A2 - Issues and Debates Flashcards
What is alpha bias?
Where the differences between two groups of people are exaggerated
What is beta bias?
Where the differences between two groups of people are ignored
What might occur because of alpha bias?
A theory might appear to value one group of people over another, for example Freud saw femininity as failed masculinity
What might occur because of beta bias in research?
Behaviour in one group of people might be ignored, in favour for a “universal” rule. This may lead to one group of people seemingly being at a ‘higher risk’ for a mental disorder
What is Universality?
The ideal situation where a theory recognises the difference between two groups of people, but does not value one group over another
Why might the fight of flight theory show a beta gender bias?
It assumes the system is the same for men and women, whereas women can often use a “tend and befriend” mechanism
Examples of Alpha Bias
Kohlberg’s theories of moral development, males have stronger justice orientated morality, which he believed was superior, as opposed to care-orientated morality
Example of Beta Gender Bias
Knowledge of fight or flight is based entirely on male behaviour, but applied to both genders
Testosterone and serotonin have been linked with aggression, but only in men. Mann studied the effect of reduced serotonin on aggression in men (via a drug). Found increased aggression in the men but not the women.
Why might it be difficult to remove gender bias from psychological experiments?
Rosenthal (1966) found male experimenters would act more friendly to female participants than male ones, placing bias on the experiment.
However many psychological experiments rely on some form of communication between an experimenter and a participant, so it would be difficult to remove the bias.
What are the aims of “Feminist Psychologists”?
They aim to redress the balance by recognising biological differences between men and women. Eg, not assigning a value to one gender’s performance over another, and trying to identify possible social and cultural reasons for a difference, and correct those if needed.
What is the Emic Approach?
An approach aiming to explain a behaviour that is culturally specific, rather than a universal law of human behaviour.
Often an approach used by an “outsider” of that culture
What is an Etic Approach?
This approach tries to explain universal behaviours that are not culturally specific. This is often done by gathering results across cultures and comparing them
What is an imposed etic?
Where a researcher thinks that they have created an etic approach, but have actually created an emic approach
An example of an imposed etic
Mary Ainsworth’s Strange Situation Method assumes that secure attachment is the ideal, whereas insecure attachments are deviants from this one, and that that is universal across all cultures
How can you correct an imposed etic?
Buss (1989) carried out surveys across cultures to discover mate preferences, but he employed people in each culture to translate the words and ideas in the survey to their own culture
What is intracultural bias?
The assumption that the culture as a whole will all display the same behaviours
How could you overcome cultural bias?
Using indigenisation psychologies, employing psychologists from other cultures to adapt research resources, instead of just one researcher studying several different cultures.
What is a large cultural issue with psychology in Europe?
Henrich (2010) found that 67% of participants in psychological research were American psychology students, so it is a massive beta bias to assume this research can be applied both to other cultures, as well as to western culture as a whole
Define Biological Determinism
The idea that your behaviour is affected solely by your biology, eg genes or neurotransmitter levels
Define Environmental determinism
The idea your behaviour is determined solely by your learning and your experience, eg exposure to violent role models
Define Psychic Determinism
The idea that your behaviour is controlled by your innate drives (the Id) and the effects your early experiences had on the development of your Ego and Superego. Eg developing an anally retentive personality from the Anal stage of the psychosexual stages of development
What is the Humanistic Approach?
The idea of “self determinism” where you are in control of your actions. People have an innate tendency to strive for self-actualisation, but can exercise their free will to reach these needs.
What does “moral responsibility” mean?
The assumption that we are in control of our actions, so if you commit a crime, you are responsible for it. This is why young children and the severely mentally ill are tried differently to healthy adults.
Which study suggests that we have free will, as biological change occurs before conscious change?
Libet (1983), who asked participants to press a button whenever they felt like it, and register when they felt the urge to do so. They found that the participants registered brain activity (which was being monitored) before they consciously registered the urge to act.
