Loftus and Palmer
Psychology Objective - Examine the ethical issues in the study by Loftus and Palmer. To debate on the ethical issues in this study. Task 1- Pick any two ethical issues and discuss them. Give examples for each. Task 2- Outline any ethical issues found in the study conducted by Loftus and Palmer. Task 1- Right to Withdraw Right to withdraw means that the participant may choose to leave or "withdraw" from the experiment at any given point of time. It is entirely their choice and they must not be forced into completing the experiment. The participants' reason to withdraw may vary from personal family emergency to objecting to what the experiment is testing. For example: There is an experiment conducted which is taking place. Jane has decided to volunteer for it. This experiment is testing the effect that caffeine has on the brain. Halfway through the experiment Jane feels drowsy and asks to leave. Jane reserves the "right to withdraw" and is therefore allowed to leave. Sophie signs up at a local university as a volunteer for a psychological experiment. However, the next day she discovers the experiment is being held in a different city. She has no available transport and has the "right to withdraw" therefore she takes her name off the list. Equitable Treatment- Equitable treatment is when all participants who take part in the experiment are treated equally.
In this essay I will evaluate and explain the Social Learning Theory (SLT), which explains aggressiveness from a behaviourism point of view. The opposite point of view is the biological point of view; they believe that aggressiveness stems from genetic ma
In this essay I will evaluate and explain the Social Learning Theory (SLT), which explains aggressiveness from a behaviourism point of view. The opposite point of view is the biological point of view; they believe that aggressiveness stems from genetic make-up. Together these two views can be seen as the nature and nurture debate; according to social psychologists aggression is learnt (nurture), from the view of the biological psychologists they believe aggression is innate (nature). Bandura and Walters's believed that aggression is learnt through indirect and direct reinforcement; however they did not dismiss the biological views on aggression and said that the behaviourist approach looks at how and when we aggress. The social learning theory has many research study's, the most popular being Bandura's study with the bobo doll. Bandura has children observing a model who interacted with the bobo doll, either aggressively or non-aggressively. The children were then 'frustrated' by taken to another room filled with toys, but they were told it was an error and had to leave. The children were then left alone with the doll whilst Bandura observed their behaviour. Bandura found that children who had observed the aggressive model would be aggressive towards the doll, and the children who watched the non-aggressive model either played with the doll in a non-aggressive manner or
Freud's theory of psycho-sexual development
According to Freud, sexual drive, along with aggression, is the central factor in determining the personalities of human beings and the main driving force that gives reason to, and influences what we do and who we become. He asserts that if each psycho- sexual-oral, anal, phallic, latency and genital - stage is not resolved, fixation at that particular stage, and thereafter personality and behavioural problems might occur in latter life. More importantly, infantile sexuality, which encompasses the first three stages, is said to play an imperative role in the shaping the personalities of adults. Freud believes that while boys and girls would progress similarly during the earlier oral and anal stages, it is at the phallic stage where complications in undergoing a two-fold change in sexual object and leading sexual organ might make it more difficult for girls to progress through this stage, if at all. His work experiences dealing with neurotic women has also led him to proclaim that, "Now will you have escaped worrying over this problem - those of you of are men; to those of you who are women this will not apply - you are yourselves the problem".1 He believes that women's constant need for attention and attention from their parents -and in later life, their husbands- leads them to have illnesses, which "are the result of intentions"2, albeit unconsciously. His cure for such
Learning Theory of attachment
An attachment is a close emotional bond with another person, a close fondness or love for that person and a desire to spend time with that person. One prominent theory of attachment in the study of human attachment is the learning theory, put forward by behavioural psychologists such as Ivan Pavlov. Learning theory and the psychodynamic approach are called the 'cupboard love' theories of attachment in psychology. The basic principle of the learning theory is that all behaviour is learned as a result of either classical or operant conditioning. Classical conditioning, developed by Ivan Pavlov, suggests that there is always an innate reflex to an external stimulus. Pavlov studied classical conditioning in dogs by carrying out an experiment where a bell was sounded in the presence of dogs just before food was presented. This was done so that the dogs would associate the sound of the bell with the presentation of food. After this had been carried out several times, the dogs began to salivate in response to the bell alone, suggesting that classical conditioning had taken place. This theory can be applied to humans as the person providing the food for a baby or infant becomes associated with food in the same way that Pavlov's dogs associated the sound of the bell with food. Also, the stimulus of food produces a pleasurable response of the infant, because its needs are
The Psychodynamic Perspective.
The Psychodynamic Perspective. One of the key beliefs of the psychodynamic approach is that our adult personality and behaviour are determined by our childhood experiences. Sigmund Freud chiefly initiated this approach. Although Freud continually revised many of his theories, three of them remained constant. These were; firstly, that a vast majority (about 6/7) of the mind is unconscious and contains our instincts, drives and repressed memories. The only ways to discover the contents of the unconscious mind are dream analysis, word association and hypnosis. Secondly, that the mind is made up of three parts, the ID, the EGO and the SUPEREGO. The ID works on the pleasure principle. It contains the psychic energy of all our drives, instincts and repressed memories; it requires immediate satisfaction without any regard for reality. It was referred to by Freud as, 'a cauldron of seething excitations' (cited in Hill 2001, pg 73). The EGO works on the reality principle. It aims to fulfil the ID's desires whilst keeping them in line with what is possible in the real world. The SUPEREGO pressures the EGO to keep the ID in line with moral ideology. It sets ideals and consists of the conscience, which makes us feel things such as pride and guilt. To enable the EGO to deal with the demands of the ID and SUPEREGO, it uses a number of defence mechanisms. Some of these are
What is Free Will?
What is free will? To have free will we must be able to choose our behaviour- it is not determined by either the environment or our genetic inheritance or some form of soft determinism such as the Cognitive Perspective in Psychology would argue. Behaviourist argue that we do NOT have free will because our behaviour is determined by the environment, current or previous environmental experiences which will determine how we behave- we do not have a choice. To illustrate the behaviourist ideas we can consider the work or studies of firstly Pavlov. Pavlov showed how reflex behaviours could be conditioned by various neutral stimuli to become associated with an unconditioned stimulus to evoke a conditioned response such as salivation. This work was further supported by Watson's study on Little Albert which showed that humans could be conditioned to fear a previously 'un-scary' object which as a white rat. This study showed that Albert did not have free will, he was conditioned by the environment to fear the rat i.e. His behaviour was determined by the environment. However, often researchers such as Minoke found that it is easier to condition a fear in animals of snakes rather than flowers or guns... but this behaviour is still not free will rather it is genetic or biologically determined behaviour. In contrast to classical conditioning which appears to refute the idea of free
Discuss one or more theories of Moral Understanding and evaluate its conclusions.
Discuss one or more theories of the development of moral understanding and evaluate its conclusions. The term morality, according to Shaffer (1993) means "a set of principles or ideals that help the individual to distinguish right from wrong and to act on this distinction. Morality is important to society, as it would not function effectively unless there is some agreement of what is right and wrong. There are many underlying processes and environmental factors, which limit or promote social, cognitive and moral development in children. In modern society, television could be considered to be one of the major influences on a child's moral development. There are three approaches to moral development; the cognitive approach, the psychodynamic approach and the social learning theory. The Cognitive-Developmental approach of Piaget and Kohlberg studies how children become more able to reason morally and make moral judgements, whereas the Freud's psychodynamic approach is more concerned with the development of the conscience and moral feelings such as guilt and anxiety. The social learning theory of Bandura and Mischel investigates the development of moral behaviour and how role models in the family, society and the media, influence it. The theory I am going to discuss is Piaget's Cognitive-Developmental Approach. His theory of moral development is concerned with how
Findings of the Obedience Studies
Consider whether the Findings of the Obedience Studies, of Milgram, Hofling and Zimbardo justify the Methods used to obtain them? Obedience is the act of obeying orders from others in the form of dutiful or submissive behaviour. We often don't notice how much of an influence people have on our behaviour, and there are many different factors which affect the way we act. For example, the people we are with, the level of authority that they may have compared to us, the setting, the situation and quite obviously our personality type. People obey authority for a number of reasons, such as to avoid punishment, for a reward or benefit and most importantly due to a certain person's authoritarian status. If somebody seems to have more power than ourselves, we tend to feel the need to obey them. Why do we feel obliged to respect and obey somebody, because of their high position in the hierarchy of authority? There have been many intriguing obedience studies which have helped psychologists to get a better insight into how and why us humans decide to obey or disobey, depending on the situation that we are in. although these studies have helped to reveal some important truths about human nature, does that make the unethical and unpleasant ways in which they were discovered acceptable? An impressive study which shows the power that people can have over our behaviour was carried out
Three Approaches To Psychology
In modern day terms Psychology is the science that deals with mental process and behaviour. Modern Psychology is divided into several sub-disciplines, each based on differing models of behaviour and mental process. Perhaps the most significant of approaches are the biological, behavioural and psychodynamic. Biology is defined as the study of life (from the Greek word bios meaning "life", and logos meaning "study"). The biological approach attempts to relate behaviour to the workings and genetic makeup of the body. Greek physician Galen suggested that personality and temperament may be linked to the levels of body fluid such as blood and bile. It is assumed by those that study this approach that all human psychological behaviour has a biological cause, since it is the mind that resides within the brain, genetically modifying human behaviour with time to suit it's environment. Laboratory experimentation and observation of the brain, nervous system, endocrine system, neurochemistry and genes has contributed to an understanding of gender development, aggression, abnormality, memory, motivation and awareness. Biopsychology's input has been applied mainly to therapy and localisation of function. The very scientific biological approach lends itself to the nurture debate with effective practical applications such as the treatment of mental disorder however could be
Critically evaluate the psychoanalytic approach
Critically evaluate the psychoanalytic approach - Vicki Holgate Sigmund Freud the founder of psychoanalysis (1896-1939) worked on many ideas and cases that were to do with the mind and the body. Freud spent most of his life in Vienna where he expressed and distinguished the concepts of the unconscious, infantile sexuality and repression. Freud identified psychosexual stages, which are: - Oral stage - (approx 0-2 years) During the first year of life the libido is gratified through stimulation of the mucous membrane of the mouth (breast feeding, sucking behaviour). The child will enjoy sucking and biting. Freud suggested that if a child is weaned too early or too late they can have a fixation by using sucking sensations. Freud though did not give any indication when the correct time is to wean a child in order to overcome these fixations. He did though suggest that the fixations could be apparent in later life in the form of pen sucking or biting of the nail and smoking, as they are all types of oral stimulation/activities. Freud also said that too little stimulation in this early age could lead to the child in adult life having uncaring, self-centred attitude. And the other way with too much stimulation can lead to self controlled, gullible and unrealistic goals. These are both long lasting affects in later life if this stage is not correctly overcome. Anal stage -
