Dse212 Discuss the Claim There Is a Lot to Gain from Studying a Topic in Psychology from More Than One Perspective. Drawing on Our Understanding of Language and Meaning as Well as the Psychology of Sex and Gender.
Discuss the claim there is a lot to gain from studying a topic in psychology from more than one perspective. Drawing on our understanding of language and meaning as well as the psychology of sex and gender.
Different psychological perspectives lead to different theories providing diverse insights into the same issue i.e. language and meaning. They focus their enquiry in different ways and consequently have dissimilar objects of knowledge. Each perspective asks different questions, use different methods and data and produce therefore different theories. These perspectives can be complementary, conflicting and/or coexisting, whereby each perspective and theory provides a variety of ways of applying their findings to everyday psychological problems. By focusing on the social psychological perspective, this essay will evaluate the contribution of two central issues in psychology: language and meaning as well as the psychology of sex and gender. Social psychological perspectives emphasise the importance of investigating cognition by studying how meaning is created through participation and cultural practices and through language. The evolvement, acquisition and application of language used by humans, to express meaning and pursue goals, have been a topic of study amongst the various perspectives in psychology most notably evolutionary, cognitive and social perspectives. In researching language and the development of subsequent theories, language itself is used as a medium to investigate language. This methodological reflexivity is the source of conflict between social and cognitive perspectives on language when trying to determine to what extent, if any, the necessity of responding in language predetermines what is said. Social psychologists, more specifically discourse psychologists (i.e. Parker, 1992, as cited in: Cooper & Kay, 2007, p. 105), claims that in using language individuals do so in a social and historic context, with an audience and for a
Different psychological perspectives lead to different theories providing diverse insights into the same issue i.e. language and meaning. They focus their enquiry in different ways and consequently have dissimilar objects of knowledge. Each perspective asks different questions, use different methods and data and produce therefore different theories. These perspectives can be complementary, conflicting and/or coexisting, whereby each perspective and theory provides a variety of ways of applying their findings to everyday psychological problems. By focusing on the social psychological perspective, this essay will evaluate the contribution of two central issues in psychology: language and meaning as well as the psychology of sex and gender. Social psychological perspectives emphasise the importance of investigating cognition by studying how meaning is created through participation and cultural practices and through language. The evolvement, acquisition and application of language used by humans, to express meaning and pursue goals, have been a topic of study amongst the various perspectives in psychology most notably evolutionary, cognitive and social perspectives. In researching language and the development of subsequent theories, language itself is used as a medium to investigate language. This methodological reflexivity is the source of conflict between social and cognitive perspectives on language when trying to determine to what extent, if any, the necessity of responding in language predetermines what is said. Social psychologists, more specifically discourse psychologists (i.e. Parker, 1992, as cited in: Cooper & Kay, 2007, p. 105), claims that in using language individuals do so in a social and historic context, with an audience and for a
References: Cooper, T, & Kaye, H. (2007a). Language and meaning. In T. Cooper & I. Roth (Eds.), Challenging Psychological Issues (2nd ed). Milton Keynes: The Open University Buchanan, K., Anand, P., Joffe, H. & Thomas, K. (2007). Perceiving and understanding the social world. In D. Miell, A. Phoenix & K. Thomas (Eds.), Mapping Psychology (2nd ed). Milton Keynes: The Open University Hollway, W., Cooper, T., Johnston, A. & Stevens, R., (2007a). The psychology of sex and gender. In T. Cooper & I. Roth (Eds.), Challenging Psychological Issues (2nd ed). Milton Keynes: The Open University