4.3.1 Issues & Debates In Psychology Flashcards
1
Q
bias and universality
A
- bias refers to factors which may unfairly influence results, thus interfering with the validity
- universality is the assumption that one theory or set of attitudes / behaviours are the norm and can be applied to all people, irrespective of gender or culture
- theories may include bias, lack of validity, and issues with reliability, which all reduce the universality of findings
2
Q
gender bias
A
- when one gender is treated more favourably than another
- 2 types of gender bias;
- alpha bias; when a theory exaggerates differences between genders - e.g. freud’s psychoanalytic theory argues that women develop weaker superegos than men and have ‘penis envy’
- beta bias; when a theory ignores differences between genders, which can lead to androcentrism / estrocentrism - e.g. fight or flight research was based solely on males but was also generalised to females, which is now contradictory as more recent research suggests females tend to follow a ‘tend and befriend pattern’
3
Q
androcentrism and estrocentrism
A
- a result of beta bias
- androcentrism; when male thinking / behaviour is regarded as normal, and female thinking / behaviour is seen as abnormal
when it deviates from typical male behaviours - e.g. Asch’s (1951) study had an all-male sample, but results were also generalised to females, disregarding gender differences in psychology
- estrocentrism; when female behaviour is seen as the norm, but this is a much rarer phenomenon than androcentrism
4
Q
gender bias - strengths
A
- essentialist feminism argues that different psychology arises from biological explanations of behaviour, so androcentrism can be countered by a feminist view by overcoming biases with alternative methodologies
- the awareness of the issue can enhance the research process as it can lead to more critical evaluation, e.g. Dambrin and Lambert consider how their own experience influence their analysis of gender differences
5
Q
gender bias - limitations
A
- gender bias creates and reinforces negative stereotypes and may be used to justify unfair treatment of the sexes
- institutional sexism; males predominate at the senior researcher level and there’s a lack of female senior researchers
- in standardised procedures (lab studies), men and women may be treated differently and they may respond differently, creating artificial differences in the results
- if theories and studies are gender biased, it isn’t necessarily the genders that differ, but it may be the research methods used to test / observe them
6
Q
cultural bias
A
- the tendency to judge all behaviours, attitudes, values, etc. in terms of one’s own cultural assumptions
7
Q
Berry (1969) - emic and etic
A
- emic; researching a culture from within to understand that culture specifically, and not apply the findings to other cultures
- however, bias may still occur by exaggerating the differences between different cultural groups (alpha bias)
- etic; researching a culture to discover universal truths, i.e. applying the findings to people in all cultures
- researchers that do this can be guilty of bias in the form of an imposed etic
8
Q
ethnocentrism
A
- cultural bias may lead to this
- it’s when the behaviours of a certain ethnicity / culture are seen as the default and normal, so any behaviour which deviates from the norms of that culture may be seen as abnormal
- e.g. ainsworth’s strange situation stated that infants who were securely attached were seen as the ‘happiest’ which was the ‘best’ attachment type, but this only reflects the norms of American cultures, ignoring how childcare practices differ in other cultures
9
Q
cultural relativism
A
- the principle of regarding the behaviours of a culture from the viewpoint of that culture itself, i.e. taking an emic approach
- this helps to avoid cultural bias in research
10
Q
cultural bias - strengths
A
- etic research isn’t always bad - given that all humans have very similar biology, there are likely to be many universal psychological truths (the bias comes in when researchers assume their culture is the default; imposed etic)
- psychological research can avoid cultural bias by being conscious of cultural relativism
- takano and osaka found no evidence of behaviour differences in 14 / 15 studies comparing an individualist and collectivist culture, suggesting cultural differences may not be as big of a factor in research as previously thought
- some examples of universal behaviours include facial expressions and interactional synchrony in attachment, suggesting not all research findings are culturally relative
11
Q
cultural bias - limitations
A
- however, just because we’re aware of a biased perspective, it doesn’t necessarily mean we’re able to change our perspective
- there seems to be an institutionalised cultural bias in psychology as a considerable amount of research is based on middle class
- prejudice, discrimination and racism are normalised
- the Western viewpoint usually becomes the ‘norm’ in research, which can lead to collectivist behaviour being viewed as abnormal
12
Q
how researchers can avoid gender and culture bias
A
- by using a representative sample; stratified sampling would achieve this as it reflects the gender and culture demographic within the target population
- conduct research within the context of the less favoured group itself
- ensure that female and ethnic minority researchers are given funding equal to the dominant group, and that published research is given an equal status too
13
Q
free will vs determinism
A
- there are differing opinions within psychology on whether humans have free will or not
- free will; the belief that humans are able to freely choose their behaviours
- determinism; the belief that human behaviours are caused by physical processes which can’t be overruled, e.g. our genetic makeup, our previous experiences, and our environment
14
Q
free will - humanistic psychology
A
- the humanistic approach is the only approach that truly encompasses free will
- it sees the individual at the heart of their own destiny, actively making decisions and shaping their life, rather than allowing external forces to do this for them
- while physical factors, e.g. genetics and the environment, may influence us, we’re able to transcend these and make free choices
- e.g. maslow’s hierarchy of needs and self-actualisation
15
Q
types of determinism
A
- hard
- soft
- biological (biological approach)
- environmental (behaviourist approach)
- psychic (psychodynamic approach)
16
Q
hard vs soft determinism
A
- hard; believes human behaviour is entirely caused by physical processes beyond our control, so free will is impossible
- e.g. Skinner’s idea that free will is an illusion
- soft; believes human behaviour is largely determined by physical processes, but in some circumstances humans are able to overrule these processes and exert their free will
- e.g. cognitive schemas - individuals have some choice and control to change their existing schemas
17
Q
biological determinism
A
- the view that behaviours are determined by biological processes, such as;
- genetics; many psychological disorders seem to have a strong genetic component as evidenced by twin studies, e.g. OCD
- hormones; hormone levels can change behaviours, e.g. increased testosterone can cause higher levels of aggression
- biological structures; brain scans show that OCD patients often have increased activity in the prefrontal cortex of the brain
- physiological processes; autonomic nervous system has a big influence on behaviour, e.g. during fight or flight, but isn’t under conscious control