Unit 4: Clinical Psychology
4.4: Issues & debates
The contribution of Psychology to
society
From the 5 AS approaches and one A2
application (Clinical)
Social …
• Understanding prejudice …
• Tajfel – Social Identity Theory (‘ingroups’ and ‘out-groups’)
• Sherif – Realistic Conflict Theory
• Contribution – reduction of
prejudice
Evaluation …
• Strengths: both studies used the experimental method
– replicable, control of variables (reliable)
• Sherif’s study also supports Tajfel’s claims about how
people categorise themselves as members of the in or
out group before any competition exists
• Limitations: focussing on one aspect of prejudice (being
in a group) in a tightly controlled situation (experiment)
is reductionist and may not be able to fully explain how
prejudice and discrimination operate in society
• Because of this, these studies may lack external validity
(may not reflect ‘real-life’ group situations)
• For more information, see pages 294-5 in your textbook
Learning …
• Pavlov – classical conditioning →
systematic desensitisation
Contribution: treatment for phobias
Evaluation …
• Strengths: there is evidence that systematic (SD)
desensitisation is effective in treating the fear of flying
(Capafons, 1998)
• Ethical – the individual has a certain amount of control
during the therapeutic process
• Limitations: The theory of classical conditioning is based
mainly on animal studies – can the findings be
extrapolated to humans?
• Although useful for treating phobias, SD not likely to be
an effective treatment for psychoses* (e.g.
schizophrenia)
• For more information, see pages 302-3 in your textbook
Cognitive …
• Loftus & Palmer (1974), Yuille & Cutshall
(1986), Yarmey (2004) - eyewitness memory
• Contribution: a change in how questions are
asked in court, and a re-consideration of the
reliability of eyewitness testimony as
evidence
Evaluation …
• Strengths: much of eyewitness research is experimental replicable, control of variables (reliable)
• Although it has taken quite a while, this research has been
applied within the UK legal system; it is accepted as valid,
reliable and objective
• Limitations: the findings of Yuille & Cutshall’s research with
real witnesses to a robbery challenged Loftus & Palmer’s
findings; this casts doubts on the validity of the latter
• Ethics – asking participants to recall a potentially traumatic
event may cause them psychological harm
• For further information, see page 297 in your textbook
Psychodynamic …
• Yes, it HAS contributed something
(supposedly!!)
• Psychoanalytic therapy – revealing
the contents of the id using dream
analysis and/or free association
Evaluation …
• Strengths: this is a holistic therapy (focusses on the
whole person), rather than just one aspect
• There is evidence to support the efficacy of this
therapy with certain individuals (Bachrach et al.,
1991)
• Limitations: lack of empirical evidence – we cannot
directly observe things such as the id, ego,
superego; they are not scientifically measurable
• Therapy is expensive, time-consuming; the
individual has very little (if any) control over the
therapeutic process (ethical?)
Biological …
• Chromosomes and sex assignment
• Male/female chromosome patterns - XX –
female, XY – male
• Contribution to society:
• Research has identified other patterns • XXY – Klinefelter’s syndrome in boys, XO –
Turner’s syndrome in girls
• This research has led to the development of
hormone treatments for these conditions
Evaluation …
• Strengths: Empirical evidence (genes and
hormones); scientific, objective and reliable
research findings
• Predictive validity – gene structure predicts
development, development types show related
gene structure
• Limitations: Ignores the role of nurture, or the
interaction of nature and nurture in gender
development
• Much of the research has been conducted with
animals – extrapolation?
• *The difference between psychoses and neuroses:
• Psychosis is a loss of contact with reality, usually including
false beliefs about what is taking place or who one is
(delusions) and seeing or hearing things that aren't there
(hallucinations)
• Neurosis is a relatively mild mental illness that is not caused
by organic disease, involving symptoms of stress
(depression, anxiety, obsessive behaviour, hypochondria)
but not a radical loss of touch with reality
A contribution from Clinical Psychology …
• The diagnosis and treatment of mental illnesses
• The system that is most widely used for
diagnosis is the DSM-IV-TR
• Reliability and validity of diagnoses • Studies by Hoffman (2002), Lee (2006) and KimCohen et al. (2005) offer support for the validity
of DSM diagnoses; however …
• The DSM is written and published in the US –
what about other cultures? (Ethnocentrism)