Issues and debates

• Perspectives and their scientific nature

  • Social - use of field experiments so less scientific due to EVs
  • Cognitive - use of experimental methods (Baddeley, Seb & H'Gil), hard to measure brain functioning so less scientific
  • Biological - very scientific (uses lab exps, scans, reliable and controlled) Raine - scientific
  • Learning - scientific with controlled lab experiments. Also, use of animals. Watson and Rayner, Pavlov
  • Psychodynamic - least scientific perspective (subjective, qual data, hard to test and falsify, less reductionist)
• Types of data


  • Qualitative data (unstructured interviews) are less controlled and empirical than experiments and can therefore be considered less scientific
  • Case studies and field studies less scientific
  • Lab experiments, scans, structured observations are more scientific
• Nature


  • Genetic
  • Innate
  • Hormones/brain/genes
• Nurture


  • Environment
  • Blank slate (tabula rasa)
  • Upbringing/others
• Epigenetics


  Genetics shaped by environment
• Interactionist


  Both nature and nurture
• Useful but hard to separate to measure
• Blass (2012) found little difference between obedience cross-culturally which suggests that a nature explanation underpins obedience to a certain extent
• Milgram's variations show differences in obedience and conformity as a result of proximity and status which can, to an extent, be used to reduce situations result in blind obedience
• Social Impact Theory suggests the number of sources and targets can influence obedience in group situations, therefore the environment can play a significant role
• HM supports the existence of nature affecting the memory as he was unable to remember new factual information after surgery
• Clive Wearing (Blakemore, 1988) supports nurture to a certain extent because an illness prevented new memories being stored
• Life experiences can change our thought processes. Memory is due to nature but nurture can affect it (weapon focus, leading questions etc)
• Biological explanations


  • Genes
  • Hormones
  • Brain structure
  • Evolution
• Learning explanations


  • Conditioning
  • Social learning theory
  • Watson and Rayner
  • Bandura
  • Pavlov
• Psychodynamic explanations

  • Childhood experiences (nurture)
  • Psychosexual stages
  • Id and death drive (nature)
• Clinical explanations


  • Biological explanations of schizophrenia and depression (nature)
  • Social and cognitive explanations (nurture)
• Criminal explanations


  • XYY
  • Brain structure
  • Amygdala
  • Eysenck (nature)
  • Social learning theory
  • Social factors perspective
  • Labelling (nurture)
• Reductionism


  Simplifying complex behaviour
• Types of reductionism


  • Methodological reductionism
  • Theoretical reductionism
• Holism


  Taking everything/all influences into account
• Reductionism is useful and scientific but oversimple and arguably less valid
• Androcentric


  • Male bias
• Psychodynamic


  Childhood experiences (nurture), psychosexual stages and id and death drive (nature)
• Gynocentric


  • Female bias
• Clinical


  Bio explans of sz and depression (nature) but social and cog arguably more nurture
• Often male participants and male researchers
• Alpha bias


  • Exaggerate differences between males and females
• Criminal

  XYY, brain structure, amygdala, Eysenck – nature. But SLT, SFP and labelling are nurture
• Beta bias

  • Differences are minimised
• Reductionism


  • Simplifying complex behaviour
  • Methodological reductionism
  • Theoretical reductionism
  • Reductionism is useful and scientific but oversimple and arguably less valid
• Sherif - possible gender diffs in prejudice (androcentric) -may be considered a form of beta bias
• Holism


  Taking everything/all influences into account
• Milgram - only males but replicated and no gender diff. Burger - no gender diff
• Areh (?) found gender diffs in memory - females remember faces more and males the situation details more
• Reductionism is useful and scientific but oversimple and arguably less valid
• Buss - an example of alpha bias where male and female roles are clearly defined with women said to focus on children and prefer males who can provide resources
• Holism takes everything/all influences into account
• Ethnocentrism


  Judging culture from our own cultural perspective
• Androcentric


  • Male bias