Issues & debates

Question 1

Determinism or Free Will

Answer 1

-How much control we think we have over our own lives.

Question 2

Determinism

Answer 2

Individual behaviour controlled by external or internal forces. Behaviour is predictable.

Question 3

Pros/cons of Determinism

Answer 3

Pros: Scientific, assumes causes and effect.
Cons: Assumes people have no control over their own behaviour, disregards legal system - if they can’t control their actions they shouldn’t be punished.

Question 4

Freewill

Answer 4

Individuals control their own behaviour & actions. Not constrained by biological factors.

Question 5

Pros/cons of Free will

Answer 5

Pros: Acknowledges the legal system + people can be held accountable, people are empowered to change their own lives.
Cons: It is not scientific, It disagrees that everything has a cause and effect.

Question 6

Reductionism or Holism

Answer 6

How we should explain behaviours.

Question 7

Reductionism

Answer 7

Breaks down complex behaviours into smaller components.
Believes behaviour is best explained by looking at the smallest unit of explanation.

Question 8

Pros/cons of Reductionism

Answer 8

Pros: It is scientific, wouldn’t be able to reduce behaviour to variables to be tested.
Cons: Can oversimplify complex behaviour, Ignores that biological and environmental factors can interact.

Question 9

Holism

Answer 9

Argues that human behaviour is too complex to be broken down into smaller components.
Need to look at the individual as a whole to analyse behaviour.
We can’t predict behaviour from individual components.

Question 10

Pros/cons of Holism

Answer 10

Pros: Take into account the complex interactions between behavioural variables.
Cons: Less scientific, Difficult to make predictions.

Question 11

Nature or Nurture

Answer 11

What has the greatest influence on our behaviour.

Question 12

Nature

Answer 12

Behaviour is due to factors within us. These are traits we are born with - not traits we learn.

Question 13

Nurture

Answer 13

Behaviour is due to the environment. It comes through experience.

Question 14

Evaluation of Nature/Nurture

Answer 14

There is plenty of evidence to suggest both genes and environment shape behaviour. Human behaviour is probably explained by both environmental and innate factors.

Question 15

Nomothetic or Idiographic

Answer 15

How we should investigate human behaviour.

Question 16

Nomothetic

Answer 16

Involves large groups of people with the aims to make laws that can apply to all people.
Assumes similarities between people.
Theories can be generalised to everyone.

Question 17

Pros/cons of nomothetic

Answer 17

Pros: It is scientific, It allows rules to be generated that allow us to compare between groups.
Cons: Doesn’t take into account uniqueness of people, Only gives a superficial understanding of an individual.

Question 18

Pros/cons of idiographic

Answer 18

Pros: Will give a deeper insight into behaviour + a better understanding, It will treat everyone as unique.
Cons: Will not produce useful generalised results.