issues, debates and perspectives Flashcards
individual explanations?
looks to factors within individuals to explain their behaviour
situational explanations?
looks to factors beyond the individual to explain behaviour
areas of socially sensitive research?
harm
stigma
political consequence
positions of the ethical considerations debate?
being totally ethical
doing valid research
reductionism?
process of studying and breaking down complex behaviours to focus on the influence of single factors
holism?
considers the interacting factors, assuming that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts
individual explanation: psych & the courtroom?
when a witness who is confident in their testimony is more likely to influence the jury
penrod & cutler
individual explanation: crime prevention?
zero tolerance policing’s reduction in crime could reflect an increase in the resident’s self restraint
individual explanation: historical context of mental illness?
mental health is most often considered an individual difference
suggesting an individual explanation for what we call mental illness
individual explanation: alternatives to the medical model?
cognitive explanation
more individual than the behaviourist
considers how people’s cognitive processes work differently, leading to cognitive distortions
individual explanation: impact of advertising on children?
social learning theory emphasises the importance of a child’s cognitive processes and expectations when it comes to determining how they will respond to an advert
only taking on what is seen as appropriate
individual explanation: pre-adult brain development?
brain structure and function has an obvious role
eg. an individual who is an adult has less activity in the ventral striatum so gambles differently to an adolescent
situational explanation: psych and the courtroom?
from jury’s point of view, their decision is based on characteristics of others who are part of the environment
situational explanation: crime prevention?
physical and social disorder, both of which are situational factors, make an area more vulnerable to crime
success of zero tolerance policing supports situational approach
situational explanation: historical context?
rosenhan points out how the situation of having a diagnosis led to otherwise normal behaviours being interpreted as symptoms
also gives situational explanation for depersonalisation and powerlessness felt by patients
situational explanation: alternatives to the medical model?
behaviourism’s conditioning (classical, operant, slt) support a situational explanation
situational explanation: impact of advertising on children?
social learning theory leads to a situational explanation as behaviour is modelled on what is experienced in the child’s environment
situational explanation: pre-adult brain development?
situational factors such as abuse/neglect as a child can lead to more risk taking as an adolescent as they have different levels of serotonin
social sensitivity: psych and the courtroom?
research often highlights points of prejudice and discrimination
dixon et al points out how black individuals with brummie accents are more likely to be seen as guilty
sigall and ostrove points out how attractive individuals receive lighter sentences
social sensitivity: crime prevention?
zero tolerance policing can disproportionately affect black individuals
stop and search measures most likely to affect young black men
(9x more likely to be stopped)
social sensitivity: historical context?
rosenhan’s study could possibly be used to harm the mentally ill by allowing their symptoms to be ignored
or be used to eradicate important measures for the mentally ill politically
social sensitivity: alternatives to the medical model?
therapies such as cbt allow the patient to regain control of their reality
however szasz’s work could be used to invalidate the mentally ill and cause them harm
social sensitivity: impact of advertising on children?
attacking two areas of sensitivity: gender differences and advertisers rights
research could be swarmed by the media and politicians for their own agendas
social sensitivity: pre-adult brain development?
research can be used politically to better understand how to prevent adolescents from harm via engaging in risk taking behaviour, such as graduated drivers licenses
ethical considerations: psych and the courtroom?
content ps exposed to may be distressing for mock trials
however far less distressing than in a real trial
nature?
suggests all behaviour is determined by hereditary factors
nurture?
suggests all behaviour is learned or acquired from interactions with the environment
usefulness of research?
research should have practical benefits or add to our understanding/knowledge to develop theories for future research
a lack of credibility or application to the real world indicates limited usefulness
ethnocentrism: psych & the courtroom?
other cultures may not have the same kind of stereotypes from a regional accent alone
the halo effect could also be argued to be a western problem, and if not the beauty standards are vastly different
sampling bias: psych & the courtroom?
use of students as mock jurors creates problems as they aren’t experienced in the true courtroom setting
and may be lacking the life experience to judge someone above superficial factors such as attractiveness
ethical considerations: crime prevention?
studies (wilson & kelling, zimbardo) take place in the field, no deceit
residents of palo alto, the bronx and newark weren’t manipulated or harmed
ethical considerations: historical context?
rosenhan raises ethical issues associated with mental illness such as the poor treatment of patients, the unreliability of diagnosis and labelling
but the research itself is also unethical in its deception and how it placed the pseudo-patients (expt 1) and the real patients (expt 2) at risk
ethical considerations: alternatives to the medical model?
watson and rayner is unethical in giving little albert a phobia
cognitive approach could be seen to be blaming the patient for their illness
ethical considerations: impact of advertising on children?
research is respectful, responsible, competent and has integrity
ethical considerations: pre-adult brain development?
research has integrity and is respectful, competent and responsible
little deceit, and ps all leave with more money than they came in with
assent given by adolescents and consent from parents and adults
reductionism/holism: psych & the courtroom?
dixon et al looks at multiple aspects of an individual that could affect their perceived guilt (race, accent, crime type) creating a more holistic approach
stewart and sigall and ostrove only looked at attractiveness, reductionist as only considering one feature
penrod & cutler, only confidence
reductionism/holism: crime prevention?
newman disregarded other features such as economic well being focusing only on architecture when determining what increased crime
attributing ztp with crime reduction in a complex urban environment could be seen as reductionist as it ignores other factors
reductionism/holism: historical context?
definitions of abnormality vary in their reductionism, with statistical infrequency at the extreme, and failure to function adequately being more holistic
dsm-5 is fairly holistic as it requires a range of symptoms and also other factors of the individuals life to be considered before a diagnosis
reductionism/holism: alternatives to the medical model?
behaviourism is reductionist, reducing disorders to associations, rewards and imitation
cognitivism considers distortions as well as early life experiences, making it more holistic
reductionism/holism: impact of advertising on children?
slightly holistic in how it considers childrens preconceived expectations on whether they will imitate a behaviour, but overall pretty reductionist
reductionism/holism: pre-adult brain development?
attempt to explain complexities of adolescents through brain structure and function is reductionist
but also considers experiences such as abuse and neglect on synaptogenesis which adds a holistic element
nature/nurture: psych & the courtroom?
emphasis on nurture when it comes to how someone is presenting themselves
however is manipulation of appearance isn’t possible (nature?) then expert witness good idea
nature/nurture: crime prevention?
the reduction in crime when physical and social disorder is controlled suggests a nurture explanation
that behaviour is a product of the environment
nature/nurture: historical context?
rosenhan highlights how a label can be all that’s needed to find disordered behaviour in an individual
definitions of abnormality differ in their nature/nurture bias
nature/nurture: alternatives to the medical model?
behaviourism supports nurture
nature/nature: impact of advertising on children?
children learn what are acceptable gender roles through advertising, supporting nurture
however a nature approach could be adopted by attributing stereotypical gender roles biological causes
nature/nurture: pre-adult brain development?
brain function and structure such as synaptic pruning and the ventral striatum have key roles, nature
but environmental influences such as abuse/neglect in childhood also have an obvious role
usefulness of research: psych & the courtroom?
useful in making sure jurors don’t make choices on factors that aren’t relevant to the defendant or eyewitnesses credibility/guilt
eg. presentation of defendants and expert witnesses
usefulness of research: crime prevention?
brings social benefit to neighbourhoods, improves quality of life in affected areas
however issues in validity and reliability can cause problems in real life
usefulness of research: historical context?
as well as pointing out issues in the mental health system of 1970s america, rosenhan also provided solutions
increases usefulness
usefulness of research: alternatives to the medical model?
behaviourism is useful for specific phobias, but not for other illnesses
cognitivism is useful in that it gives the patient a chance to help themselves, but could be seen to imply that the patient is responsible and is reductionist in rejecting biological factors
usefulness of research: impact of advertising on children?
gives parents the chance to monitor the stereotypes their children are digesting and perhaps balance them better
advertisers may also decide that perpetuating these stereotypes is less important than the extra profit gained from them
usefulness of research: pre-adult brain development?
the lack of ecological validity in gambling task compared to real life risk taking behaviours reduces usefulness
however it has still led to further insight and precautions when it comes to adolescents risk taking behaviours
ethnocentrism: crime prevention?
while ztp has proven to be successful in both america and england, it could be that this wouldn’t universalise to collectivistic cultures
ethnocentrism: historical context?
rosenhan’s study is ethnocentric, only studying mental hospitals in the US
definitions of mental illness tend to be approached from a western perspective
diagnostic systems also tend to be west focused, but may include disorders from other cultures (eg. koro)
ethnocentrism: alternatives to the medical model?
szasz’s critique is based on the US view of mental illness, meaning that the relationship with it may be specific to the US
for example, the politicization may only be relevant in the US climate of politics and healthcare q
ethnocentrism: impact of advertising on children?
USA is the pinnacle of capitalism, so same hyper consumer culture may not be generalisable
gender stereotypes are also not universal, with even similar cultures differing slightly
ethnocentrism: pre-adult brain development?
seeing risk taking as a call for independence could be seen as very western
in collectivistic cultures often the group is prioritised over the individual
sampling bias: crime prevention?
zimbardo’s use of two areas is beneficial, but findings may not be generalisable to cities that are less affluent than palo alto but better off than the bronx
sampling bias: historical context?
range of hospitals used in rosenhan good, but all in US
other countries protocols surrounding the mental ill differ to those in the US
there are also problems due to the difference between dsm-2 and dsm-5
sampling bias: alternatives to the medical model?
watson and rayner’s discoveries may not be generalisable as little albert is only one person
sampling bias: impact of advertising on children?
only cartoons used which aren’t the only programs children watch
may also be watching adult programs which feature different stereotypes
other mainstream channels not studied that were subscription only
sampling bias: pre-adult brain development?
volunteers may be more inclined to risk taking
also putting an age bracket on adolescents is risky as it may not be so defianable
