3.1 issues and debates

Question 1

universality

Answer 1

the conclusions psychology draws are about human beings, regardless of time, culture, or gender. findings should be objective, not influenced by a psychologist’s own values or the social/historical contexts in which they live

Question 2

gender bias

Answer 2

gender bias is the differential treatment/representation of male and female behaviour based on stereotypes (and not real differences).

historically psychology has been a male-dominated discipline. many argue that its major theories reflect this - the female voice has been minimised, marginalised or judged as abnormal.

there are genuine gender differences between males and females - these must be separated from ones that have been culturally created.

Question 3

alpha bias

Answer 3

alpha bias is when there is a misrepresentation of behaviour because researchers overestimate/exaggerate the differences between the genders, often devaluing women in relation to men.

an example of alpha bias is in the sociobiological theory of relationship formation. this argues males should impregnate many different women to increase the chance of his genes being passed on and women should focus on ensuring the healthy survival of their relatively few children.

the theory states that sexual promiscuity in males is genetically determined, but females who do the same are abnormal (as they go against nature). this is gender biased.

Question 4

beta bias

Answer 4

beta bias is when there is a misrepresentation of behaviour because researchers underestimate/minimise gender differences. this often happens when female participants’ are not included in studies but it is still assumed that the research findings can be applied to both genders.

an example of beta bias is the fight-or-flight response, which used exclusively male animals for research. it was assumed that there would be a universal response to a threatening situation, however, taylor (2000) suggested that women tend-and-befriend instead. forming groups is a more effective way to ensure the survival of offspring than running away or fighting.

Question 5

androcentrism

Answer 5

one consequence of beta bias is androcentrism. if our understanding of what constitutes normal behaviour is being drawn from research that involves all male participants, then behaviour which deviates from this standard is likely to be viewed as abnormal or even inferior.

at best this leads to female behaviour being misunderstood, at worst pathologised (seen as a sign of mental illness).

Question 6

three studies to reduce gender bias

Answer 6

+ feminist psychology accepts that there are biological differences between males and females, and attempts to restore this imbalance. research by eagly (1978) claims that females are less effective leaders than males - however, the purpose of the claim is to help researchers develop training programs aimed at increasing the number of female leaders in the real world.

+ worrell (1992) suggested criteria that could help research ensure they do not have bias. for example, women should be studied within meaningful life contexts, genuinely participate in psychological research (not just be the objects of research) and be included in diverse groups of women, (women who vary by age, socio-economic class, partner preference, minority or ethnic group).

+ females have progressed further in academic disciplines such as psychology. this has led to changes in research methodology used and in the earlier theories. for example, carol gilligan (a student of kohlberg’s) proposed that women have a different sense of moral understanding from men and compiled her own stage theory of moral understanding. her approach showed gender differences but no bias to either type (justice focus or care focus).

Question 7

two studies proving prevalence of gender bias

Answer 7

- male researchers within psychology are still more likely to have their research published than female. also, research which finds gender differences is more likely to be published than research which doesnt - this fits with the alpha bias argument. psychology may be guilty of supporting a form of institutional sexism.

- gender-biased research may provide scientific justification for denying women opportunities within society. in the 1930s ‘scientific’ research revealed that intellectual activity (such as attending university) would shrivel women’s ovaries and reduce their chances of conceiving. this is counterproductive in society, and sexist.

Question 8

culture bias

Answer 8

cultural bias is the tendency to judge people in terms of one’s own cultural assumptions - if standard behaviour is judged only from the standpoint of one culture then any cultural differences will be seen as abnormal or even inferior.

as well as being a male-dominated discipline, psychology is mainly the study of white american males. in baron and byrne’s (1991) textbook on social psychology, 94% of the studies cited were conducted in north america.

Question 9

universality

Answer 9

researchers often claim to have discovered facts about human behaviour that are the same for all cultures (universality).

however psychology often assumes that findings derived from studies conducted in western culture can be straightforwardly applied all over the world (beta bias, minimising real cultural differences, all people are assumed the same).

eg. studies into obedience (milgram, 1963) and conformity (asch, 1951) reveal very different results about human behaviour when they were replicated in other parts of the world.

Question 10

ethnocentrism

Answer 10

ethnocentrism is emphasising the importance of the behaviour of one’s own culture - in psychology this means that any behaviours that do not conform to the (usually western) model are deficient, unsophisticated or underdeveloped.

an example of this is mary ainsworth’s strange situation research. it assumed that babies in germany were more insecurely attached than babies in america because they did not show as extreme separation protest to the caregiver.

this difference was due to german mothers not rewarding behaviour like crying with hugs etc. and encouraging independence, rather than insecure attachments.

the ideology was derived from behaviours from western cultures and blindly applied to the rest of the world.

Question 11

cultural relativism

Answer 11

cultural relativism is the idea that a behaviour can only be properly understood in the context of the norms and values of the culture in which it occurs. psychologists should be mindful of this to avoid culture bias.

Question 12

three ways to reduce culture bias

Answer 12

+ in order to reduce cultural bias in their research, researchers should not attempt to extrapolate findings or theories to cultures that are not represented in the research sample or assume that there are universal norms across different cultures.

+ they should use researchers who are native to the culture being investigated, carry out cross-cultural research rather than research with a sole culture, and be sensitive to cultural norms when designing research.

+ there is evidence that some human behaviours are universal such as facial expressions for emotions like happiness or disgust. all cultures, and the animal kingdom (ekman, 1989) show this. also interactional synchrony between an infant and their caregiver has been observed in many cultures.

Question 13

two studies that show prevalence of culture bias

Answer 13

• biased research can validate an amplify damaging stereotypes. eg. the US army used an IQ test before WW1 (biased to the white majority) and found that african americans were at the bottom end of the scale. this negatively affected american attitudes towards the group
• research shows african-caribbean immigrants are 7x more likely to be diagnosed with mental illness. this has led many to question the validity of the DSM and ICD for diagnosing individuals who are born outside of the culture that they were developed in.

Question 14

free will

Answer 14

the notion of free will suggests that as human beings we are essentially self-determining and able to choose our thoughts and actions. the humanistic approach considers people to have free will.

Question 15

determinism

Answer 15

determinism is the general idea that our traits and behaviours are outside of our control due to internal or external factors.

Question 16

hard determinism

Answer 16

hard determinism assumes all of a persons traits and behaviours is dictated by forces that we cannot control, and might not even be aware of.

hard determinism is compatible with the aims of science (to uncover the causal laws that govern people’s thoughts and actions). all human behaviour has a cause, and this should be able to be identified.

Question 17

biological determinism

Answer 17

the biological approach argues that all of our traits and behaviours are governed by internal biological factors, like genes, neurochemistry, brain structure etc. many behaviours and characteristics (such as mental disorders) are thought to have a genetic basis.

many physiological and neurological brain processes are not under conscious control. eg. the autonomic nervous system during periods of stress or the role of testosterone hormones in aggressive behaviour.

Question 18

psychic determinism

Answer 18

the psychodynamic approach suggests that traits and behaviours are governed by unconscious instincts and drives. human behaviour is determined by unconscious conflicts, repressed in childhood.

freud suggested even accidents such as an innocuous ‘slip of the tongue’ can be explained as being caused by the unconscious.

Question 19

environmental determinism

Answer 19

the behaviourist approach suggests that traits and behaviours are governed by external forces. eg. experiences, upbringing, learning, schools, parents, peers etc.

it suggests that though we might think we are acting independently, our behaviour has been shaped by environmental events as well as agents of socialisation.

Question 20

soft determinism

Answer 20

soft determinism proposes that traits and behaviours are determined by external or internal forces.

but, an individual can still exercise some control via thought processes. the cognitive approach adheres to soft determinism.

Question 21

three strengths of determinism

Answer 21

+ chun siong soon et al. (2008) have demonstrated that brain activity that determines simple choices occurs before we are even aware that we have made a choice. participants were asked to decide whether to push a button with their left or right hand. brain imaging revealed that they made their decision up to 10 seconds before reporting that they were consciously aware of making a decision.

+ psychology can be considered a science with deterministic outlook - science is heavily deterministic. it seeks causal relationships. so, whether the independent variable (cause), leads to changes in the dependent variable, (effect). if all other variables are controlled, the manipulated IV must cause a change in the DV. control groups enable researchers to determine cause and effect. the goal is to be able to predict and control human behaviour.

+ the prediction and control of human behaviour has led to the development of treatments, therapies and behavioural interventions that have benefitted many people. eg. psychotherapeutic drug treatment in managing schizophrenia - disorders like this cast doubt on the concept of free will because no one would choose to have schizophrenia.

Question 22

two weaknesses of determinism

Answer 22

• free will has more face validity (it makes common sense) than determinism. everyday experience gives people the impression that they are constantly exercising free will through the choices they make.
• believing in free will has a positive impact on our mind and behaviour. people with an internal locus of control believe they have a high degree of control over their behaviour and their life (free will), are more mentally healthy. roberts et al. (2000) demonstrated that adolescents who had a strong external locus of control (lives determined by events outside of their control) were at higher risk of developing depression.

Question 23

nature vs nurture debate

Answer 23

behaviour can be governed by nature and by nurture. the nature-nurture debate is about the relative contribution of each of these influences in determining an individual’s behaviour.

nature assumes that heredity, genes, hormones etc. are more important than nurture, which suggests the environment and a person’s experiences etc. are more important.

Question 24

nature

Answer 24

this is rooted in the nativist theory that knowledge and abilities are innate (born with). this refers to abilities present at birth and any characteristic determined by genes

Question 25

genetics

Answer 25

the biological approach offers many genetic explanations for behaviour. eg. concordance rate in MZ twins for schizo is 40%, but only 7% in DZ (joseph, 2004). higher MZ concorance rates means nature is a major cause of mental disorders.

Question 26

evolution

Answer 26

evolutionary explanations are based on the principle that a characteristic that promotes survival and reproduction will be naturally selected because it is more likely to be passed on to subsequent generations.

bowlby (1969) proposed that attachment is adaptive because it means an infant will be more likely to be protected and therefore survive. attachment also promotes close relationships which would foster successful reproduction.

Question 27

nurture

Answer 27

this is rooted in the empiricist theory that knowledge derives from learning. environmental influences are acquired through interactions with the environment.

Question 28

experiences

Answer 28

this includes both the physical and the social world and is often referred to as experiences. pre-natal environmental influences are part of nurture, for example whether or not a mother smokes during pregnancy.

Question 29

nurture: behavioural approach

Answer 29

the behavioural approach assumes that all behaviour can be explained in terms of experience alone.

eg. babies attach to their mothers because they associate them with the pleasure they get from food (classical conditioning).

Question 30

nurture: SLT

Answer 30

SLT is less extreme than traditional behaviourism, and suggests behaviour, such as aggression (bandura, 1963), is learnt through observing the behaviour of others (nurture).

it does acknowledge that the urge to behave aggressively is biological (nature). but, the expression anger is acquired through environmental influences.

Question 31

nurture: double bind theory

Answer 31

bateson et al. 1956 suggests that schizophrenia develops in children who frequently receive contradictory messages from their parents, for example if a mother tells her son she loves him but at the same time turns her head away in disgust. mixed messages about her feelings prevent the child developing an internally consistent construction of reality.

Question 32

evaluation: nature and nurture work alongside eachother

Answer 32

• according to the interactionist approach nature and nurture are so closely intertwined that it makes little sense to separate them. the general heritability figure in IQ tests is around 0.5, this means that both genetics and the environment are important factors in determining an individual’s intelligence.
• diathesis stress models are models of mental illness which emphasise the interaction of nature and nurture in causing mental illness. a psychopathology, like depression or schizophrenia, is caused by a genetic vulnerability (diathesis) which is only expressed when there is an environmental trigger (stress). tienari et al. (2004) found that in a group of finnish adoptees, those most likely to get schizophrenia had biological relatives with the disorder (genes) and relationships with their adopted family that were dysfunctional (the environment).

Question 33

evaluation: affect eachother

Answer 33

• a person’s nature can affect the nurture they receive. scarr and mccartney et al. (1983) found that as children get older they seek out experiences that suit their genes. genetic influence increases as a child gets older.
• several studies have shown that nurture affects nature. maguire et al. (2000) found that london taxi drivers have a larger hippocampus than a control group. this is because the hippocampus deals with spatial memory. they were not born this way, the hippocampus has responded to increased use.

Question 34

evaluation: epigenetics

Answer 34

epigenetics introduces a third element to the nature or nurture debate, the life experiences of the previous generation.

epigenetics refers to a change in our genetic activity without changing our genetic code. it happens throughout life and is caused by interaction with the environment. aspects of our lifestyle, from smoking and diet to pollution and war, leave epigenetic markers on our DNA. these tell our bodies which genes to ignore and which to use, and may go on and influence the genetics of our children, and even their children.

Question 35

reductionism

Answer 35

reductionism involves breaking a complex phenomenon (like behaviour) down into constituent elements. this is as complex phenomena are best understood in terms of a simple explanation.

Question 36

reductionism: levels of explanation

Answer 36

the reductionist approach in psychology suggests that explanations for a behaviour should begin at the highest level and then progressively look at component elements:

highest level: cultural and social explanations of behaviour.

middle level: psychological (behavioural) explanations of behaviour.

lowest level: biological explanations of behaviour.

Question 37

environmental reductionism

Answer 37

behaviour can be reduced to a simple relationship between behaviour and events.

the complex emotion of attachment is reduced to a set of probabilities: the mother is likely to provide food which is reinforcing. so, she is a rewarding individual and so becomes a ‘loved one’.

Question 38

biological reductionism

Answer 38

reduces human behaviour to the level of the action of neurons, neurotransmitters, hormones and so on.

eg. schizophrenia is caused by excessive activity of the neurotransmitter dopamine because drugs that block this neurotransmitter reduce schizophrenic symptoms.

Question 39

holism

Answer 39

holism focuses on systems as a whole rather than on the constituent parts, and suggests that we cannot predict how the whole system will behave just from knowledge of the individual components

Question 40

holism: humanistic approach

Answer 40

the individual reacts as an organised whole, rather than a set of stimulus-response links. a person’s sense of a unified identity is important, so the lack of identity or sense of ‘wholeness’ leads to a mental disorder.

Question 41

holism: cognitive approach

Answer 41

recognises the importance of understanding an entire system.

memory is a complex system which in recent years has been understood in terms of connected networks. each neuron is linked to many other neurons, and the links develop through experience (strengthened or weakened). the network as a whole behaves differently than individual parts.

Question 42

two strengths of reductionism

Answer 42

+ both biological and environmental reductionism are viewed as scientific. breaking complex behaviours into small constituent parts means that they can be scientifically tested and over time explanations of behaviour based on scientific evidence will emerge.

+ biological reductionism has led to the development of biological therapies, such as drugs. reducing OCD behaviour to biological explanations means treatments like SSRIs can be used to combat the abnormal levels of serotonin. SSRI’s are more effective than placebos at treating the symptoms of OCD and reduce the symptoms for up to three months after the treatment. this has reduced the anxiety associated with OCD and provided relief for some patients.

Question 43

two weaknesses of reductionism

Answer 43

• biological reductionism is simplistic and ignores the complex interaction of many factors in determining behaviour. eg. treating ADHD with just drugs means that the condition is only made of neurochemical imbalances. this mistakes the symptoms as the cause - ritalin may reduce these symptoms, but factors that cause ADHD have not been addressed. the success rates of drug therapy are so highly variable, so the purely biological understanding seems inadequate.
• environmental reductionism can mean that the true meaning of a behaviour is overlooked. wolpe (1973) treated a women who had a phobia of insects with systematic desensitisation, but found no improvement. her husband, whom she was not getting along with, had an insect nickname. her phobia was not the result of classical conditioning but an expression of her marital difficulties.

Question 44

idiographic approach

Answer 44

the idiographic approach involves the study of individuals and the unique insights each provides.

it is qualitative, as the focus is on in-depth research on individual people rather than gaining numerical data from many and determining average characteristics. it employs qualitative methods such as unstructured interviews and case studies.

the quality of information is valued over quantity.

Question 45

idio: psychodynamic approach

Answer 45

freud used case studies of his patients as a way to understand human behaviour, like little hans. the study (1909) consists of almost 150 pages of verbatim quotes recorded by little hans’ father and descriptions of events the boy’s life.

it also has freud’s interpretation - he did make generalisations based on his case studies but these are still idiographic because they are drawn from information gathered from unique individuals.

Question 46

idio: humanistic approach

Answer 46

humanistic psychologists favour the idiographic approach because they are concerned with studying the whole person and seeing the world from their perspective.

what matters is the person’s subjective experience and not what someone else might observe of their behaviour.

Question 47

nomothetic approach

Answer 47

the study of a large, representative and random sample of data, to support a testable hypothesis.

the approach seeks to formulate general laws of behaviour that apply to everyone (scientific approach). so, it favours quantitative research methods that are based on numbers (measures of dispersion, measures of central tendency, graphs and statistical analysis).

such calculations require data from a large groups of people rather than individuals. research studies may involve as few as 20 people but normative research, such as establishing the norms for IQ tests, involves thousands of people.

Question 48

idio: biological approach

Answer 48

the biological approach seeks to portray the basic principles of how the body and brain work.

previously, psychologists may have only studied men and assumed that their findings can be generalised to women e.g. the fight-or-flight response.

Question 49

idio: behaviourist approach

Answer 49

the behaviourist approach produces general laws of human behaviour. behaviourist research may not have involved thousands of human participants, but they were seeking one set of rules for all human and non-human animals.

Question 50

idio: cognitive approach

Answer 50

the cognitive approach is also nomothetic in its aim to develop general laws of behaviour which apply to all people, such as understanding memory processes. the cognitive approach does use case studies, such as HM and KF, but these are required because in order to understand the working of a normal mind it is often necessary to look at abnormal cases.

Question 51

two strengths of the idiographic approach

Answer 51

+ the idiographic approach provides rich and in-depth information about single cases, which the nomothetic approach is not able to do. allport (1961) maintained that it is only by knowing a person as an individual that we can predict what they will do in any given situation.

+ some elements of the idiographic approach, such as case studies and thematic analysis, are scientific and evidence based as well as seeking to be objective. qualitative research methods use reflexivity to identify the influence of any bias. reflexivity refers to the process where the researcher reflects or thinks critically during the research process about the factors that affect the behaviour of both the participants and the researcher.

Question 52

weaknesses of the idiographic approach

Answer 52

• idiographic approach is not very scientific, which is the main reason for the growth of positive psychology. many considered the humanistic approach to not be sufficiently evidence based and therefore to be essentially meaningless. positive psychology aims to be more evidence based.
• idiographic approach cannot produce general predictions about behaviour, which can be useful. eg. time consuming to produce personal therapies for every person with a mental illness. however, allport (1961) argues that the idiographic approach does allow general predictions to be made, once enough data has been gathered from detailed observations of several individuals.
• time consuming and expensive. both approaches collect large amounts of data but the idiographic approach collects a large amount of data from one person and the nomothetic approach collects a small amount of data from a large amount of people. the latter is quicker because once a test or questionnaire has been designed it can be generated and processed quickly.

Question 53

socially sensitive research

Answer 53

sieber and stanley (1998) used the term socially sensitive to describe research where the topic area or people being studied can have implications for groups within society

this research could lead to change in, or justification for, the way in which these groups are treated or perceived.

they argue that scientists have a responsibility for the way in which their research will be used in the future.

Question 54

4 considerations in socially sensitive research

Answer 54

4 aspects that raise ethical implications in socially sensitive research:
1. the research question must not be damaging to members of any social groups eg. ‘are there racial differences in intelligence?’

2. the researcher needs to consider the methodology used in their experiment. the treatment of the participant’s and their right to confidentiality and anonymity is essential. eg. if someone admits to having committed a crime
3. the researcher should be mindful of how the data is going to be used and consider who is funding the research. eg. one should consider the motivations behind private funding for a specific research study.
4. the researcher needs to consider how their findings might be interpreted and applied to the real-world eg used to inform government policy

Question 55

three strengths of socially sensitive research

Answer 55

+ psychologists should conduct SSR because many groups in society have suffered the consequences of being excluded/misrepresented in research eg. people with disabilities, the elderly, women, minority groups etc. our understanding of human behaviour has lessened because of this, and certain individuals miss out the benefits of psychological research.

+ SSR is combatted by developing ethical guidelines. however, these protect the immediate needs of participants and not the possible ways in which research may inflict harm on a group of people or section of society. eg. ethical guidelines do not ask psychologists to consider how their research may be used by others

+ some suggest SSR should be avoided all together to prevent the potential negative consequences for certain groups of people. however, this would probably leave psychologists with less important issues to examine. avoiding controversial topics is also avoiding responsibility -psychologists have a duty to conduct research.

Question 56

weakness of socially sensitive research

Answer 56

• always some social consequences from psychological research, but but SSR has increased potential for a more indirect impact on the group that the participant represents (e.g. addicts, women, the elderly etc.). it is not sufficient to simply safeguard the interests of individual participants.