debates

• Determinism 


  the view that a person’s behaviour is caused by factors beyond their control which are either biological i.e. genes or environmental i.e. conditioning
• Free will 


  the view that a person has the capacity to choose how to behave and so must be held responsible for their own actions
• Reductionism 


  the view that to explain human behaviour it should be broken down into its constituent parts in order to identify the simplest explanation.
• Holism


  the view that any given human behaviour is complex and so should be studied as a whole rather than being reduced to singular explanations – humans are more than the sum of their parts.
• Nature 


  the view that behaviour is a product of inherited or biological factors i.e. genes or brain chemistry.
• Nurture 


  the view that our behaviour has been learned/acquired through experiences in the environment i.e. upbringing, learning.
• Individual 


  the view that our behaviour results from factors within the person i.e. personality and disposition.
• Situational 


  the view that our behaviour results from factors within the situation the person is in i.e. other people and social context.
• Socially sensitive research 


  refers to psychological research that has ethical implications which go beyond the research itself and affects people or groups in society in terms of stigma, political consequences or controversy
• Usefulness 


  measuring the extent to which a piece of research has practical applications or theoretical usefulness whilst also considering factors within the research itself which may add to or detract from usefulness i.e. ecological validity, population validity, internal validity, reliability or ethnocentrism.
• Ethics

  judging whether a piece of research adheres to moral principles which inform research guidelines; protection of ps, informed consent, deception, right to withdraw, confidentiality/privacy, debrief etc.
• Psychology as a science

  the extent to which the research adheres to scientific principles i.e. follows the scientific method, collects quantitative and objective data, is controlled, replicability, falsifiability, cause & effect, induction or deduction.
• Socially Sensitive Research

  a)Stigma- individuals or groups may experience feelings of shame and exclusion due to particular issues explored in research i.e. gender, culture, illness.

  b) Political consequences- the outcome of research may have implications for government policy and change the lives of people involved with or affected by the research.

  c) Controversial ideas-research may shock the general public and cause distress through suggesting a socially unacceptable cause for behaviour.