Issues And Debates In Topics

Question 1

Types of conformity, explanations for conformity.

Question 2

Conformity to social roles, Zimbardo

Question 3

Explanations for obedience

Question 4

Dispositional explanation for obedience

Answer 4

Culture bias, research only done in western cultures

Question 5

Minority influence

Question 6

Role of social influence processes in social change

Question 7

Multi store model of memory

Answer 7

Mechanistic reductionism, comparing human mind to computer processes.

Question 8

Working memory model

Answer 8

Mechanistic reductionism, comparing human mind to computer processes.

Question 9

Types of long term memory

Question 10

Explanations for forgetting

Question 11

Factors affecting accuracy of eyewitness testimony

Answer 11

Reductionism, doesn’t take into account other factors that could influence it.

Question 12

Improving the accuracy of eyewitness testimony

Question 13

Caregiver-infant interactions, stages of attachment, role of the father

Question 14

Animal studies of attachment

Answer 14

Ethical issues - immoral to test on animals and use their fear to generate results
Reductionist - cannot apply an animal mind to a human mind, as lack of higher order thinking skills

Question 15

Learning theory and monotropic theory

Answer 15

Environmental determinism - you cannot unlearn what you learn, no free will in behaviour
Reductionism - learning theory is only aspect of behaviour, doesn’t allow influence of other factors.

Question 16

Ainsworth’s strange situation

Answer 16

Culture bias - only studied in western cultures and attempted to make universal

Question 17

Cultural variations in attachment, van ijzendoorm.

Question 18

Bowlbys’ theory of maternal deprivation, Romanian orphan studies

Answer 18

Environmental determinism - once deprived behaviour cannot be reversed
Socially sensitive - mothers are blamed for how children turn out
Nomothetic - orphan study findings are attempted to be made universal, however it is an incredibly unique situation and will not fit other cultures etc.

Question 19

Influence of early attachment on adult relationships

Answer 19

Environmental determinism - your quality of relationships is based on childhood experiences, no free will and no chance to reverse this.

Question 20

Origins of psychology

Question 21

Learning approaches: behavioural approach and social learning theory

Answer 21

Environmental reductionism - reduces behaviour down to a product of stimulus + response

Question 22

Cognitive approach

Answer 22

Mechanistic reductionism - compares human mind to computer models.

Question 23

Biological approach

Answer 23

Biological reductionism - reduces behaviour down to a product of genes and neurons.
Determinism - we cannot change our genes therefore behaviour is innate and unchangeable.

Question 24

Psychodynamic approach

Answer 24

Idiographic + nomothetic - case studies were made universal, ignoring individuak differences,
Holism - attempts to study the human as an indivisible system, using lots of different factors to explain mental illnesses.

Question 25

Humanistic psychology

Answer 25

Idiographic - attempts to explain the individual self.
Holism - studies the human as an indivisible system.

Question 26

Definitions of abnormality

Answer 26

Socially sensitive - people who aren’t apart of social norms are deemed abnormal
Reductionist - some definitions don’t take into account all important factors

Question 27

Characteristics of mental disorders