8. Assess Reductionsim In Psychological Research Flashcards
What is the structure for this debate
AO1=examples from topic areas
AO3=
AO1 definition of reductionism
Reductionism is the idea of breaking down a complex phenomenon into simpler components
AO1 definition of holism
Holism is the view that parts of something can never add up to the whole thing because the whole is more than its constituent parts. We should therefore study something in its entirety
AO1 definition of biological reductionism
-a form of reductionism which attempts to explain social behaviour to a biological action such as neurones, neurotransmitters, hormones, environmental influences and genes
AO1 definition of environmental reductionism
-all behaviour is explained in terms of stimulus-response links that have been learned through experience
AO1 definition of experimental reductionism
-reducing complex behaviours to isolated variables to conduct research. Operationalised variables are manipulated and measured to determine casual relationships
AO1 definition of machine reductionism
-humans are reduced to information processors, leading to machine reductionism such as individual memory stores
For cognitive topic- lab experiments- strength and weakness
AO1: In cognitive topic Baddeley conducts a lab experiment investigating if long term memory encodes in the same way short term memory does, acoustically, or if it’s different e.g semantically. He measures memory by reducing it down to % of words recalled in the correct order for each condition
AO3 STRENGTH: Baddeley’s study created application for teaching and learning strategies, by explaining simply for students that in order to learn long term information they must create a semantic meaning to it through colour, mindmaps or acronyms
AO3 WEAKNESS: However, by reducing memory down to how it’s encoded it may limit application, because this was an artificially tested strategy using simple word lists, which is not how memory works/ is used in real life
AO3 JUDGEMENT: Reducing memory down is not good for this topic area because our memory is so complex and is used in many different ways, therefore limiting application because there isn’t a proper understanding
For cognitive topic- Use of case studies- strength and weakness
AO1: Case studies are a holistic approach to research, used in cognitive to investigate brain damaged patients and the effect this has on memory. For example HM, who suffered a severe motorbike accident and had epilepsy had his hippocampus surgically removed to see if it would help his symptoms. They found that the hippocampus was important in transferring short term memories to long term memories. However his procedural memory was still intact, as he showed improvement in the star mirror task.
AO3 STRENGTH: provides a deeper understanding into the memory of the individual as it’s considering the many different elements and factors that may be contributing to HM’s loss of memory. It showed us the
AO3 WEAKNESS: Data collected from case studies are mostly qualitative, as it is observations of the individuals behaviour. This limits application because the behaviour/ individual being studied is so unique to society that their findings are not generalisable, and lacks the predictive power of more scientific explanations
AO3 JUDGEMENT: Using case studies to study a behaviour means the complexity of the behaviour is not ignored as it is a holistic approach studying the individual for a long stretch of time
Cognitive topic- WMM- strength and weakness
AO1: The working memory model was developed by Baddeley and Hitch reduces STM into small components that actively process different types of information. There’s the central executive which shifts information into the sub systems, the phonological loop which deals with auditory information and the visuospatial sketch pad which deals with visual components
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Bio topic- brain scans- strength and weakness
AO1: Brain scans are a reductionist research method as they reduce behaviour such as aggression down to a single image and specific brain parts. Raine et al studied the brain of murderers who pleaded NGRI and non murderers. They were given a continuous performance task of pressing targets with a button for 32 minutes. He found that there was abnormal dysfunction in the brains of murderers, including lower activity in left amygdala and hippocampus, but higher in the right side
AO3 STRENGTH:
-behaviour is measured/ tested in a very scientific way with standardised procedures to the scans, which produce highly reliable sets of data which is objective, allowing for conclusions to be drawn
AO3 WEAKNESS:
-Reducing the cause of aggressive and criminal behaviour to specific parts of the brain, ignoring all social and environmental factors. This limits application, as without considering the full extent of the cause of behaviour, a treatment like reduced sentencing might not be as beneficial
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For bio topic- -strength and weakness
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For learning topic- social learning theory- strength and weakness
AO1:
-Social learning theory is a holistic explanation because it incorporates cognitive processes as well as role models. It shows how behaviour can be learnt through paying attention, retaining the behaviour, reproducing the behaviour if the individual has the self efficacy to do so, and if they’re motivated to do it again. Role models can be anyone of our same sex, higher status, similar interests or has something desirable; this is who we pay our attention to.
AO3 STRENGTH: Bandura found that children exposed to aggressive models that displayed acts of hitting a bobo doll with a mallet and shouting ‘hit him down’ etc were more likely to demonstrate aggressive behaviour themselves. This gives strong application to society for the watershed and age ratings on movies so children are not exposed to inappropriate behaviours
AO3 WEAKNESS: It neglects the importance of the biological explanation such as genetics and brain structure which
For learning topic- operant conditioning- strength and weakness
AO1:
-Operant conditioning is learning through consequence, using reinforcers and punishments to encourage and discourage behaviour. Positive reinforcers are the addition of something good e.g a sticker, negative reinforcers is the removal of something bad e.g no chores. Positive punishment is the addition of something bad e.g extra chores, and negative punishment is the removal of something good, e.g your phone. It is through these consequences that behaviour is learnt.
AO3 STRENGTH:
-High application for token economy programmes that can be used for patients suffering with anorexia. AN patients are reinforced with tokens (secondary reinforcers) when desirable behaviour is displayed like eating a meal, which can then be exchanged for something desirable like time with friends (a primary reinforcer). If this is repeated over a period of time habits can be made to get an AN patient to a safe weight.
AO3 WEAKNESS:
-This is reductionist as it is simplifying the learning of all behaviours to consequence, not taking into consideration bio explanations like genetics.
For social topic- social impact theory-strength and weakness
AO1:
-Social impact theory can describe the behaviour of obedience. It explains how in society there are sources, people giving instructions who have the authority, and targets, people obeying the authority. Obedience depends on the strength of the sources (how important they are, older age etc), the imidacy (distance of influence, buffers) and the number of sources to targets.
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