4.3.1 Issues and Debates

Question 1

Gender bias

Answer 1

The differential treatment or representation of men and women based on stereotypes rather than real differences.

Question 2

2 types of gender bias?

Answer 2

Alpha bias
Beta bias

Question 3

What is alpha bias in gender?

Answer 3

When the differences between men and women are exaggerated or overestimated.

These differences can heighten the value of women but can often devalue them.

Question 4

Examples of alpha bias in gender?

Answer 4

• schizophrenia diagnosis
• psychodynamic (electra complex)

Question 5

What is beta bias in gender?

Answer 5

When the differences between two sexes are ignored or minimised or underestimated.

Often occurs when female ppts/ are not included as part of the research process and it is then assumed that the research findings apply equally to both sexes.

Question 6

Examples of beta bias in gender?

Answer 6

• fight or flight response
• zimbardo’s prison experiment
• moral development (kohlberg)

Question 7

What is androcentrism?

Answer 7

(Often a consequence of beta bias)

If our understanding of ‘normal’ behaviour is being drawn from research that involves ‘all male’ samples, then behaviour that deviates from this is seen as ‘abnormal’ by comparison.

Female behaviour is misunderstood and underrepresented.

Question 8

Evaluation of gender bias?

Answer 8

:( - Gender → biased research may create misleading assumptions about female behaviour and fail to challenge negative stereotypes and validate discriminatory practices → it may provide a scientific ‘justification’ to deny women opportunities birth in the workplace and society.
:( - Sexism → lack of women at senior research level means that female concerns may not be reflected in the research questions asked, males are more likely than females to have research published.
:( - Essentialism → many gender differences are based on the essentialist perspective that gender differences are inevitable (essential) and ‘fixed’.

:) - Reflexivity → modern researchers are beginning to recognise the effect their own values and assumptions have on the nature of their work.
:) - Feminist psychology → Worrell (1992) made a number of criteria that should be adhered to in order to avoid gender bias.

Question 9

What is culture bias?

Answer 9

A tendency to ignore all cultural differences and interpret all phenomena through the ‘lens’ of one’s own culture.

Can involve alpha and beta bias also.

Question 10

What acronym can be used to describe the group of people most likely to be studied by psychologists?

Answer 10

W - westernised
E - educated
I - industrialised
R - rich
D - democracies

Question 11

What is ethnocentrism?

Answer 11

The belief that the ethnic group with which the individual identifies is superior to other groups.

The individual uses their own ethnic group to evaluate and make judgements about other individuals from other ethnic groups.

Often is example of Imposed Etic.

Question 12

What is an examples of a culturally bias study?

Answer 12

Ainsworth’s strange situation

Criticised as reflecting norms and values of American Culture.
Inappropriate measure of attachment for non-US children.

Question 13

What is an etic approach?

Answer 13

Looks from the outside and assumes behaviours are universal

Question 14

What is an emic approach?

Answer 14

Functions from inside cultures and identifies behaviours specific to a culture

Question 15

What etic is Psychology guilty of?

Answer 15

Imposed etic

Question 16

What is cultural relativism?

Answer 16

The idea that norms and values can only be meaningful and understood within specific social and cultural contexts.

Question 17

Evaluation of culture bias?

Answer 17

:) - Individualism and collectivism → Psychologists have often referred to individualist and collectivist cultures - Takano and Osaka (1999) found that 14 out of 15 studies found no evidence of the traditional distinction between Individualism and Collectivism which suggests culture bias may be less of an issue as it once was.
:) - Cultural relativism vs Universality → should not be assumed that all psychology is culturally relative and that there is no such thing as universal human behaviour - research suggests that basic facial expressions for emotions are the same all over the human and animal world.
:) - Challenging ‘implicit’ assumptions → benefit of conducting cross - cultural research (may challenge our typically western ways of thinking and viewing the world) - may promote greater sensitivity to individual difference and cultural relativism in the future

:( - Unfamiliarity with research tradition → Familiarity with the general aims and objectives of scientific enquiry is assumed in Western Cultures.
:( - Operationalisation of variables → variables under investigation may not be experienced in the same way by all participants.
:( - Creates/reinforces stereotypes

Question 18

What is hard determinism?

Answer 18

External factors affect behaviour and we have no free will
E.g. skinner’s box

Question 19

What is soft determinism?

Answer 19

External factors affect behaviour but we still have restricted free will
E.g. Working memory model

Question 20

What is reciprocal determinism?

Answer 20

We can control the environment and the environment controls us.
E.g. SLT view of gender

Question 21

What is biological determinism?

Answer 21

Belief that behaviour is caused by biological influences that we cannot control.
E.g. ANS, fight of flight

Question 22

What is environmental determinism?

Answer 22

Belief that behaviour is caused by features of the environment
E.g. conditioning - phobias (2 process model)

Question 23

What is psychic determinism?

Answer 23

Belief that behaviour is caused by unconscious psychodynamic conflicts that we cannot control
E.g. electra complex, bowlby’s maternal deprivation theory

Question 24

What is free will?

Answer 24

The notion that human can make choices and their behaviour/thoughts are not determined by biological or external forces.

Question 25

Evaluation of determinism?

Answer 25

:) - Consistent with aims of science - theories and research to help to predict and control human behaviour (led to developments of treatments and therapies). This allows us to establish cause and effect.
:) - Experience of mental disorders - Schizophrenia causes sufferers to lose control over thoughts and behaviour which casts doubt on free-will.

:( - Hard determinism is not consistent with the way our legal system operates as the court of law places responsibility on offenders
:( - Suggests that in the real world determinist arguments do not work
:( - Unfalsifiable - “causes of behaviour always exists even if they have not yet been found” - determinism is difficult to prove

Question 26

Evaluation of free will?

Answer 26

:) - Face validity - everyday experience gives the impression we use free will through our choices.
:) - Research support - research suggests that people who have a high locus of control tend to be more mentally healthy → gives free will practical value.
:) - Roberts (2000) → Suggests that even if we do not have free will, the belief that we do may have a positive impact on our lives.
:) - Libert’s findings - not surprising and doesn’t mean that no decision took place → suggests evidence is not appropriate to challenge free will (read below).

:( - Neurological studies oppose free will - Libert (1985)/Chunking Soing Soon et al. (2008) have shown that brain activity that determines the outcome of simple choices may predate our knowledge of having made such a choice:

e.g. whether to press a button with left or right hand occurs in brain 10 seconds before PPTs report being consciously aware of making such a decision → suggests free will is an illusion.
:( - Free will is subjective → someone may feel that they have free will but are influenced by other forces.

Question 27

What did nativists argue?

Answer 27

That human characteristics and some aspects of knowledge are innate and as a result of heredity (transferred genetically).
This is the nature side of the debate.

E.g. Rene Descartes

Question 28

What did the empiricists argue?

Answer 28

That the mind is like a blank slate (Tabula Rosa) at birth upon which learning and experience writes.
This is the result of environmental influences and so is the nurture side of the debate.

E.g. John Locke

Question 29

What is ‘The Heritability Coefficient’?

Answer 29

It is used to assess heredity → to what extend is a behaviour or characteristic due to inheritance.
It is a number between 0 and 1 (with 1 meaning entirely genetically determined).

General figure for IQ is 0.5 which suggests IQ involves both genetics and the environment.

Question 30

Who identified different levels of the environment? (And what are they)

Answer 30

Lerner (1986)

Could be defined in narrow 𝐩𝐫𝐞-𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐚𝐥 terms - e.g. mother’s physical and psychological state during pregnancy.
Or more generally through 𝗽𝗼𝘀𝘁-𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗮𝗹 experiences - e.g. social conditions the child grows up in.

Question 31

Interactionist approach of nature and nurture?

Answer 31

Assumes nature and nurture are linked to the extent that it doesn’t make sense to separate the two.
Instead we should study how they interact and influence each other.

E.g. Attachment → innate temperament will influence the way parents respond to it and their responses in turn affect the child’s behaviour (Belsky and Rovine, 1987).

Question 32

What does the interactionist approach of nature vs nurture involve? (2 things)

Answer 32

Diathesis-stress model

Epigenetics

Question 33

What is the diathesis-stress model (nature/nurture)

Answer 33

• Model of mental illness and emphasises interaction of nature/nurture
• Psychopathology caused by biological/genetic vulnerability (diathesis) which is only expressed when coupled with biological or environmental trigger (stress).
• Tienari (2004)

Question 34

What is epigenetics?

Answer 34

• The change in our genetic activity without changing our genetic code
• A process which happens throughout life and is caused by interaction with the environment
• Aspects of our lifestyle and events we encounter leave epigenetic ‘marks’ on our DNA e.g. smoking, poor diet, pollution
• These marks tell our bodies which genes to ignore and which to use - this may influence the genetic codes of our children
• Introduces 3rd element into Nature/Nurture debate - life experiences of previous generations

Question 35

Nature vs nurture eval?

Answer 35

:( - They are both extremely deterministic
→ Nature: Nativists believe that “anatomy is density” and that all genetic make-up determines our characteristics and behaviour. It has attempted to link race, genetics and intelligence → link to eugenics policies which is controversial and has been linked to genocide.
→ Empiricists: Any behaviour can be changed by altering environmental conditions.

:( - Hard to separate
→ complicated to separate genetics and environment is complicated - even siblings raised in same family may not have experienced the same upbringing showing heredity and environment can’t be meaningfully separated?
→ People create (construct) their own ‘nurture’ by actively selecting environments that are appropriate for their ‘nature’.
:( - Complex - Scarr and Mccarrtney (1983) - theory of gene environment interaction that includes three types

:) - Behaviour shaping has practical application → therapy BUT may lead to a society that controls and manipulates its citizens using these techniques.

Question 36

What is holism?

Answer 36

Viewing behaviour as a sum of it’s parts. As a whole

Question 37

What is reductionism?

Answer 37

Breaking behaviour down into its constituent parts

Question 38

What is gestalt psychology?

Answer 38

• German psychologists in the early 20th century - ‘whole is greater than the means’.
• Basis of Holism - inappropriate to break down behaviour and experience into parts.
• Should be understood by analysing person or behaviour as a whole.

Question 39

What is insight learning?

Answer 39

• When all the elements of a problem are understood as a whole.
• Demonstrates the importance of Holism.
• Created by gestaltists
  E.g. chimp study

Question 40

Example of holism in psychology?

Answer 40

Jahoda’s 6 elements of ideal mental health

Question 41

What is reductionism based on?

Answer 41

The principle of parsimony:
All phenomena should be explained using the most basic (lowest level) principles

There are different ways of viewing the same phenomena in psychology - some more reductionist than others.

Question 42

What is a reductionist hierarchy?

Answer 42

Where psychology can be placed within a hierarchy of science with the more precise/micro disciplines towards the bottom and the more general/macro at the top.

e.g. physics at the bottom and social science at the top

Question 43

What is biological reductionism?

Answer 43

Behaviour is at some level biological
Can be explained through neurochemical, neurophysiological, evolutionary and genetic influences.

Question 44

Examples of biological reductionism?

Answer 44

Dopamine hypothesis
Genetic explanations for OCD/criminality

Question 45

What is environmental reductionism?

Answer 45

Breaks down behaviour into environmental factors.
Analysis occurs at the physical level - mental/cognitive processes are ignored.

Question 46

Examples of environmental reductionism in psychology?

Answer 46

Behaviourist approach - breaks behaviour down into Stimulus-Response links that are measurable in lab.
→ Watson saw the process of thought as physical - sub-vocal speech, characterised by physical movement - EMGs show movement of vocal chord when thinking.

2 process model of phobias

Question 47

Evaluation of holism?

Answer 47

:) - Support from social influence - many aspects of social behaviour only emerge within a group context and cannot be understood by looking at individual group members → conformity, obedience
:) - Complete - provide more complete understandings than reductionist theories

:( - Lack of scientific testing - do not usually utilise scientific testing and can be vague and speculative e.g. Humanistic psychology - lack of empirical evidence, set of loose concepts
:( - Too many contributory factors - if we accept too may factors towards a behaviour/metal illness it may be difficult to establish which is most influential and which to use, for example, a basis for therapy → therefore it is difficult to find solutions
:( - Difficult to establish cause and effect

Question 48

Evaluation of reductionism?

Answer 48

:) - More scientific - in order to create operationalised variables it is necessary to break down target behaviours into constituent parts → makes it possible to conduct experiment + observations meaning it is meaningful and reliable.
E.g. Behaviourist approach demonstrated how complex behaviour can be broken down into simple stimulus-response links in the lab.
:) - Gives psychology greater credibility - on equal terms with the natural sciences

:( - Over simplistic - could be oversimplifying complex phenomena - leads to loss of validity
:( - Lack of social context - explanations operating at a genetic or neurochemical level do not include analysis of social context in which behaviour occurs → loses meaning.
:( - Can only ever form a part of an explanation

Question 49

The interactionist approach to holism and reductionism?

Answer 49

Considers how different levels of explanation may combine and interact.

Different to holism as that is more concerned with higher levels of explanation such as behaviour or individuals in a group.

Example: Diathesis-stress model

Question 50

What is the idiographic approach?

Answer 50

Attempts to describe the nature of the individual.
People are seen as unique entities - each has their own subjective experience.

→ Describes the richness of human experience and gains insight into the person’s unique way of viewing the world
→ No general laws or attempts to compare to a larger group
→ Often associated with methods which produce qualitative data

Question 51

What is the nomothetic approach?

Answer 51

Aim is to produce general laws of human behaviour.
Provide a norm to then compare with.

→ On the basis of this behaviour can be predicted
→ Usually involve studying groups/larger numbers
→ Closely aligned with methods that would be regarded as ‘scientific’ (usually quantitative) such as experiments

Question 52

Examples of the idiographic approach in psychology?

Answer 52

Humanistic - phenomenological approach
→ looks at experience of the individual or ‘self’
→ describe themselves as anti-scientific - more concerned with investigating unique experience ‘on it’s own merits’

Psychodynamic - use of case studies e.g. Little Hans

BUT - psychodynamic also Nomothetic as Freud claimed to identify universal laws of behaviour and personality development

Question 53

Examples of nomothetic approach in psychology?

Answer 53

Approaches that are reductionist, determinist and use scientific methods e.g. Biological approach
Hypotheses are formulated, tested under controlled conditions and findings generated from large numbers of people and analysed for statistical significance - creates universal laws

Question 54

Evaluation of idiographic approach?

Answer 54

:) - Provides a complete and global account of the individual → in-depth qualitative methods
:) - May complement the Nomothetic approach by shedding further light on general laws by challenging these laws → may reveal important insights into normal functioning which may contribute to our overall understanding
E.g. HM

:( - Narrow and restricted → difficult to make meaningful generalisations from single studies e.g. Freud, Little Hans and the Oedipus Complex
:( - No baseline to compare human behaviour
:( - Methods such as case studies are usually unscientific - conclusions often rely on subjective interpretation and are open to bias

Question 55

Evaluation of nomothetic approach?

Answer 55

:) - Tends to be more scientific - mirrors natural science as ppts. are tested under standardised conditions. Uses data sets with group averages, statistical analysis, prediction and control
:) - Enable psychologists to establish norms and laws of ‘typical’ behaviour
:) - Gives psychology greater scientific credibility

:( - ‘Loses the whole person’ → tells us little about the experience of the people involved e.g. tells us little about life with SZ
:( - Participants treated as scores/numbers - not seen as individual people and their subjective experience of the situation is ignored
:( - Overlooks richness of human experience

Question 56

Tip to remember about idiographic and nomothetic approach?

Answer 56

They are usually complementary rather than contradictory

Question 57

Ethical issues in psychology?

Answer 57

DRIPP:

Deception
Right to withdraw
Informed consent
Protection form harm
Privacy and anonymity

Question 58

Ethical implications on research?

Answer 58

Ethical guidelines were established to help protect participants in research.

However, the social impact of psychological research may be difficult to guard against:
→ Researchers can control their methods and protect participants but have no say over how their findings are represented by society and the media.
→ Cannot control impact on public policy and how it might influence our perception of particular groups in society

Question 59

What is socially sensitive research?

Answer 59

Sieber and Stanley (1988) used the term to describe studies where there are potential social consequences for the participants or the group of people being represented by the research.

→ Often ‘taboo’ topics such as race or sexuality
→ Often attracts attention from other psychologists, the media and the public

Question 60

What did Aronson (1999) say about socially sensitive research?

Answer 60

Psychologists have a social responsibility to carry it because because of it’s importance.
Should not mean psychologists should ‘shy away’ form carrying out such research.

Question 61

Examples of socially sensitive research?

Answer 61

• Ainsworth’s strange situation
• Milgram’s shock study
• Zimbardo’s prison experiment
• Bowlby’s monotropic theory

Question 62

Ethical issues in socially sensitive research?

Answer 62

Sieber and Stanley (1988) stated that there are a number of concerns that researchers should be mindful of when conducting socially sensitive research:

Implication → Wider effects of research should be carefully considered. May be seen as giving ‘scientific’ credence to prejudice and discrimination e.g. studies examining racial bias of IQ.

Uses/Public Policy/app.of findings → Should consider what research is likely to be used for and what would happen if it was used for the wrong purpose. Could be used by the government for political means.

Validity of the research → Some findings have been presented as objective but have turned out to be biased or fraudulent. However, many modern social constructionist researchers are much more up front about biases and preconceptions, and include the reflexive nature of their work in their publications.

Question 63

Benefits of socially sensitive research?

Answer 63

→ Can have benefits for the group who have been studied e.g. (Kinsley et al, 1948) shows the importance of researchers tackling topics that are sensitive.
→ Scarr (1988) - Studies of underrepresented groups and issues may promote a greater sensitivity and understanding of these - can reduce prejudice and encourage acceptance.
→ SSR has benefited society - e.g. research into unreliability of EWT.
→ Certain groups e.g. policymakers rely on research related to socially sensitive issues.

Shows that socially sensitive research plays a valuable role in society.

Question 64

What did Kinsley et al, 1948 do?

Answer 64

In 1952 - DSM listed Homosexuality as a ‘sociopathic personality disorder’ however it was changed in 1973 due to Kinsley.
Due to the Kinsley report which was based on anonymous interviews with over 500 men about their sexual behaviour.
The report concluded that homosexuality is a normal variant of human sexual behaviour.

This shows the importance of researchers tackling topics that are sensitive.

Question 65

Negatives of socially sensitive research?

Answer 65

→ In some studies there may be negative consequences…
Research investigating the genetic basis of criminally has found that there is a ‘criminal gene’ - if this is true, does it mean that someone could be convicted on the basis that they have such a gene or should they be excused because they cannot be held responsible for any wrongdoing?

• Suggests that there is a need for careful consideration of possible outcomes of SSR + it’s consequences.

→ Poor research design may lead to erroneous findings which, once in the public arena, continue to have an impact - need to be planned with care
→ May be used to control individuals in society and support discriminatory practices e.g. a lot of psychological/scientific research supported the idea that the “feeble-minded” were unfit to breed.
→ Consequences may be difficult to anticipate - real impact cannot be known until it has been made public
→ Assessments of the ‘worth’ of such research = subjective

Question 66

Discussion point for socially sensitive research?

Answer 66

→ One way to avoid SSR is to avoid doing it HOWEVER others advised that ignoring such topics is not a responsible approach.

Shows that, if done correctly, SSR might not be as harmful (e.g. by being up front with biases).