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Reductionism, Nature and Nurture in Psychology
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Reductionism, Nature and Nurture in Psychology
Reductionism, Nature and Nurture in Psychology
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1
Question
How does reductionism limit explanations of social influence?
Page 1
Answer
It reduces social influence to a single variable or formula, overlooking its complexity.
2
Question
How does agency theory explain obedience without reducing it to one variable?
Page 1
Answer
It links obedience to a person's position within a social hierarchy.
3
Question
How does moral strain add complexity to explanations of obedience?
Page 1
Answer
It accounts for a person's inner emotions in response to authority.
4
Question
How does locus of control contribute to individual differences in obedience?
Page 1
Answer
It accounts for individual differences in responses to authority.
5
Question
How does stimulus-response reductionism explain learning?
Page 1
Answer
It reduces learning to stimulus and response, or to reinforcement and punishment.
6
Question
What does a reductionist account of learning overlook about complex behaviour?
Page 1
Answer
It overlooks how people learn complex behaviours and the processes involved.
7
Question
How can isolating variables in aggression research constrain realism?
Page 1
Answer
Operationalising variables requires isolating them, which can reduce realism.
8
Question
Which influences on behaviour does the Bobo doll example leave unaccounted for?
Page 1
Answer
Upbringing and genetic influences.
9
Question
How does the cognitive approach make an account of learning more holistic?
Page 1
Answer
It incorporates mediational processes.
10
Question
How does isolating memory components reflect reductionism in cognitive psychology?
Page 1
Answer
It studies specific variables separately, often in laboratory studies.
11
Question
How does the source contrast the MSM with Tulving's account of long-term memory?
Page 1
Answer
The MSM separates and isolates memory components. Tulving distinguishes episodic and semantic memory but omits procedural memory in the example given.
12
Question
How does the biological approach risk reducing aggression excessively?
Page 1
Answer
It can reduce aggression to genes, DNA, or a single biochemical variable, overlooking social factors such as trauma and abuse.
13
Question
How can social control theory be used by governments in relation to obedience?
Page 2
Answer
Agency theory can be used to train people or soldiers into destructive obedience.
14
Question
How can Sherif's superordinate goals affect relations between competing groups?
Page 2
Answer
They can encourage cooperation between groups.
15
Question
How can operant conditioning be used to shape repeated behaviour in schools?
Page 2
Answer
A token economy can use reinforcement to encourage repeated behaviour.
16
Question
How can social learning theory be used to discourage drinking?
Page 2
Answer
Media role models, such as celebrities, can model behaviour that discourages drinking.
17
Question
How can censorship influence children's behaviour through social learning?
Page 2
Answer
State control of what children watch may limit exposure to violence they could imitate.
18
Question
How does classical conditioning provide a method of government control in the example given?
Page 2
Answer
Aversion therapy through drugs can manipulate behaviour by creating a reflexive response.
19
Question
How can PET scans contribute to biological profiling?
Page 2
Answer
They can identify brain abnormalities, which may then be used in biological profiling.
20
Question
What ethical concern follows from using genetic explanations to predict dangerousness in children?
Page 2
Answer
Children could be labelled as dangerous based on genetic explanations, despite the principle of being innocent until proven guilty.
21
Question
How can biological control interventions affect people with mental health conditions?
Page 2
Answer
Sedatives may be used to alter brain chemistry; inclusion also supports people with addiction or other mental health disorders living in society.
22
Question
How can standardising memory interviews improve their fairness?
Page 2
Answer
Standardised interviews and non-suggestive prompts can reduce bias and support accuracy and fairness.
23
Question
Why might standardised cognitive controls disadvantage some groups?
Page 2
Answer
Memory processes vary between individuals, so uniform procedures may be unfair or ineffective for some groups.
24
Question
How does the social account of obedience support a nurture explanation?
Page 3
Answer
Milgram's obedience situation is described as situation-based, and prejudice is linked to competition in Sherif's robbers example.
25
Question
What does the unaccounted-for group of disobedient participants suggest about obedience?
Page 3
Answer
The 35% who disobeyed were not explained by nurture alone, suggesting an innate difference in resistance.
26
Question
How does an evolutionary account link obedience to group survival?
Page 3
Answer
Obedience may maintain social order and support group survival, including during conflict and war.
27
Question
How does tabula rasa support a nurture explanation of learning?
Page 3
Answer
It presents the mind as a blank slate shaped by environmental conditioning, consequences, and associations.
28
Question
How does the learning account connect reinforcement to behaviour?
Page 3
Answer
Environmental stimuli and rewards shape behaviour, rather than behaviour being wholly innate.
29
Question
How does the cognitive account explain environmental effects on memory?
Page 3
Answer
Rehearsal, schemas, and social or cultural experiences can shape memory storage and retrieval.
30
Question
How does the source contrast environmental effects on memory with the phonological loop?
Page 3
Answer
Environmental experiences can shape memory, while the phonological loop is described as a shared, innate component of short-term memory.