Reductionism Holism. Objective Subjective

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1 Nature Nurture Individual Situational Reductionism Holism Determinism Free Will Objective Subjective Ideographic Nomothetic

2 A spectrum of two concepts. A disagreement about a range of issues. The different positions lead to different approaches.

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4 Obj: To explore the issue of nature versus nurture. Typically inheritance Instinct biologically determined behaviour Abilities common to all human beings Argued by Freud

5 Visual Cliff Gibson and Walk, 1960

6 Obj: To explore the issue of nature versus nurture. Typically taught Things that you have learned/ developed The environment you are brought up in Abilities specific to certain human beings Argued by behaviourists, (Skinner)

7 Social Modelling Bandura, Ross and Ross, 1963

8 Which studies have we already looked at which argue either way? Do they help argue the case for nature or nurture? Evaluate each of these studies. What are their limitations? Are there any ethical concerns?

9 Obj: To explore the issue of nature versus nurture. Do you think personality traits are primarily inherited or influenced by environment? Why do you think nature versus nurture is debated? Do you think it is possible to answer this question definitively? Who might be most interested in resolving the nature versus nurture debate? Based on what you have learned, do you think it is possible to change your personality? If so, how would you go about making changes?

10 Nature The effect of genes. Methods of investigating effect of Nature. Nurture The effect of the environment. Types of environmental influence. Levels of environment. Methods of investigating effect of Nurture.

11 Nature Methods of Investigating Twin Studies Using MZ twins; if they have a high concordance nature must play a part. Adoption studies If the offspring act the same as their biological parents rather than adoptive parents nature must play a part. Largely scientific.

12 Nature Strengths Can be seen in many studies that Nature has a large part. Experiments have influenced useful applications for treatments. Scientifically tested.

13 Nature - Limitations Neglects the role of the environment. Often hard to find twins or adoption studies to relate to the topic of interest.

14 Nurture Types of Environmental Influence External and individual. Post-natal. Acting on a passive individual.

15 Nurture Methods of Investigation Twin studies Using MZ twins reared apart; if there is low concordance nurture may play a large part. Adoption studies If there is a high concordance between adoptive parents and low concordance between biological parents nurture may play a large part.

16 Nurture Strengths Takes the environment into consideration. Has created useful treatments such as behaviour therapy.

17 Nurture - Limitations Neglects the biological impact on behaviour. Often hard to find twins or adoption studies that satisfy the needs of a relevant topic of interest.

18 Nature/Nurture Relating to Topics Biological all behaviour is due to innate forces (Nature). Behaviourist all behaviour is due to environmental forces (Nurture). Gender Batista Boys; hormones overtook upbringing (Nature). Schizophrenia Family and twin studies show high concordance rates (Nature). Child Development Harlow s Monkeys; they attached because of external forces (Nurture).

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21 How have your parents influenced you? Positive or negative! How do you feel in new situations? Joining a new class... School...? You re told to be quiet, how do you react?...to your parents?...to your friends?

22 Environment affecting behaviours Acting due to circumstance as opposed to choice Peer pressure Opportunity Build up of factors

23 Personality and characteristics affecting behaviour Reacting through your own choices and desires Opinions Mental strength

24 Motivation Deci and Ryan Internal vs External Milgram s Social Experiment Freud s Psychodynamic theory

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26 Holism Emphasis on the whole person. Gestalt Psychology. Interactionist Approach. Reductionism Breaking down complex issues into simpler parts Biological Reductionism. Hierarchy of sciences.

27 Human behaviour is complex. It should be looked at as a whole rather than in parts.

28 Gestalt German, meaning whole configuration. The whole of behaviour and experience is more than the sum of its parts. Kohler (1925) demonstrated insight learning in chimpanzee s.

29 Explains human behaviour in terms of links or interactions between different levels of explanations. Takes biological, psychological, social, etc factors into account to build a better understanding.

30 Provides a complete picture. Does not ignore the complexity of behaviour. The person is seen as an entity to be considered in its own right. Seeks to integrate different components in order to understand the person as a whole.

31 Does not lend itself to scientific inquiry and empirical testing. Tends to neglect the importance of biological explanations (specifically the role of genes). More hypothetical than lower-level reductionist explanations and theories - lack the predictive power of a scientific explanation.

32 Complex phenomena can be explained by breaking them down into separate simpler components.

33 Attempts to explain all behaviour in terms of biology. Assumes continuity of behaviour between animals and humans.

34 Less precise, more general sciences at the top. More narrowly focused and precise sciences at the bottom. Watson: There is only one science, Physics: the rest is just social work. Sociology Psychology Biology Chemistry Physics

35 Has brought with it both analytic and scientific ways of attempting to understand and explain behaviour. Scientific investigation allows for empirical investigation. Demonstrates how biology is used to understand and explain behaviour.

36 May lead to an overly simplistic view of behaviour the complexity is missed. Many theories have been developed but no attempt has been made to combine the theories. Some physicists argue it suffers from an infinite regress parts can be reduced endlessly.

37 Abnormal disorders (schizophrenia) in terms of neurotransmitters and genes in terms of socio-cultural explanations (higher level; more holistic) Humanistic perspective The human can only be studied as a whole Crime a criminal gene has long been searched for The background of criminals is often analysed Human relationships (love) Is there a chemical explanation for love?

38 ...two studies in terms of reductionism/ holism Dement and Kleitman Maguire et al. Baron-Cohen, Mortimer and Jolliffe Savage-Rumbaugh et al. Bandura, Ross and Ross

39 HOME What is the protocol for entering a job interview?

40 Do you feel truly free? What factors affect your choices? Are there some behaviours or characteristics you are destined to have?

41 Free Will The ability to make decisions and choose behaviours freely. How is it tested? Determinism All behaviour is caused by prior events. Internal and external. Hard and soft determinism. Biological, psychic and environmental determinism.

42 Dictionary A hypothetical and often reified internal agency that functions independently of externally imposed forces.

43 Cannot meet the rigours of scientific testing due to the lack of an operational definition. Abstract and hypothetical concepts have to be turned into measureable and observable operations.

44 Allows individual differences and the uniqueness of a person. Observable that some people choose to act in a way different to others.

45 Difficult to measure/prove. Difficult to accept an explanation of behaviour if we follow free will. Not scientific. Nearly always there are some sort of forces in making a decision.

46 All behaviour is caused by underlying factors.

47 Internal Determinism Internal causes of behaviour are seen as causes of behaviour. Such as biological factors and mental processes. External Determinism Behaviour occurs because there is a cause in the environment.

48 Hard Determinism Behaviour is caused by events outside one s personal control. Sees free will as an illusion as behaviour is always predictable and therefore determined. Soft Determinism Behaviour is determined or caused by a person s own character, wishes or conscious desires. A compromise free will plays a part but there are always other forces.

49 Includes the controlling role of different parts of the brain, hormonal system and genetics on behaviour. Some studies have indicated a genetic predisposition towards some behaviours.

50 Represented by Freud s psychodynamic theory. Human behaviour, thoughts and feelings are caused by the life and death instincts and by repressed conflicts, wishes and memories in the unconscious mind. Because it is unconscious people believe they are free.

51 Behaviour is caused by factors within the external environment. The power of the situation (as demonstrated by Asch and Milgram) and how social factors can have a strong effect on behaviour. Free will is seen as an illusion.

52 More scientific as it can be measured. Has a compromise for free will and explains why it seems as if it is free will when in reality it is not. Can be applied to many areas of psychology. Helps Psychology be seen as a science as it means all behaviour is predictable and can be controled.

53 Some behaviour is unpredictable and does not follow the conventions/predictions. Takes away individuals choices and uniqueness.

54 If a behaviour can be predicted, was there free will? If someone changes their mind, does that rule out determinism?

55 Children randomly assigned to groups of 4 Each group either given radios or had them removed Then asked to describe themselves, following which others rate them

56 Are some of us destined to behave like our parents? Can we remove free will by priming certain people with specific prompts? Evaluate two previously learnt studies based on free will and determinism!

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58 Falsifiability of paradigms Confirmation bias to be classed as a valid scientific theory it must be falsifiable, using the hypothesis construction method. E.g. psychoanalytic theory is not falsifiable. Hit snooker balls 10 times in the same way... Same thing happens. Poke 10 humans with a stick, get 10 different reactions.

59 Subjective data can have reliability issues Triangulation Blind researcher Objective data can be reductionist Control extraneous variables Gather qualitative data alongside

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61 Idiographic Focus on the individual and recognition of uniqueness. Private, subjective and conscious experiences. Qualitative methods of investigation. Nomothetic Attempts to establish laws and generalisations about people. Three kinds of laws. Objective knowledge through scientific methods. Quantitative methods of investigation.

62 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.

63 Tends to include quantitative data, investigating individuals in a personal and detailed way. Methods of research include: case study, unstructured interviews, self-reports, autobiographies and personal documents.

64 Provides a more complete or global understanding of the individual. Satisfies key aim of science description and understanding of behaviour. Findings can serve as a source of ideas or hypotheses for later study. The focuses mean the individual feels valued and unique.

65 Difficult to generalise from detailed subjective knowledge about one person. Often regarded as non-scientific as subjective experience cannot be empirically tested. Largely neglects biological, especially genetic, influences.

66 Focuses on similarities between people. Attempts to establish laws and generalisations about people. Laws can be categorised into three kinds: classifying people into groups, establishing principles and establishing dimensions.

67 Classifying people into groups: Such as the DSMIV for classifying people with mood disorders. Establishing principles: Such as the behaviourist laws of learning. Establishing dimensions: Such as Eysenck s personality inventory which allows for comparisons between people.

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

69 Regarded as scientific as it is: precise measurement; prediction and control of behaviour; investigations of large groups; objective and controlled methods allowing replication and generalisation. Has helped psychology as a whole become scientific by developing laws and theories which can be empirically tested. Combines biological and social aspects.

70 Predictions can be made about groups but these may not apply to individuals. Approach has been accused of losing sight of the whole person. Gives a superficial understanding people may act the same but for different reasons. Extensive use of controlled laboratory experiments creates a lack of generalisation to everyday life.

71 Both have a role but relative value of each depends on the purpose of the research. Two approaches can be complementary idiographic can further develop a nomothetic law. Both can contribute to scientific approach idiographic suited to description; nomothetic to predictions.

72 Child development Bowlby s maternal deprivation theory (Nomothetic). Memory case studies on how memory is affected by brain damage (Idiographic complemented nomothetic, furthering general laws). Humanistic emphasises individual (Idiographic) Psychodynamic use of case studies (Idiographic).