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Psychology > Issues and Debates L4 - 7 > Flashcards

Issues and Debates L4 - 7 Flashcards

1
Q

Determinism:

A

Idea that traits and behaviours are outside of out control due to either internal or external factors that we have no control over

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2
Q

Hard determinism (fatalism):

A

View that internal and external forces are outside of our conttol

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3
Q

What are the 3 types of hard determinism?

A
  • Biological determinism
  • Environmental determinism
  • Psychic determinism
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4
Q

Biological determinism:

A

Idea that all human behaviour is innate and determined by genes

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5
Q

Environmental determinism: (2)

A
  • Idea that behaviour is determined by forces outside the individual
  • Behaviour is caused by previous experience learnt through classical/operant conditioning
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6
Q

Psychic determinism:

A
  • Idea that traits and behaviours are governed by unconscious instincts and drives
  • Cause of behaviour rooted in childhood experiences
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7
Q

Give one example of a theory that shows psychic determinism:

A

Internal working model, where future relationships are based on childhood attachment type

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8
Q

Soft determinism and who was the first to come up with this:

A
  • James (1980)
  • Behaviour is constrained by environmental or biological make-up but only to a certain extent
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9
Q

Which approach did soft determinism become an important aspect of?

A

Cognitive approach

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10
Q

Which 3 approaches did hard determinism become an important aspect of?

A
  • Psychic
  • Biological
  • Behavioural
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11
Q

Free will:

A
  • Individuals are free to choose their behaviour and are self-determined
  • Does not deny influence of biology and environment
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12
Q

Which approach advocates for free will and why?

A
  • Humanistic approach
  • Without self-determination, self-actualisation is not possible
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13
Q

Strengths and weaknesses of free will in an approach: (+3, -1)

A

+ Face validity –> everyday experiences seem like we are constantly exercising free will
+ Research support for locus of control (Rotter)
+ Application to legal system –> all citizens responsible for actions at age of 10 onwards
- Neurological counter evidence –> Siong Soon et al (2008)

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14
Q

How does research support for locus of control show the existence of free will?

A
  • Rotter says that those who have an internal locus of control believe that they can change their behaviour
  • There has been research supporting this, which shows the existence of free will
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15
Q

Siong Soon et al (2008):

A
  • Researchers found that decision to press a button w/ either left or right hand was made in the brain 10 secs before pp was aware they had chosen
  • Shows decisions are determined
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16
Q

Strengths and weaknesses of determinism in an approach: (+2, -2)

A

+ Consistent w/ aims of science - -> notion that human behaviour obeys laws
+ Value of schizophrenic research –> psychotic disorder where they cannot exercise free will, therefore example of biological determinism
- Inconsistent w/ legal system
- Not always falsifiable as causes of behaviour have not yet been found

17
Q

Environment:

A

Everything outside the body

18
Q

Heredity:

A

Process by which traits are passed down genetically from one gen to next

19
Q

Interactionist approach:

A

Idea that biology and environment work together to determine behaviour

20
Q

Nature:

A

View that behaviour is the product of innate biological/genetic factors

21
Q

Nurture:

A

View that behaviour is product of environmental influences

22
Q

Nature-nurture debate:

A

Comparison of relative contributions of genetic inheritance and environmental factors to human behaviour

23
Q

Nativist position:

A

Assumption that characteristics of human species are a product of evolution and individual differences are the result of each person’s unique genetic code

24
Q

Give the name of one nativist and what he argued:

A
  • Rene Descarte
  • All human characteristics and even some aspects of knowledge are innate
25
Q

Give two example of the nature argument in psychology:

A
  • Family, twin and adoption studies
  • Gottesman and Shields (1991) pooled results of around 40 family studies and found risk increases to 46% for those w/ 2 schizophrenic parents
  • Evolutionary explanation
26
Q

How do nativists regard characteristics that are not observable at birth but emerge later on in life? (2)

A
  • Product of maturation
  • Certain behaviours are switched on and off in a pre-programmed way
27
Q

What view do environmentalists have and who first proposed this? (2)

A
  • Assumption that human mind is tabula rasa (blank slate) and is gradually filled as a result of experience
  • Individual differences are as the result of learning
  • John Locke
28
Q

Strengths and weaknesses of nature-nurture debate: (+4,-1)

A

+ Interactionist approach –> Genetic disorder PKU
+ Epigenetics –> Dias and Ressler (2014)
+ Supports neural plasticity –> Maguire et al (2000)
+ Nature and nurture interact in various ways –> Plomin et al (1977)
- Implications of nativism and empiricism

29
Q

How does the interactionist approach support both nature and nurture through the genetic disorder of PKU?

A
  • PKU happens as a result of 2 recessive genes, one from each parent (nature)
  • If child is diagnosed early, they can be placed on low protein diet for first 12 years to help avert the disorder (nurture)
30
Q

Epigenetics:

A

Change in genetic activity without changing the genetic code, as a result of our interaction with the environment

31
Q

How does epigenetics work? (3)

A
  • Aspects of our lifestyle and events encountered leave epigenetic marks on DNA
  • The marks tell our bodies which genes to ignore
  • This may later influence the genetic codes of following generations
32
Q

Dias and Ressler (2014):

A
  • Gave male lab mice electric shocks every time they were exposed to acetophenone (chemical used in perfume)
  • As a result, mice showed fear reaction when the scent came
  • Offspring also showed fear of scent as well
33
Q

Maguire et al (2000):

A
  • Studied London taxi drivers to discover whether changes in brain could be detected as a result of environment of spatial navigation
  • Using MRI scanner, researchers calculated amount of grey matter in taxi driver brains and compared this to set of control pps
  • Found front part of hippocampus was larger + positively correlated to how long they had spent driving taxis
34
Q

Plomin et al (1977): (3)

A
  • References active gene-environment interaction, where a child’s heritable traits influence their choice of environment (known as nichepicking)
  • Eg. aggressive child chooses to watch violent films
  • Influence increases w/ age
35
Q

What implications does nativism have?

A
  • Controversy in linking race, genetics and intelligence
  • Application of eugenics policy
36
Q

What implication does empiricism have?

A

Suggests that we do not have free will and are just controlled by the environment

Psychology (37 decks)

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