Lessons 04 - 07

Question 1

Biological determinism

Answer 1

All human behaviour is innate and determined by genes
Example: biological approach

Question 2

Causal explanations

Answer 2

Seeks to discover whether X causes Y

Question 3

Determinism

Answer 3

The view that free will is an illusion and behaviour is governed by internal and external forces over which we have no control

Question 4

Environmental determinism
(a form of hard determinism)

Answer 4

Behaviour is determined or caused by forces outside of the individual, (e.g. past experiences)

Question 5

Free will

Answer 5

We play an active role and have choice in how we behave. Individuals are self-determined and choose our own actions
Advocated by the humanistic approach
Moral responsibility is the idea that an individual is in charge of their own actions

Question 6

Hard determinism (AKA fatalism)

Answer 6

Forces outside of our control (e.g. biology, past experiences), shape our behaviour
Examples: classical/operant conditioning, biological approach

Question 7

Psychic determinism

Answer 7

Human behaviour is the result of childhood experiences and innate drives

Question 8

Soft determinism

Answer 8

Behaviour is constrained by the environment or biological make-up but only to a certain extent. All human action has a cause, people have conscious mental control over the way they behave
Examples: cognitive approach, social learning theory

Question 9

The scientific emphasis on causal explanations

Answer 9

Every event in the universe has a cause and those causes can be explained using general laws

Question 10

Evaluation of free will

Answer 10

(+) FACE VALIDITY; everyday experiences give the impression that we exercise free will
(+) People who have a INTERNAL LOCUS OF CONTROL (believe they influence their behaviour) tend to be more mentally happy, suggesting that the concept of locus of control exercises free will
(+) Application to the LEGAL SYSTEM; we all have free will and are responsible for our actions, and can choose to be a criminal
(-) Neurobiological research that suggests that BRAIN activity that determines the outcome of choices may occur earlier than our knowledge of making the choice. This suggests our decisions are determined before we even make them

Question 11

Evaluation of determinism

Answer 11

(+) Consistent with the aims of science. The idea that behaviour is orderly makes psychology more respected and scientific as a discipline. Determinism can be proven through body and brain scans
(+) Value of schizophrenic research; it has led to drug treatment to help manage symptoms. The patients are not exercising free will as they do not choose the symptoms.
(-) Not consistent with the way our legal system works. In a court of law, offenders are held morally responsible for their actions. HOWEVER, there may be a genetic link to aggression in men (genes are determined)
(-) Not falsifiable, difficult to prove wrong

Question 12

Nature-nurture debate

Answer 12

One of the oldest debates
Centres on the contributions of genetic inheritance and environmental factors to human development and behaviour

Question 13

Nature-nurture debate:
Environment

Answer 13

Everything outside of the body, including people, events and the physical world

Question 14

Nature-nurture debate
Heredity

Answer 14

The process by which traits are passed down genetically from one generation to another

Question 15

Nature-nurture debate
Interactionist approach

Answer 15

The idea that biology (nature) and the environment (nurture) work together to determine behaviour

Question 16

Nature (AKA the nativist position)

Answer 16

Behaviour is seen as a product of innate (biological or genetic) factors
Certain characteristics are biologically determined.
Twin/family/adoption studies show that the closer the relationships between two people, the more likely it is for them to show the same behaviours
Risk of schizophrenia: 1%
Risk of schizophrenia if both parents have it: 46%
Average concordance rate of 40.4% for MZ twins, and 7.4% for DZ twins, highlighting a significant genetic component
Evolutionary explanations emphasise the importance of nature (e.g. natural selection)

Question 17

Nurture

Answer 17

Nurture: behaviour is seen as a product of environmental influences
Environmentalists (AKA empiricists) hold the assumption that the human mind is a blank slate and is ‘filled’ by experiences. They say psychological characteristics and behavioural differences are the result of learning (e.g. classical conditioning, social learning theory)

Question 18

Evaluation of the nature-nurture debate

Answer 18

(+) Interactionist Approach. It is now widely accepted that both nature and nurture are essential for almost all behaviour. Best illustrated by the genetic disorder PKU, caused by two recessive genes, however it can be averted through a low protein diet. The disorder (nature) is not expressed because of an altered environment (nurture)
(+) Seen in psychopathology, many psychologists argue both a genetic predisposition and an appropriate environmental trigger are required for a disorder to develop (e.g. SZ)
(+) Epigenetics - a change in our genetic activity without changing our genetic code (e.g. smoking, diet, pollution, war). These can influence the genetic codes of our children. Ressler’s study with the mice who showed a fear reaction when a scent was presented
(+) Neural plasticity - Maguire (2000) study about taxi drivers’ right posterior hippocampus
(+) Nature and nurture can interact in various ways. 1) Passive gene-environment interaction (parents pass on genes and provide environment) 2) Evocative (heritable traits influence the reactions of others and the environment) 3) Active (heritable traits influence the choice of environment)
(-) Implications - we need to be careful when blaming nature for behaviour because it can lead to controversial policies. We should also be cautious when blaming nurture as we could become prisoners of our environment

Question 19

Biological reductionism

Answer 19

The way psychologists try to reduce behaviour to a PHYSICAL level in terms of neurons, neurotransmitter, hormones, brain structure etc. Examples are many explanations of psychological disorders (twin studies of OCD, anything that genes influence)

Question 20

Environmental reductionism

Answer 20

Assumption that all behaviour can be reduced to the simple building blocks of S-R (stimulus response) associations
Examples are how attachment is learned (classical conditioning)

Question 21

Holism

Answer 21

Human behaviour should be viewed as a whole integrated experience and not as separate parts
“The whole is greater than the sum of its parts”

Question 22

Parsimony

Answer 22

The idea that complex phenomena should be explained in the simplest terms possible

Question 23

Example of Levels of Explanation with violent crimes

Answer 23

A very reductionist level (low) would emphasise physiological factors like genes, low levels of serotonin, high levels of testosterone
The middle level would be explanations focusing on cognitive explanations and social learning.
The highest level would focus on more complex sociocultural factors (e.g. media, gang culture among young people)

Question 24

Levels of Explanations

Answer 24

Explanations (of behaviour) vary from those at a lower or fundamental level focusing on basic components or units (reductionist) , to those at a higher more holistic level
The lowest reductionist level focuses on physiological factors i.e. genes. The highest level focuses on sociocultural factors i.e. culture. In between is behavioural, cognitive and social explanations.

Question 25

Reductionism

Answer 25

The idea that human behaviour should be explained by breaking it down into simpler component parts. Based on the idea of parsimony.

Question 26

Evaluation of reductionism

Answer 26

(+) Most experimental psychology is based on the assumption that human behaviour can be studied through relatively simple experiments. Different factors can be studied in a controlled manner while establishing a causal relationship
(-) The results of highly controlled experiments are often questionable (eye witnesses)
(+) Scientific. Breaking something down means it can be scientifically tested. Has led to the development of biological treatments, such as drugs
(-) Ignores the complexity of human behaviour/oversimplifies it. ADHD is treated with drugs, but the symptoms may be mistaken for the true cause.
(-) Relies on animal studies too much. Pavlov’s dogs in classical conditioning. Is human behaviour simply a scaled-up version of that of dogs?

Question 27

Evaluation of holism

Answer 27

(+) Aspects of social behaviour that only emerge within a group context (e.g. conformity)
(+) Attempts to blend different levels of explanation. Provides a complete and realistic understanding of human behaviour
(-) Holistic approaches can become vague and complex, therefore cannot be scientifically tested
(-) Do not establish causation because they do not examine behaviour in terms of operationalised variables. Viewed as unscientific
(-) Holistic explanations combine many different aspects, making it difficult to decide upon the treatment and which factor is more influential

Question 28

Idiographic Approach

Answer 28

Focuses on the individual and their unique personal experiences. Favour qualitative research, such as case studies, unstructured interviews and thematic analysis. Does not seek to formulate laws or generalise results.
Examples: case study of KF and short term memory. Has a motorbike accident, forgot auditory information more than visual information, suggesting STM has multiple components.
Freud, case study of Little Hans

Question 29

Evaluation of ideographic approach

Answer 29

(+) Provides a complete and global account of the individual e.g. case studies contribute to our overall understanding of different topics
(+) Case studies are powerful tools for evaluating psychological theories. It can generate further research into particular phenomena, which contributes to our development of new theories
(-) Unable to produce general laws or predictions, limiting its usefulness. For a scientific subject, this is very devastating. Experiments cannot be done on very large samples.
(-) Case studies are time consuming. Freud’s universal theory was based on limited and unrepresentative case studies that most psychologists would discredit

Question 30

Nomothetic approach

Answer 30

Future behaviour can be predicted and controlled. Concerned with establishing general laws, based on a large group of people, and the use of statistical (quantitative) techniques to analyse data. Uses experiments, correlations and psychometric testing.
Examples: Biological psychologists pinpoint biological factors (genes) and develop treatments to treat all patients. Behaviourists generalised classical conditioning to all people. Cognitive psychologists developed laws about MSM and generalised. Social psychologists (e.g. Milgram, Asch) generalised conclusions about human behaviour

Question 31

Evaluation of nomothetic approach

Answer 31

(+) Generally scientific, use of experimental (quantitative) methods, controlled methods are all key features of science
(+) Useful for predicting and controlling behaviour. OCD: drug therapies are developed on the basis of nomothetic research
(-) Problem with generalisation, as not drug treatments are successful for all patients, some seek alternatives e.g. cognitive behavioural therapy; the nomothetic stance is not always relevant and successful
(-) Loses sight of the ‘whole person’, due to its fixation on quantitative data (people become just a number)
(-) Allows us to make predictions on groups, not on individuals. Allport said that we can only make accurate predictions on an individual if we understand only them

Question 32

Combined approach of idiographic and nomothetic approach

Answer 32

Holt (1967) said that many approaches take advantage of both, and they can be viewed as complementary, not contradictory.
Example: cognitive psychologists take a nomothetic approach and create general laws, but they also take advantage of the idiographic approach and use case studies