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psychology a level > issues and debates > Flashcards

issues and debates Flashcards

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1
Q

holism

A

the idea that behaviours and individuals should be researched and looked at as a whole

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2
Q

reductionism

A

the idea that behaviours/ individuals can be split into different parts and explained in the simplest form

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3
Q

environmental reductionism

A

explaining all behaviour in terms of stimulus and response links that have been learned through experience

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4
Q

biological reductionism

A

attempts to explain social and psychological things at a lower biological level such as genes

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5
Q

+ holism

A

some behaviour only happen in group settings. eg conformity. provides complete global understanding of behaviour

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6
Q
  • holism
A

does not go through scientific testing. lack of empirical evidence difficult to narrow down the most influential aspect of things. simple solution is more appropriate

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7
Q

+ reductionism

A

basis of scientific research. you have to break down behaviour to make operationalised variables. means you can do experiments. psych has greater cred

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8
Q
  • reductionism
A

over simplifying ideas so loosing validity. does not include social analysis when coming from genes etc. does not tell us why, only how. only shows part of the explanation

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9
Q

nature

A

human characteristics and aspects of knowledge are innate.

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10
Q

nurture

A

the environmental influence. eh. culture/ social situations

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11
Q

rene descartes

A

people posses ideas they are born with and characteristics occur without environmental influence - nature. he is know as a natavist

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12
Q

john locke

A

emphasises the role of the environment and social experiences as fully contributing to human development - nurture. he is known as a empiricist

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13
Q

heritability coefficient

A

numerical scale from 0-1 seeing if something is nature or nurture. 1 being nature

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14
Q

interactionist approach

A

nature creates nurture so two must interact. may get characteristics from our parents but this can change your environment

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15
Q

diathesis stress model

A

genetic vulnerability= nature which can be triggered by an event in the environment. when they interact we develop disorders such as schizophrenia.

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16
Q

epigenetics

A

we leave marks on our dna without changing genetics. our body can highlight genes to pass/ ignore. interactions w environment causes this eg. smoking

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17
Q

+ nurture

A

real world application of therapy. behaviour can be changed by altering patients environment. we can reinforce positive behaviours. useful when designing therapy programmes

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18
Q
  • nature
A

believe genetic makeup determines behaviour. socially sensitive research says there are genetics reasons for lower intelligence in certain races. this is scientific racism

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19
Q
  • separating nature and nurture
A

issues w separating the two. ideal candidates= MZ twins as 100% same genetic makeup however the often grow up in same environment but experience life differently. it is hard to separate the influence of the two

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20
Q

free will

A

we have full control over our behaviour and are free to make choices we want to make
- humanistic approach

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21
Q

determinism

A

all human behaviour has a cause. we have no control over our actions everything is down to internal and external factors
- cognitive approach

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22
Q

nomothetic

A

studying human behaviour as a whole to make general laws

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23
Q

idiographic

A

focusing on individual behaviour and cases

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24
Q

psychic determinism

A

behaviour is caused by unconscious conflicts we cannot control
- psychodynamic

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25
soft determinism
human behaviour has causes but can also be determined by our conscious mind in the absence of coersion - SLT
26
biological determinsim
behaviour is caused by biological influences we cannot control e.g. genes - biological approach
27
environmental determinsim
behaviour caused by features in the environment we cannot control. - behaviourist approach
28
hard determinism
free will is not possible as our behaviour is caused by internal and external factors out of our control
29
do scientists believe in free will ro determinism?
determinism because it shows a cause and effect relationship
30
do genes make you criminal
defendant may have criminal gene and were born to kill meaning they did not experience free will and their behaviour was determined by biology.
31
example of biological determinism
unbalanced levels of dopamine and serotonin can increase the risk of someone developing schizophrenia
32
example of environmental determinism
bandura found children with violent parents are more likely to violent from observing the behaviour
33
example of psychic determinism
repressed unconscious thoughts control little hans behaviour from his fear of horses being developed from the fear fro his dad during the oedipus complex.
34
+ determinism
therapies/ treatments developed from it. allows us to get to route of cause and problem. free will - patients unlikely to choose mental disorders. therefore treatments based around it
35
- determinism
individual choice does not cause behaviour. not consistent with legal system. offenders held accountable for actions. determinism is unfalsifiable. cause for behaviour has not been found - impossible to prove wrong. not scientific
36
+ free will
necessary for our mental health. Roberts 2000 - internal loc are more mentally healthy. demonstrates people with belief in determinism are more likely to have depression. positive impact on the mind.
37
universality and bias
studies carried out in western countries cannot be applied to whole population. when repeated they get different results
38
culture bias
a tendency to ignore culture differences and interpret everything through one’s own culture
39
culture
the belief, customs, and values a group of people share
40
ethnocentrism
the superiority that people believe their own ethnic group/ culture has. our own culture is a standard we measure by
41
cultural relativism
behaviour cannot be judged properly unless it is viewed in the origin in which it originates
42
avoiding culture bias
respecting cultural relativism helps to avoid culture bias. this means not applying findings to other cultures
43
emic approach
an investigation of a culture within the culture. it identifies behaviour/ findings specific to the culture
44
etic approach
looks at behaviour from outside a culture, findings are considered universal and can be applied across all cultures.
45
imposed etic approach
generalising behaviour from one culture to another that can’t be done
46
ainsworths strange situation
is ethnocentrism and imposed etic as american culture is forced onto other countries
47
intelligence testing - BRISLIN
western testing > timed conditions completing tasks. Brislin questions relationship between mental quickness and intelligence. Uganda measure intelligence as slow and careful thought. this many make western countries view them as unintelligent.
48
individualism/ collectivism evaluation - culture bias
psychologists make distinctions between individualism and collectivism. individualist = western culture. collectivism = india/ china. critics have said due to increased communications the gap between the 2 have shrunk. Takano found 14/15 studies comparing US/ Japan found no distinctions. means culture bias may not be a massive issue
49
individualism
western culture. value personal freedom and independence
50
collectivism
China/ India. emphasis on interdependence and needs of a group
51
cultural relativism vs universality - culture bias evaluation
Berrys work on imposed etic reminds psychologists of culture specific research. however, there is such thing as universal behaviour. Ekman said facial expressions for emotions are the same everywhere. However ainsworth is criticised for imposed etic therefore you need both to fully understand bahaviour
52
challenging implicit assumptions - culture bias evaluation
cross cultural research challenges our western way of thinking. seeing knowledge we have is not shared around the world may promote sensitivity to culture differences in the future. this challenges scientific racism and helps draw more valid findings for culture.
53
idiographic v nomothetic work together - evaluation
not be seen as conflicting. Bowlby - nomothetic maternal deprivation = irreversible. idiographic = genie md was overcome. they work together. idiographic sheds light on laws. cases provide more understanding
54
- idiographic
restricted nature of work. many of freuds key concepts are based on individuals - criticised for this. these generalisations can’t be made w/o more examples as u can’t compare behaviour. case study - less scientific/ more subjective
55
+ nomothetic
nomothetic = more scientific. testing done in standardised conditions, using data to provide averages/ analysis. allowed psychologists to establish norms of behaviour, gives it greater credibility.
56
- nomothetic
loses sight of the individual. ppts treat as a group of averages/ scores rather then individuals w subjective experiences. may overlook richness of human experience
57
gender bias
when research does not equally represent the behaviour of men and women
58
androcentrism
normal behaviour judged according to the male standard
59
beta bias
underestimating the differences between men and women
60
universality
a piece of research that can apply to all people
61
alpha bias
over exaggerating the difference between men and women
62
sexual selection theory
men’s best interest to impregnate as many women as possible. women protect off spring they have. if females sleep around it goes against their nature according to psych.
63
gender bias in milgrim/ asch
all ppts were men but findings were generalised to women. this is beta bias as suggest the two genders are the same
64
kholbergs theory of moral development and gender bias
all ppts were men and he argued findings could be applied to everyone
65
- gender buds promotes sexism
women are under-presented in uni departments. research is more likely to be conducted by males which disadvantages females. (murphy 2014. male researchers may expect female ppts to be irrational and unable to complete complex tasks (nicholson 1995) which may mean they underperform. this means it may produce gender bias findings.
66
- gender bias - research challenging bias may not be published
researcher analysed 1000 articles on gender bias. it is less funded and published in less prestigious journals. gender bias was compared to ethnic bias and this became true. suggest gender bias isn’t taken as seriously as other forms of bias.
67
- gender bias - gender differences are fixed
maccoby and jacklin concluded girls have better verbal ability and boys better spatial ability due to biological brain differences. Joel et al did brain scans found this to be untrue. suggests we should be wary of accepting things as biological fact when it can be explained by social stereotypes
68
research w ethical implications
impact research has on society, either ppts or beyond. influencing public policy and how certain groups are viewed. e.g. Bowlbys md - separation from primary caregiver amy hinder development
69
socially sensitive research
research that effects ppts and society. not always bad and sometimes necessary.
70
implications of socially sensitive research
wider effect of research should be considered as could be giving scientific credibility to prejudice/ discrimination. however, this can be difficult to predict
71
uses of socially sensitive research
findings may be used by the government for political ends or to shape society.
72
validity of socially sensitive research
objective research has came out as highly suspect. many modern researchers are open about biases and comment on the reflexive nature of their work
73
+ socially sensitive research
was important for the introduction of ethical guidelines, which ensures ppts safety in research todsy
74
- socially sensitive research
must be careful when forming hypothesis and questions so we don’t ask ethnocentric questions

psychology a level (16 decks)

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