Flashcards: Psychology: Approaches, Issues, and Debates

this is based on the notion that the ends cannot justify the means; some acts are

the approach adopted by members of ethnic groups, involving decisions about

the extent to which a behaviour increases the reproductive potential of an individual and

the tendency to exaggerate differences between the sexes.

a bias in favour of males. An androcentric theory is based on research data on males

the tendency to minimise differences between the sexes.

a culture where individuals share tasks, belongings, and income. The people may live in large

if one twin has a disorder or condition, the likelihood that the other twin also has it.

the view that all behaviour can be explained in terms of stimulus–response links.

an approach in which different cultures are studied and compared.

the rules, morals, and methods of interactions specific to a group of people.

using a series of emic studies to build up a picture of a particular culture.

the view that all behaviour is caused by factors other than one’s own will.

the notion that psychological disorders occur when there is a genetically

any approach in psychology that draws on many different perspectives.

those that vary from one culture to another.

the view that all behaviour is the consequence of experience. The extreme “nurture” side of

the period in human evolution during which our genes

the view that all behaviour can be explained solely in terms of the effects of

the view that all behaviour can be explained solely in terms of the effects of

attempting to understand how the natural environment influences our

the view that essentially any response can be conditioned to any stimulus.

cultural groups (e.g., those defined by race or religion) living within a larger society.

making comparisons between cultures with a view to learning more about a

those who undertake the biological study of animal behaviour, seeking to determine the

universal factors that hold across cultures.

the notion that scientific theories can potentially be disproved by evidence; it is the hallmark

the notion that we are free to make decisions.

a mistake that betrays the concerns of the unconscious mind.

a unit of inheritance that forms part of a chromosome. Some characteristics are determined by one

the view that animal behaviour is caused by genetic influences; this view underpins

the notion that some behaviour is not adaptive because genetic changes over thousands of

an individual’s genetic potential.

the view that all behaviour is determined and is highly constrained by the current

the proportion of the variance within a population in some characteristic (e.g., height) that is

the notion that heterosexuality is more natural than, and preferable to, homosexuality.

chemical substances produced by endocrine glands, and circulated in the blood. They only

an approach that emphasises the uniqueness of the individual.

the typical laboratory situation in which the experimenter’s behaviour is

the use of a technique developed in one culture to study another culture.

a culture that emphasises individuality, individual needs, and independence.

examination and observation of one’s own mental processes.

the view that the process of natural selection functions at the level of an individual’s genes

the view that all people, e.g., gays, lesbians, and heterosexuals, are equal and the ways

explaining behaviour by analogy with rather simpler machine systems.

the view that all psychological perspectives use some behaviourist

designing a study on the effects of gender in a biased way so as to maximise

environments created by individuals through their own behaviour and physical

genetic changes that can then be inherited by any offspring.

the view that people’s characteristics are inherited.

the process by which certain traits (and the associated genes) are perpetuated because of

the question of whether behaviour is determined by inherited factors or by

an extension of behaviourism to allow for some cognitive factors, e.g., Bandura’s

chemical substances that are released at the junction between neurons (a synapse) and

the observable characteristics of an individual, resulting from the interaction between genes

the view that behaviour is determined by internal, bodily systems.

explanations of complex behaviours in terms of simpler physiological

concerning the study of living organisms and their body parts.

a type of learning devised by Skinner and based on operant conditioning, in which

the view that adult behaviour or personality is predetermined by events in early

the view that all behaviour is learned. Skinner was a radical behaviourist.

Gottesman’s solution to the nature–nurture debate in which genetic make-up (genotype)

Bandura’s concept that what one learns is affected by one’s characteristics

the notion that psychology can ultimately be reduced to more basic sciences such as

this is based on the notion that the acceptability of any act depends in part on the

organised packets of information stored in long-term memory.

sets of schemas that guide people when performing commonplace activities, such as going to a

psychological theorists who assume that our knowledge of ourselves and of others

the theory that behaviour can be explained in terms of both direct and indirect

the notion that we should distinguish between behaviour that is very constrained by the

discrimination and exploitation based on differences between species.

the extremely small gaps between adjacent neurons.

if a woman has, e.g., a poor diet during pregnancy, her foetus suffers and may be

the concept in social learning theory that reinforcement can be received