issues and debates

Question 1

Describe nomothetic vs idiographic

Answer 1

Idiographic refers to the extent to which psychology seeks to capture the uniqueness of an individual vs trying to establish general laws and generalizations to all people (nomothetic).

Nomothetic ;
this is the idea that general principles or laws can be determined by studying a sample of people and extending the findings to the general population.
it uses QUANTITATIVE methods and statistical analysis to investigate and make conclusions about behaviour and experiences. Methods like ; experiments

-Idiographic ;
it focuses on understanding individuals in their unique context. It seeks to uncover individual factors and experiences that contribute to a person’s behaviour.
it uses QUALITATIVE METHODS or in depth analysis to gain rich insight into behaviour. Uses methods like ; case studies , self reports , autobiographies.

Question 2

Describe reductionism vs holism

Answer 2

Reductionism is when a complex behaviour/trait is investigated as individual components in isolation.
Reductionism allows for in depth investigation to be done on a specific component of the complex behaviour.
Holism seeks to identify interconnectedness of different aspects/theoretical perspectives to human behaviour and experience

Question 3

Describe determinism vs free will

Answer 3

Determinism
is the idea that we are products of functions beyond our control.

( e.g biological determinism.
we are products of genes inherited from our parents -}We are products of brain neurotransmitters 2)Behavioural determinism
-}We are products of conditioning
3)Psychic determinism -} We are products of early childhood experiences)

-Free will is the idea that we have freedom of choice.
We are free to choose our behaviours.

Question 4

Describe useful explanation

Answer 4

This refers to ways in which theories of studies or concepts can be implemented for daily use.

Question 5

Nature vs Nurture

Answer 5

nature vs nurture, which looks at the extent to which our behaviour is due to innate traits (nature ) or the result of our environment (nurture)

Question 6

Individual vs situational

Answer 6

This has to do with how we attribute behaviours. Is behaviour motivated by the situation (i.e. environment) or by their own personality/disposition.

Question 7

Generalisabilty

Answer 7

The extent to which findings from a studies can be applied to a wider population.