is a category for the nurture argument
Our families/friends/school causes behavioural outcomes eg. becks negative triad.
Our families/friends/school causes behavioural outcomes eg. becks negative triad.
33
Give evidence of the nature argument
* concordance rates - how likely to get if parents have
* neural correlates
* drug therapies
* Eugentics
34
What is the evidence for the nurture argument
* Token economy
* Rutter et al's. ERA study
* Flooding/systematic desensitisation
35
What is interactionism?
The view that all human behavioural traits develop from the interaction of both 'nature' and 'nurture' that is from both genetic and environmental factors.
36
What is the token economy?
Encourage positive behaviours. Rewarding for good instead of punishing for bad.
Good for rehabilitation.
Nurture argument
37
What evaluation points can you use for the nature-nurture debates?
* Nature based arguments can be used in practice.
* Diathesis-stress
* Epigenetics
38
What is the argument for nature vs nurture vs reality?
Genes and environment both contribute to development of illnesses
The environment changes the expression of genes to produce a phenotype that is different from the genotype
Many environmental factors can contribute to this process
39
What is the diathesis-stress model of disease?
* Your health is like a road surface on a suspension bridge
* Good health requires the right conditions (strong supporting cables)
* Adding risky cables decreases the road’s efficiency under load (stress)
* Severe stress on a risky bridge will lead to a complete breakdown of the surface
40
Write a PEEL paragraph explaining the application of nature vs nurture using the diathesis-stress model.
41
Write a PEEL paragraph explaining why nature and nurture cannot be separated
42
Write a PEEL paragraph explaining how nature effects nurture
43
What is gender bias?
a preference towards one gender
either exaggerated or minimise differences between males and females.
44
What are the two types of gender bias?
Alpha
Beta
45
What is alpha gender bias?
* Differences between males and females is **exaggerated**
* **undervalue** on of the sexes
* sometimes attributed to differences in biology eg. genetics or hormones.
46
What is **beta** gender bias?
* Differences between males and famales are **ignored or minimised**
* can happen when studies include participants of **one gender** but conclusions are applied to the **whole gender.**
47
Other than alpha and beta bias what can research also be?
* androcentric - male focuses
* eurocentric - female centred
48
What is andericentrism?
* **Males** are viewed as being the **centre** of the culture.
* Male behaviour is seen as the norm meaning theories made in relation to males are also applied to women or any differences a women displays is seen as exceptions to the rule.
49
What is endrocentrism?
* **Female** behaviour is seen as the norm
* Much rarer phenomenon than androcentrism
50
Why are research designs so important to gender bias?
Cause the results and conclusions to be gender biases. Intentionally cause either beta or alpha bias.
51
What is one cause of gender bias?
publication bias
52
What is publication bias?
Studies that produce positive findings are more likely to be published than those with no differences.
Can exaggerate differences between males and females so produces alpha bias.
53
Give three examples of studies that show gender bias
1. Freuds theories
2. Asch's theory
3. Bem's theory
54
How did Freud's theories contain gender bias?
Usually describes the male behaviour as the norm
Eg. Freud proposed girls find out they don't have a penis and suffer from 'penis envy'.
55
How did Asch's theories contain gender bias?
Into conformity was androcentric - using a male-only sample and generalising to women.
56
How did Bem's theory contain gender bias?
* Of psychological androgyny is beta biased - most psychologically health men and women can choose which personality traits they want to have regardless of whether they're typical masc. or fem. qualities.
* Beliving these classed qualities introduced a level playing field and ignored that different traits are valued differently in society.
57
What is culture?
Refering to the set of customs, social roles, behavioural norms and moral values that are shared by a group of people.
58
What is universality?
The aim to develop theories that apply to all people which may include real differences
59
What is the example of alpha bias?
Freud's research - men more powerful and educated
60
What is an example of beta bias?
Fight or flight response
61
What evaluation points could be used for gender bias?
* Freuds theory - alpha bias
* Bias in research methods
* Feminist psychology
62
Write a PEEL paragraph explain how gender bias is demonstrated by Freud
* In Freudian theory, because a girl does not experience castration anxiety in the phallic stage of psychosexual development, she is not under the same pressure as a boy to form an identification with the same-sex parent. This has implications for the development of the female superego, which will be weaker than a male’s. This means her sense of morality will be inferior to the male’s.
* Freud saw femininity as an expression of “failed masculinity”. His central concept of penis envy means that women are defined psychologically by the fact that they are not men!
* He also sought to explain “female vanity” as a defence mechanism: women make up for their sexual inferiority to men by focusing on their “physical charms”.
* Critics dismiss Freud’s phallocentrism. Later psychodynamic psychologists argue men’s “womb envy” is more powerful, as they cannot conceive (Horney, 1926).
63
Write a PEEL explaining the bias in research methods in gender bias
* if psychological theories and studies are gender-biased one consequence is that research may find different between genders
* It may not be the gender that differs but the method used to test or observed them as biased so males and females appear to be different
* Another issue is the gender of the researcher. Rosenthal (1966) found that male experimenters are more pleasant, friendly and encouraging to female participants than to male participants. The result was that the male participant appeared to perform less well on the tasks assigned.
* Feminists argue that lab experiments disadvantage women because findings created in the controlled world of the lab tell us very little about the experiences of women outside of these settings. Eg. a meta-analysis by Eagly and Johnson - 1990 noted that studies in real settings found women and men were judged as more similar in styles of leadership than in lab settings.
64
Write a PEEL paragraph explaining how gender bias could be combatted through using feminist psychology
* Way to counter androcentric by taking a feminist perspective.
* This argues that difference psychology arises from biological explanations of behaviour.
* The alternative the social constructionist approach aims to understand behaviour in terms of social processes and thus find a way to greater equality.
65
What points of evaluation can be used for cultural bias?
* indigenous psychologies
* The Emic-etic distinction
* Worldwide psychology community
66
Write a PEEL paragraph explaining the indigenous psychologies associated with cultural bias
* one way to counter ethnocentricism is to encourage indigenous psychologies.
* Eg. Afrocentrism is a movement whose central proposition is that all black people have their roots in Africa and that psychological theory concerning such people must be African-centred and must express African values.
* They dispute the view that European values are universally appropriate descriptions of human behaviour that apply to Europeans and non-Europeans alike.
* It suggests that the values and culture of Europeans at worst devalue non-European people, and at beat are irrelevant to the life and culture of people of African descent.
67
Write a PEEL paragraph explaining the emic-etic distinction in cultural bias
* The approach is emic as it emphasises the uniqueness of every culture by focusing on culturally specific phenomena.
* The problem with such an approach is that findings tent to be significant only to the understanding of behaviour within the culture.
* Other hand, etic approach seeks universal behaviour.
68
Write a PEEL paragraph explaining how the worldwide psychology community can link to gender bias
* Researcher travels much more now than 50 years ago.
* Meaning they have increased understanding of other cultures at a personal level but also at a professional level
* academics hold international conferences where researchers from many different countries and culture regularly meet to discuss and exchange ideas.
* Means there is a much greater exchange of ideas which should reduce ethnocentricism is psychology enable an understanding of cultural relativism and more that real differences are identified and valued.
69
What is determinism?
Behaviour is controlled by external or internal factors acting upon the individual
70
What is free will?
Each individual has the power to make choices about their behaviour.
71
What is hard determinism?
The view that all behaviour can be predicted and there is no free will.
The two are incompatible - A causes B
Direct causality.
72
What is soft determinism?
A version of determinism that allows for some element of free will.
Indirect causality - A causes B when C is present
73
What is reciprocal determinism?
Bandura 1985
Interactional causality
A, B and C
74
What are the different types of determinism?
* Hard
* Soft
* Reciprocal
* Biological
* Environmental
* Psychic
* Scientific
75
What is biological determinism?
Genes mean you turn out a certain way.
Dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia
76
What is environmental determinism?
previous experiences change
- operant or classical conditioning.
- SLT
77
What is psychic determinism?
behaviour is determined by a mix of innate drives and early experience ie. internal and external factors.
78
What is the scientific determinism?
All events must have a cause - IV to DV
79
What are the two types of free will?
Humanistic approach
Moral responsibility
80
What is the humanist approach of free will?
* Rogers(1959) personal responsibility for won outcomes - congruence / self worth
* REBT taking responsibility away from patients.
Must have control over self-development and self-actualisation are not possible (Rogers) it is a necessary part of human behaviour.
81
What is moral responsibility as a type of free will?
* **personally responsible for our actions**
* if we don't have free will criminals can not be guilty.
82
What evaluation points can be used for determinism?
* genetic determinism
* environmental determinism
* scientific determinism
83
Write a PEEL paragraph evaluating determinism in terms of genetic determinism
* Doubtful that 100% genetic determination will ever be found for any behaviour.
* Eg. identical twins found 80% similarity in intelligence 40% for depression.
* Therefore genes do not entirely determine behaviour.
84
Write a PEEL paragraph evaluating determinism in terms of environmental determinism
* Concordance rates refering to differences between identical twins shows the environment can not be the sole determining factor in behaviour,
* there is at least some genetic input.
* environmental explanations can not solely determine behaviour
85
Write a PEEL paragraph evaluating determinism in terms of scientific determinism
* Dennett 2003 argues it is now accepted that there is no such thing as total determinism.
* The butterfly effect - small changed in initial conditions can subsequently result in major changes.
* The deterministic explanations oversimply human behaviour.
86
What points of evaluation can be used for free will?
* Evidence against free will
* culturally relative
* the illusion of free will
87
Write a PEEL paragraph evaluating the evidence against free will
* brain makes a decision and acts before you are aware
* motor cortex active 5 seconds before deciding
* scientific reductionist
88
Write a PEEL paragraph evaluating the illusion of free will
* just being able to decide between different courses of action is not free will but it may give us the illusion of having free will - skinner
* Behaviours are predetermined by previous reinforcement experiments
* biologically reductionist
89
Write a PEEL paragraph evaluating the cultural relativity of free will
* The idea of self-determination may be a culturally relative concept, appropriate for individualist societies only
* collectivist cultures place greater value on behaviour determined by group needs.
* cultural bias - beta bias
90
What is the environment?
Everything that is outside our body, which included people, events and the physical world.
91
What is heredity?
the process by which traits are passed from parents to their offspring, usually referring to genetic inheritance
92
What is the interactionist approach?
With reference to the nature and nurture debate
the view that the processes of nature and nurture work together rather than in opposition.
93
What is nature?
Behaviour is seen to be a product of innate (biological or genetic) factors
94
What is the nature-nurture debate?
The argument as to whether a persona development is mainly due to their genes or to environmental influences.
95
What is nurture?
Behaviour is a product of environmental influences.
96
What is the genetic explanation of nature?
Family, twin and adoption studies show that the closer two individuals are genetically the more likely that both of them will develop the same behaviours.
97
What is the evolutionary explanation for the influence of nature?
Bowlby 1969 proposed the attachment was adaptive because it meant infancy was more likely to be processed and therefore more likely to survive.
98
What two example of the influence of nature can be used?
* genetic
* evolutionary
99
What are the two examples of the influence of nurture?
* behaviourism
* social learning theory
100
Write a PEEL paragraph explaining how reductionism and holism is environmentally reductionist
* Behavioural approach was developed as a result of experiments with non-human animals
* it may be appropriate to explain their behaviour in terms of simple components, but such explanations may not be appropriate for more complex human behaviours.
* Humans are not scaled-up versions of other animals.
* Even in non-human anaimals reductionist explanations ignore other possible influences such as cognitive and or emotional factors.
101
What is the idiographic approach?
* Focuses on **individuals** and emphasises uniqueness favours **qualitative** methods of research.
* Private, subjective and conscious experiences.
102
What method does the idiographic approach use?
Qualitative methods
103
What is the nomothetic approach?
* seeks to formulate general laws of behaviour based on the study of groups and the use of statistical techniques
* attempts to summarise the differences between people through generalisations.
* uses quantitative methods
104
What method does the nomothetic approach use?
quantitative methods
105
Why does the idiographic approach use qualitative methods?
Focuses on gaining insights into human behaviour by studying unique individuals in depth rather than gaining numerical data from many individuals and determining average characteristics.
106
Why does the nomothetic approach normally use quantitative research?
Measures of central tendency and dispersion, graphs and statistical analysis.
need large groups of people rather than individuals.
107
What are the strengths of the idiographic approach?
* more complete global understandings of the individual
* satisfies key aim of science - description and understanding of behaviour
* findings can serve as a source of ideas or hypothesis for later study
* focuses mean individuals feel valued.
108
What are the limitations of the idiographic approach?
* difficult to generalise - Broca and HM
* non-scientific not empirically tested
* largely reglects biological, genetic, influences
109
What are examples of the nomothetic approach?
* Classified into groups
* DSM-V into mood disorders
* Establishing principles
* Behaviourists law of learning
* establishing dimensions
* Eysenck personality inventory allows comparisons.
110
What are the strength of the nomothetic approach?
* scientific, precise, control, replicable, generalisable
* help as a whole developing law, theorised can be empirically tested
* Combines biological and social
111
What are the weaknesses of the nomothetic approach?
* predictions not always apply to individuals
* losing sight of the whole person
* gives a superficial understanding
* extensive use of controlled lab studies creates a lack of generalisation to everyday life.
112
What points of evaluation can be used for the idiographic and nomothetic approach?
* idiographic limit of external validity of findings
* nomothetic has high levels of reliability and produces objective results.
* nomothetic is time consuming
113
Write a PEEL paragraph explaining how the idiographic approach has limited external validity
* An issue with idiographic studies is that choosing extreme cases limits the external validity of findings
* Broca’s area was discovered by studying and dissecting one patient with a rare brain disease, but has been generally accepted as the centre for language production
* Modern neuroplasticity research has shown that most people recover functions after brain injuries, so Broca’s study of a terminally ill man was inadequate because insufficient time was allowed for plasticity
* Mixed methods are best when studying the brain, as individual differences combine with its unique ability to change and grow to make it invalid to base assumptions on individual cases.
114
Write a PEEL paragraph explaining why nomothetic studies have high levels of reliability
* Nomothetic studies give a high level of reliability and produce objective results
* Cooper’s (2005) circle of security training is a good example of this; based on Ainsworth’s attachment types, a training programme was developed to help all children attach to parents in a healthy way
* In generalising her data to other cultures however, Ainsworth’s nomothetic approach is not sensitive to cultural differences - as shown by Van Ijzendoorn’s meta analysis. This means that therapy aiming to create “secure” attachment may be inappropriate and ethically questionable in societies with non-Western values.
* This is important because idiographic methods would enable us to prevent causing harm to clients in this way, through knowledge of individual differences increasing the external validity of the treatment.
115
Write a PEEL paragraph explaining how the idiographic approach is time-consuming
* Idiographic approach is more time-consuming.
* both based on large amounts of data but one is in terms of collecting large amounts of data about one person where the other is in terms of a number of people
* collecting large amounts of data from a group of people takes time but relatively speaking is quicker because once you have devised a questionnaire or psychological test data can be generated and processed quickly.
* cost-benefit analysis
116
What is socially sensitive research?
Any research that might have direct social consequences for the participants in the research or the group that they represent
117
What ten types of ethical issues did Sieber and Stanley identify that related to socially sensitive research?
1. Privacy
2. confidentially
3. valid methodology
4. Deception
5. informed consent
6. equitable treatment
7. scientific freedom
8. ownership of data
9. values
10. risk/benefit ratio
118
What is privacy for social sensitive research?
extract more info than participant intended to give
119
What is confidentially for social sensitive research?
less willing to divulge in future if breached future research may be compromised
120
What is a valid methodology in socially sensitive research?
poor method, media may not know poor studies may shape important policies
121
What is informed consent for social sensitive research?
may not comprehend what is involved
122
What is equitable treatment for social sensitive research
resources vital to participants well-being are not withheld from one group whilst available to another
123
What is scientific freedom for social sensitive research?
duty to research however not harm participants as well as institutions in society
124
What is ownership of data for social sensitive research
Sponsorship of research and public accessibility of the data.
stop selling data
125
What are values for social sensitive research
clash in idiographic and scientific values
126
What is the risk/ benefit ratoo for social sensitive research?
minimalise risk
127
What four aspects of the research did Sieber and Stanley identify that may cause ethical issues?
1. The research question
2. conduct of research and treatment of participants
3. the institutional context
4. interpretation and application of findings.
128
Write a PEEL paragraph explaining how some socially sensitive research has given us important findings that makes society better
* Some socially sensitive research has given us important findings that made society better.
* For example, EWT research was highly controversial, but it has overturned hundreds of unjust prison sentences and provided justice for the families of wrongly-convicted people. Loftus...
* Thus, sometimes ethically questionable studies which are nonetheless necessary for the advancement of science can actually result in ethical outcomes.EG. Milgram and Germans...
* In Psychology, we must consider all research carefully, in terms of its costs and benefits.
129
What three points of evaluations can be used for ethical implications of research studies?
* some socially sensitive research has given us important findings that make society better
* inadequacy of current ethical guidelines
* may disadvantage marginalised groups.
130
Write a PEEL paragraph explaining the inadequacy of current ethical quidelines
* May protect immediate needs but not possible ways the research may inflict harm on a group of people or section of society
* don't ask the researcher to consider new research may be used by others, recommended by Sieber and Stanley - ownership of data
* therefore considerations outlined some time age has not yet permeated into professional practice.
131
Write a PEEL paragraph explaining how ethical guidelines may disadvantage marginalised groups
* groups in society suffer consequences of having been excluded from the research of being misrepresented when they have been included.
* Our understanding of behaviour is lessened by our sinker predations of or our future to include representative samples of persons with disabilities elderly - bell curve book disadvantages ethnical minorities and women
* failure to research impact valid methodology - lack population validity.
