Debates Flashcards
(38 cards)
what is free will regarding psychology
our behaviour is a result of our own choice
what is determinism regarding psychology
our behaviour is determined by factors outside our control
strengths of the freewill/determinism debate
+ deterministic research allows for controlled and scientific research, more reliable results and conclusions made e.g. L+P, had 2 experiments
+allows us to make predictions, allow us to have rules and apply them to different situations, making behaviour more understandable e.g. milgram, we now can make predictions based on how people will obey authority
weaknesses of the freewill/determinism debate
-removes responsibility, if we take away freedom and choice of our actions we cant punish people for certain behaviour e.g. bandura
-humans and the nature of behaviour is complex, it shouldnt be simplified to a simple and passive entity e.g. freud
what are the 5 rules regarding ethical research
- deception
- informed consent
- protection of pps
- right to withdraw
- confidentiality
strengths of the ethics debate
+ lack of informed consent, allows for more natural behaviour increasing internal validity e.g. milgram
+protection of pps, used to research sensitive topics, done only for the greater good increasing ecological validity e.g. bandura
weaknesses of the ethics debate
-damage to the reputaion of psychology, if the subject is known to cause harm and be unethical to pps, people will not want to volunteer stunting subject growth. e.g. milgram
-protection of pps, pps experience physical and psychological harm and will leave differently, maybe worse, e.g. bandura
what is reductionism
when complex behaviour is reduced to a simple explanation
what is holism
multiple factors interacting with each other making human behaviour
strengths of the reductionism/holism debate
+ reductionist research is more scientific, allows 1 IV to be isolated and identified as the cause of behaviour, allows for objective research e.g. Bandura
+ reductionist research is useful, allows for 1 cause of behaviour to be identified allowing correct intervention to be put in place to support causes of certain behaviours e.g. baren - cohen
weaknesses of the reductionism/holism debate
-oversimplifies behaviour, behaviour is complex and interactions between many factors leads to different behaviour which is ignored in reductionist research e.g. casey
-lacks validity, certain variables which cause behaviour may be hard to isolate and observe/study, so theres is no valid research so cause + effect cant be established e.g. milgram
what are individual explanations of behaviour
behaviour determined by characteristics from within the person e.g. personality
what are situational explanations of behaviour
behaviour determined by characteristics in the environment and external
strengths of the individual/situational debate
+practical implications, research aims to isolate. specific variables responsible for behaviour so we can put intervention in place to support causes of behaviour e.g. baren-cohen
+useful, gives us in depth research about two causes of behaviour (internal and external) furthers our understanding of certain behaviour which allows us to encourage change e.g. bandura
weaknesses of the individual/situational debate
-reductionist debate, difficult to isolate one cause of behaviour from another, wont produce valid data e.g. casey
-removes personal responsibilty, situational research suggests all behaviour is caused by the environment not due to the internal personality of the person, removing their responsibility e.g. milgram
what is socially sensitive research
research which has wider implications for wider society.
strengths of the socially sensitive research debate
+useful, SS research looks at issues which would be useful to gather further information about for applications and interventions e.g. bandura
+ethics, ethics committees ensure researchers consider SS issues to minimise harm e.g. baron - cohen
weaknesses of the socially sensitive debate
- discrimination, certain results may induce discriminatory behaviour towards certain groups of people e.g. gould
- distress, SS research may be distressing for the participants e.g. milgram
what is ethnocentrism in regards to psychology
using one culture in research and generalising the results to other cultures
what is social relativism in regards to psychology
using multiple cultures in research
strengths of the ethnocentrism/social relativism debate
+more practical, it is easier to use one culture and more cost efficient e.g. bocchiaro - amsterdam
+no individual differences, some approaches are nomothetic and would not expect differences in results across cultures e.g. the physiological approach
+ some approaches not weakened by ethnocentrism as there are no differences in what causes the behaviour e.g. biological approach
weaknesses of the ethnocentrism/social relativism debate
- not generalisable, as there is a restricted sample results can not be applied to other cultures e.g. milgram
- cant judge all cultures from one view, as certain cultures may be more likely to do well on a certain test but other cultures are not, this implies certain cultures are superior to others e.g. Goulds review of yerkes
what makes a subject a science
areas within a subject must have a shared set of assumptions, use scientific measures, methodology, and terminology.
there must be a precise and operationalised hypothesis
the area must be falsifiable.
the area should be nomothetic.
strengths of the psychology is a science debate
+ favour the use of the scientific method, research is carried out via controlled lab experiments to establish cause and effect e.g. L+P
+ use of the scientific procedure, theories are formed on the basis of hypothesis which are then studied - induction - e.g. bandura
+ scientific approaches tend to be more falsifiable with nomothetic conclusions - physiological
