AQA Psychology Paper 3 (copy)

describe the nature side of the nature-nurture debate.

• rooted in nativist theory (knowledge and abilities are innate or preprogrammed)

• philosophers such as Descartes agreed with this side

• genetics are the primary cause of behaviour

explain the nurture side of the nature-nurture debate.

• rooted in empiricist theory - behaviour is a result of our experiences and learning

• Philosopher John Locke argued that the mind was ‘tabula rasa’ or blank slate on which experiences are written on

• person’s environment is the primary cause of behaviour

what are the 3 levels of the environment in relation to ‘nurture’.

1. pre-natal

2. post-natal experiences (conditions grown up in)

3. wider culture/historical context

what is the nature-nurture debate about?

the relative importance of heredity and environment in determining behaviour

behaviour is often a result of both nature and nurture

what 3 conclusions can be drawn from twin studies in relation to the nature-nurture debate?

eg. Gottesman SZ

1. higher concordance rates in MZ than DZ - the role of genetics

2. BUT concordance rates are not 100% so must be environmental factors involved

3. twins come from similar environments so concordance rates may not be the result of genetics

What are the issues with twin studies in supporting nature vs nurture?

What are the possible alternatives?

it cannot be concluded that high concordance rates are due to genetics as they may be caused by shared environment/upbringing. means it is hard to prove the relative importance of the sides of the debate

alternatively, adoption studies can be used as they remove the similar environment to determine the relative importance of nature separately. (however this can cause ethical issues, eg 3 identical strangers)

what are some topics that support the nature side of the debate?

• concordance rates

• MAOA gene

• XY XX

• DRD3 PCM1

• Bowlby’s monotropic theory (I&I)

• Margaret mead

• Bandura (males are more aggressive)

what are some topics that support the nurture side of the debate?

• concordance rates never being 100%

• SLT and aggression/gender

• family dysfunction - SZ

• behaviourism and phobias (two process model), learning theory of attachment

what are the other explanations for the nature-nurture debate?

interactionist approach SZ

• argues that genetics predispose individuals, however, predispositions are moderated by the environment.

• therefore a person’s phenotype is a product of the interaction between nature and nurture (eg diathesis-stress model

biosocial approach to gender

• shows that the debate may be outdated as scientific knowledge progresses

what are examples of disorders that are more common in one gender?

males

• dyslexia

• PTSD

• ADHD

• autism

• alcohol use dissorder

females

• EDs

• anxiety dissorders

• OCD

• depression

what 3 researchers investigated gender bias?

• baron-cohen 2002

• Bremsel and Gallup 2012

• Maccoby and Jacklin 1974

what was Baron-Cohen’s research into gender bias?

argued that high prevalence of autism spectrum disorders in males is a result of an ‘extreme male brain’

What was Bremsel and Gallup's research into gender bias?

propose having an ‘extreme female brain’ can explain differences in the prevalence of EDs between males and females

• male brain = high systemising skills, low empathising skills

• female brain = high empathising, low systemising

what was Maccoby and Jacklin’s research into gender bias?

concluded there was only consistent evidence for 4 differences that exist between males and females

1. girls have greater verbal ability

2. girls are less aggressive

3. boys have greater visual and spatial abilities

4. boys have greater arithmetical abilities

what is gender bias?

• when psychological research offers a view that does not justifiably represent the experience of both men and women

• threatens universality of reasearch which aims to develop theories that apply to everyone

what are the two types of gender bias?

alpha bias

• behaviour is misinterpreted because psychological research exaggerates/overestimates the differences between males and females

• consequence is that one gender is devalued in comparison to another

beta bias

• behaviour is misinterpreted because psychological research minimises/underestimates the differences between the sexes

• eg. research by Asch and Milgram only used male ppts - response given was assumed applicable to both sexes

What is androcentrism?

• possible consequence of gender bias in research

• known as male bias

• when the behaviour of men is accepted as the norm and that the behaviour of women is different is therefore atypical

• gynocentrism = dominant focus on women in research/theory

What is bowlby’s supporting evidence for alpha bias?

Bowlby’s theory of maternal deprivation

• suggested that removing a young child from their mother would cause emotional problems later in life

• overestimated the importance of the maternal bond, downplaying the role of the father

How can Freud’s theories support androcentrism and alpha bias?

alpha bias

• exaggerates the differences between sexes in his theories of gender development,

• especially where he sees femininity as an expression of failed masculinity.

androcentrism

• androcentric as Freud took male behaviour as the standard for all human behaviour.

both

• concept of penis envy means that women are defined by what they lack

How can schizophrenia be used to support alpha bias?

• gender bias in the diagnosis of SZ

• eg of alpha bias as it overestimates the difference in the prevalence of SZ - diagnosis may be missed in female patients

what are the supporting evidences for alpha and beta bias?

alpha

• Bowlby’s maternal deprivation

• Freud’s gender development

• Gender bias in SZ diagnosis

beta

• biopsychology

• aggression MAOA gene

How can biopsychology provide supporting evidence for beta bias?

• fight or flight response seen as universal in a threatening situation

• however new evidence shows that females biology tends to focus on defending offspring/forming defensive networks with other females

• ‘Tend and befriend’ response

How can aggression provide supporting evidence for beta bias?

• The MAOA gene has been reported in males to cause aggression and is assumed to do the same in females

• however more recent rewhat asearch suggests that it is linked to happiness in females.

what are the implications of alpha and beta bias?

alpha

• creates misleading assumptions about male/female behaviour

• can lead to damaging social stereotypes and scientific ‘justification’ for denying people opportunities for a diagnosis

• means there are consequences of research that overestimates differences

beta

• encourages men and women to be seen as equal leading to equal opportunities however, it may lead to misinterpretation of experience.

explain how there is also sexism within the research process…

• male researchers and studies which find a gender difference are more likely to be published

• means that psychology may be guilty of supporting a type of institutionalised sexism creating gender bias in theories and research

what is the context of the culture bias debate?

• critics have argued that mainstream psychology has ignored the influence of culture of behaviour

• mostly has had a universal approach which is flawed

• cultures vary - different norms and values influence the way people think and behave

What is cultural bias?

• when psychological research put forward a view that is not representative of all cultures

• differences have been ignored and findings have been interpreted through the ‘lens’ of a persons culture

what are the risks of cultural bias?

threatens the validity and universality of research which aims to develop theories which apply to everyone

what is ethnocentrism?

• a type of cultural bias

• belief that ones own culture is superior to others

• making a judgement of a culture cased on a persons own cultural norms and values

• in extreme cases may lead to prejudice and discrimination

what is cultural relativism?

• appreciating variations of behaviour across cultures

• it is essential that research considers cultural context when examining behaviours in one certain culture.

What are the 5 sources of supporting evidence for cultural bias?

• Ainsworth’s strange situation

• definitions of abnormality

• aggression

• gender

• schizophrenia

how can Ainsworth’s strange situation be used as support for cultural bias?

• devised in the US - secure attachment is the ideal

• van Ijzendoorn and kroonberg showed variations of attachment types across cultures using the method

• The high % of insecure-avoidant in western Germany led to the misconception that german mothers were cold and rejecting.

How can definitions of abnormality be used as support for cultural bias?

• deviation from ideal mental health, deviation from social norms, failure to function adequately

• personal autonomy is seen as an ideal - but this is a Western view that values independence

• social norms differ across culture

• adequately functioning is culturally relative

how can Aggression be used as support for cultural bias?

evolutionary explanations assume that aggression is innate therefore universal across all humans. analysis of different cultures has shown that there is a difference.

how can gender (M.Mead) be used as support for cultural bias?

studying gender in 3 different social groups in Papua new guinea. findings were interpreted using Western views of masculinity/femininity

How can schizophrenia be used as support for cultural bias?

validity of diagnosis

• cultural bias in diagnosis as shown by Keith et al - showed that 2.1% of African Americans were diagnosed compared to 1% of the white population.

• ‘Symptoms’ (characteristics from other cultures) can often be misinterpreted as SZ

what are the conflicting arguments of the cultural bias debate?

not all human behviour is culturally realtive

• eg stages of kohlbergs cognitive thery of gender development have been demostrated across a wide rage of cultures

• means that full understanding of behaviour would require universal and cross culttural reasearch

issues may be outdated

• takano & osaka 1999: showed no traditional differences between USA ans japan still eist

  • may be outdated due to increased global communications/media

  • means cultural bias is less of an issue than it once was

What are the main points that conclude the cultural bias debate?

• cultural bias has clearly been an issue within psychological reasearch/theories meaning caustion should be taken when making generalisations.

• however reasearchers are now more aware of the importace of cultural relativism

• certain strategies such as including a member of the local population in the reasearch team enable cross-cultural reasearch that challeneges typical western views of behvaiour

what do ethics committees do?

weighing up the costs and benifits

1. wider implications of reasearch - thinking of the potential costs of the reasearch

2. whethere the reasearch that may influence vulnerable groups is worthwhile - benefits

What are ethical implications?

refers to the impact the reasearch may hace on the rights of other people when it is conducted

can be difficult or impossible to control/predict

Who is a stakeholder?

a person who is interested or effected by the findings of the research eg. : ppts, general public, groups that are represented by the participants

Who investigated socially sensitive reasearch?

seiber & stanley 1988

proposed that reasearch in which there are potential consequesces for any of the stakeholders should be considered socially sensitive.

explain Cyril Burt’s research in relation to socially sensitive research.

• used identical twins to support the view that negligence is largely genetic, this impacts

  • ppts = potential discrimination or prejudice

  • media = may exaggerate or perpetuate beliefs

  • laws+policies = educational policies

• his views greatly influences the hadow report 1926 leading to the creation of the 11+ used 1944-1976 to determine the type of school that a child would attend

• had an impact on their later life chances

• data later revealed to be made up - he invested 2 research assistants

• he was publicly discredited but the 11+ still remained for years and still lingers

• consideration of wider implications of research is essential as well as how to deal with these issues when they arise.

What are the 4 ways to deal with socially sensitive reasearch?

1. Reasearch question = considered carefully

2. Medthodology used = consider the treatment of the ppts and their rights (confidentiality, anonymity etc.)

3. Institutional context = mindful of how data is going to be used and consider who is funding reasearch

4. Interpretation/Application of findings = how the findings are interpreted/applied to the real world

What are the strengths of the ethical implications debate?

code of ethics is goverened by the BPS

• ethics boards at universities consult the code of ethics and discuss implications fo reasearch before it is given approval to be conducted

• guidlines have been altered over time to reduce problems of socially sensitive reasearch

benifits of socially sensitive research

• studies of unrepresented groups and issues may promote greater sensitivisty and understanding within society

• suggests socially sensitive reasearch may play a important role in society

what are the weaknesses of the ethical implications debate?

some beleive ethical guidelines are now too strict

• areas of reasearch which may help individuals, however it cannot be conducted due to social sensitivity restrictions EG intitutionalisation/adoption

• shows reaching a balance between ethics and reasearch is problematic in areas

implications of reasearch are hard to predict

• it is not always posible to identify implications for stakeholders. eg subliminal message

• makes ethical approval a hard judgment to make and means that socially sensitive reasearch may still occur

Define subliminal messaging…

method used to influence people without them being aware of what the message is doing

Give an example that shows the issues with subliminal messaging…

in 1950s there was lots of reasearch into the method

• 1957 a maret researcher carried out experiment to a cinema audience

• bombarded with subliminal messgaes eg ‘eat popcorn’ or ‘dribk coca cola’ appearing on the screen for 3 milliseconds

• resulted in sales increasing in both popcorn and coca cola

• the findings could not be replicated by anyone including law enforcement, reasearchers and advertisers

• reasearcher cofessed it was a ‘gimmik’

• but by that point the idea that you can manipulate peoples desired wuth unconscious messages was part of collective culture

shows how there is an issue of loosing control of what may happen when reasearch enters the public domain

Explain the case of Brian Dugan in relation to the free will and determinism debate.

• american rapist and serial killer

• 2009 FMRI scans was used for the first time in the sentencing phase of his murder trial

• para-limbic system was considerable less dense in dugan than other test subjects

What is free will?

notion that all humans can make conscious choices and are not determined by biologiaccl or external factors (agrees with cognitive and humanistic approached)

What is determinism?

notion that all an individuals traits and bhaviour are outside of conscious control and are due to internal and external factors.

there are 5 sub-types

What are the 5 types of determinism?

1. hard determinism

2. soft determinism

3. biological determinism (type of hard Determinism)

4. environmental detrminism (type of hard Determinism)

5. psychic determinism (type of hard Determinism)

What is hard determinism?

• all huamn behaviour has an identifiable cause

• everything a persons dies/thinks is determines by internal or external factors that they cannot control

• all behaviour is entirely out of individuals control

What is soft determinism?

• William James (1890s philosopher)

  • all human behaviour has a cause, but an individual does have some conscious control over the way that they behave

• eg cognitive approach ( thoughts can lead to behaviour but the thoughts can be changed)

• can be seen as a compromise between FW and D

What are the three types of hard determinism?

biological

• beleif that behaviour is caused by internal biological factors ( eg genes, hormiones, neurochemicals, brain struct)

• things the we cannot control

• eg bio approach

environmental

• beleif that behaviour is caused by external factors such as experiences, upbringing, learning, parents, peers that we cannot control

• eg learning approaches (SLT and behaviourism)

psychic

• beleif that behaviour is caused by unconscious instincts and drives

• and that the cause of behaviour is rooted in childhood experiences

• eg psychodynamic approach

explain how determinism fits with science?

• hard determinism fits the aims of science - ie, enphasis on the idea that everything in the universe has a cause

• allows scientists to predict and control certain events

• lab experiments enable reasearchers to investigate cause and effect while controlling and minimising extraneous variables

What are the supporting evidences for the different deterministic views?

biological

• concordance rates

• basal ganglia/serotonin OCD

• MAOA gene

• testosterone

• XY/XX

• dopamine hypothesis

• Bowlby’s monotropic theory of attachment

environmental

• the learning theories

• little albert

• situational variables in obedience

• learning theory of attachment

• family dynfunction

psychic

• family dysfunction

• frustration aggression hypothesis

• psychodynamic approach to gender development

• psychodynamic approach

soft

• mediational processes in SLT

• cognitive approach to explaining and trating aggression

what are the two main advantages of holding a deterministic view?

psychology as a science

• science is focussed on causes and making predictions, which alighns with deterministic views.

• helps put psychology on equal footing to other sciences

implications for reasearch

• reasearch into therapies and treatments can be conducted if behaviour can be predicted and controlled

• eg antipsychotics in the treatment of SZ

• means thisview can lead to positive impacts on patients lives/have real world applications taking aview

What is the main issue of a deterministic view?

implications for society

taking a view like this can be socially sensitive. eg the MAOA gene. if certain genetics predispose people to crime it is hard to hold them responsible. therefor is a problem for the justice system as rehabilitation may be impossible and managment of criminals is hard

what is the mian advantage of a free will view?

implications for treatment

approach suggests that people have conscious control over their actions. this is important in treatment as gives the individual a level of control and responsibility in their recovery

what are the two main dissadvantages of the free will view?

implications for psychology as a science

• could be argued that we cannot predict behaviour or find the causes of it, limiting psychology as a science.

implications for treatment

• reasearch into therapies/treatment cant be conducted if behaviour is uncontrollable or unpredictable

• limits what psychologists can do to help people.

What is the basis of the holism and reductionsim debate?

concerned with the level at which it is appropriate to explain behaviour.

explanations in psych vary from lower reductionist levels which focus on basic components, to those at a higher, more holistic level.

What is reductionism?

explaining things in terms of their basic parts and underlying elements

there are 3 types of reductionism

1. biological

2. environmental

3. machine

What are the two types of reductionsim?

biological reductionism= based on the assumption that we are all biological organisms, so all behaviour can be explained at a biological level (eg. bio approach)

environmental reductionism= assumes that complex behaviour can be broken down into simple stimulus - respose links that are measurable, mental processes are ignored as they occur at a psychological level (eg learning approaches)

What is holism?

• focusses on the system or person as a whole

• breaking down processes or behaviour is innapropriate as they can only be understood by analysing the person/behaviour as a whole

• considers all aspects of experience including social context/culture

• eg diathesis stress model SZ (both environmental and biological factors)

How can schizophrenia support the reductionist approach?

• in SZ evidence that differeing dopamine levels are a cause

• reductionsit as it is only based on biological factors

• advantage as it enables reasearchers to develope drugs to treat SZ lowering dopamine activity and reducing symptoms

what is the contradictory evidence for a reductionist approach?

• focussing on a simple component means other explanations may be missed.

• eg in SZ, reasearchers have identified fanily dysunction as a trigger - more holistic

how can SZ be approached in a holistic way?

more complete explanation is the interactionist approach eg diathesis stress model, which suggests there are a range of diathesis and stressors

this had lead to a holistic approach in treatemnts of SZ (drugs and therapy at same time), which has proven to be more effective that one or the other

explain psychology as a science in relation to the reductionism debate

• reductionsim approach underpins the scientific method - looks for a cause, breaking down into simple components,objective - can lead to greater clarity of understanding

• on the other hand, holistic explanations do not lend themselves to scientific testing

What does the nomothetic and ideographic debate argue?

whether it is more important to…

• look at the individual as unique (ideographic)

• look at the individual as part of a group, and try to establish similarities for the group (nomothetic)

What is the ideographic approach?

• from greek term ‘idos’ (private or personal)

• focusses on uniqueness of an individual case when explaining or studying behaviour

• may be no attempt to compare to larger group

• irrelevant to develope general laws of behaviour

qualititive methods are best suited to ideographic approaches, - interviews, case studies and observations. eg humanistic psychology which states that all individuals are unique

What is the nomothetic approach?

• from greek term ‘nomos’ (laws)

• states we can draw conclusions about population of people and generalise to the wider group from those that are studied in the reasearch process (the sample)

• approach involves studing a sample to formulate general laws/principles of behaviour

quantitative methods are best suited to nomothetic approaches - testable hypothesis, large represebtitive samples, statistical testing. eg biological approach has used brain scans to make generalisations about behaviour

What makes the nomothetic approach more scientific?

• uses objecttive + empirical methods to test hypothesis

• methods are more replicable

• sample sizes are larger/more representitive meaning generalisations can be made to the population

What is the supporting evidence for the nomothetic approach?

Bio treatment of SZ

• nomothetic approaches had led to the development of drug therapies for SZ

• cause of SZ is biological - high/low dopamine activity

• same for all people with SZ

• therefor, drug treatments that adress biochemical imbalance are appropriate

How can the effectiveness of SZ treatment be used to evaluate the ideoraphic and nomothetic approaches debate?

• typical antipsychotic drugs that reduce dopamine activity are sucessfull for 70% of people

• suggests that nomothetic approach has real world benifits

• however not all people were helped meaning the approach is not complete

• need inclusions of individual experinces

• CBT is more ideographic as the therapist listens to the patients unique viewpoint and alone can help with symptom management

• however this is not a cure so is not a comeplete explanation.

what is the conclusion of the ideographic/nomothetic debate?

• both approaches are needed to understand behaviour

• most sucessful treatent for SZ is a combination of both drugs and therapy

• suggests both approahes are needed for the comeplete study of SZ

What are the strengths and weaknesses of the ideographic approach?

strengths

• use of in depth qualitative methods gives detailed account and can be used to compliment the nomo approach to give supporting evidence for general laws

weaknesses

• narrow/restricted research as it focusses on individuals - meaningful generalisations aren’t always possible

• qualitative methods are more subjective (less scientific), conclusions are therefor open to researcher bias

What are the strengths and weaknesses of the nomothetic approach?

strengths

• research tends to be more scientific - controlled methods with standardised procedures to predict behaviour eg IQ test. allows development of norms for ‘typical behaviour’ (average IQ = 100) and gives psych greater credability

weaknesses

• too focussed on general laws eg. nomothetic approach saya there is a 1% preveence of SZ but not anything about the patients feelings

• means the approach ignores individual human experience

why may the nature nurture debate be outdated?

• science is not more invested in an interactionist approach that looks at the influence of both nature and nurture

• means the srgument may be outdated

define epigenetics, niche picking and neuroplasticity…

• epigenetics = how the expression of a certain gene (based on what we are exposed to) can alter behaviour

• niche picking = people choose environments that complement their heredity (idea supported by plomin)

• neuroplasticity = the ability of the brain to change structurally as a result of experience (eg taxi drivers)

define the 3 gene environment interactions described by Plomin et al 1977…

• passive gene-environment interaction = parents pass on genes and provide an environment which both influence the child’s development

• evocative gene-environment interaction = heritable traits (eg shyness) influence the reaction of others and this can reinforces the trait

• active gene-environment interaction = child heritable traits influence his or her choice of environment (eg aggressive child may choose to what violent films and interact with other violent individuals)

what are the two diagnostic manuals for psychological dissorders?

• DSM 5 = mostly in US

  • Diagnostic Statistical Manual edition 5

• ICD 10 = European

  • international classification of diseases edition 10

how long to schizophrenic symptoms need to be present for a diagnosis?

• 1 month+ ICD

• 6month+ DSM

what percentage of the population have SZ?

1%

what are the exclusions in classifying SZ?

can’t be due to organic brain disease, alcohol or drug-related intoxication, or meet early depression criteria

what is an episodic illness?

periods of symptoms and period when there are less

• sz = periods of psychotic disturbances with periods of normal functioning

what is the difference between positive and negative symptoms?

• positive is an addition to normal behaviour

• negative is the absence of normal behaviour

what are the main positive and negative symptoms of SZ?

positive

• auditory and visual hallucinations

• delusions or control, paranoia and false beliefs.

• though insertion (thinking thought have been placed in mind)

negative

• speech poverty (reduction in quality and amount of speech)

• avolition (lack of interest and motivation)

• loss of emotion

What are hallucinations?

unusual sensory experiences

some related to the environment, others have nothing to do with what senses are picking up from the environment (eg. hearing voices)

What are delusions?

• paranoia and irrational beliefs

• delusions of the body, part of them is under control

• generally victims of violence and not the perpetrators

• some delusions can lead to aggression

What is Avolition?

• apathy, finding it difficult to begin/keep up with a goal

• sharply reduced motivation for everyday activities

• Anderson’s 3 signs of Avolition - poor hygiene, lack of persistence in work/education, lack of energy

What is speech poverty?

sufferers experience changes in speech pattern, ICD-10 views this as a negative symptom

the DSM places emphasis on speech disorganisation (classified as a positive symptom)

What characteristics of SZ are not needed for a diagnosis?

• weight gain

• suicidal thoughts

• violence or agression

• multiple personalities

• insomnia

What are the key features of the biological approach?

• genetics

• biochemistry

• brain structure

What % heritable is schizophrenia?

50% heritable

What is the basis of the genetic explanation of sz?

• SZ is inherited through generations, by transmission of genes

• inheritance patterns are complex and involve a combination if genes

• 100s genes involved (polygenic)

What two candidate genes are involved in schizophrenia?

• PCM1 = pericentriolar material 1 (codes for protein involved in cell division

• DRD3 = dopamine receptor gene

what is the main supporting evidence of the genetic explanation?

twin studies

MZ = 100% same DNA

DZ = 50% same DNA

what are concordance rates?

percentage chance that both twins will share the same trait

if bellow 100% other factors must be involved other than genetics

what were the findings of gottesman 1991?

concordance rates of SZ

MZ= 48%

DZ = 17%