psychology

• Free will


  The ability to make choices and decisions without constraint
• Determinism


  The view that all events, including human actions and choices, are determined by prior events and conditions, and are thus inevitable
• Soft determinism


  The view that determinism is compatible with free will
• Hard determinism


  The view that determinism is incompatible with free will
• Free will


  The ability to make choices and decisions without constraint
• Determinism


  The view that all events, including human actions and choices, are determined by prior events and conditions, and are thus inevitable
• Soft determinism


  The view that determinism is compatible with free will
• Types of hard determinism

  • Biological determinism
  • Environmental determinism
  • Psychic determinism
• Hard determinism


  The view that determinism is incompatible with free will
• A strength of determinism is that it is consistent with the aims of science, as searching for causal explanations has allowed therapies, treatments and behavioural interventions to be introduced, such as the use of Clozapine as a drug treatment for schizophrenic patients
• Types of hard determinism

  • Biological determinism
  • Environmental determinism
  • Psychic determinism
• A limitation of determinism is that it is unfalsifiable, as it is based on the idea that causes of human behaviour will always exist, which is impossible to prove wrong, disagreeing with the features of a science proposed by Popper (1934), suggesting determinism is not as scientific as it appears
• A strength of determinism is that it is consistent with the aims of science, as searching for causal explanations has allowed therapies, treatments and behavioural interventions to be introduced, such as the use of Clozapine as a drug treatment for schizophrenic patients
• A limitation of determinism is that it is unfalsifiable, as it is based on the idea that causes of human behaviour will always exist, which is impossible to prove wrong, disagreeing with the features of a science proposed by Popper (1934), suggesting determinism is not as scientific as it appears
• A strength of free will is that it has face validity, as in our everyday lives we feel like we exercise free will for many different choices we make, e.g. choosing what to eat when we go to a restaurant
• The interactionist approach provides the best compromise between the free will vs determinism debate, as exemplified by the Cognitive approach which believes we act upon what we know from our innate schemas but that we have the choice to choose what we react to
• A strength of free will is that it has face validity, as in our everyday lives we feel like we exercise free will for many different choices we make, e.g. choosing what to eat when we go to a restaurant
• Reductionism


  The view that complex phenomena can be explained by breaking them down into simpler components
• Levels of explanation


  • Neurochemical level
  • Social cultural level
• The interactionist approach provides the best compromise between the free will vs determinism debate, as exemplified by the Cognitive approach which believes we act upon what we know from our innate schemas but that we have the choice to choose what we react to
• Reductionism


  The view that complex phenomena can be explained by breaking them down into simpler components
• A strength of reductionism is that it forms the basis of experimental research, shown through the operationalisation of the independent and dependent variable, standardisation and simply conducting experiments at simple levels
• Levels of explanation


  • Neurochemical level
  • Social cultural level
• A strength of reductionism is that it forms the basis of experimental research, shown through the operationalisation of the independent and dependent variable, standardisation and simply conducting experiments at simple levels
• A limitation of reductionism is that it oversimplifies complex phenomena, as if it focuses on biological aspects, it means that the social context of the situation is being ignored
• A limitation of reductionism is that it oversimplifies complex phenomena, as if it focuses on biological aspects, it means that the social context of the situation is being ignored
• An alternative explanation of behaviour is the interactionist approach which combines both reductionism and holism, allowing for combined treatments like for schizophrenia where both family therapy and drug treatments would be used
• An alternative explanation of behaviour is the interactionist approach which combines both reductionism and holism, allowing for combined treatments like for schizophrenia where both family therapy and drug treatments would be used
• Official positions


  Ethical guidelines and codes of conduct that researchers must adhere to
• Official positions


  Ethical guidelines and codes of conduct that researchers must adhere to
• Socially sensitive research


  Research that deals with topics that are controversial or have significant implications for society
• Socially sensitive research


  Research that deals with topics that are controversial or have significant implications for society
• Concerns that researchers should be mindful of when conducting socially sensitive research include the potential for research to be misused or misinterpreted, and the need to protect the privacy and wellbeing of research participants
• Concerns that researchers should be mindful of when conducting socially sensitive research include the potential for research to be misused or misinterpreted, and the need to protect the privacy and wellbeing of research participants
• Research with ethical implications

  • Burt's research into IQ, which was then used to justify the implementation of the 11+ exam
  • Rachel Sach's research, which had an impact on the futures of children
• Research with ethical implications

  • Burt's research into IQ, which was then used to justify the implementation of the 11+ exam
  • Rachel Sach's research, which had an impact on the futures of children
• Conducting socially sensitive research may lead to negative consequences, such as Goddard's (1917) research concluding that 'feeblemindedness' was hereditary, which led to discriminatory practices in the 1920s in the US
• Conducting socially sensitive research may lead to negative consequences, such as Goddard's (1917) research concluding that anyone with a low IQ was "feeble-minded", which led to harmful eugenic policies in the 1920s in the US
• Some socially sensitive research has had a positive impact, such as Loftus & Palmer's (1974) research into how leading questions can influence the accuracy of eyewitness recall, which has made police more aware of this issue
• Although all research goes through an ethics committee which conducts a cost-benefit analysis, it remains very challenging to predict how the findings of a study will affect the public when released