Issues and Debates
Ethical Implications of Research
SIEBER AND STANLEY
Social sensitivity = studies where there are potential social consequences for the participants or the
group of people represented by the research.
Identified four aspects in the scientific research process that raise ethical implications in socially
sensitive research:
● The research question - the researcher must consider their research question as it may be
damaging to members of a particular group
● The methodology used - the researcher needs to consider the treatment of the participants
and their right to confidentiality and anonymity
● The institutional context - the researcher should be mindful of how the data is going to be
used and consider who is funding the research
● Interpretation and application of findings - the researcher needs to consider how their findings
might be interpreted and applied in the real-world
ETHICS IN PSYCHOLOGY
Informed consent
Deception
Debrief
Right to withdraw
Anonymity and confidentiality
Protection from harm
Free Will and Determinism
FREE WILL
When we have full choice over our actions and behaviour without influence or manipulation
Behaviour is a result of what we genuinely want to do and not the cause of something in the internal
or external environment
EVALUATION
➔ Actual free will is difficult to test
➔ Emphasises the importance of the individual and studying individual differences
➔ Free will is subjective and some people argue it does not exist
➔ It is impossible to scientifically test
DETERMINISM
When our behaviour is controlled by external and internal factors and we have little to no control over
our behaviour
● Hard determinism - behaviour is completely determined by factors outside of their control
● Soft determinism - behaviour is generally predetermined by factors outside their control but
they have the option to exercise free will in certain situations
● Biological determinism - behaviour is the result of the internal processes within the body, such
as genetics, brain physiology and biochemistry
● Environmental determinism - behaviour is caused by our physical environment
● Psychic determinism - behaviour is caused or determined by our unconscious mind
EVALUATION
➔ Scientific so allows cause and effect relationships to be established
➔ Provides plausible explanations for behaviour
, ➔ May be socially sensitive
➔ Does not account for individual differences
SCIENTIFIC EMPHASIS ON CAUSAL EXPLANATIONS
Science is heavily deterministic in its search for causal relationships (explanations) as it seeks to
discover whether X causes Y, or whether the independent variable causes changes in the dependent
variable.
Idiographic and Nomothetic
IDIOGRAPHIC RESEARCH
Everyone is unique and people should be studied in individual ways
No general laws are possible due to chance, free will and uniqueness
Private, subjective and conscious experiences.
Investigations gain written information unique to individual being studied
Interviews, case studies
EVALUATION
➔ Provides a more complete understanding of the individual.
➔ Satisfies a key aim of science – description and understanding of behaviour.
➔ Difficult to generalise from detailed subjective knowledge about one person.
➔ Often regarded as non-scientific as subjective experience cannot be empirically tested and
lacks reliability
NOMOTHETIC RESEARCH
Focuses on similarities between people.
Attempts to establish laws and generalisations about people.
Uses scientific and quantitative data.
Usually uses experiments and observations.
Group averages are statistically analysed to create predictions about people in general.
General laws about human behaviour:
● Classifying people into groups
● Establishing principles of behaviour
● Establishing dimensions on which people can be placed and compared on
EVALUATION
➔ Regarded as scientific (objective and controlled methods)
➔ Helped Psychology become scientific by developing laws and theories which can be
empirically tested
➔ Predictions can be made about groups but these may not apply to individuals.
➔ Extensive use of controlled laboratory experiments creates a lack of generalisation to
everyday life.
Nature and Nurture
KEY TERMS
Nature - refers to genes and hereditary factors that influence who we are
Nurture - refers to the environmental variables that impact who we are
Reductionism and Holism
REDUCTIONISM
Reductionism is when a complex behaviour is reduced down to single variable causes. The more
reductionist, the more scientific.
, HOLISM
This argues that behaviour should be viewed as complex and viewed as a whole not as separate
parts so complex explanations can be considered together.
REDUCTIONISM VS HOLISM
Reductionist (simplistic) level of explanation to a more holistic (complex) level of explanation of
behaviour.
REDUCTIONISM VS HOLISM LEVELS
Cultural Holistic
Socio-political |
Subcultural |
Social cognition |
Social groups, family e.t.c. |
Interpersonal interaction |
Cognition & emotion | Blue = Psychological
Learned associations |
Genetics (biological) |
Physiology (biological) |
Cellular biology (biological) |
Biochemistry (biological) |
Quantum physics Reductionist
THE PRINCIPLE OF PARSIMONY
This was the idea, suggested by Morgan (1903), that there was no need to explain behaviour in terms
of complex processes and that explanations should be as simple as possible and stay within the
evidence in the field of investigation.
The explanations that can be regarded as reductionist are:
1. Biological reductionism
2. Environmental (S-R) reductionism
3. Mechanical reductionism (anything with a model, eg. the working memory model and the
multi-store model).
BIOLOGICAL REDUCTIONISM
Biological reductionism is explaining human behaviour by using biological systems such as genetics,
physiology of the body & brain, or biochemistry.
Biological reductionism, in terms of the levels of explanation, it is the most reductionist that
psychology can be.
The four most reductionist levels on the levels of explanation are biological levels.
BIOLOGICAL REDUCTIONISM EVALUATION
It is more precise & simple explanation, which is great deal more scientific than the ones at the higher
and more general levels of explanations
This type of explanation is more easily and effectively tested.
There are practical applications of viewing biological factors as explaining human behaviour, is that
this can lead to appropriate treatments if required
Too simple, so too limiting and inadequate for describing the complexities of human behaviour.
BIOLOGICAL REDUCTIONISM PEEL
One strength of biological reductionism is that it could be seen as a scientific approach to research.
For example, the dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia involves clearly seeing the effect of excess
dopamine receptors on the potential onset of schizophrenia. This molecular observation is falsifiable
Ethical Implications of Research
SIEBER AND STANLEY
Social sensitivity = studies where there are potential social consequences for the participants or the
group of people represented by the research.
Identified four aspects in the scientific research process that raise ethical implications in socially
sensitive research:
● The research question - the researcher must consider their research question as it may be
damaging to members of a particular group
● The methodology used - the researcher needs to consider the treatment of the participants
and their right to confidentiality and anonymity
● The institutional context - the researcher should be mindful of how the data is going to be
used and consider who is funding the research
● Interpretation and application of findings - the researcher needs to consider how their findings
might be interpreted and applied in the real-world
ETHICS IN PSYCHOLOGY
Informed consent
Deception
Debrief
Right to withdraw
Anonymity and confidentiality
Protection from harm
Free Will and Determinism
FREE WILL
When we have full choice over our actions and behaviour without influence or manipulation
Behaviour is a result of what we genuinely want to do and not the cause of something in the internal
or external environment
EVALUATION
➔ Actual free will is difficult to test
➔ Emphasises the importance of the individual and studying individual differences
➔ Free will is subjective and some people argue it does not exist
➔ It is impossible to scientifically test
DETERMINISM
When our behaviour is controlled by external and internal factors and we have little to no control over
our behaviour
● Hard determinism - behaviour is completely determined by factors outside of their control
● Soft determinism - behaviour is generally predetermined by factors outside their control but
they have the option to exercise free will in certain situations
● Biological determinism - behaviour is the result of the internal processes within the body, such
as genetics, brain physiology and biochemistry
● Environmental determinism - behaviour is caused by our physical environment
● Psychic determinism - behaviour is caused or determined by our unconscious mind
EVALUATION
➔ Scientific so allows cause and effect relationships to be established
➔ Provides plausible explanations for behaviour
, ➔ May be socially sensitive
➔ Does not account for individual differences
SCIENTIFIC EMPHASIS ON CAUSAL EXPLANATIONS
Science is heavily deterministic in its search for causal relationships (explanations) as it seeks to
discover whether X causes Y, or whether the independent variable causes changes in the dependent
variable.
Idiographic and Nomothetic
IDIOGRAPHIC RESEARCH
Everyone is unique and people should be studied in individual ways
No general laws are possible due to chance, free will and uniqueness
Private, subjective and conscious experiences.
Investigations gain written information unique to individual being studied
Interviews, case studies
EVALUATION
➔ Provides a more complete understanding of the individual.
➔ Satisfies a key aim of science – description and understanding of behaviour.
➔ Difficult to generalise from detailed subjective knowledge about one person.
➔ Often regarded as non-scientific as subjective experience cannot be empirically tested and
lacks reliability
NOMOTHETIC RESEARCH
Focuses on similarities between people.
Attempts to establish laws and generalisations about people.
Uses scientific and quantitative data.
Usually uses experiments and observations.
Group averages are statistically analysed to create predictions about people in general.
General laws about human behaviour:
● Classifying people into groups
● Establishing principles of behaviour
● Establishing dimensions on which people can be placed and compared on
EVALUATION
➔ Regarded as scientific (objective and controlled methods)
➔ Helped Psychology become scientific by developing laws and theories which can be
empirically tested
➔ Predictions can be made about groups but these may not apply to individuals.
➔ Extensive use of controlled laboratory experiments creates a lack of generalisation to
everyday life.
Nature and Nurture
KEY TERMS
Nature - refers to genes and hereditary factors that influence who we are
Nurture - refers to the environmental variables that impact who we are
Reductionism and Holism
REDUCTIONISM
Reductionism is when a complex behaviour is reduced down to single variable causes. The more
reductionist, the more scientific.
, HOLISM
This argues that behaviour should be viewed as complex and viewed as a whole not as separate
parts so complex explanations can be considered together.
REDUCTIONISM VS HOLISM
Reductionist (simplistic) level of explanation to a more holistic (complex) level of explanation of
behaviour.
REDUCTIONISM VS HOLISM LEVELS
Cultural Holistic
Socio-political |
Subcultural |
Social cognition |
Social groups, family e.t.c. |
Interpersonal interaction |
Cognition & emotion | Blue = Psychological
Learned associations |
Genetics (biological) |
Physiology (biological) |
Cellular biology (biological) |
Biochemistry (biological) |
Quantum physics Reductionist
THE PRINCIPLE OF PARSIMONY
This was the idea, suggested by Morgan (1903), that there was no need to explain behaviour in terms
of complex processes and that explanations should be as simple as possible and stay within the
evidence in the field of investigation.
The explanations that can be regarded as reductionist are:
1. Biological reductionism
2. Environmental (S-R) reductionism
3. Mechanical reductionism (anything with a model, eg. the working memory model and the
multi-store model).
BIOLOGICAL REDUCTIONISM
Biological reductionism is explaining human behaviour by using biological systems such as genetics,
physiology of the body & brain, or biochemistry.
Biological reductionism, in terms of the levels of explanation, it is the most reductionist that
psychology can be.
The four most reductionist levels on the levels of explanation are biological levels.
BIOLOGICAL REDUCTIONISM EVALUATION
It is more precise & simple explanation, which is great deal more scientific than the ones at the higher
and more general levels of explanations
This type of explanation is more easily and effectively tested.
There are practical applications of viewing biological factors as explaining human behaviour, is that
this can lead to appropriate treatments if required
Too simple, so too limiting and inadequate for describing the complexities of human behaviour.
BIOLOGICAL REDUCTIONISM PEEL
One strength of biological reductionism is that it could be seen as a scientific approach to research.
For example, the dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia involves clearly seeing the effect of excess
dopamine receptors on the potential onset of schizophrenia. This molecular observation is falsifiable
