There are five key issues that underlie research in psychology.
Nature (heredity) versus nurture (environment) asks how much of our behavior is due to heredity (or "nature") and how much to environment (or "nurture").
A second major question is how much of our behavior is produced by forces of which we are fully aware, and how much is due to unconscious activity.
The next issue is whether psychology should concentrate solely on behavior that can be seen by outside observers or should focus on unseen thinking processes.
Another question is how much of behavior is a matter of free will, and how much is subject to determinism.
A final issue is how much our behavior results from unique qualities, and how much reflects the culture and society in which we live.
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