Issues and debates

• Determinism


  The view that an individual's behaviour is shaped or controlled by internal or external forces rather than an individual's will to do something
• Free will


  It suggests that, as human beings, we are self-determining and free to choose our own thoughts and actions

  • biological and environmental factors may have some influence but we have the power to reject these forces and choose our own behaviour
  • the Humanistic Approach is a strong advocate for this, assuming that humans aim to achieve personal growth through self-actualisation - achieved by choosing our own actions
• Biological determinism


  The idea that we can predict behaviour based on genes and/or neural networks

  e.g. a mutation of the MAOA gene can lead to aggressive behaviour

  • the Biological Approach emphasises the role of biological determinism over human behaviour - genes, hormones and the nervous system have a strong degree of control over human behaviour, therefore arguing we have no conscious choice over the way we behave
• Environmental determinism


  The notion that behaviour is caused by environmental factors

  • Examples of environmental factors influencing behaviour include research from social psychologists (e.g. research on conformity and obedience - due to the people in the environment)
• Psychic determinism


  The notion that unconscious processes influence human behaviour

  • e.g. Freud argued that behaviour originates from the unconscious, meaning that individuals will not be able to explain why they carried out a particular action - may explain why Freudian slips occur
• Hard determinism (a.k.a. fatalism)


  An extreme view that human behaviour is determined by forces outside of our control

  • e.g. takes the view of biological forces causing human behaviour
• Soft determinism


  It suggests that human behaviour has a cause, but there may be other influences present that have some degree of control

  • the cognitive approach is a strong advocate for this - suggests that mental thought processes cause behaviour, but humans are able to control their thoughts
• Scientific emphasis on causal explanations

  Causality - key principle of science is to investigate causes of events and explain them (e.g. the effect of the IV on the DV) - allows scientists to make predictions and formulate laws

  • Psychologists use lab experiments to control extraneous variables to allow cause-effect relationships between the IV-DV to be discovered - leads to general laws on the causes of human behaviour in order to explain them
  • Determinism assumes behaviour has a cause - determined by something else - preferred by scientists
  • Free will is much harder to measure and control
• Nature vs. nurture debate

  Debate concerning whether behavior is determined by genetic factors (nature) or environmental influences (nurture)
• Interactionist approach


  Approach that considers both genetic and environmental factors in the development of behaviour - e.g. with twin studies, it is impossible to tell if high concord rates are the result of shared genes or shared upbringing

  Nature affects nurture:

  • Reactive influence - Passive influence- Active influence

  Nurture affects nature

  • Neural plasticity
• Reductionism


  The idea that, to understand human behaviour and experiences, we need to break it down into its smaller constituent parts
• Types of reductionism


  • Biological reductionism
  • Environmental reductionism
• Biological reductionism


  Explaining behavior solely in terms of biological processes such as genetics and brain chemistry
• Environmental reductionism


  Explaining behavior in terms of stimulus-response links learned through experience
• Holism


  Idea that behavior should be viewed as a whole and not broken down into parts
• Idiographic research

  Research focusing on the individual and emphasising the uniqueness of individuals, using qualitative methods to gain in-depth understanding

  • attempts to describe the nature of the individual - own subjective experiences, motivations and values
  • uses qualitative methods (e.g. unstructured interviews, case studies, thematic analysis) - regarded as unscientific
• Nomothetic research


  Research that seeks to establish general laws of behaviour through the study of large groups and statistical analysis to make generalisations

  • general law provide a “benchmark” against which people can be compared, classified and measured - can be used to make predictions about future behaviour
  • uses quantitative methods of investigation and is regarded as scientific
• Social sensitivity


  Research that has the potential to cause harm or offense to individuals or groups in society
• British Psychological Society (BPS)


  Proposed the concept of ethical guidelines in psychology
• Cultural bias


  Tendency to judge all people in terms of your own cultural assumptions
• Ethnocentrism


  Belief in the superiority of one's own ethnic group or culture
• Cultural relativism


  Principle that an individual's behavior must be understood in the context of their own culture
• Gender bias


  Differential treatment or representation of men and women based on stereotypes rather than real differences
• Alpha bias in gender research


  Exaggerating differences between men and women
• Beta bias in gender research


  Minimizing or ignoring differences between men and women
• Andocentrism


  A male-centered view that often marginalizes women
• Emic approach in cross-cultural psychology


  Studying behaviors from within a culture to understand it from the insider's perspective
• Etic approach in cross-cultural psychology


  Studying behaviors from outside a culture and comparing them across cultures
• Universality vs. cultural relativism debate


  Whether psychological theories and findings are universal or culture-specific
• Ethical relativism


  Idea that ethical standards and morality are culturally based and therefore subject to a person's individual choice
• Paradigm


  A set of shared assumptions and agreed methods within a scientific discipline
• Kuhn's proposal about scientific revolutions


  Scientific progress occurs through paradigm shifts rather than gradual accumulation of knowledge
• Peer review in psychology


  Ensures research quality, validity, and reliability before publication
• Ethical considerations in psychological research


  To protect the well-being, dignity, and rights of participants
• Institutional Review Board (IRB)


  Reviews research proposals for ethical violations and protects participants
• Informed consent


  Ensures that participants are fully aware of the research and its potential impacts before agreeing to take part
• Debriefing


  Providing participants with full information about the study after participation, including its purpose and any deceptions used
• Protection from harm in research


  Ensures that participants do not suffer physical or psychological harm during or after the study
• Socially sensitive research


  Research findings can affect public policy, societal norms, and individual well-being
• Confirmation bias


  Tendency to search for, interpret, and remember information that confirms one's preconceptions