Issues and Debates - ALL

Nature-Nurture

What is the nature-nurture debate?

Debate about the relative importance of environmental and inherited characteristics are on particular aspects of behaviour

Nature-Nurture

Who supports the nature view and what do they believe?

nativists

claim psychological traits such as intelligence or aggression are genetically determined just as height or eye colour

Nature-Nurture

What does heredity mean?

genetic transmission of mental and physical characteristics from one generation to the next

Nature-Nurture

What is the definition of nature?

Refers to those characteristics that are determined by your genes

Nature-Nurture

What is the explanation of nature?

Human characteristics are innate and the result of heredity

Nature-Nurture

What are examples of nature?

• Bowlby

• Genetic explanations for: depression and OCD

• MAOA gene for aggression

• Amygdala for aggression

• Lorenz

Nature-Nurture

Who supports the nurture view and what do they believe?

Empiricists

mind is a blank slate at birth upon which experience writes

Nature-Nurture

What is the definition of nurture?

Refers to the environmental influences - a belief that all knowledge is gained through experience

Nature-Nurture

What is the explanation of nurture?

We are shaped by both our pre-natal and post-natal experiences

Nature-Nurture

What are examples of nurture?

• Social influence

• Cupboard love

• Phobias

• Conditioning (operant and classical)

• Kolachova twins

• Memory (retrieval)

• SLT

• Harlow

• Maternal deprivation

Nature-Nurture

Evaluation: constructivism

people create own nurture by actively selecting environments appropriate for their nature - two-way interaction is called constructivism (eg: naturally aggressive child is more comfortable around aggressive children and 'chooses’ this environment) - shows it is impossible to try separate the influences behaviour

Nature-Nurture

Evaluation: shifted focus

debate focus shifted to relative contribution of each influence, known as interactionist approach eg: diathesis-stress model - shows a complex, multi-layered relationship between nature and nurture

Nature-Nurture

Evaluation: interaction = practical application

understanding the interaction can have real world applications - suggests mental disorders are caused by biological vulnerability which is only expressed when coupled with an environmental trigger - education and interventions can be put in place to help stop triggers activating

Nature-Nurture

Evaluation: nature affects nurture

nature-nurture debate is the idea that nature affects nurture - eg: Plomin et al (1977) found parent's genes influence aspects of their behaviour, creating certain types of environments for their children suggests nature can indirectly affect nurture

Nature-Nurture

Evaluation: other debates

strong commitment to either a nature or nurture position corresponds to a belief in hard determinism. nativist perspective suggests 'anatomy is destiny' while empiricists argue that interaction with the environment is all. equate to biological and environmental determinism showing links

Free will and Determinism

What is free will?

Idea that humans are self-determining which means we are free to choose our thoughts and actions

Free will and Determinism

Example of free will

Humanistic approach

Free will and Determinism

What is determinism?

Proposes all behaviour is caused by preceding internal or external factors so humans have no choice

Free will and Determinism

What is hard determinism?

Everything we think or do is dictated by internal or external forces we cannot control

Free will and Determinism

Example of hard determinism

Biological or environmental determinism

Free will and Determinism

What is soft determinism?

if behaviour is not forced or coerced and is voluntary (not a reflex like blinking) then it’s free - Valentine (1992)

BUT we have a limited set of choices, so our freewill is influenced by that - Heather (1976)

Free will and Determinism

Example of soft determinism

Diathesis stress model (vulnerabilities increase likelihood with stressor)

Free will and Determinism

What is biological determinism?

Idea that all human behaviour is innate, determined by biological attributes eg: genes

Free will and Determinism

Example of biological determinism

Influence of genes on mental health eg: OCD

Free will and Determinism

What is environmental determinism?

The view that behaviour is determined or caused by forces outside the individual

Free will and Determinism

Example of environmental determinism

Behaviourism: Skinner described behaviour as the result of conditioning

Free will and Determinism

What is psychic determinism?

all mental processes are not spontaneous but are determined by the unconscious or pre-existing mental complexes

Free will and Determinism

Example of psychic determinism

Freud saw behaviour as determined by unconscious conflict repressed in childhood

Free will and Determinism

Evaluation: science aims

determinism is consistent with the aims of science (eg: the notion that behaviour is orderly and obeys law places psychology on equal footing with other more established sciences, increasing validity) this prediction and control of behaviour has led to development of treatments and therapies

Free will and Determinism

Evaluation: legal system

offenders are morally accountable for their actions in law, not biologically so a truly deterministic position may be undesirable as allowed individuals to 'excuse' their behaviour and could lead to legal issues

Free will and Determinism

Evaluation: neurological studies

brain studies of decision making have revealed evidence against freewill - Libet et al (1991) found that the brain activity related to the decision to flex their wrist occurs around 500ms before Ps report being consciously aware, suggesting experiences of freewill are decided/determined by our brain before we are aware of them

Free will and Determinism

Evaluation: neurological studies COUNTER POINT

Soft determinism acknowledges the influence of factors, without completely denying free will - LIBET even though his research is sometimes seen as proof, he says that it is the person who has the final choice

Free will and Determinism

Evaluation: cognitive element

• approaches in psychology that have a cognitive element (e.g., SLT) are those which tend to adopt a soft determinism position - Bandura argued that although environmental factors in learning are key, we are free to choose who, what, when

• middle-ground approach is helpful in understanding aspects of human behaviour which are not a straightforward choice between freewill and determinism

Free will and Determinism

Evaluation: belief in free will is good

Roberts et al (2000) showed that adolescents with a strong belief in fatalism were more at risk of depression - means that there would not be as much of a need for drugs if people weren't depressed and belief in free will can help achieve this

Holism and Reductionism

What is the holism/reductionism debate about?

The level at which it is appropriate to explain human behaviour

Holism and Reductionism

What is reductionism?

Breaking down complex behaviour and phenomena into its simplest components

Holism and Reductionism

What are the 3 different levels of reductionism?

Highest (holistic) = how social groups affect behaviour

Middle = include psychological explanations of behaviour

Lower (reductionist) = biological explanations including genes

Holism and Reductionism

What is biological reductionism?

All behaviour is at some level biological and can be explained through neurochemical, neurophysiological, evolutionary and genetic influence

Holism and Reductionism

What are examples of biological reductionism?

• biological explanation of OCD

• MAOA gene as explanation of aggression

• Bowlby and Lorenz's theories of attachment (think it's innate)

Holism and Reductionism

What is environmental reductionism?

That behaviour can be explained in simple terms of stimulus and response

Holism and Reductionism

What is an example of environmental reductionism?

• Cupboard love: Mother becomes the conditioned stimulus who becomes associated with the pleasure of feeding -> child feels pleasure whenever encounters mother -> attachment

• behaviourist approach (ignores cognition/black box)

Holism and Reductionism

What is holism?

The idea that human behaviour should be viewed as a whole integrated experience, and not as separate parts

Holism and Reductionism

What is Gestalt psychology (example of holism)?

• holistic approach to perception - when we perceive something in the real world, we do as a whole

• 'the whole is greater than the sum of its parts'

• cognitive models are more holistic in this way: assume the network works differently as a whole than individual parts

Holism and Reductionism

Evaluation: reductionism variables

reductionism allows variable isolation (eg: OCD explained in terms of low serotonin and high levels of dopamine that cause emotional/behavioural/cognitive abnormalities) which allows researchers to study the different factors that influence human behaviour in a controlled manner

Holism and Reductionism

Evaluation: reductionism dangerous

can be dangerous as it may lead to errors of understanding, and so may lead to inaccurate treatments (eg: treating a symptom rather than a cause), so may miss the actual meaning of behaviour

Holism and Reductionism

Evaluation: reductionism scientific

biological and environmental reductionism are scientific (eg: behaviourism suggests everything is learnt through stimulus + response - Skinner rat study) and the reductionist approach often forms on the basis of scientific research -> makes it possible to conduct experiments -> gives psychology greater credibility

Holism and Reductionism

Evaluation: strength of both

the interactionist approach considers how different levels of explanation combine and interact (Eg: the diathesis-stress model explains mental disorders) this model has led to a more holistic approach to treatment (eg: combined drugs and talk therapy)

Idiographic and Nomothetic approaches

What is the idiographic approach?

The approach of investigating individuals in personal, in-depth detail to achieve a unique understanding of them

Idiographic and Nomothetic approaches

What does the idiographic approach assume?

People are all different so no general laws of behaviour are possible

Idiographic and Nomothetic approaches

What data does the idiographic approach use?

Qualitative eg: case studies and unstructured interviews

Idiographic and Nomothetic approaches

What is an example of the idiographic approach?

Humanistic psychology

Rogers and Maslow were interested only in documenting the conscious experience of the individual or self, rather than producing general laws of behaviour

Idiographic and Nomothetic approaches

What is the nomothetic approach?

The approach of investigating large groups of people in order to find general laws of behaviour that apply to everyone

Idiographic and Nomothetic approaches

What does the nomothetic approach assume?

Groups of people are pretty much the same so general laws of behaviour can be made

Idiographic and Nomothetic approaches

What data does the nomothetic approach produce?

Quantitative eg: questionnaires and psychological tests

Idiographic and Nomothetic approaches

What is an example of the nomothetic approach?

Behaviourism

Skinner studied animals to develop general laws of learning

Idiographic and Nomothetic approaches

Evaluation: nomothetic scientific

It’s use of experimental methods and controlled measurement allow psychologists to replicate research to examine the reliability of findings, helping psychology establish itself as scientific

Idiographic and Nomothetic approaches

Evaluation: narrow nature of idiographic

generalisations can't be made without further examples as this means there is no adequate baseline to compare behaviour with - it’s difficult to build effective general theories of human behaviour without nomothetic research BUT idiographic also doesn’t aim for this

Idiographic and Nomothetic approaches

Evaluation: qualitative idiographic

qualitative data is more rich and in-depth - this is useful as it gives the researcher a better insight into the person on which they can make conclusions on

Idiographic and Nomothetic approaches

Evaluation: loss of understanding nomothetic

preoccupied with finding general laws, it has been accused of 'losing the whole person' within psychology, and this isn’t always useful (eg: knowing there's a 1% risk of developing schizophrenia doesn't tell what life is like for someone schizophrenic) and so in its search for generalities, the nomothetic approach may sometimes fail to relate to 'experience'

Gender bias

What is gender bias?

Research that offers a view that doesn’t justifiably represent the experience/behaviour of men or women

Gender bias

AO1

What is the history of gender bias in psychology?

What is examples could explain gender bias in psych?

History:

• Predominance of research based on samples of men

Explanations:

• Overemphasis of importance of biology as the driver of behaviour

• Researchers might have different expectations of men + women → might then affect research outcomes

Gender bias

What is alpha bias?

exaggerates differences between sexes

Gender bias

What is beta bias?

ignores or minimises differences between sexes

Gender bias

what does objective mean?

not influenced by personal feelings/opinions/bias in considering + representing facts

Gender bias

What does value free mean?

Criteria imposed by subjective values or standards should be kept OUT of research

Gender bias

What does personal reflexivity mean?

How a person's values, beliefs and interests influence their research work

Gender bias

Examples of gender bias in studies (2)

1. Asch: used all males but generalised to females - BETA BIAS

2. Freud: Oedipus complex, didn’t really look at female psychosis (suggests women’s problems are because they aren’t men) - ALPA BIAS

Gender bias

AO3: What is androcentrism?

• A potential result of gender bias (esp beta bias)

• When 'normal' behaviour is judged according to a male standard

Gender bias

Evaluation: misleading assumptions

gender biased research creates misleading assumptions about female behaviour→ androcentrism → scientific justification to deny women opportunities (eg: because of PMS) → ALSO can lead to misdiagnosis/not qualifying for diagnoses for disorders that classifications were structured through presentation in men (eg: schizophrenia: men = much more likely to receive a diagnosis vs women) → negative impact on women’s lives

Gender bias

Evaluation: women senior researchers

Lack of women at senior research level means male researchers more likely to have work published, so male researchers have the power to label female Ps in lab studies as irrational bcs may lack the insight a female researcher may have → psychology’s guilty of supporting institutionalism sexism that creates bias in research

Gender bias

Evaluation: avoided

Worell suggested criteria for researchers to avoid gender bias - women Ps in studies, not just objects → diversity in groups of women should be studied, rather than comparing men vs women → this method of research may be preferable + less gender biased than lab research

Gender bias

Evaluation: reflexivity

to reduce to effects of gender bias, researches can add a section in their articles where they use personal reflexivity to evaluate how their personal biases may influence their research or who they interpret results

Gender bias

Evaluation: Feminist Psychology

Feminist psychology aims to reduce bias through creating psychology FOR women, not OF women. Where women are more heavily involved in leading research etc (a male dominated field), and so reduce gender bias in psychology.

Gender bias

Evaluation: gender bias a good thing

• If women and men are shown as being the same (beta bias) could lead to equal treatment in things like law, and access to education

• If they are shown as being different (alpha bias) then it could lead to an increase in understanding of women's behaviour and a decrease in not acting like a man being seen as 'abnormal'

• If never arisen, never would have had feminist psych

• Can help to identify problems in society and culturally, e.g. aggression (in men being 'normal')

Ethics

What are ethical guidelines?

A set of principles designed to help psychologists behave honestly and with integrity.

Ethics
What are ethical issues?

arise when a conflict exists between the rights of participants and the aims of research studies

Ethics

What are ethical implications? (won’t be asked to define in exam)

Considers the impact or consequences that research has on the rights of all people, not just Ps

Ethics

How does Milgram's experiment have ethical issues?

• Ps were deceived so couldn't provide fully informed consent

• Protection from harm

• Right to withdraw

• Confidentiality/privacy (videos of Ps released)

Ethics

What is social sensitivity?

Studies where there are potential social consequences for the Ps or the group of people represented by the research

Ethics

How does Bowlby's theory of attachment have ethical issues/socially sensitive?

negative stereotypes or discrimination on families without/absent mother (eg: two dads)

Ethics

What are the two types of ethics?

Utilitarianism – focuses on the outcome of the ethical consideration – what will produce the greatest good?

Deontology - focuses on the rightness or wrongness of the actions themselves rather than the outcome.

Ethics

What are the 4 areas around socially sensitive research Sieber and Stanley said need to be considered?

1. research question
2. the methodology used
3. the institutional context
4. interpretation and application of findings

Ethics

Socially sensitive research: research question

Questions can't be damaging to members of a particular group e.g. 'are there racial differences in IQ?'

Ethics

Socially sensitive research: methodology used

Needs to consider the treatment of the p and their right to confidentiality and anonymity

Ethics

Socially sensitive research: institutional context

Should be mindful of how the data is going to be used and consider who is funding the research - what is the intent?

Ethics

Socially sensitive research: interpretation and application of findings

Needs to consider how their findings might be interpreted and applied in the real-world

Ethics

Evaluation: social consequences

research that carries ethical implications = scrutinised by ethics committee → BUT some social consequences may be difficult to anticipate → real impact can only ever be known once published

Ethics

Evaluation: benefits of socially sensitive research

Studies of under-represented groups + issues may promote greater understanding + help reduce prejudice → this research has benefitted society (eg: reducing miscarriage of justice in legal system) → suggests socially sensitive research may play a valuable role in society

Ethics

Evaluation: engaging with the public/policy makers for socially sensitive research

to ensure it’s used responsibly, researchers should engage w/ wider society (eg: public + policy members) bcs of it’s important applications → to reduce chance of misuse, psychologists should actively take responsibility for what happens to research after publication + how it could lead to/give scientific credibility to discrimination/abuse → suggests individual researchers should be supported promoting their research in a socially sensitive/responsible way NOT a neutral way

Ethics

Evaluation: social control

P: socially sensitive research may be used for social control

E: e.g. in 1920s and 30s, US states enacted legislation that led to compulsory sterilisation of many of its citizens (due to being feeble minded)

E: fact that socially sensitive research has been used to prop up discriminatory practices in the past is argument against its widespread adoption

Culture bias

What is culture bias? give example

The tendency to judge people in terms of one's own cultural assumptions

Van Ijzendoorn's study 18/32 studies were from the US

Culture bias

What are two types of culture?

Individualism

Collectivism

Culture bias

Features of individualism

Focus on 'I'

Identity comes from individuality

Loose ties b/w individuals - look after yourself and immediate family

Competition b/w individuals = encouraged

Confrontations ok and can be healthy

Culture bias

Features of Collectivism

Focus on 'we'

Identity defined by relationships w/ others and belonging to groups (family and social)

Strong in-group bonds are formed + extended family is important

Competition is b/w groups

Value harmony in the group, so confrontations may be disrupt group harmony

Culture bias

What is the scale that measures individualistic/collectivistic (+ who made it)?

How was develop it? What are the issues with this?

What and who?

• Hofstede's Cultural Dimensions

How?

• Interviewed IBM employees (a western company)

Issues?

• Asked Qs from a western standpoint

• Most people in the study would be well-educated, from urban areas NOT REPRESETNANTIVE

Culture bias

Describe Bond and Smith (1997)

17 different countries

133 studies

All used Asch paradigm

Found correlation b/w individualism and collectivism with conformity

Least conforming = USA, UK, France

Highest conforming = Hong Kong, Fiji, Zimbabwe

The value we place on the thoughts of others, could affect our willingness to conform or remain an individual

Culture bias

Describe Takano and Osaka (1999)

• Meta-analysis

• 15 studies

• b/w US and Japanese Ps

• Looking at conformity again

• 14/15 studies showed NO DIFFERENCE in conformity

• BOTH HICs - could be extraneous variable that explains the different outcome b/w this and Bond and Smith (1997)

• Maybe other factors other than culture are more important

Culture bias

What does WEIRD stand for?

Western, Educated, Industrialised, Rich, Democratic

Culture bias

What is WEIRD research?

Research that represents WIERD categories - countries, researchers, sample

Culture bias

Why is WIERD research bad?

• lacks generalisability, as it focuses primarily on populations that are not representative of the global population, leading to biased conclusions

• only 5% of population is WEIRD

• This leads to a homogenous group of researchers, studying a homogenous group of behaviours - limits true understanding of the diverse nature of human behaviour