Issues and debates Flashcards

Question

what is hard determinism?

Answer 1

sees free will as an illusion and believes that every event and action has a cause. Elizabeth Valentine (1992) supports this view – behaviour is always determined – it just appears at times to be less determined.

Answer 2

doubtful 100% genetic determinism will be found for any behaviour- conc rates. too reductionist to say its just genes conc rates also show not just the environment- reductionist argued that in physical science, theres no such thing as total determinism. chaos theory suggests small changes in initial conditions can result in major changes. causal relationships not determinist oversimplification of human behaviour. may be appropriate for non human animals but human behaviour is less rigid and influenced by more eg cognitive factors

Answer 3

murderers trying to claim their behaviour was determined by inherited factors so should not be punished to death. determinism allows people to excuse behaviour issue for treatments of disorders- eg if we say sz is solely determined by biology, treatments follow this so we may miss consideration of other treatments that might be beneficial

Answer 4

just being able to decide between courses of action isnt free will but may give us the illusion of free will. someone may choose something but this is determined by previous reinforcement experiences culturally relative- only appropriate for individualist societies. collectivist cultures place greater value on behaviour determined by group needs to self-determination Chun Siong Soon et al (2008)- activity in prefrontal cortex up to 10s before person was aware of decision. however, Trevena and Miller (2009) showed this was just a readiness to act not intention to move.

Answer 5

view that all behaviour is determined by biology/genes not just what youre born with as some conditions appear later in life eg Huntingtons

Answer 6

evolutionary- main assumptions is that all behaviour has evolved because of its survival value. eg Bowlby proposed attachment was so that child more likely to be protected and survive behaviour is a product of natural selection eg interpersonal attraction explained as women select partners who enhance reproductive success (reproductive fitness, healthy, resources)

Answer 7

family, twin and adoption studies show that the closer 2 individuals are genetically, the more likely that both of them will develop the same behaviours eg conc rates for sz are 40% MZ and 7% DZ (obv problem of untangling environment and genes)

Answer 8

Some behaviours that may seem as though they are the result of nature may actually be the result of nurture

Answer 9

view that all behaviour is learnt and influenced by external factors such as the environment includes effects on an infant before birth eg a mother who smokes

Answer 10

behaviourist- John Locke said children are born blank slates classical and operant conditioning used to explain learning eg attachment is due to conditioning SLT- learn through observation and reinforcement double bind theory for sz

Answer 11

nature and nurture are hard to disentangle- both play a big role epigenetics is a good middle ground genes can be switched on/off the genes that are expressed is controlled by epigenetic tags which come from life experiences such as stress and diet most tags removed during reproduction but some remain so can be passed on and offspring effected by parents lifestyle (intergenerational trauma eg in Ireland war)

Answer 12

cannot be separated. like asking if knowing length or width of rectangle is more important for area- both contribute. eg phenylketonuria- inherited disorder that prevents phenylalanine being metabolised resulting in brain damage. but if detected at birth, child given diet free from phenylalanine so brain damage averted diathesis-stress- nature only expressed under certain conditions indirect ways genes effect environment - Robert Plomin et al (1977)- genetic factors make microenvironment as a child whose genetically more aggressive may provoke aggression in others- reactive environment gene interaction - passive influence- parents genes determine aspects of behaviour eg parent w genetic mental illness creates unsettled home environment - scarr and mccartney (1983)- niche picking- children seek experiences that suit their genes epigenetics- explains why cloning doesnt produce identical copies- epigenetic material from donor egg produced from environmental effects in donors life

Answer 13

+ practical applications easy to understand _ reductionist oversimplification- not valid diathesis-stress

Answer 14

often referred to as gestalt argues behaviour cannot be understood in terms of the components that make them up the whole is greater than the sum of the parts Humanism, Social and Gestalt theory, case study method, Jahodas 6 elements of optimal living

Answer 15

individual reacts as an organised whole not a set of stimulus response links what matters most is a persons sense of unified identity, lack of leads to a mental disorder

Answer 16

memory is complex and has been understood in terms of connectionist networks holistic as network as a whole behaves diff than individual parts

Answer 17

+ Looks at everything that may impact on behaviour Does not ignore the complexity of behaviour Integrates different components of behaviour in order to understand the person as a whole Can be higher in ecological validity _ Over complicates behaviours which may have simpler explanations (Occam’s Razor) Does not lend itself to the scientific method and empirical testing Makes it hard to determine cause and effect Neglects the importance of biological explanations Almost impossible to study all the factors that influence complex human behaviours

Answer 18

an approach that reduces a complex phenomenon such as human behaviour to the simplest explanation possible doesnt ignore other explanations, just focuses on one looking for sole biological/ behavioural basis for behaviour its very hard to take a completely holistic view so reductionism is useful however, humans are so complex, you end up falling short of the whole explanation

Answer 19

biological, environmental, experimental

Answer 20

all animals are made up of atoms so human behaviour must be explainable at this level (can be reduced to a physical level) behaviour reduced to the action of neurons, neurotransmitters, hormones etc associated w physiological reductionism

Answer 21

Behaviourist explanations suggest that all behaviour can be explained in terms of simple stimulus- response links, i.e. behaviour can be reduced to a simple relationship between behaviour and events in the environment.

Answer 22

reducing behaviour to a form that can be studied is productive and a necessary part of understanding how things work experimental research produces lots of findings about behaviour, but how much do they really tell us about everyday life? eg research into research into EWT- not ecologically valid

Answer 23

+ Looks in detail at individual components which affect behaviour By breaking things down they can be tested scientifically It has scientific credibility A reductionist approach to studying mental disorders has led to the development of effective chemical treatments _ Can be over simplistic/not representative of real life behaviour. Does not take into account other factors Does not address larger societal issues e.g. poverty Lacks ecological validity

Answer 24

reductionist explanations are low level explanations holistic explanations are high level and take into account multiple factors for behaviour low level eg biological mid level eg psychological, cognitive, behaviourist high level eg social and cultural

Answer 25

lower levels of explanation taken in isolation may mean meaning of behaviour gets overlooked. Wolpe (1973)- systematic desensitisation used on woman w fear of insects and found no improvement. turns out her husband had insect nickname and fear wasnt result of conditioning but a means of representing her marital problems so focusing on behavioural level is an error biological explanations led to drug therapies- decreased hospitalisation since 50s. also more humane treatment as doesnt blame patients. but, success rates vary and they treat symptoms not causes so not long lasting environmental reductionism- behaviourism developed from animals- human behaviour is much more complex- influenced by social context ect. even in animals, other factors could be at play experimental reductionism- can be necessary to reduce behaviour to a form to be studied, but low ecological validity. eg Loftus EWT study hasnt been confirmed irl. irl, other factors motivate performance- cant always recreate in an experiment

Answer 26

looks at how our behaviours are similar to each other and tries to make generalised laws about behaviour quantitative methods eg questionnaires, lab experiments biological, behaviourist, cognitive, Eysenk large, representative sample

Answer 27

aims to find what is different between people and what makes us unique qualitative methods eg case studies and secondary data/ analysis Freud, humanistic psychology, Allport small, not representative sample

Answer 28

Freud- case studies used to understand human behaviour eg little hans. he did produce generalisations from this but these are idiographic as theyre from 1 unique individual humanistic psychology- concerned with studying whole person and seeing world from perspective of that person- persons subjective experience is what matters not something that someone else might observe of their behaviour Allport- theory of personality. idiographic to tell us more about personality and human behaviour then used personality tests (statistical info). analysed letters from a woman over 12yrs and carried out thematic analysis- qualitative

Answer 29

biological- seeks to portray basic principles of how body and brain work. however sometimes mistakenly shown beta bias eg stress response behaviourist- aim to produce general laws through classical and operant conditioning. not huge samples but still seek rules for all animals cognitive- aims to develop general laws to apply to all eg understanding typical memory processes. uses case studies eg HM but necessary to look at abnormal mind understand working mind Eysenck- psychometric approach to personality. measures psychological characteristics eg personality and intelligence. large groups tested and distribution of scores used to see whats normal and not. used factor analysis to produce diff personality types

Answer 30

idiographic focuses psychology back on the more individual level. nomothetic puts too much emphasis on measurement and psychologists loose sight of what it is to be human. Allport said its only by knowing a person as a person that we can predict what theyll do in a situation idiographic isnt scientific. however, not always the case as case studies/ qualitative methods are evidence based and seek to be as objective as poss. nomothetic is more scientific, more objective, forms laws to predict behaviour inability to create general predictions from idiographic is limiting. eg too time consuming to develop individual treatments for each patient so need to be able to make predictions about most likely solutions. Allport argued it does allow predictions- extremely detailed observations. Hall and Lindzey (1970) say this makes Allports aproach basically nomothetic idiographic is more time consuming due to lots of data. nomothetic also has lots of data but from diff people and once questionnaire devised, data can be processed quickly Holt (1967)- distinction is false separation as inevitably, generalisations are made. claimed no such thing as unique individual and idiographic does generate principles. Millon and Davis (1996)- research should start nomothetic then idiographic once laws produced

Answer 31

any research which might have direct social consequences for the ppt in the research or the group that they represent

Answer 32

the consequences for groups of people affected by the research the consequences of socially sensitive research could touch on ethical decision- making or create attitudes to people that could be unethical

Answer 33

1) members of social groups being studied eg racial/ ethnic group 2) friends/ relatives of those taking part in the study especially in case studies where individual may become famous 3) research team 4) institution in which the research is conducted

Answer 34

1) research question/ hypothesis 2) treatment of individual ppts 3) institutional context 4) way in which findings of research are interpreted and applied

Answer 35

good way to discuss socially sensitive research should the research have been conducted or not? eg good things have arisen from ssr- answer is usually yes research should have been done if costs outweigh potential/ actual benefits, its unethical

Answer 36

researcher shouldnt avoid researching socially sensitive issues.  Scientists have a responsibility to society to find useful knowledge. take more care over consent, debriefing, etc., when the issue is sensitive. be aware of how their findings may be interpreted & used by others. make explicit the assumptions underlying their research, so that the public can consider whether they agree with these. make the limitations of their research explicit (e.g. ‘the study was only carried out on white middle class American male students’, ‘the study is based on questionnaire data, which may be inaccurate’, etc. should be careful how they communicate with the media and policymakers. should be aware of the balance between their obligations to participants and those to society (e.g. if the participant tells them something which they feel they should tell the police/social services).  should be aware of their own values and biases and those of the participants.

Answer 37

+ SSR is the most scrutinised research in psychology. Ethical committees reject more SSR than any other form of research. By gaining a better understanding of issues such as gender, race and sexuality we are able to gain a greater acceptance and reduce prejudice. SSR has been of benefit to society, for example EWT. This has made us aware that EWT can be flawed and should not be used without corroboration. It has also made us aware that the EWT of children is every bit as reliable as that of adults. Most research is still carried out on white middle class Americans (about 90% of research quoted in texts!). SSR is helping to redress the balance and make us more aware of other cultures and outlooks. _ Flawed research has been used to dictate social policy and put certain groups at a disadvantage. Research has been used to discriminate against groups in society such as sterilisation of people in the USA between 1910 and 1920 because they were of low intelligence, criminal or suffered from psychological illness. The guidelines used by psychologists to control SSR lack power and as a result are unable to prevent indefensible research being carried out.

Answer 38

wider impacts of research eg indirect impact on ppts family, co-workers, group they represent. doesnt sufficiently safeguard interests of individual in research- also need to consider impact on larger group inadequate ethical guidelines- dont deal w all poss ways research may inflict harm on group of people/ section of society as well as individual themselves eg guidelines dont ask researchers to consider how results may be used may disadvantage marginalised groups. argued that understanding of human behaviour has lessened by misinterpretations of/failure to include representative samples. these groups may also miss out on potential benefits of research ssr shouldnt be avoided- would leave psychologists w nothing to research but unimportant issues. avoiding these topics is avoiding responsibility important applications. researchers should take responsibility for what happens to their findings as they may lead to abuse/ discrimination offering scientific credibility to the prevailling prejudice

Answer 39

Bowlby's maternal deprivation hypothesis Milgram's obedience study Loftus' research on EWT Rosenhan's 'being sane in insane places' study Selye's research on General Adaptation syndrome Bobo doll study (see poster for the impacts)

Issues and debates Flashcards

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