Preview

the five enduring issues

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
890 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
the five enduring issues
The Five Enduring Issues
Essay Number 1

Psychology is a science that has different fields and subfields. It’s also an evolving science that keeps changing and many fields are added to constantly. What holds these fields and unifies them is something called “the five enduring issues.” The five Enduring issues are the backbone that holds psychology together. These issues are shared by all psychologists as a common interest and overlap in all fields and subfields of psychology. The first issue is “Person – Situation.” This issue deals with wither behavior is caused by internal traits such as thoughts, emotions, motives, attitudes, and personality or external situations such as behavior of others and social expectations. An example of this is anger. What makes certain people get angry faster than others? Is it internal problems that causes that or just particular situations. The second enduring issue is “Nature – Nurture.” It raises the question of wither a person was raised to be the product he is or is it just that person’s nature? Does upbringing affect the way we end up acting or is it just a product of innate. An example of this debate applies for a serial killer. Does he kill because it's in his genes? Does it mean that no matter what his parents did to raise him, he would still be a violent person? Or did his environment shape him to be a serial killer? Like his parent's didn't pay him enough attention, or he was abused as a child. The third enduring issue is “Stability – Change.” This issue deals with how much of one's behavior is consistent and how much is changeable over a lifespan. There is debate whether a person has the same character throughout his life, no matter what his personal experiences and behaviors are or if he is easily affected by them. Developmental psychologists are interested in this issue. For example; does a behavior or trait such as shyness stay stable in its expression over time? Or

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Think of serial killer. Does he kill because it is in his genes? No matter what his parents did to raise him; he would have been a violent, serial killer no matter what. On the other hand, did his environment shape him to be a serial killer? Such as, his parent’s did not pay him enough attention, or he was abused as a child. Nature and nurture are factors that have come to be recognized as playing or interacting roles in development.…

    • 425 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    There are numerous debates in regards to developmental psychology. One of the main debates to begin with is nature vs nurture; some individuals believe that we are products of our environment while others regards us while others believe that we are products of our genetics. John Locke believes that when we are born we are a “tabula rasa” a blank slate which means that he supports the idea that we are products of our environment and also supports behaviourism. Another debate is continuity v discontinuity, some individuals have created continuity theories and others have created discontinuity theories. Continuity theorists believe that the development of an individual is constantly continuous while discontinuous theorists believe that there are specific periods where individuals develop. For example Freud’s psychosexual stages are a discontinuous theory. There is also an issue of nomothetic vs idiographic; some theorists adopt a nomothetic approach while others adopt an idiographic approach. Individuals that adopt a nomothetic approach create theories based on what we share with others, and find general laws that can be applied to large groups of people, for example behaviourism is a nomothetic approach. On the other hand the idiographic approach goes into large detail for the individual to investigate why we are unique, for example Freud’s theory is an idiographic approach.…

    • 7725 Words
    • 31 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Perspectives Paper

    • 1342 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Perspectives Paper Julia M. Whitmore PSY/310 University of Phoenix Perspectives Paper Psychological perspectives have changed as the field of psychology has progressed. There are a few perspectives that have core values that have remained steadfast even in today 's pool of theories. John Watson, B.F. Skinner, and Edward Tolman, all had theories that remain the foundation for many schools of thought in psychology today. This paper will compare and contrast these theories.…

    • 1342 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Better Essays

    Diversity within the field of psychology is strength and a challenge. There are four primary areas which are clinical, counseling, school, and industrial/organizational psychology. Sub-fields exist in these primary areas. Each sub-field has distinct unique theories to help encourage the growth in psychology. A psychologist that offers a broader view when considering theoretical approach in areas, the more understanding they offer their patients or clients. The simple truth is along with diversity comes help for everyone and every problem. According to (Park, N., & Peterson, C., 2009) "one of psychology’s strengths has been its willingness to embrace different purposes, perspectives, and approaches, and this recommendation is in the spirit of the field’s history".…

    • 1496 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Six Major Schools of Thought in Psychology Every academic discipline, from literature and history to sociology and theology, has competing theories or schools of thought: perspectives from which to study the subject. Psychology, the study of the mind, has hundreds of theories and subtheories, but it is possible to identify six main schools of thought every psychology student should know.…

    • 448 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Discuss the nature-nurture debate in relation to the development of the individual (M1) & Evaluate how nature and nurture may affect the physical, intellectual, emotional and social development of two stages of the development of the individual (D1).…

    • 3017 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Each school in psychology followed a certain viewpoint or perspective that defined it and its research and treatment methods. From each distinctive viewpoint there arose unique theories and concepts that can be seen applied widely in various fields in today’s world.…

    • 8487 Words
    • 34 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Nature Nurture Issue

    • 361 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Nature-Nurture Debate Psychologists argue about whether a human’s development is more related to the environment (nature) or the people that surround a developing person (nurture). An example of the nature aspect of this debate is attributing a person’s affliction with a mental illness to genetics because that person’s mother or father was also afflicted with the same mental illness. An example of the nurture aspect of this debate is a person’s decision to live on the streets and join a gang because his family members and other people that he or she is surrounded by do the same. This is called the nature-nurture issue. Psychologists apply this debate concept to a person’s likeliness to develop a mental illness, the person’s intelligence level, and their personality type. I believe that people are influenced by both nature and nurture because people take developmental inspiration from their surroundings and their heredity also plays a role in a person’s life choices.…

    • 361 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Cummings, N. (2006). Psychology, the stalwart profession, faces new challenges and opportunities. Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 37(6), 598-605. doi:10.1037/0735-7028.37.6.598.…

    • 1497 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Innate and Learned Behaviour The concerning debate of inborn biological factors and the contrasting aspect of environmental issues, has been applied to many areas of physcology and development. The debate concerning nature and nurture has indeed become a central and enduring feature within developmental physcology. It addresses whether it is someones innate biological nature that influences behavioural patterns, or if it is life experiences and nurture from their social surroundings.…

    • 517 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    Psychology and the Six Principles of Scientific Thinking Psychology, as the scientific study of the human mind and its effect on human behavior, is a compound and intricate subject. It is equally as complex as the factors involved in determining human behavior itself.…

    • 1216 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    The nature vs. nurture debate is one of the biggest debated issues in the child development theory. Which is more bearing on a child’s development, environment or genetics? This debate is of the degree to which environment and heredity influences behavior and whether a child’s development is governed by a pattern built in at birth, which is Nature or whether it is shaped by experiences after birth, defined as Nurture.…

    • 769 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    A nature-nurture debate is concerned with what causes something to develop. The debates of nature vs. nurture tend to be historical rather than current. Today, most psychologists see development differently: they believe biological predispositions guide development in certain directions, but experience as influencing how that development manifests itself. The two sources are seen as interconnected, not as opposing alternatives, and it is the way that they interact which is the focus of…

    • 307 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Nature vs Nurture

    • 2045 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Nature vs. Nurture The Nature versus Nurture debate concerns the relative importance of an individual's innate qualities versus personal experiences in determining or causing differences in physical and behavioral traits. (Ridley, Matt. "What Makes You Who You Are." Time Magazine. 25 May 2003).…

    • 2045 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Nature vs Nurture Essay

    • 804 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The controversy of nature vs. nurture has been disputed for years. Nature vs. nurture refers to the question of which factors are most significant in determining development; those related to heredity or environment. It has been reported that some scientists think that “nature” is referred as the importance in heredity as the major determinate also known as “nature” the theory of human behavior. The nurture theory scientists believe that people think and behave in certain ways because they are taught to do so.…

    • 804 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays