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3. Drawing on examples from this chapter, provide two examples where you think that psychologists have provided greater insight into human nature than your grandmother. Are there any cases based on your own experience where you believe that your grandmother’s view may be more insightful than the views of professional psychologists?

Key points:

  • There is considerable flexibility in the topics chosen in response to this question.
    However, the student should show evidence that s/he has thought about the question carefully. In particular, s/he should acknowledge that, whereas one’s grandmother may serve as a useful source of wisdom based on her experience of life (together with the views of the many other people that she will have encountered during her lifetime), many items of conventional wisdom have not been empirically tested in a systematic and controlled fashion. Indeed, different pieces of well-entrenched folk wisdom may well be inconsistent with each other (as reflected by some of the examples of mutually contradictory proverbs given in the chapter).
  • The response to the second part of the question should provide some reflection on those areas of ‘lay’ psychology which may not be tractable in terms of the empirical methodology (for example, with respect to the consideration of some of the most intimate aspects of our life such as sexual behaviour).
  • Constructive reflection on such difficulties, together with suggestions for a resolution of the inherent difficulties (where this indeed may be possible), should be commended.
Copyright 2005 BPS Blackwell