Issues & Debates in Psychology

What is an Issue? Issues are potential problems with research. These could be to do with the sample, the location, the treatment of Pps… Important issues are: Gender bias Cultural bias Ethics and Socially sensitive research The use of animals in research

What is a Debate? Debates discuss some topic, usually presenting both sides of the argument. Often the reality doesn’t lie at the extremes but somewhere in the middle, i.e. we often end up sitting on the fence! You would usually discuss debates in terms of explanation or theories rather than on a study level. The debates include: Free will versus determinism Reductionism versus holism Nature versus nurture Idiographic versus nomothetic Interactionism is where we see the value of both sides and look at behaviour as a combination of the two. For example deciding that nature (biology) has the first influence and creates a predisposition, but that our nurture (environment and upbringing) can mediate biological influences and affect the likelihood/degree of the behaviour occurring. In reality today, many modern psychologists prefer to take an ‘interactionist’ approach to explain an aspect of behaviour rather than remaining on one side of a debate. What do you think this means?

Debate 1: Determinism vs. Free Will

Debate 1: Free Will vs. Determinism Read the information on p.3 and write down as many possible explanations (on p.4) for the behaviour as possible. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5QG-I9Ced0 (Interesting documentary on this)

What is Determinism ? Determinism sees human behaviour of a product of forces (internal or external) which are beyond the control of the individual. Free will however acknowledges that humans choose their course of action and have control over their behaviour. They are accountable for their actions! Why is it a good thing for Psychology to take a deterministic view of behaviour? Why is it useful for behaviour to be predictable?

Why could Determinism be a good thing? If every behaviour has a cause then it makes human behaviour predictable and suggests a ‘cause’ (IV) and effect (DV) relationship. If we can predict then we can reduce (undesirable behaviour) and we can identify universal causes we can develop treatments for all people

Determinism – When to refer to it? Different forms of determinism you may notice in A2 topics: Hard Soft Biological Environmental Psychic

Hard Determinism No action or behaviour is free, it must occur. Every human action has a cause – possible to identify all causes of behaviour. How do you feel about this?

Soft Determinism Argues people’s behaviour is a direct result of the environment. BUT only to a certain extent. There is an element of free will in all behaviour yet it is limited by outside forces. Behaviour maybe highly constrained by situation or moderately constrained by the situation. more apt for humans who have consciousness and self-awareness

Biological Determinism This is behaviour that is determined by factors inside ourselves. the brain and nervous system via our genes (also known as genetic determinism) This links in with hard determinism as it is completely out of our control Links to Biological Approach

Environmental determinism Determined by factors that are outside of ourselves. e.g. reinforcement But we still cannot control these factors, just mediate them. This links in with soft determinism. Links to behaviourist approach & SLT (less deterministic)

Psychic Determinism Sees all behaviour as determined by unconscious instincts Freud suggested that behaviour had multiple causes and to understand behaviour, we need to identify these causes: E.g. Behaviour is determined by past experiences, particularly childhood experiences with determine adult personality. However some psychoanalysts challenge this extreme deterministic view and suggest that we can return to previous stages and resolve previously un-resolved conflicts.

What is free will ? Most people feel that they possess free will to make a choice between certain behaviours. Fits in with society's view of personal responsibilities. Legal system in this country is based on the idea of holding people accountable for their actions. Free will implies behaviour is random and does not have a cause therefore cannot be predicted. Most people believe they have free will but do they really ?

Nature Vs. Nurture

What is Nature? This suggests that behaviour is innate and a result of genetics/evolution

What is Nurture This is based on empiricism which states that all knowledge comes from or is derived from experience. All human characteristics are a result of social and environmental forces that influence development from birth onwards.

What is Nurture Watson (of little Albert fame) suggested that environmental influences are the most important: “Give me a dozen healthy infants, well-formed and my own specialised world to bring them up in and I’ll guarantee to take any one at random and train him to become any type of specialist I might select – a doctor, lawyer, artist, merchant-chief and yes, even beggar-man and thief, regardless of his talents, penchants, abilities, vocations and race of his ancestors”

Link to Topics: Gender Gender behaviour is open to debate – does it come from nature or nurture?? Read through the famous study (p.8) and answer the questions that follow Really interesting documentary on this case: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LQBcAVghu4 (it’s in 5 parts on YouTube!) Do you think this will work? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D3qFSdErONE

Interactionism – Diathesis-stress Model Genetic predisposition but development triggered by environmental factors

Approaches Summary Nature Nurture Biological explanations Psychodynamic approach Cognitive approach Behaviourism and Social learning Theory Fill in where you think each of the 4 main approaches fit on the continuum above and in your booklet. Each approach challenges each other since they look at human behaviour and experience from quite different perspectives . However, many researchers would agree that they have their own strengths and limitations in terms of how well they explain development as an interactionist view is best

Holism Vs. Reductionism

The Debate To best understand, explain, predict and treat behaviour is it better to look at the ‘sum of all the parts’? Or to look at the parts themselves?

Reductionism Reductionism is the belief that human behaviour can be explained by breaking it down into smaller, simple component parts Applicable mainly with Biological & behaviourist perspectives Q. What component parts might a biological psychologist look at when explaining behaviour? Q. What component parts might a behaviourist psychologist look at when explaining behaviour?

Definitions Reductionism – the approach that we can best understand or explain behaviours and situations by breaking them down to individual, component parts. Holism – when you take everything into account when trying to explain a behaviour or solve a problem. The idea is that you cannot understand a situation by simply looking at the individual components.

Think of the following example: You’ve been inspired by the Great British Bake Off and have just baked a fantastic cake. The problem is, it tastes awful! Why?

Think of the following example: In this example it would make sense to take a reductionist approach to the problem. Was there anything wrong with any of the individual ingredients?

Think of the following example: Yes of course, it was the fact that you used eggs which were off for your cake which made it taste bad! Often, if you take a reductionist approach and are able to identify the cause of the problem you can then rectify (treat) it. In this case, repeat the recipe but with fresh eggs!

Levels of explanation in psychology The idea that there are different ways of viewing the same phenomena- some more reductionist than others. For instance, depression may be understood in a socio-cultural context with relationships with family members being a possible cause, at a psychological level it is the experience of having low mood and maybe crying, at a neurochemical level, as underproduction of serotonin. Which of these provides the ‘best’ explanation of depression is a matter of debate, but each level is more reductionist than the one before.

Arrange the boxes in order from the most holistic (at the top) to the most reductionist (at the bottom) : biology psychology physics sociology chemistry

Holism: formulating explanations of phenomena by considering everything (the whole is greater than the individual parts). Sociology Psychology Biology Chemistry Reductionism: formulating explanations of phenomena by breaking them down into more fundamental units and processes (the whole consists of its parts and the relations between them). Physics

Rose’s five levels of explanation Rose suggested that each level has a valid contribution to make to our understanding of behaviour. The molecular level (physics) The intra-cellular level (chemistry) Parts of individuals (biology) Behaviour of individuals (psychology) Behaviour of groups (sociology) Try to link together each level of explanation to a mental illnesses such as eating disorders to give a holistic explanation.

Types of Reductionism Biological reductionism – based on the idea that we as biological organisms are made up of individual, physiological structures and processes which work together. If we look at these biological factors individually we should be able to explain behaviour. E.g. hormonal or neural explanations of behaviour.

Types of Reductionism Environmental – based on the behaviourist approach that we can explain behaviour in simple terms of stimulus-response. This approach does not consider mental processes (cognitions).

Holism The theory that the parts of any whole cannot exist and cannot be understood except in their relation to the whole.

Holism - Examples Kohler’s suggestion of insight learning is another example of holism. He demonstrated insight learning in chimpanzees: A banana was placed outside the cage out of reach of a hungry chimpanzee. A long stick was placed outside the cage within reach. The chimp worked out how to reach the banana through insight learning. This is when all the parts are seen in relationship to each other (the stick, the arm, the movements needed to reach the banana). A similar experiment by the BBC can be viewed here. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00nlw0g

Idiographic Vs Nomothetic

Idiographic Vs Nomothetic ‘Ideos’ is Greek for private. Focus on the individual and recognition of uniqueness. Private, subjective and conscious experiences. Investigations gain written information unique to individual being studied. This is a holistic approach. Nomothetic ‘Nomos’ is Greek for ‘laws’ Attempts to establish laws & generalisations about people. Objective knowledge through scientific methods. Investigations gain numerical data or data that can be categorised.

Idiographic Suggests everyone is unique and therefore every one should be studied in an individual way. No general laws are possible because of chance, free will and the uniqueness of individuals.

Nomothetic Focuses on similarities between people. Attempts to establish laws which act as a benchmark by which to compare others to. Seeks to make generalisations about people.

Nomothetic Uses scientific and quantitative data. Usually uses experiments and observations. Group averages are statistically analysed to create predictions about people in general.

What are ‘Issues’ in psychology? Gender bias Cultural bias The use of animals in research Ethical issues & Socially Sensitive research

Ethics Ethics refers to a set of moral principles that guide human behaviour In psychology this is a set of principles that guide how research is carried out The British Psychological Society (BPS) have produced a set of ethical guidelines

Why do we need ethical guidelines? Ensure that the participants are not harmed in any way, either physically or mentally. So that the subject can continue with research on people (and animals) and so that people will continue to take part in much needed studies. Psychologists can go to jail if they do not follow the guidelines! At least thrown out of the profession (BPS credit withdrawn)

Ethical Issues… D - Deception R – Right to withdraw D - Distress R – Right to privacy/confidentiality I – Informed consent P – Protection from (psychological/physical) harm

Cost/Benefit analysis (do the ends justify the means?) MEANS = Costs ENDS = Benefits Harm to the participants as a consequence of the research, such as distress, ridicule, or loss of self-esteem must be balanced against the ends. The value of the research to society must be balanced against the costs to the participants.  

Read the proposals on p.16 of your booklets and decide if what is being proposed is within the ethical guidelines and make suggestions to improve on the research in ethical terms.

CULTURAL BIAS IN PSYCHOLOGY

So, what do we mean by culture? Groups of people that may differ in terms of their norms, behaviours, practices, language, values, beliefs, ethnic background, language, location etc. Their life experience and behaviours may be very different to each other. 2 main forms of cultures in the world: Collectivist Individualist Can you define these in terms of what social behaviour is like in these different cultures?

Individualistic Collectivist This means placing emphasis on the self and ones own motivations and goals. Reliance on others is viewed as a weakness and undesirable. Personal needs are always considered first in such culture. Collectivist Valuing the groups needs over the individuals. Interdependence is favoured over autonomy and the desires of the individual are less important than the ties between collective units such as the family or the community.

What is Cultural Bias? The act of interpreting and judging behaviour and psychological characteristics of one culture by comparing them to the standards of your own. Culture bias happens when theories are tested on only one culture but then applied to the whole world.

Types of Cultural Bias Ethnocentrism: The view that our own culture should be the basis for judgements of other groups. The views, beliefs and cultures of our own group are “normal” or superior, and those of other group are “strange”. Eurocentrism: a form of ethnocentrism where the emphasis is on Western (European or American) values

GENDER BIAS

What is “Gender bias”? This is the differential treatment or representation of men and women based on stereotypes rather than real differences OR where a theory is developed only with male Participants and then wrongly applied to both genders This bias can exist in the construction of theories or the research process itself. The bias can take a number of forms, for example by over emphasising or underemphasising the differences between genders. Most often the bias is against females, favouring males.

Androcentric/Gynocentric bias Androcentric/ism This suggests that males are the power in society. Androcentric samples are male only Sometimes this means that women specific behaviour is seen as abnormal! – for example, PMS is seen as a condition to be treated instead of a normal factor of women’s behaviour. Gynocentric/ism Opposite to Androcentric - Samples are female only Rarely happens as Psychology is male dominated!

Socially Sensitive Research

Socially Sensitive Research Topics that are private, stressful or sacred Potential for exposure of incriminating or stigmatising info Asking research questions that may give ‘scientific credibility’ to the prejudice surrounding them ‘e.g. is homosexuality inherited’ Key word is ‘POTENTIAL’ – you don’t have to actually cause harm for something to be classed as SSR!

Socially Sensitive Research People potentially affected include: The Pps themselves (beyond the study) People close to them (e.g. family, friends, colleagues) The social group from which they were drawn (e.g. ethnic, cultural, sexual) The researchers & their institution

Views on SSR? We should study socially sensitive areas, as these tend to be the socially important issues. We should invest time and effort to understand the people and the context of the behaviours and serve those we wish to study. We need studies that highlight race and gender variables so that we know how to help underrepresented people succeed, we can’t just ignore differences. Psychologists have an obligation to their participants who won’t want to see negative data published about their social group BUT they also have an obligation to scientific progress, which should contribute to the eventual understanding and improvement of social and personal problems.

Socially Sensitive Research Studies in which there are potential social consequences or implications, either directly for the participants involved in the research or the group of society represented by the research Read through the studies and indicate why they might be described as socially sensitive and which groups of people are going to be affected by the research

The Use of Animals in Research

Use of Animals In Psychological Research Rightly or wrongly animals are still often the first step of clinical trials and general psychological research. It is a hugely controversial topic, but you must try not to become emotionally influenced on their use, stick to the two main issues: Practicality/ convenience Moral/ethical

Use of Animals In Psychological Research Practicality/ convenience  Animals can be bred in captivity for the purpose of research.  They are easier to train than humans (less intelligent?)  Animals have shorter life cycles and so (relative) long-term consequences of something can be studied. If you believe in the evolutionary continuum then studying animals will tell us about humans. You’re allowed to do more things to animals

Use of Animals In Psychological Research Practicality/ convenience Animals are not (physiologically or psychologically) the same as humans, so can we really generalise (the answer to this is no!!!

Use of Animals In Psychological Research Moral/ethical It could be argued that it is more ethical to carry out research on animals than it would be to do it on humans. A little bit of suffering (of animals) is worth it in the long run if it aids our species (utilitarian view point).

Use of Animals In Psychological Research Moral/ethical Its wrong to cause any living being harm for the sake of an experiment. Who are we to decide which species is more important than another (‘speciesism’)?

Animal Research https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xuvRhdaOiDc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0toyU4o3GcE Interesting documentary (in 2 parts)