Issues & Debates Flashcards

Question

Holism vs Reductionism (AO3)

Answer 1

Holism is praised for explaining aspects of social behaviour which only arise in group settings and cannot be understood at the level of the individual group member (reductionism). For example, the effects of conformity on social roles and the deindividuation of the prisoners and guards in the Stanford Prison Experiment could not be understood by studying people at an individual level because it was an interaction between people and it was the behaviour of the group that was important. Therefore, in cases such as these, it is important to take a holistic view in order to explain human behaviour. One criticism of the holistic approach is that researches often do not use scientific methods to investigate human behaviour, unlike the research from the reductionist explanation. This is because, as the explanations become more complex and more holistic, they become more vague so psychologists are unable to test them scientifically unlike reductonist explanations such as the biological approach, which conduct objective and empirical methods to establish cause and effect. Therefore a reductionist approach to understanding human behaviour, may be favoured due to the increase in internal validity when compared to holistic approaches. 16 marker: holism vs reductionism 1/2 type of reductionism holism define, topic eg humanistic approach

Answer 2

Idiographic approach – an approach to research that focuses more on the individual case as a way of understanding behaviour. Nomothetic approach – Studies groups of people to produce general laws of human behavior.

Answer 3

The idiographic approach sees individuals as unique, each with their own subjective experiences, motivations and values. It is generally associated with methods that produce qualitative data such as case studies, unstructured interviews and other self-report methods. The aim of the approach is to gain an insight into the person’s unique way of viewing the world. Examples of the idiographic approach The Humanistic approach is an approach that takes on an ‘idiographic perspective’. Rogers and Maslow were interested in documenting the conscious experience of the self. They describe themselves as ‘anti-scientific’ and are more concerned about the unique experience of the individual rather than creating ‘general laws of behaviour’.

Answer 4

The main aim of the nomothetic approach is to produce general laws of human behaviour. It mainly will be associated with methods that produce large amounts of quantitative data and that are scientific within psychology. These involve the study of large samples of people representative of the population to establish the ways we are similar and different from one another. This approach will often use sampling methods such as random sampling to give a more representative sample. Examples of the nomothetic approach Most research carried about by behaviourist, cognitive and biological psychologists would meet the criteria of the nomothetic approach e.g. Skinner and the behaviourists studied the responses of rats and pigeons in order to develop laws in learning. Biological psychologists conduct brain scans to make generalisations about localisation of function. Hypothesis are tested, statistically analysed and general laws and principles are proposed and developed – all features of a nomothetic approach.

Answer 5

Critics argue that idiographic approaches could lack internal validity due to the absence of scientific methods. Idiographic approaches use methods such as case studies and self-reports which tend to be subjective and open to bias. This is unlike nomothetic approaches which use objective and empirical methods such as lab experiments and controlled observations to collect data on human behaviour. Therefore, this can lower credibility of the idiographic approach in comparison to the nomothetic approach which may be more respected by scientists and the general public due to their factual and scientific nature. Although a strength of the idiographic approach is that it uses in-depth qualitative methods that provide rich data. This is because it focuses just on the individual and their unique experience. For example, the case study of Clive Wearing gave valuable insight into brain damaged individuals and amnesia and giving us supporting how our memory has separate stores (MSM). Unlike the nomothetic approach which use large samples and therefore cannot find out in-depth/rich information about single cases. Therefore, suggesting that the idiographic approach is a more effective approach for helping us understand the reasons behind human behaviour.

Answer 6

Studies in which there are potential social consequences or implications, either directly for the participants in research or the class of people represented by the research which can lead to prejudice/ discrimination

Answer 7

For the groups represented in the research, what will be the impact on them / the group they represent 1. The effects of research findings on participants. 2. Potential bias against people of certain cultures/socio- economic backgrounds. 3. Possible uses of the findings – for example, could the findings be used by the government to create policies/change legislation? 4. How valid the findings of the research are, for example, some research might be presented as objective when it has used fraudulent methods. AO2: 1) Consider the effects of the findings on the participants before conducting the research. Give a sensitive debrief. Keep data confidential. 2) Consider effects of the findings on the participants before conducting the research. Although it may not be possible 3) Findings are rarely neutral so all potential positive and negative uses should be considered 4) research being conducted using objective and well tested measures, can reduce or remove bias from their research, so we can be confident of the findings. Participants should also be fully debriefed

Answer 8

Psychological research can have ethical implications in which there could be a direct impact upon the participants or the group the participants represent if the research is published. This research would be described as socially sensitive because there are possible social consequences for the class of people represented by the research. One of these implications could be how valid the findings of the research are, for example, research may be presented as objective when it has used fraudulent methods or has been influenced significantly by researcher bias. This can have further implications if the research then goes on to influence policies and legislation within society. For example, Bowlby’s research on maternal deprivation argued that separation from the mother can lead to a range of psychological and social problems – including affectionless psychopathy. This had negative ethical implications because it influenced social policy. Mothers were encouraged to stay at home and look after children. This is because the theory of maternal deprivation blames the mother for the negative consequences, which can have negative implications for women by making them feel inadequate, guilty and pressured to fulfil the maternal role. As well as also making the father feel as though their role is less important. In addition, when published, research findings can result in other ethical implications such as potential bias or labelling against certain vulnerable groups or cultures. For example, research findings that schizophrenia is due to family dysfunction has ethical implications for the families of those who have a child with schizophrenia as people may label the family as the cause of the child’s schizophrenia. This is because the explanation states that Schizophrenia (Sz) is due to faulty communication patterns in families such as high levels of expressed emotion causing relapse. This is problematic as the parents of the child are having to take care of their child with Sz already and may experience feelings of guilt and blame for causing the condition. Therefore, family dysfunction explanation of sz may not be an appropriate explanation.