10 mark evaluation - P3

Overall Essay Format:

Min 3 paragraphs, but aim for 4:

1) Named issue

2) 1 para on any issue/debate

3) 1 para on any research method concept

4) Any that you like (given time)

Format for each paragraph:

If issue/debates (wherever you see the word ‘versus/and’):

State

Define

Example of one side of the debate

Pros and cons of that side of the debate

Example of the other side of the debate

Pros and cons of the other side of the debate

If research method concepts:

State

Define

Pros - 3 - each needs to be linked

Cons - 3 - each needs to be linked

10 mark evaluation for clinical psychology: (only to be used as a reference, other issues can be tested)

Diagnostic criteria:

-Psychometric tests

-Case study OR nomothetic vs idiographic

-Individual vs situational

-Cultural bias

Explanations:

-Nature versus nurture

-Individual versus situational

-Reductionism versus holism

-Determinism versus free-will

-Usefulness/practical applications

-Research methods as appropriate: a lot of examples

Treatments:

-Nature versus nurture

-Individual versus situational

-Reductionism versus holism

-Determinism versus free-will

-Usefulness/practical applications (pros and cons of treatments)

-Research methods as appropriate: a lot of examples

RCTs

Psychometrics

Case studies OR nomothetic vs idiographic

Longitudinal studies
ISSUES AND DEBATES:

1) Individual versus situational explanations

a. Individual: unique characteristics explain behaviors.
b. Situational: context/scenario/environment explain behaviors.

ADVANTAGES OF INDIVIDUAL EXP DISADVANTGES OF INDIVIDUAL EXP

Holistic approach Difficult to generalize findings
Develop specific/tailored/customized treatments

ADVANTAGES OF SITUATIONAL EXP DISADVANTGES OF SITUATIONAL EXP

Develop strategies based on Reductionist approach
environmental/situational changes
Establishes cause (situation) and effect (behavior)

2) Nature versus nurture

a. Nature: Behaviors arise because of factors that you are born with (e.g. biology)
b. Nurture: Behaviors arise because of learning from our environment (e.g. environment)
c. Nature and nurture interact with each other making it hard to isolate variables

ADVANTAGES OF NATURE EXP DISADVANTGES OF NATURE EXP

Measure biology in an objective manner Deterministic – can’t control biology -
helplessness
Develop biological treatments Reductionist – biology is not the only factor

ADVANTAGES OF NURTURE EXP DISADVANTGES OF SITUATIONAL EXP

Establishes cause (environment/learning) and Deterministic – can’t control the environment all
effect (behavior) the time - helplessness
Develop behavioral treatments/make changes to Reductionist – learning/environment is not the
the environment and how a person learns only factor

3) Reductionism versus holism

a. Reductionism: Breaking/reducing down complex explanations into simple
factors/ignoring other factors
b. Holism: Taking into account multiple factors that can interact to explain behaviors

ADVANTAGES OF REDUCTIONIST EXP DISADVANTGES OF REDUCTIONIST EXP

Cause and effect Validity is compromised – factors may interact
with each other, leading to completely new
conclusions
Simple to make interpretations
 ADVANTAGES OF HOLISTIC EXP DISADVANTGES OF HOLISTIC EXP
Validity increases– factors may interact with each Cause and effect can be difficult to establish
other, leading to detailed conclusions
Difficult to make interpretations/too complex

4) Determinism versus free-will

a. Determinism: Behaviors arise because of factors that are beyond our control
b. Free-will: Behaviors arise because of factors that are under our control/choice

ADVANTAGES OF DETERMINISTIC EXP DISADVANTGES OF DETERMINISTIC EXP

Removes blame away from people – beneficial in Learned helpless – in the long run
the short run

ADVANTAGES OF FREE-WILL EXP DISADVANTGES OF HOLISTIC EXP

Liberating/giving people hope Blaming people for their own actions

5) Idiographic versus nomothetic

a. Idiographic: focused on individual/unique experiences, detailed subjective data (case
studies)
b. Nomothetic: focused on general/generalizable laws, objective data (experimentation)

ADVANTAGES OF IDIOGRAPHIC EXP DISADVANTGES OF IDIOGRAPHIC EXP

Detailed in-depth data Difficult to generalize findings
Holistic approach to a certain extent Subjective data – problems

ADVANTAGES OF NOMOTHETIC EXP DISADVANTGES OF NOMOTHETIC EXP

Generalizable Reductionist to a certain extent – ignoring
individual differences/uniqueness
Objective data - advantages Lacks subjective/detailed data
SAMPLE PARAGRAPH: Nature versus nurture for explanations (biological) of mood disorders

The nature versus nurture debate can be applied to the biological explanations of
mood disorders. The nature side of the debate states that behaviors arise due to
innate factors that we are born with, whereas the nurture side of the debate states
that behaviors arise due to our learning from the environment. The nature side of
the debate is supported through the study conducted by Oruc on genes and their
influence on mood disorders. Since polymorphisms in females of the serotonin
gene were associated with depression, but not in males, we can say that females
are born susceptible to depression to a certain extent thereby supporting the
nature side of the debate. The advantage of supporting/investigating this side of
the debate is that it could help us in coming up with targeted treatments for mood
disorders by increasing levels of serotonin such as antidepressants. However, the
disadvantage is that mood disorders could also be caused due to learning from the
environment and thus making it difficult for us to distinguish nature from nurture.
The nurture side of the debate can be supported by the fact that females might be
more vulnerable to mood disorders because of triggers in the environment or
gender inequalities in life that they face more often compared to males. Thus,
mood disorders can also be learned. Understanding the nurture side of the debate
can help us to develop appropriate behavioral therapies and help people cope
better with their triggers in order to minimize their levels of mood disorder.
However, nurture and nature both interact with each other making it difficult for
us to separate the explanations for depression into only one factor.