issues and debates

• Psychology relies on deterministic cause and effect relationships to explain phenomena and make precise predictions
• Hard determinism


  Behavior is set by forces outside of our control internal or external with no role for free will
• Soft determinism


  Traits and behaviors are to an extent dictated by internal and external forces, however we do have some level of control (free will) over our behavior through conscious thought processes
• Biological determinism


  Behavior is set by genetics including the role of evolution and biological processes such as hormone and neurotransmitter levels and the functioning of brain structures
• Environmental determinism


  Our experiences in the world shape our behavior, we've learned to behave in certain ways based on factors like reinforcement and growing up in a certain culture
• Psychic determinism


  Innate drives shaped by child's experience form unconscious forces that determine behavior
• The free will perspective has faith that people have the conscious experience of agency, feeling like they have the ability to choose their actions
• Determinists would argue the feeling of free will is an illusion
• Assuming the scientific principle of cause and effect applies to human behavior, psychologists have successfully predicted and influenced behavior
• Arguing that behavior is due to a single determining factor is likely an oversimplification, it's more accurate to consider behavior as coming from the interplay of multiple factors
• Nature


  Biological, hereditary, genetic factors that determine behavior
• Nurture


  Experiences, learning, environment that determine behavior
• The majority of psychologists take a complex view on the origins of behavior, assuming a relative importance of each nature and nurture factor and an interaction between them
• Interactionism suggests genes and the environment actively interact and influence each other
• Epigenetic modification means environmental experiences can alter the expression of DNA, especially in children
• Reductionism


  Studying complex phenomena by breaking them down into their simplest components and testing the individual elements empirically
• Holism


  A truly valid explanation of human behavior needs to include the whole person including fundamental biological, environmental, social and cultural factors and how they interact
• Reductionism enables objective testing of variables in controlled experiments to establish causation, but can be overly simplistic
• Holism gathers meaningful information but can overlook the significance of individual elements by focusing too broadly
• Nomothetic research


  Uses a large and representative sample to generate new laws of behavior or support existing theories, making inferences and predictions about the broader population
• Idiographic research


  Studies individuals' subjective experiences, behaviors and personalities in depth, without attempting to generalize or define general laws
• Nomothetic research data is more reliable but may lack validity, while idiographic research data is more valid but less reliable
• An integrative approach using both nomothetic and idiographic methods can provide a more holistic understanding of behavior
• Researchers need to carefully consider the ethical implications of their research, including potential harms and benefits to participants and wider society
• Socially sensitive research requires reflexivity, careful framing of research questions, and clear communication of limitations and value-free findings
• Peer review and ethics committees play a role in ensuring potentially harmful or misleading research is not published
• Controversy about socially sensitive research may lead to underrepresentation of minority communities in psychology