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A-LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY (AQA) WHOLE SPEC > PAPER 3 - Issues and Debates > Flashcards

PAPER 3 - Issues and Debates Flashcards

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1
Q

What is UNIVERSALITY ?

A
  • apply to all people

- threatened by the concept of gender bias

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2
Q

What is BIAS ?

A
  • prejudice for or against a person or group

- could be considered unfair

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3
Q

What is ANDROCENTRISM ?

A
  • psychology has been male dominated
  • psychologists were male
  • theories tended to represent a male world view
  • theories are unlikely to be universal
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4
Q

What is ALPHA BIAS ?

A
  • assumes there is a difference between genders when there might not be
  • artificially raises a gender’s status or undervalue a gender
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5
Q

What is BETA BIAS ?

A
  • assumes there are no difference between genders when there might be
  • assuming findings about men can be applied to women when they can’t
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6
Q

What are the STRENGTHS if gender bias ?

A

EQUALITY

  • society can become more equal
  • women have similar education and occupational opportunities

REFLEXIVITY

  • allowed researchers to become aware of their own interpretations
  • less likely for concrete generalisations
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7
Q

What is FREE WILL ?

A
  • we choose our thoughts and behaviours

- influenced by biological and environmental factors

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8
Q

What is DETERMINISM ?

A
  • no free will
  • thoughts are pre-determined by internal / external factors
  • behaviour is predictable
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9
Q

What is HARD DETERMINISM ?

A
  • extreme form
  • no room for free will
  • behaviour has specific cause
  • not responsible for our actions
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10
Q

What is SOFT DETERMINISM ?

A
  • allows some free will
  • some conscious mental control
  • influencing forces
  • freedom to detract
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11
Q

What is BIOLOGICAL DETERMINISM ?

A
  • biological factors
  • not able to see or control
    e. g. neurotransmitters / hormones
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12
Q

What is ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINISM ?

A
  • determined by past experiences
  • external influences
    e. g. social learning
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13
Q

What is PSYCHIC DETERMINISM ?

A
  • determined by unconscious forces
  • early childhood
    e. g. psychosexual stages
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14
Q

What are the arguments FOR free will ?

A

FACE VALIDITY

  • everyday life
  • legal system = responsible for their behaviour
  • calm in society

PSYCHOLOGICAL BENEFITS

  • high locus of control
  • mentally healthy
  • believing we have free will
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15
Q

What are the arguments AGAINST free will ?

A

CULTURALLY RELATIVE

  • suited to individualistic cultures
  • culturally bias
  • ethnocentric

RESEARCH EVIDENCE

  • motor area before conscious awareness
  • prefrontal cortex active 10 seconds before pp aware of their decision
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16
Q

What are the arguments FOR determinism ?

A

MENTAL ILLNESS

  • behaviours are not desired e.g. suicide
  • medication can remove symptoms

INTERVENTIONS

  • intervene to prevent certain behaviours
  • brain activity in murderers
  • provide support
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17
Q

What are the arguments AGAINST determinism ?

A

CONCORDANCE RATES

  • biological determinism
  • MZ twins for mental illness never 100%
  • must be more complex than suggested

SOCIALLY SENSITIVE

  • criminal behaviour can never be punished
  • focus on medication and ignore influencing factors
  • self-fulfilling prophecy
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18
Q

What is NATURE ?

A
  • the influences of our genes

- determined by pre-natal environment

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19
Q

What is NURTURE ?

A
  • the influences of our interactions

- we are born as a blank slate

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20
Q

What are GENETICS ?

A
  • heredity

- our genetic makeup influences our behaviour

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21
Q

What is EVOLUTIONARY ?

A
  • heredity

- characteristics which have supported survival are now innate within us and passed down due to natural selection

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22
Q

What is the LEARNING THEORY ?

A
  • environment

- behaviour is learnt via experiences e.g. conditioning

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23
Q

What is the INTERACTIONIST APPROACH ?

A
  • interaction between nature and nurture
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24
Q

What is DIATHESIS STRESS ?

A

mental illness occurs due to interaction between the BIOLOGICAL (diathesis) and the ENVIRONMENT (stress) INFLUENCES

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25
Q

What is a PASSIVE RELATIONSHIP ?

A

INTERACTIONIST APPROACH

- parental gene affects the way the parent treats their child

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26
Q

Give an example of a PASSIVE RELATIONSHIP

A

parents who are good at golf might take their child to a gold course and encourage them to play

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27
Q

What is a ACTIVE RELATIONSHIP ?

A

INTERACTIONIST APPROACH

- child’s genetic make-up actively affects the environment

28
Q

Give an example of an ACTIVE RELATIONSHIP

A

child has good hand-eye coordination so spends time at the golf course

29
Q

What is a REACTIVE RELATIONSHIP ?

A

INTERACTIONIST APPROACH

- child’s genetic make-up leads to particular response from others

30
Q

Give an example of a REACTIVE RELATIONSHIP

A

parent notices good hand-eye coordination and encourages them to play golf

31
Q

What are the STRENGTHS of the nature / nurture debate ?

A

NURTURE CAN AFFECT NATURE

  • macguire - taxi’s hippocampus
  • experience changed plasticity

NATURE CAN AFFECT NURTURE

  • people create their own environment
  • select what is appropriate for their ‘nature’
  • shapes their behaviour and reinforces tendencies

EPIGENETICS

  • genes can be switches ‘on / off’
  • individual overeats and becomes obese = change in genetic activity = epigenetic marker = passed to offspring
32
Q

What is HOLISM ?

A
  • focuses on the system as a whole

- cannot predict how the whole system will work by looking at individual components

33
Q

What is REDUCTIONISM ?

A
  • breaks down complex phenomena into more simple components

- better understood at a simpler level

34
Q

What are the 3 levels of explanation in psychology - according to reductionism ?

A

highest level
middle level
lowest level

35
Q

What is the HIGHEST LEVEL as an explanation of psychology ?

A

REDUCTIONISM

  • social and cultural explanations of behaviour
  • broad / social
36
Q

Give an example of the HIGHEST LEVEL when concerning MEMORY

A

CULTURAL EXPECTATIONS can affect what we remember

37
Q

What is the MIDDLE LEVEL as an explanation of psychology ?

A

REDUCTIONISM

  • psychological explanation of behaviour
  • focuses on individual
38
Q

Give an example of the MIDDLE LEVEL when concerning MEMORY

A

episodic memory from OUR LIVES are remembered because they are personal

39
Q

What is the LOWEST LEVEL as an explanation of psychology ?

A

REDUCTIONISM

  • biological explanation of behaviour
  • internal factors
40
Q

Give an example of the LOWEST LEVEL when concerning MEMORY

A

activity in the AREAS OF THE BRAIN where memories are stored (hippocampus) and the NEUROTRANSMITTERS involved in making memories (acetylecholine)

41
Q

What is BIOLOGICAL REDUCTIONISM ?

A
  • reduces behaviour down to a PHYSICAL LEVEL

- the actions of neurons, neurotransmitters, genetics and hormones

42
Q

What is ENVIRONMENTAL (STIMULUS-RESPONSE) REDUCTIONISM ?

A
  • behaviour can be reduced to a SIMPLE RELATIONSHIP between BEHAVIOUR and EVENTS in the environment
43
Q

Give an example of BIOLOGICAL REDUCTIONISM

A

depression

  • low levels of serotonin
  • drugs can increase serotonin = reduced depression
44
Q

Give an example of ENVIRONMENTAL REDUCTIONISM

A

phobias

- learnt via an association between an UCS and NS

45
Q

What are the arguments FOR reductionism ?

A

MEASURING VARIABLES

  • focuses on one factor
  • easier to design research and control variables
  • validity / reliability
  • cause and effect

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

  • interventions
  • SSRI’s to treat OCD
  • fewer patients being institutionalised
46
Q

What are the arguments AGAINST reductionism ?

A

MISSES COMPLEXITY OF BEHAVIOUR

  • environmental reductionism researched on animals
  • we are not scaled up versions of animals as we are affected by SOCIAL FACTORS and EMOTIONS

CONTEXT OF BEHAVIOUR

  • meaning of behaviour and potential causes
  • SSRI’s are not long term solution
  • time and money wasted
47
Q

What are the arguments FOR holism ?

A

ACCOUNTS FOR SOCIAL INFLUENCES

  • behaviour affected by interactions with others
  • conformity to social roles
  • more accurate understanding of behaviour

ACCOUNTS FOR COGNITIVE INFLUENCES

  • schemas in childhood have lead to depression
  • looks at the individual as a whole
  • may be more accurate
48
Q

What are the arguments AGAINST holism ?

A

HARD TO TEST

  • difficult to isolate variables
  • hard to generalise findings
  • lack of evidence for science community

HARD TO PRACTICALLY APPLY

  • considers all factors so hard to suggest how to change the behaviour
  • unsure which factor to tackle first
49
Q

What is IDIOGRAPHIC ?

A
  • focuses on UNIQUE INDIVIDUALS
  • qualitative data
  • not compared to larger group
50
Q

Give examples of IDIOGRAPHIC METHODS

A
  • case studies
  • unstructured interviews
  • thematic analysis
51
Q

What is NOMOTHETIC ?

A
  • LARGE NUMBER of people
  • quantitative data
  • generalisations
52
Q

Give examples of NOMOTHETIC METHODS

A
  • experiments
53
Q

What are the arguments FOR idiographic ?

A

CAN MAKE PREDICTIONS

  • detailed observation of few individuals = generalisations
  • insight into cause and effect

HELP DEVELOP NOMOTHETIC APPROACH

  • millon and davis
  • start with nomothetic and then focus on idiographic
  • more accurate
54
Q

What are the arguments AGAINST idiographic ?

A

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS DIFFICULT

  • does not make comparisons
  • no baseline
  • cannot benefit everyday life

LACK OF SCIENTIFIC RIGOUR

  • qual. data = subjective
  • self-reports = social desirability
  • bias
55
Q

What are the arguments FOR nomothetic ?

A

SCIENTIFIC

  • controlled methodology
  • cause and effect
  • high validity
  • scientific credibility

PREDICTIONS

  • mental illness
  • time consuming for personal therapies
  • design of drugs
56
Q

What are the arguments AGAINST nomothetic ?

A

DOES NOT TELL US WHY

  • focuses on statistical significance
  • doesn’t give full picture

HUMANS ARE COMPLEX

  • law / theories won’t apple to all people
  • medication only works for 2/3 of patients
57
Q

What are ETHICAL IMPLICATIONS ?

A

IMPACTS the findings may have on SOCIETY

58
Q

Give an example of ETHICAL IMPLICATIONS

A

how the finding may influence our perception of a particular social group

59
Q

What is SOCIALLY SENSITIVE RESEARCH ?

A
  • potential social implications
    e. g. genetic explanations for aggressive behaviour
  • attract media attention
60
Q

What are the potential problems of the RESEARCH QUESTION ?

A
  • could be damaging to a certain group e.g. ‘are there racial differences in IQ?’
61
Q

What does the researcher need to consider with their RESEARCH QUESTION ?

A

IMPLICATIONS

  • wider effect
  • should not suggest discrimination

SCIENTIFIC FREEDOM
- engage in research but not harm pps or social groups

62
Q

What does the researcher need to consider with their INTERPRETATIONS and APPLICATIONS of their findings ?

A

VALIDITY
- poor methodology = inaccurate findings = false representation of social group

PUBLIC POLICY

  • what the research might be used for
  • avoid wrong purpose
63
Q

What are some of overcoming ethical issues ?

A
  • briefing / debriefing
  • care in publication
  • consider who is funding research
  • treat pps well
64
Q

What are the arguments FOR social sensitive research ?

A

NECESSARY

  • promote greater sensitivity and understanding
  • reduce prejudice

PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS

  • potential to make changes in society
  • attachment types
  • positive economic impacts
65
Q

What are the arguments AGAINST social sensitive research ?

A

INADEQUACY OF CURRENT GUIDELINES

  • (currently) do not need to consider how the research will be used
  • needs reconsideration especially with technological advances

SOCIAL CONTROL
- findings may reinforce current stereotypes

PSYCHOLOGISTS HAVE LIMITATIONS

  • researcher should recognise their own limitations
  • can never state absolute truth
  • should not impose a professional view
  • cannot buffer against ethical implications

A-LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY (AQA) WHOLE SPEC (11 decks)

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