Psychology > 8. Issues and Debates > Flashcards

8. Issues and Debates Flashcards

Paper 3 (89 cards)

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1
Q

What does the nature side of the debate argue?

A

That behaviour and characteristics are determined by inherited/innate factors.

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2
Q

What are psychologist who argue for the nature stance called?

A

Natavists

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3
Q

What did Descartes argue?

A

That all human characteristics and some elements of knowledge are innate.

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4
Q

What is a heritability coefficient?

A

A measure of the extent to which a trait has a genetic basis, displayed as a number between 0 and 1 (where 1 = entirely genetic).

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5
Q

What did Plomin (1994) find about IQ?

A

That IQ has a heritability coefficient of 0.5, meaning 50% of intelligence is genetic.

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6
Q

What does the nurture side of the debate argue?

A

That behaviour and characteristics are shaped by experience and environment.

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7
Q

What are psychologist who argue for the nurture stance called?

A

Empiricists.

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8
Q

What is “tabula rasa”?

A

John Locke’s idea that we are born as a “blank slate” — all knowledge and behaviour comes from experience.

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9
Q

What are Lerner’s (1986) two levels of environment?

A
  1. Pre-natal (learning starts at conception).
  2. Post-natal (influenced from birth).
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10
Q

What is interactionism?

A

The view that nature and nurture both contribute to behaviour and interact with each other, rather than one being the sole cause.

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11
Q

What are epigenetics?

A

When environmental influences leave a marker on DNA — it does NOT alter the DNA sequence itself but affects how genes are expressed.

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12
Q

What is the diathesis-stress model?

A

The idea that a genetic vulnerability may exist but often needs to be triggered by environmental factors.

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13
Q

What is constructivism?

A

The idea that people create their own nurture by seeking out environments suited to their nature, which then further influences behaviour. Plomin called this niche-building and niche-picking.

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14
Q

What is the “anatomy is destiny” criticism of the nature stance?

A

Linking genetics to traits has historically been used to justify discrimination e.g.:
- 1952 USA: The government attributed IQ differences between Black and white Americans to genetics.
- Nazi Germany: Hitler’s eugenics policies were based on the idea that certain ethnic groups were inherently inferior.

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15
Q

What does concordance research suggest how does it support both nature and nurture?

A

For some traits there are high rates of concordance between individuals, suggesting a strong genetic element.
However, there has never been a characteristic with 100% concordance rate meaning nothing can be entirely genetic.

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16
Q

What is the ethical issue with using nurture to shape behaviour?

A

Token economies and behaviour-shaping techniques raise ethical concerns — in extreme cases they can be used to control society, as seen in Bolshevik Russia and Nazi Germany.

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17
Q

Why is researching environmental influence difficult?

A

Sibling studies are often used, but siblings can share the same environment yet have very different experiences and outcomes, complicating attempts to isolate environmental influence.

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18
Q

What did Rhee & Waldman find and how does it support the nurture stance?

A

A meta-analysis into aggression found that 41% of variance was due to genetic factors - meaning 59% was due to external/environmental factors, supporting the nurture side.

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19
Q

What did Plomin argue about separating nature and nurture?

A

Plomin stated it is “illogical to separate the two as they are so intertwined.”

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20
Q

What did Dunn & Plomin find about shared environments?

A

They proposed the idea of shared and unshared environments — siblings can have the same environment but very different experiences, leading to different outcomes.

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21
Q

Why is interactionism difficult to apply in practice?

A

You cannot always determine the relative contributions of nature and nurture — it is hard to work out the weight of each interaction.

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22
Q

What research support is there for interactionism from epigentics?

A

In 1944, the Nazis blocked food distribution to the Dutch, causing 22,000 deaths. Susser & Lin (1992) found that women who were pregnant during the famine had low birth weight babies who were twice as likely to be diagnosed with schizophrenia.

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23
Q

What is the free will vs determinism debate?

A

The extent to which behaviour can be explained by choice or by factors beyond your control.

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24
Q

What are the five types of determinism?

A
  1. Hard
  2. Soft
  3. Psychic
  4. Biological
  5. Environmental.
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25
What is hard determinism?
The view that all elements of behaviour are pre-determined. It is an extreme position, associated with the biological approach.
26
What is soft determinism?
The view that some elements are pre-determined but there is some choice in how we act. Associated with the cognitive approach.
27
What is psychic determinism?
The view that psychic (unconscious) processes are pre-determined. Associated with the psychodynamic approach.
28
What is environmental determinism?
The view that everything is driven by a stimulus-response relationship — associated with behaviourism.
29
What is free will?
The ability to make choices.
30
Which approach is most associated with free will?
Humanism
31
Is free will compatible with science?
No — the free will view is not compatible with scientific approaches, as science seeks cause-and-effect explanations for behaviour.
32
How does determinism support mental health intervention?
If someone is genetically pre-determined to develop a mental health disorder, systems can be put in place for prevention and early intervention. It is also illogical to think people would choose to have mental health issues.
33
Why is determinism compatible with science?
If all behaviour has a cause, then science can help establish cause and effect relationships, making behaviour testable and measurable.
34
What evidence supports soft determinism?
Howe et al (1992) - all the children had schemas but their choice of different objects led to different conclusions about how they moved down the slopes.
35
How does concordance research challenge determinism?
We never get 100% concordance — for example, MZ twins are not always concordant — meaning no behaviour can be purely down to deterministic factors.
36
How does chaos theory challenge determinism?
Determinism assumes a predictable sequence of events, but chaos theory suggests that a small change in initial conditions can lead to a major change in outcome, undermining the idea of predictability.
37
Why is determinism incompatible with the justice system?
Law and order relies on the idea that people are accountable and responsible for their behaviour — which requires free will. If all behaviour is determined, no one can truly be held responsible.
38
What evidence supports the benefit of believing in free will?
Roberts (2000) researched adolescents with a belief in fatalism (the belief that nothing is in their control) and found a strong correlation between fatalism and diagnoses of depression.
39
What is face validity and how does it apply to free will?
Free will has face validity — it does appear to be true in everyday life that we can make choices, which gives the concept credibility on a surface level.
40
How does the light switch study contradict free will?
Participants in a brain scanner were told to decide which hand to use to flick a light switch. Brain activity related to decision-making occurred 10 seconds before participants reported conscious awareness of making a choice.
41
What is the nomothetic vs idiographic debate?
The extent to which behaviour can be studied through general laws or through in-depth studies of individuals.
42
What does "idiographic" mean and where does it come from?
From the Greek word idios, meaning "own" or "private." It refers to the focus on the individual and their unique experience.
43
What methods do idiographic psychologists favour?
Qualitative methods such as case studies, unstructured interviews, and thematic analysis — methods that allow in-depth insight into individual behaviour.
44
Does the idiographic approach seek to generalise findings?
No — it does not seek to formulate general laws or generalise results to others.
45
Give some examples of the idiographic approach being used?
Patient KF - memory Freud - Little Hans
46
What does "nomothetic" mean and where does it come from?
From the Greek word nomos, meaning "law." It refers to the aim of establishing general laws of behaviour.
47
What methods do nomothetic psychologists favour?
Quantitative methods such as experiments, correlations, and psychometric testing, with statistical analysis of data from large groups.
48
Give three examples of nomothetic research in psychology.
1. OCD bio treatments. 2. Memory Models: MSM and WMM. 3. Schizophrenia classification.
49
What did Allport argue in favour of the idiographic approach?
When introducing the terms to American psychology in 1937, Allport argued it is only through understanding single individuals that psychologists can hope to predict how those individuals will behave in a given situation.
50
How can a single case study contribute to wider psychological knowledge?
A single case study can trigger a paradigm shift — generating further research into a phenomenon (e.g. memory) and contributing to the development of new theories, furthering our understanding of human behaviour.
51
Why does the idiographic approach lack practical usefulness?
It is unable to produce general laws or predictions, limiting its usefulness as a source of practical knowledge about the diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders.
52
Why is the idiographic approach considered unscientific?
Methods like case studies do not follow the principles of science and lack validity and reliability — findings cannot be replicated or generalised.
53
What practical applications has the nomothetic approach produced?
The creation of general laws has allowed for the development of general treatments — for example, the use of SSRIs for the treatment of OCD across large patient populations.
54
Why can't general laws be applied to everyone?
General laws do not account for individual differences. For example, drug treatments are not successful for all OCD patients — a more idiographic approach such as CBT has to be adopted for some individuals.
55
What is the "losing the person" criticism?
The nomothetic approach loses sight of the whole person due to its fixation on quantitative data. For example, knowing there is a 1% lifetime risk of developing schizophrenia tells us nothing about what life is actually like for someone who experiences it.
56
How does the nomothetic approach oversimplify human behaviour?
It can reduce complex human behaviour to overly simple explanations. For example, Lorenz and Harlow's animal studies in attachment
57
What are the cultural issues with creating general laws?
General laws often lead to imposed etic.
58
What is the reductionism vs holism debate?
To what extent behaviour is best explained by breaking it down into basic components (reductionism) or by viewing it as a whole, integrated experience (holism).
59
What are the levels of explanation from most reductionist to most holistic?
1. Physiological 2. Psychological - cognitive and behavioural 3. Social and cultural elements
60
What does holism argue?
That behaviour should be viewed as a whole integrated experience, not as separate parts. It looks at higher-level explanations and how many aspects interact to provide a complete picture.
61
Where does the word "holism" come from?
The Greek word holos, meaning "all," "whole," or "entire."
62
What is the Gestalt idea associated with holism?
"The whole is greater than the sum of its parts" — when we perceive things in the real world, we do so as a whole rather than a collection of parts.
63
Give three topic examples of a holistic approach in psychology.
1) Maslow's hierarchy of needs: working towards self-actualisation. 2) Jahoda's ideal mental health (includes self-actualisation as a criteria) 3) CBT - looks to address cause rather than symptom.
64
What does reductionism argue?
That behaviour can be explained by breaking it down into its basic component parts.
65
What are the four types of reductionism?
1. Biological reductionism. 2. Environmental reductionism 3. Experimental reductionism 4. Machine reductionism
66
Give three topic examples of reductionism in psychology.
Schizophrenia — genetic explanations neglect environmental factors that exploit genetic vulnerabilities OCD — SSRIs only target serotonin levels, ignoring environmental causes
67
How do low-level explanations pose problems for treatment?
Low-level explanations focus only on physiological causes, neglecting the role of the environment.
68
How does Wolpe (1973) demonstrate the limits of reductionist treatment?
Wolpe treated the symptoms of phobias rather than their cause through systematic desensitisation, and in doing so was unsuccessful.
69
What practical applications has reductionism produced?
Reductionist approaches isolate singular elements to develop treatments - e.g. the link between OCD and serotonin levels.
70
How is reductionism compatible with science?
Because it considers singular components, variables can be isolated and studied scientifically.
71
How does Zimbardo's research support holistic explanations?
Zimbardo studied conformity to a social role rather than conformity in an artificial task (unlike Asch).
72
How are reductionism and validity linked?
The explanation tend to have high internal validity (because of controlled variables) but sacrifices ecological validity.
73
What are the six ethical issues that need to be considered in methodology?
1. Deception 2. Informed consent 3. Protection from harm 4. Anonymity 5. Protection of data 6. Right to withdraw
74
What is socially sensitive research?
Research that has implications (often negative) for a group of people.
75
Give an example of research with both negative and positive social sensitivity.
Bowlby's Maternal Deprivation Hypothesis — negatively, it blamed mothers for their children's issues. However, Bowlby's intention was to raise the social status of mothers by highlighting their importance in child-rearing.
76
Who were Sieber and Stanley (1988) and what did they identify?
They identified four aspects of the research process that could lead to ethical issues and social consequences, and later 10 types of ethical issue specific to socially sensitive research.
77
What are Sieber and Stanley's four aspects of the research process?
1. The research question 2. The methodology 3. The institutional context 4. Interpretation and application of findings
78
What did Sieber & Stanley say that the research question must be?
Objective, non-provocative and unbiased.
79
What did Seiber & Stanley say that methodology must be in accordance with?
Must follow ethical guidelines and be mindful of cultural differences.
80
What did Seiber & Stanley say about the institutional context?
There should be transparency about the funding and implications of findings for different groups - this can be aided via peer review.
81
What did Seiber & Stanley say about the interpretation and application of findings?
Findings must be conveyed appropriately and not manipulated.
82
Give an example of institutional context bias in research.
Purdue Pharma funded research that downplayed the addictive potential of OxyContin.
83
Why is Cyril Burt's work on intelligence socially sensitive?
Burt used twin studies to argue intelligence is largely genetic — this influenced the Hadow Report (1926) and the creation of the 11+ test. His data was later suspected to be fabricated (Gillie 1976, Kamin 1974), and his membership of the British Eugenics Society suggested his research was biased toward Western European intellectual superiority.
84
Give two examples of socially sensitive research?
Fromm-Reichmann the schizophrenogenic mother. Hrdy's biological differences in fathers and mothers.
85
How does Sieber and Stanley's work protect those affected by research?
It provides a mechanism to safeguard participants by outlining how they can be effectively protected.
86
Why are current ethical guidelines insufficient?
They fail to capture all the ways participants may be impacted — for example, media projection of findings (especially in an age of social media). This could lead to self-diagnosis and generalisation.
87
How does cultural relativism undermine ethical guidelines?
Guidelines often reflect Western values and fail to account for cultural variation, leading to imposed etic.
88
What is the issue with avoiding socially sensitive research?
The APA approved 95% of non-sensitive proposals but only 50% of socially sensitive research — avoidance means groups feel less targeted, but Sieber and Stanley warned this is not a responsible approach.
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