Issues and debates

• Nomothetic approach?


  The nomothetic approach tries to find patterns and general principles and applies it to the general population
• features of nomothetic approach/
• Idiographic approach?


  Focuses on individuals and takes into account unique characteristics.
• Idiographic features?


  uses qualitative data, subjective.
• Idiographic measures of research?

  case studies, unstructured interviews, self- reports, autobiographies and personal documents
• Nomothetic law?


  Law can be divided into: classifying people, establishing principles and establishing dimensions.
• Nomothetic strengths?


  scientific, precise measurements, large sample sizes, controlled methods. Helped psychology to be seen as a precise science.
• Nomothetic limitations?


  ignores human differences. predictions are generalised to the whole.
• Idiographic strengths?


  focuses on the individual. Findings can serve as a source of hypotheses for later studies.
• Idiographic limitations?


  very time-consuming- takes a long time to analysis qualitative data
• Conclusions?


  Idiographic and nomothetic approaches should not be seen as conflicting but should instead be seen as complementary.
• Casual Explanations?


  Explanations that aim to find the root of the problem
• Hard determnism?


  The ides that all behaviours are predetermined and there is no free will
• Soft determinism?


  Behaviours are decided by a mixture of outside factors and free will
• Determinism limitations?

  Too many negative implications. Potential impacts- Eugenics, impact on the justice system.
• Roberts et al (2000)?


  Found the adolescents who believed in fatalism (the idea that we have no free will) were more likely to developed depression.
• Libet et al (1983)?

  Found that brain activity predated actions. this suggests that the brain may be interpretations of our brain activity.
• Miller (2009)?


  showed that early brain activity may just be readiness to act but still allows for free will.
• Heather 1976?


  "Behaviour is predictable but not inevitable"
• Determinism vs Free Will?

  twin never have an 100% concordance rate and studies can manipulate the environment to no impact
• Socially sensitive?


  Sieber and Stanley (1988) coined term to describe studies that have potential social consequences.
• Research question?

  researcher must consider the research question carefully as it may be harmful to a certain group.
• The methodology used?


  the researcher needs to consider the treatment of the ppts and their rights. to confidentiality and anonymity.
• the institutional context?


  researcher should be mindful of how the data is going to be used and who is funding the research.
• Interpretation and Application of Findings?

  researcher need to consider how their findings might be interpreted and applied to the real world.
• Ethical Implication of Research Studies?

  consider whether the end justifies the means. e.g., Milgram: ppts deceived, caused significant distress but debriefed after a year and a follow up interview. outcome showed no long term consequences.
• Ethical Implications of Theories?

  unintended consequences. Bowlby's theory contributed to the development of childcare practices, it also lead to people advocating for women who stay at home and not go to work
• Holism?


  The concept that systems should be viewed as a whole, not just a sum of their parts. uses qualitative methods to investigate all aspects of an individual as inter-personal interactions.
• Biological reductionism?


  Complex phenomena explained by reducing them to their biological components. (Billett et al 1998) meta analysis 14 twin studies of OCD. MZ 2x likely to develop than DZ.
• Environmental Reductionism?


  stimulus-response reductionism. Behaviourist believe all behaviour can be reduced to SR building blocks.
• Experimental Reductionism?


  Breaking down complex phenomena into a simple isolated variable for the purpose of testing.
• Social & Cultural explanations?

  the influence of social groups on behaviour
• Psychological explanations?


  cognitive, behavioural/environmental
• Biological explanations?


  neurochemicals, genetics, brain structure etc
• Nature: Gottsman and Shields (1991)?


  40 family studies risk increases to 46% for those with two parents with schizophrenia.
• Nature: Joseph (2004)?


  data for schizophrenia studies conducted before 2001 and found average concordance of 40.4% for MZ and 7.4% for DZ
• Huntingdon disease?


  genetically transmitted disease that usually emerges between ages 30 and 50. Biological clock switches behaviours on and off
• Tabula Rasa?


  mind is a blank slate and is gradually filled as a result of experiences.
• Batson et al (1956)?


  Double Bind theory suggest schizophrenia is a result of disordered communication within the family. prolonged exposure to such interactions prevents development of a coherent construction of reality
• Interactionist theory?


  PKU: caused by inheritance of 2 recessive genes one from each parent. if child is diagnosed early and put on low protein diet for 12 years helps prevent disorder.