About the lecture

In this lecture, we think about the approaches within psychology which have differing philosophical origins, focusing in particular on: (i) how a jury might be divided in the way they assess a crime between considering the ‘bigger picture’ and breaking down each individual factor at play; (ii) four people who have stabbed another person, each with their own ‘excuse’: smokey, clumsy, unlucky and angry. (iii) how the bigger picture vs factor breakdown distinction ties into the holism vs reductionism and free will vs determinism debates; (iv) why the philosophical ideas which underpin psychological research are important.

About the lecturer

Dr Ayoub Bouguettaya is a lecturer in the School of Psychology at the University of Birmingham. Dr Bouguettaya’s research interests are in social psychology and how knowledge from that field can be applied to others, particularly health, including how we can apply social identity theory to societal problems, as well as investigating the different perspectives one might take on those issues. Some of Dr Bouguettaya’s recent publications include 'The relationship between gambling advertising and gambling attitudes, intentions and behaviours: a critical and meta-analytic review' (2020) and 'The Effect of a Food Addiction Explanation Model for Weight Control and Obesity on Weight Stigma' (2020).