INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES AREA
Definition:
- Investigates the differences between people, such as Abnormality and Mental Illness
Key assumptions:
- Looks at why people fall out of the ‘normal’ range
- Focuses on why people differ and the reasons for these differences
- Develop an understanding of disorders
Why this area is useful (for what or to whom):
Personality, Intelligence, Psychopathy and Abnormality
Key points for comparison:
- The way research is carried out:
↪ Case studies
↪ Observational studies
↪ Small sample sizes - may be unavoidable for very rare conditions
- Links to debates:
↪ Nature/Nurture
↪ Reductionism/Holism
↪ Determinism/Freewill
↪ Socially-sensitive research
Strengths Weaknesses
Enables psychologists to find out about a With much of the research in this area
wider range of human behaviour being socially-sensitive
↪ because all behaviours, not just average ones are ↪ has the potential to be put to harmful use
studied
Can help to inform freewill/determinism Lacks a set of defining beliefs about why
debate people behave the way they do
↪ suggesting extent to which we have control over our ↪ arguable that there is more disagreement within
behaviour this area than within other areas
, CLASSIC: FREUD - UNDERSTANDING DISORDERS
Link to Key theme:
- Tells us that understanding disorders can be done through an understanding of
unconscious conflicts
Link to Area:
- Investigating a way in which people differ, i .e experiencing phobias
Links to debates:
PSYCHOLOGY AS A SCIENCE:
- - Case studies = always unique ∴ cannot be replicated to see if someone else would get
the same results
- Freud’s interpretations of Hans’ phobias and fantasies were subjective rather than
objective
- Unfalsifiable: Unclear how Freud’s interpretations could be proved wrong
NATURE/NURTURE:
nature & ‘Both disposition and experience can be expected to play a part in anxiety disorders such as
nurture those experienced by Little Hans
↪ Would see phobias as arising from a combination of nature (a child’s ‘constitution’) AND nurture (their
‘accidental experiences’ as they grow up)
REDUCTIONISM/HOLISM:
reductionist He explained Little Hans’ phobias and fantasies in relation to his theory of psychosexual
development
↪ reduced the explanation down to this, and this alone
holistic Way in which research was conducted was relatively holistic
↪ collecting data on Little Hans over a period of approx 2 years in an unstructured way
↪ meant that Little Hans was not restricted in the different aspects of his experience that he could
reveal
USEFULNESS:
useful Freud describes aim of psychoanalysis:
‘To enable the patient to obtain a conscious grasp of his unconscious wishes, replacing the
progression of repression by a temperate and purposeful control on the part of the highest
agencies of the mind’
↪ certainly aims to be of use to those in receipt of it (i.e Little Hans, who seemed to benefit from it)
Definition:
- Investigates the differences between people, such as Abnormality and Mental Illness
Key assumptions:
- Looks at why people fall out of the ‘normal’ range
- Focuses on why people differ and the reasons for these differences
- Develop an understanding of disorders
Why this area is useful (for what or to whom):
Personality, Intelligence, Psychopathy and Abnormality
Key points for comparison:
- The way research is carried out:
↪ Case studies
↪ Observational studies
↪ Small sample sizes - may be unavoidable for very rare conditions
- Links to debates:
↪ Nature/Nurture
↪ Reductionism/Holism
↪ Determinism/Freewill
↪ Socially-sensitive research
Strengths Weaknesses
Enables psychologists to find out about a With much of the research in this area
wider range of human behaviour being socially-sensitive
↪ because all behaviours, not just average ones are ↪ has the potential to be put to harmful use
studied
Can help to inform freewill/determinism Lacks a set of defining beliefs about why
debate people behave the way they do
↪ suggesting extent to which we have control over our ↪ arguable that there is more disagreement within
behaviour this area than within other areas
, CLASSIC: FREUD - UNDERSTANDING DISORDERS
Link to Key theme:
- Tells us that understanding disorders can be done through an understanding of
unconscious conflicts
Link to Area:
- Investigating a way in which people differ, i .e experiencing phobias
Links to debates:
PSYCHOLOGY AS A SCIENCE:
- - Case studies = always unique ∴ cannot be replicated to see if someone else would get
the same results
- Freud’s interpretations of Hans’ phobias and fantasies were subjective rather than
objective
- Unfalsifiable: Unclear how Freud’s interpretations could be proved wrong
NATURE/NURTURE:
nature & ‘Both disposition and experience can be expected to play a part in anxiety disorders such as
nurture those experienced by Little Hans
↪ Would see phobias as arising from a combination of nature (a child’s ‘constitution’) AND nurture (their
‘accidental experiences’ as they grow up)
REDUCTIONISM/HOLISM:
reductionist He explained Little Hans’ phobias and fantasies in relation to his theory of psychosexual
development
↪ reduced the explanation down to this, and this alone
holistic Way in which research was conducted was relatively holistic
↪ collecting data on Little Hans over a period of approx 2 years in an unstructured way
↪ meant that Little Hans was not restricted in the different aspects of his experience that he could
reveal
USEFULNESS:
useful Freud describes aim of psychoanalysis:
‘To enable the patient to obtain a conscious grasp of his unconscious wishes, replacing the
progression of repression by a temperate and purposeful control on the part of the highest
agencies of the mind’
↪ certainly aims to be of use to those in receipt of it (i.e Little Hans, who seemed to benefit from it)
