Paper 3: Issues and Debates Flashcards
Issues and debates in Psychology
• Idiographic and nomothetic approaches to psychological investigation.
• Ethical implications of research studies and theory, including reference to social sensitivity
what are the 3 types of detreminism
Hard determinism and soft determinism.
Biological, environmental and psychic determinism.
what is free will
The notion of free will suggests that as human beings we are essentially self-determining and free to choose our thoughts and actions.
A belief in free will does not deny that there may be biological and environmental forces that exert some influence on our behaviour, but nevertheless implies that we are able to reject these forces as the masters of our own destiny.
This is the viewpoint of the humanistic approach in psychology.
what is determinism
This proposes that free will has no place in explaining behaviour.
There are two versions of determinism.
Hard determinism – sometimes referred to as fatalism, suggests that all human behaviour has a cause that is identifiable. It assumes that everything we think and do is dictated by internal or external forces that we cannot control; and that free will is not possible.
Soft determinism – All events, including human behaviour, have causes, but behaviours can also be determined by our conscious choices in the absence of coercion (attempts to control behaviour)
what is biological determinism
Biological determinism
The belief that behaviour is caused by biological influences (genetic, hormonal, and evolutionary) that we cannot control.
In fact many of our physiological and neurological (brain) processes are not under our conscious control e.g. the influence of the autonomic nervous system during periods of stress and anxiety.
In addition lots of behaviours and characteristics such as mental disorders are thought to have a genetic basis and research has demonstrated the effect of hormones such as the role of testosterone in aggressive behaviour.
Modern bio psychologists would also recognise that our environment can also influence our biological structures.
what is environmental determinism
Environmental determinism
Part of the behaviourist approach. BF Skinner described free will as an ‘illusion’ and argued that all behaviour is the result of conditioning.
Our experience of ‘choice’ is merely the result of reinforcement that have happened throughout our lives. Although we might think that we are acting independently, our behaviour has been shaped by environmental events and people around us e.g. parents, teachers and so on.
what is psychic determinism
Psychic determinism
Freud agreed that free will is an ‘illusion’ but placed more emphasis on the influence of biological drives and instincts than the behaviourist theory.
Freud saw human behaviour as being determined by unconscious conflicts, repressed in childhood.
eval on free wil and detrminism
pos: Everyday experience gives the impression that we are constantly exercising free will. This gives face validity to the concept of free will.
Also research suggests that people who have an internal locus of control (believe they have control over their actions in their life) tend to be more mentally healthy.
Whereas those who believe their lives are controlled by external factors are more at risk of developing depression. This suggests that even if we do not have free will, the fact that we think we do may have a positive impact on mind and behaviour.
pos: Soon et al demonstrated that the brain activity that determines the outcomes of simple choices exists before our knowledge of having made such a choice.
The result of this neurological activity revealed the decision to press a button with the left or right hand occurs up to 10 seconds before participants were consciously aware of making such a decision.
This shows that even our most basic experiences of free will are decided and determined by our brain before we become aware of them.
Determinism is consistent with the aims of science.
The notion that human behaviour is orderly and obeys laws places psychology on equal footing with other more established sciences.
In addition, the value of such research is that the prediction and control of human behaviour has led to the development of treatments, therapies – for instance, psychotherapeutic drug treatment in controlling and managing schizophrenia.
In fact the experience of mental disorders like schizophrenia where the sufferers experience a total loss of control over their thoughts and behaviour casts doubt on the concept of free will (no one would choose to be schizophrenic). At least in terms of mental illness then, behaviour would appear to be determined.
e hard determinist viewpoint is problematic as it is not consistent with the way in which our legal system works. In a court of law, offenders are held morally accountable for their actions.
However if we believed that a person’s behaviour was determined by biological or environmental influences then we would expect people to get lenient sentences. Despite the scientific credentials of a deterministic viewpoint, it is unfalsifiable.
It is based on the idea that causes of behaviours will always exist, even though they may not yet be found. Therefore it is impossible to prove wrong; suggesting it is not that scientific.
The scientific emphasis on causal explanation
One of the basic principles of science is that every event in the universe has a cause and these can be explained by using general laws, knowledge of these causes and laws can help scientists predict and control events in the future.
For instance in Chemistry it can be demonstrated how adding X chemical to Y chemical will result in Z reaction within the controlled environment of a test tube.
Hence in psychology, the lab experiment enables researchers to simulate the conditions of the test tube and remove all other extraneous variables in an attempt to precisely control and predict human behaviour.
idiographic approach
‘Idio’ is derived from the Greek and means ‘private’.
It is an approach to research that focuses more on the individual as a means of understanding behaviour.
This argues that generalising from person to person is difficult because of their uniqueness.
idiographic approaches are unlikely to conduct large scale studies or use quantitative data as they are unlikely to generalise results as they believe each individual is unique; and therefore irrelevant to try and develop universal laws of behaviour.
Case studies are an example of an idiographic approach to research. They document the unique perspective of a person who has shown a key behaviour or difference which can be used to help evaluate any theories.
Case studies are often criticised for their lack of applicability to the general population because of their uniqueness, but they are useful as a test for a theory. They cannot offer much support for a theory but it can show any flaws. It takes only one case study to potentially argue that a theory is wrong, as a theory should be able to accommodate all individuals.
They also often favour qualitative methods e.g. interviews.
nomothetic approach
The word is derived from the Greek term ‘nomos’ which can be translated as ‘law’.
The nomothetic view seeks to establish general laws about human behaviour that can be applied across any given population. According to Kirby there are three broad types of general laws;
Classifying people into groups – for example, the Diagnostic manual of mental disorders (DSM-5) classifies people suffering from psychological disorders.
Establishing principles of behaviour that can be applied to people in general, for example findings from conformity studies and the principles of operant conditioning.
Establishing dimensions – people are placed along a continuum (scale) from which people can be compared, for instance IQ scores.
In addition the nomothetic approach is most closely aligned with scientific methods e.g. experiments. Nomothetic studies also tend to involve a large number of people in order to establish ways in which people are similar.
eval of nomotheitc and idiographic
The case for the idiographic approach
The idiographic approach, with its in-depth qualitative methods of investigation, provides a complete and global account of the individual. This may complement the nomothetic approach as it may support general laws or it may challenge such laws.
For example a case may generate further study such as the case of HM and his case may reveal important insights about normal functioning which can contribute to our overall understanding.
The case against the idiographic approach
On the other hand, supporters of the idiographic approach must still recognise the narrow and restricted nature of their work. One of the criticisms of Freud’s work is that many of his key concepts, like the Oedipus complex, were largely developed from the detailed study of a single case (little Hans). Meaningful generations cannot be made without further examples, as there is no adequate baseline with which to compare behaviour. Such methods also tend to be less scientific in that conclusions often rely on subjective interpretation of the researcher.
Examples of nomothetic approach – this tends to be a feature of reductionist and deterministic explanations.
Hypotheses are formulated, tested under controlled conditions and findings generated from large numbers of people are analysed (statistically).
Much research conducted by behaviourist, cognitive and biological psychologists would meet the criteria of the nomothetic approach. For example behaviourists (e.g. BF Skinner) studied responses of hundreds
Complimentary rather than contradictory
It is possible to consider the same issue from both perspectives (an idiographic and nomothetic approach) depending on the research question.
For instance research into gender development, may try to establish general patterns of behaviour, whilst also looking at case studies of atypical development.
the processes involved in nonmothetic research tend to be more scientific and mirrors thos employed in the natural science.s testing udner standardised conditions, using data sets that provide groupaverages, statistical analysis and predicition and control, for the firle d of iq testing. such processes have enabled psychologists to establish norms of typical behaviour (average iq being 100) which gives the discipline of spychology greater scientific credibility.
the preoccupation within the nomothetic approach on general laws, predicition and control has been accussed of losing the whole person within psychology. knowing thers a 1& lfietime risk of deveoping schizophrenia tells us little about what life is like for someone who’s suffering from the disoder. in lab studies, in memor, participants are treated as a seies of scores rather than indiviudla people and their subjective experience of the situationa dn experiment is ignored. this means the nonmethetic approach may oerlook the richness oh human experience
What are ethical implications in research studies?
Ethical guidelines were established to help protect participants. However, it is more difficult to buffer the social impact of psychological research once it has been conducted.
Although researchers may have considerable control over the methods they select and the way they treat participants, they may have relatively little say in how the research findings are presented in the media, the impact of their work on public policy, and how it may influence our perception of particular groups in society.
This amounts to a concern with the wider ethical implications of research.
what is socially snsitive reserach
Some areas of research are likely to be more controversial, and be more socially sensitive, than others.
A study that examines the cognitive processes involved in long-term memory, for instance is unlikely to have consequences for those that took part or for the broader social groups the participants represent.
Whereas research investigating the genetic basis of criminality would have. Studies that tackle socially sensitive ‘taboo’ topics such as aspects of race or sexuality also attract a good deal of attention; not merely from other psychologists but also from media and the public at large. However this should not lead psychologists to shy away from researching such areas.
What are 3 ethical issues in socially sensitive research?
Liz Stanley identified a number of concerns that researchers should be mindful of when conducting socially sensitive research:
- Implications - The wider effects of such research should be carefully considered, as some studies may be seen as giving ‘scientific’ credits to prejudice or discrimination, ie studies examining the racial basis of intelligence. However, the implications of such research may be difficult to predict before the study begins.
- Uses/public policy - What is the research likely to be used for? What would happen if it was used for the wrong purpose? This is related to the idea that findings may be adopted by the government for political ends or shape public policy.
- The validity of the research – Some findings that were presented as objective in the past have actually turned out to be highly suspect, and in some cases, fraudulent. However many social constructionist researchers – who tackle socially sensitive areas of research – are much more up-front about their own biases and preconceptions and include comments on their reflections when they publish their work.
