Psychology as a Science

Question 1

What causal theories/models are used in biological psychology to explain phenomena?

Answer 1

Freud’s psychodynamic explanation of aggression suggests that aggression is due to the id being unsatisfied and the ego releases the aggression through defence mechanisms e.g. displacement.

Amygdala causes aggression - it is claimed that the amygdala plays a role in aggression eg Downer 1961, Raine et al 1997 and Gorka et al 2013

Deficits in the prefrontal cortex inhibits impulse control which may explain why some people are more likely to lash out in anger than others.

Question 2

What types of empirical testing and falsification of theories are used within biological psychology?

Answer 2

Testing Freud’s claims of psychoanalysis:

Although Freud claimed that catharsis reduces aggression levels, Bushman (2002) found that the group who safely released their aggression were still more aggressive than the control group.

Question 3

What emphasis does biological psychology place on reliability, validity in observations/evidence?

Answer 3

Use of animal models by carrying out vivisection animal studies generate very valid findings due to lack of demand characteristics. The findings are also reliable as well because the animals have been subject to the same standardised procedures, which increases the chances of other researchers gathering consistent findings.

Use of PET/fMRI scans - objective measures as the researchers don’t have interpretation of what the data shows - but you can set up a PET scan in a way in which you find what you are looking for

Question 4

What paradigms of research and theory are used within biological psychology?

Answer 4

Raine’s studies
Lesioning- removal of tissue to explore its function

Physicalism / Monism / Reductionism

Localisation and lateralisation

Evolution

Question 5

What types of peer reviews and public scrutiny of methods and findings does biological psychology use?

Answer 5

‘Biological Psychology’

‘Neuropsychology review’

Question 6

What causal theories and models to explain phenomena does social psychology use?

Answer 6

Obedience: agency theory and social impact theory both suggest explanations as to why people obey perceived authority figures.

Prejudice: realistic conflict theory and social identity theory both suggest explanations as to why people can be prejudiced towards others

Adorno’s authoritarian personality theory can be applied to both obedience and prejudice

Question 7

What types of empirical testing and falsification of theories are used within social psychology?

Answer 7

Social psychology involves studies that collect empirical evidence through experimental studies. For example, Milgram’s original study (1963) was an experiment on destructive obedience and he used the number of voltages that each participant administered to the confederate/learner as a way to measure destructive obedience. However, a UK replication of Tajfel’s ‘Minimal groups’ study carried out by … disproved social identity theory.

Question 8

What emphasis does social psychology place on objectivity, reliability and validity in observations/evidence?

Answer 8

Field experiments e.g. Bickman (1974) are important for producing valid results that relate to social psychology. Although there is a lack of control over extraneous variables compared to laboratory experiments, the task validity tends to be higher.

Lab experiments - Burger 2009 and Milgram 1963, have reliability as there is a standardised procedure

Question 9

What paradigms for research and theory are used within social psychology?

Answer 9

Standard paradigms in research - field and lab experiments

Questionnaires as a research method

Question 10

Does social psychology place a high emphasis on peer review & public scrutiny of methods and findings?

Answer 10

yes - Orne and Holland (1968) criticising Milgram’s study of obedience:

Question 11

What causal theories/models are used to explain phenomena in cognitive psychology?

Answer 11

Yes. Examples include The Multistore Model (Atkinson & Shiffrin, 1968); Working Memory (Baddeley & Hitch, 1972). Both present explanations of memory based around information being moved between different memory structures by a range of information processes.

Question 12

What empirical testing and falsification of theories are used within cognitive psychology?

Answer 12

Yes. In cognitive psychology testing is usually through experiments where the empirical evidence comes from observations of task performance (e.g. recall) under different conditions but clinical case studies are also used. The multistore model was falsified by a range of evidence including Milner et al’s (1968) HM study, which showed there must be at least two LTM stores.

Question 13

What emphasis does cognitive psychology place on reliability, validity in observations/evidence?

Answer 13

Yes. Laboratory experiments predominate, with objective task performance measured under very controlled conditions e.g. Baddeley (1966) wne to great lengths to isolate retention interval as the IV in his study of processing differences between STM and LTM - standardising word lists, using position recall, preventing rehearsal.

Question 14

What paradigms do cognitive researchers use for research and theories?

Answer 14

Yes. Standard research paradigms include word list recall under different conditions (e.g.Baddeley); digit span measures (e.g. Sebastian & Hernandez-Gill) and dual task studies (e.g.Robbins et al.)
The theoretical paradigm includes the ideas that the mind is like a computer, thinking is information processing and that mental processes are not reducible to physical ones.

Question 15

Does cognitive psychology place a high emphasis on peer review & public scrutiny of methods and findings?

Answer 15

Yes. Cognitive psychologists submit their findings to journals like ‘Cognition’, ‘Journal of Memory and Language’ and ‘Journal of Experimental Psychology’ for review. Researchers debate the implications of studies (e.g. lab v. field studies of witness memory) and the validity of theories (e.g. is the mind really a computer?) through journal articles and conferences.

Question 16

What causal theories/models are used in learning theories to explain phenomena?

Answer 16

Learning theories is based on behaviourism which suggests that we learn behaviour through interactions with our environment.

Classical conditioning

Operant conditioning

Social learning theory

Question 17

What empirical testing/ falsification of theories does learning theories use?

Answer 17

Empirical testing is carried out in this area of psychology through observations of acquiring certain conditioned responses but many of the learning theories have not been falsified. For example, Watson and Rayner (1920) carried out a single-participant experiment to see whether classical conditioning works on humans which tested Pavlov’s work on animals.

Question 18

What emphasis does learning theories place on reliability, validity in observations/evidence?

Answer 18

Observations are the main research method used in learning theories so it is important that observed behaviour is unambiguous between researchers. Objectivity can be enhanced by carrying out time or event sampling with clearly defined categories to reduce any chances of misinterpretations. For example, Bandura (1961) Bobo doll study involved judging the participants’ aggressive behaviour using four 5-point rating scales.

Reliability is also important e.g inter-observer reliability was emphasised in the Bobo doll study by having two researchers observing each child.

Question 19

What paradigms does learning theories use for research and theories?

Answer 19

Pavlov’s dogs/ Bandura et al 1961/63/65 - Lab experiments

Question 20

Does learning theories place much emphasis on peer reviews and scrutiny of findings?

Answer 20

No public scrutiny of findingng

Social learning theory came about through debates about mental processes and how its involved in reproducing behaviour.

Lorenz 1966 and innate behaviours disproving the idea that everything is born as a blank slat

Question 21

What causal theories/models are used within clinical psychology to explain phenomena?

Answer 21

Structural explanation of schizophrenia =it suggests that structural abnormalities in the brain cause symptoms of schizophrenia e.g hypofrontality, reduced brain weight etc.

The dopamine and glutamate hypothesis as biochemical explanations for schizophrenia.

The monoamine hypothesis as a biochemical explanation for depression

The cognitive explanations for schizophrenia and depression

Question 22

What empirical testing and falsification of theories does clinical psychology use?

Answer 22

Empirical testing happens in clinical psychology through reviews and meta-analyses. For example, Carlsson et al. (1999/2000) carried out a review on studies related to neurotransmitter interactions in schizophrenia, which led to the glutamate hypothesis where low glutamate levels lead to excess synaptic activity where dopamine is the primary NT.

There is a lack of theories being falsified. The glutamate hypothesis did not explicitly falsify the dopamine hypothesis but instead acted as an extension of what the dopamine hypothesis suggested.

Question 23

What emphasis does clinical psychology place on reliability, validity in observations/evidence?

Answer 23

Reliability and validity of diagnosing mental health disorders is very important in clinical psychology. For example, DSM-5 and ICD-10 involve strict criteria that the patient must follow in order to be diagnosed with a certain mental health disorder. This prevents clinicians from different cultures and backgrounds from reaching different diagnoses for the same set of symptoms, which can lead to inconsistencies.

Validity is also emphasised as the criteria in the DSM-5 and ICD-10 need to recognise actual symptoms of mental health disorders e.g. recognising that hallucinations are usually found in schizophrenia, not depression.

Question 24

What paradigms for research and theory does clinical psychology use?

Answer 24

The medical model assumes that mental health disorders are caused by changes to the physical structure and functioning of the brain. Therefore diagnosis of mental health disorders are carried out in a similar way to diagnosing physical health issues.

Question 25

Does clinical psychology place much emphasis on peer review & scrutiny of evidence?

Answer 25

Yes. Clinicians submit any research to scientific journals e.g. the Clinical Psychology Review which is an academic journal

Question 26

What causal theories/models are used in criminological psychology to explain phenomena?

Answer 26

Biological explanations for crime: Eysenck’s personality theory of crime, XXY syndrome, TBI and the amygdala

Social explanations for crime: social learning theory, self-fulfilling prophecy and labelling theory

Question 27

What empirical testing and falsification of theories are used within criminological psychology?

Answer 27

Empirical testing happens through correlational studies and case studies of criminals. For example, Yang et al. (2009) found that there was a correlation between people with higher psychopathy scores and smaller amygdala volumes.

Question 28

What emphasis does criminological psychology place on relaibility, validity in observations/evidence?

Answer 28

Lab settings (e.g. Loftus and Palmer, 1974) good control of extraneous variables for validity and reliability as a standardised procedure can be used throughout. Standardised procedure means that the results can be tested for causality.

Question 29

What paradigms for research and theory does criminological psychology have?

Answer 29

EWT
PEI
Cognitive Psychology

Question 30

define objective

Answer 30

something that does not depend on anyone’s point of view for its truthfulness

Question 31

define theory

Answer 31

a set of interrelated claims about the nature and causes of some aspect of the world

Question 32

define reductionism

Answer 32

a way of explaining things by breaking them down into more fundamental things or processes.

Question 33

define hypothesis

Answer 33

a claim about the relationship between entities in a theory and an associated claim about what we will observe when we study them.

Question 34

define falsification

Answer 34

the process of eliminating false theories using empirical evidence

Question 35

define paradigm

Answer 35

a set of assumptions shared by most or all of the scientists in a field about (1) what they are studying; (2) how it should be investigated; and (3) how it should be explained. This term can also refer to the generally accepted way for doing a particular type of investigation e.g. the Loftus paradigm for studying EWT.

Question 36

define positivism

Answer 36

the view that we can obtain truthful knowledge about the world using science.

Question 37

define empirical evidence

Answer 37

evidence gathered directly from the world, through the senses