Chapter 4- Issues And Debates (paper 3)

Question 1

What is the nature vs nurture debate?

Answer 1

Extent to which aspects of behaviour are a product of inherited or acquired characteristics

Question 2

What is heredity?

Answer 2

Genetic transmission of mental and physical characteristics from one generation to another

Question 3

What is environment (in terms of the nature nurture debate)?

Answer 3

Any influence in human behaviours that is non-genetic. This may range from pre-natal influences in the womb or cultural and historical influences at a societal level

Question 4

What is the interactionist approach?

Answer 4

Idea that nature and nurture are linked to such an extent that it does not make sense to separate the two, instead researchers study how they interact and influence each other

Question 5

Who is René Descartes?

Answer 5

Nativist

Argues that human characteristics and even some knowledge is innate- result of heredity

Question 6

Who is John Locke?

Answer 6

Empiricist

Argued that the mind is a blank slate at birth upon which learning and experience writes: the result of environment- key influence in the behaviourist approach

Question 7

What is the heritability coefficient?

Answer 7

Used to assess heredity from 0 to 1 , indicates the extent to which the characteristic has genetic basis. 1 suggesting it’s entirely genetically determined

Question 8

How did Plomin contribute to heritability coefficient?

Answer 8

Highlighted the general figure for heritability in IQ is around 0.5 across multiple studies in a variety of populations. Therefore genetic and environment are important factors in intelligence

Question 9

What is the nurture aspect of the nature nurture debate?

Answer 9

‘The environment’

Richard Lerner identified different levels of the environment

Eg:
Pre-natal terms like mother’s physical and psychological state during pregnancy

Post-natal such as social conditions child grows up in or cultural and historical context they are part of

Question 10

What does relative importance of the nature nurture debate mean?

Answer 10

Changed, psychologists are more likely to ask what the relative contribution of each influence is in terms of what we think and what we do

Eg: twin studied is difficult to tell whether high concordance rates is a result of shared genetics or shared upbringing

Question 11

How does the interactionist approach have relative importance?

Answer 11

Idea that nature creates/ leads to nurture as the heredity and environment interact eg:Belsky and Rovine demonstrated parent-child relationship is ‘two-way’/ reciprocal, the child’s innate temperament affecting the way parents respond. Their responses will affect the child’s behaviour

Question 12

What is the relative importance and what is the diathesis stress model?

Answer 12

Suggests that psychopathology is caused by genetic vulnerability which is only expressed when there is an environmental trigger

Eg: Pikka Tienari et al found a group of Finnish adoptees were more likely to develop schizophrenia if biological relative had history of disorder (genetics) and the adoptive families were dysfunctional (trigger)

Question 13

What is epigenetics? How does this have relative importance in the nature nurture debate?

Answer 13

The life experience of previous generations. Refer to changes in our genetic activity without changing our genetic code, happens through interaction with the environment eg: smoking, pollution,war… which leave ‘marks’ on our DNA which can influence genetic codes of our child/ future generations

Question 14

What did Brain Dias and Kerry Ressler do?

Answer 14

Gave make lab mice electric shocks every time they were exposed to the smell of acetophenone (chemical in perfume) . As behaviourist demonstrated the mice showed fear every time the scent was presented. Furthermore, the rats children and grandchildren also feared the smell even though they had never been exposed acetophenone or electric shocks

Question 15

Evaluation- strength- implications of nativism and empiricism

Answer 15

Empiricist suggest only behaviour can be changed by altering environmental conditions- so can shape behaviour

This has practical application as desirable behaviours can be reinforced and undesirable behaviours punished/ ignored

This can lead to model societies where it can manipulate its critizens using these techniques

Question 16

Limitation- implications of nativism and empiricism

Answer 16

Extreme determinism- leads to controversy in attempts to link things like race, genetics, intelligence- socially sensitive

Also raises ethical questions eg: application of eugenics policies

Question 17

Limitation- shared and unshared environments

Answer 17

Introduced by Dunn and Plomin that individual differences means the siblings experience life events differently eg: age or temperament means that things like parental divorce could impact/ have a different meaning to each sibling

This demonstrates that environment is complex and that even MZ twins reared together do not show perfect concordant rates. This supports the view that heredity and the environment can not be meaningfully separated

Question 18

Limitation- constructivism

Answer 18

Suggested that people create their own ‘nurture’ by actively seeking environments that are appropriate for their ‘nature’ eg:a more aggressive child is likely to feel more comfortable around children who depict similar behaviour and will ‘choose) their environment accordingly- affects their development

Plomin refers to this as ‘niche- picking’ and ‘niche-building’. Negative as again more evidence that it is illogical to try and separate nature and nurture influences on child’s behaviour

Question 19

Limitation- relationship to other debates

Answer 19

Too deterministic

A too strong commitment to either nature or nurture position corresponds to a belief in hard determinism

Nativist- ‘anatomy is destiny’ where as empiricists- environment is all. This equates to biological determine and environmental determine respectively

Just like constructivism is similar to ‘reciprocal determinism’ - makes them hard to distinguish

Question 20

Limitation- genotype-environment interaction:

Answer 20

Scare and McCartney put forward a theory of gene-environment interaction that has 3 types

1) Passive interaction- parents’ genes influence the way they treat their children
2) Evocative Interaction- child’s genes influence and shape the environment in which they grow up
3) Active Interaction- child creates its own environment through the people and experience it selects

This points to a complex and multi-layered relationship between nature and nurture

Question 21

Examples

Answer 21

Look in booklet for more detail

2 videos- criminal behaviour and acquisition of phobias

Video on twin studies and notes on ‘Three Identical Twins’

Question 22

How do nature and nurture interact in attachment?

Answer 22

Nature- children’s innate temperament influences the parents response to the child (nurture), the parents response (nurture) is influenced by the Child’s behaviour and
expression of their temperament. (Nature)

Question 23

What was TEDS? What was the sample size? Duration? Key individuals? Job roles?

Answer 23

Stands for Twins Early Development Study

Began 1994

Kings college London

Over 50,000 families with twins researched from birth to 20 years

Have over 21000 twins

Over 10,000 twin pairs born in England and Wales

Key researchers- Plomin (genetic influences) and Dunn (environmental influences)

Duration- 20 years, collect data from twins at least once every two years

Job roles- variety, wanted creativity but also experts in the subject, data manager, mailers, scientists

Led by over 140 researchers from 50 research institutions

More then 100 collaborators

Question 24

What aspects of behaviour and development was studied at TEDS?

Answer 24

Potential and limitations

How environment affects us

Prevention, diagnostic and treatment of illnesses

Look at cognition, school achievement, home and school environment, health, well-being, personality, mental health

Question 25

What were the findings? What traits appear to be inherited?

Answer 25

Intelligence and language development (phonic tests)

Genetics huge in education

Question 26

Why is TEDS increasingly valuable as it goes on?

Answer 26

The twins in the sample in the TEDS study are reaching adulthood, this is useful because it starts to allow researchers to:

-entering emerging adulthood period-transition from education to work + family- elongated due to demographic changes, no longer simply leave education and get jobs for life. They can look at the twins own children and the predictors from the past. Can compare their children’s results to when they were the same age, this can open up new discussions

Also gaining more access eg: genotyping machines- 30 minutes to get results

Data collection more efficient and more detailed, can go down to bottom line of genetics- more specific

Question 27

Why are twins so useful?

Answer 27

Unique- provide a natural experimental design- 2 types, identical and non-identical. Distinction can help comparison- can identify the level of genetic influence.

Question 28

What are the possible implications of TEDS findings for policy?

Answer 28

Vary depend on values eg: Finnish model

Get more publicly- raise awareness

Not environmental or genetic- hard to implicate

More then 500 papers- Plomin- more understanding

Personal educational system due to genetics differences

MORE VIDEO NOTES IN BOOKLET

Question 29

Evaluation- research methodology strengths:

Answer 29

This evaluation is just summarised- example PEELS with ALL the information is in booklet however this does contain the KEY information and terminology !!

TEDS- huge sample and longitudinal research, range of research eg: questionnaires to swab tests

Managed to look at heredity to specific traits like intelligence

Generalisability

60% of differences between children is due to genetics

70% phonics heritable

Question 30

Evaluation- strengths historical NN debate:

Answer 30

Application

Treatments for phobias eg: systematic desensitisation
Mental disorders like OCD eg: drug therapy, genes linked with serotonin and environment- drugs can increase serotonin levels meaning transmission of mood- related information takes place

Question 31

Evaluation- strengths current NN debate:

Answer 31

Insight into how NN interacts, expressed in Scarr and McCartney’s research and the diathesis stress model

Adds external validity to debate

Demonstrates varied and complex

Benefits for society

Explanatory power- crime, development, mental illness

Treatments eg: diathesis stress model lead to drugs and CBT to treat things like OCD

Good application

Question 32

Evaluation- drawbacks research methodology:

Answer 32

Not all twin studies are effective eg: TEDS needs huge amounts of funding and staff

Need more twins studies as big all research follows participants over time (longitudinal) and don’t have large samples needed-money

Also requires technology which may not always be accessible, which may limit the amount of research they can do and being able to collect data efficiently

Question 33

Evaluation- drawbacks historical NN Debate:

Answer 33

Too simplistic

Need to look at how NN interact eg: attachment

More evidence- Tienari et al

Lacks validity

Interactionist approach gives more insight

Question 34

Evaluation- current NN Debate drawbacks

Answer 34

Does not help in trying to find the root cause of certain behaviours eg: psychopaths having different brain structures- more necessary to view genetics separately

Question 35

What is the idiographic approach?

Answer 35

Idiographic approches think that individuals are unique. The research methods reflect this and look at a person’s subjective emotions and experiences. Methods like case studies and in depth interviews lead to qualitative data. This is more difficult to analyse with statistics because it is more descriptive. By looking for more in-depth insight in individuals, idiographic approaches can be seen as more holistic, looking at a range of factors to form a complete view of the person.

Question 36

What is a nomothetic approach?

Answer 36

Nomothetic approaches aim to formulate general laws to explain behaviour similarities in large numbers of people. Nomothetic research gives statistical norms for comparison. Research uses large samples and quantitative methods eg: experiment to collect data that is easier to submit to statistical analysis. Nomothetic approches and explanations are more in line with science and are more reductionist

Question 37

Name some key examples of the idiographic approach:

Answer 37

1) Humanist (Maslow and Rogers):
- these researchers take a phenomenological approach and focus on the individual’s conscious experience of self
- theorists in this field describe themselves as anti-scientific
- concepts used include the hierarchy of needs and person-centred therapy

2) Freud’s psychodynamic Approach:
- a case study described a 5 year old boy with a fear of being bitten by a horse
- this was thought to stem from the boy seeing a horse collapse and die in the street
- this was interpreted as the boy’s fear of being castrated by his father (because the boy loved his mother)

Question 38

Name some key examples of nomothetic approaches:

Answer 38

Radford and Kirby (1975)-Types of Law made by nomothetic approaches:

1) Classifying people into groups eg:DSM
2) Establishing dimensions that can be used to assess people and compare them eg:Use of the normal distribution curve
3) Establishing principles of behaviour that can be applied to people in general eg: Behaviourism like attachment or acquiring phobias

Biological approach eg:

• Tulving used PET scans to locate episodic and semantic memories in different parts of prefrontal cortex
• biological explantations and treatment of OCD looking at neurotransmitters eg: serotonin and dopamine

Question 39

Name some key idiographic approaches from OTHER MODULES/TOPICS:

Answer 39

Attachment and Koluchová Twins

Approches- humanism

(Explanation in booklet)

Question 40

Name some key nomothetic approaches from OTHER MODULES/ TOPICS:

Answer 40

Attachment- learning theory
Psychopathology-DSM, drug treatments for OCD
Memory- MSM (Multi-store model)

Question 41

How does information from idiographic and nomothetic approaches compare?

Answer 41

Both idiographic and nomothetic approaches are used in research to give insight into a topic

Researchers choose methods to suit a particular area eg: case studied and detailed interviews can be appropriate for studying sensitive issues like addiction

Idiographic case studies can link with nomothetic approaches in different ways eg:

• case studies can identify details that challenge what a general nomothetic theory says
• Case studies can identify particular details suitable for further nomothetic research to make general laws about groups of people

Question 42

What is the compromise between ideographic and nomothetic approaches? Give examples:

Answer 42

They complement each other and can be used to give a fuller explanation and understanding of behaviour

Attachment- case studies like Genie and the Kulochova Twins have added detailed insight. This detailed insight is used as well as Bowlby’s theory to understand factors that affect development

Psychodynamic approach- idiographic case studied are used to make general (nomothetic) laws about behaviour eg: many people use defence mechanisms, the unconscious has an important role influencing behaviour. The psychosexual stages of development are general laws about development, but a person may have individual different experiences so develop differently

Memory- idiographic case studies include eg: HM and KF. These hell illustrate the nature and function of short term memory.
-Miller’s nomothetic work on the STM capacity suggests a limited of 7+/-2 units that is a general law that assumes many people are similar

Question 43

What is a strength of the idiographic approach in terms of the level of detail?

Answer 43

A strength of taking an idiographic approach is the type of data collected.

By using more qualitative methods eg: case studied and in-depth interviews, researchers gather rich and subjective information about the individuals experience.

This information provides detailed insight about a person and allows researchers to explore issues in greater depth. This is useful for identifying new research questions and challenging established theories. Because it is more detailed the data has greater validity

Therefore idiographic approaches make useful contribution to psychological understanding

Question 44

What is a strength of the nomothetic approach in terms of data?

Answer 44

One strength is the type of data collected

By using quantitative methods eg: the experiment or large scale surveys, researchers gather objective data from many people

This data can be analysed using statistics to identify trends and patterns

This adds insight into a range of areas in psychology eg: the function of cognitive processes or effectiveness of drugs

This gives nomothetic approaches good generalisability. Therefore, the data collected contributes to the formulation of theories and general laws

Question 45

Which one is more applicable to life? Idiographic or nomothetic?

Answer 45

In terms of application, nomothetic approaches are stronger and use general laws in different ways. This had led to useful applications in more than one area eg: DSM for classification of mental illness, the normal distribution curve for assessment of IQ, and the formulation of theories eg: learning theory and biological explanations of behaviour

Question 46

How do the idiographic and nomothetic approaches complement each other?

Answer 46

Look at PEEL in notes

Question 47

What is holism?

Answer 47

An argument or theory which purposes that it only makes sense to study an indivisible system rather than its constituent parts (which is reductionist)

Question 48

What is reductionism?

Answer 48

The belief that human behaviour is best explained by breaking it down into smaller constituent parts

Question 49

What is biological reductionism?

Answer 49

Attempts to explain social and psychological phenomena at a lower biological level eg: genes, hormones

Question 50

What is environmental reductionism?

Answer 50

Attempt to explain all behaviour in terms of stimulus- response links that have been learned though experience

Question 51

Who are gestalt psychologists?

Answer 51

Basis of holism, inappropriate to break up behaviour/ experience as you can only understand a person/ behaviour as a whole eg: shared with humanistic psychologists who see the whole person

Question 52

What is reductionism based on? What is it?

Answer 52

Parsimony.

That all phenomena should be understood at most basic principles. Often the most simple, easy and economical explanation

Question 53

What do different levels of explanation mean in psychology?

Answer 53

Different ways of viewing the same phenomena eg:

• OCD could be understood in a socio-cultural context eg: repetitive hand washing, the most people would regard as odd or irrational. It could also be seen from a psychological level eg: obsessive thoughts, a physical level eg: sequence of movements in hand washing…

It’s a debate on best explanation, each is more reductionist

Psychology can be placed within a hierarchy of science eg: more precise and ‘micro’ disciplines at the bottom to more general ‘macro at the top’

Those who believe in the reductionist approach would see it as being derived from sciences lower down in the hierarchy

Question 54

Explain biological reductionism in relation to levels of explanation:

Answer 54

Organisms made up psychological structures and processes. All behaviour is at some level biological eg: neurochemical, evolutionary and genetic influences

Links to biological approach and links to things such as the effects of psychoactive drugs and can explain serious disorders like OCD, depression and schizophrenia at a biochemical level

Question 55

Explain environmental (stimulus-response) reductionism in terms of levels of explanation:

Answer 55

The behaviourist approach is built on environmental reductionism eg: breaking learning up into stimulus- response links that are measurable in a lab

Key analysis works at a physical level rather than psychological/ cognitive level

Regarded as a ‘black box’- irrelevant in understanding behaviour

John Watson (behaviourist) spoke of it as ‘sub-vocal’ speech, characterised by physical movement like any other behaviour

Question 56

What are the strengths of holism?

Answer 56

1) Aspects of social behaviour that only merge within a group context and can’t be understood at an individual level eg: effects of conformity to social roles and the de-individuation of the prisoners and guards. This can’t be studied by looking at the participants as individuals. The interaction between people and behaviour of the group was important.
2) They provide more of a complete and global understanding of behaviour than reductionist approaches

Question 57

What are the weaknesses of holism?

Answer 57

1) Not much rigorous, scientific testing and can become vague and speculative as they become more complex eg: humanistic psychology- lack of empirical evidence
2) Practical dilemma eg: if there are loads of explanations for depression it is difficult to establish which is most influential and which one to use eg: in therapy. Therefore it is hard to find solutions for real world problems

Question 58

What are the strengths of reductionism?

Answer 58

Forms basis of scientific research

In order to operationalise it is necessary to break behaviours into parts. This means it’s possible to conduct experiments or record observations (behaviour categories) in a way that is meaningful and reliable

Demonstrates how complex learning can be broken down into simple stimulus- response links within the lab

More credibility, placed on equal terms with natural sciences lower in the reductionist hierarchy

Question 59

What are the weaknesses of reductionism?

Answer 59

Accused of oversimplifying complex phenomena- leads to a loss of validity

Explanations of the gene, neurotransmitter or neutron do not include the social context within which the behaviour occurs and this is where the behaviour may derive its meaning

Although the psychological process may be the same regardless of the context it does explain why that behaviour has occurred

Therefore reductionist explanations can only ever form one part of an explanation

Question 60

What are the strengths of taking an interactionist approach?

Answer 60

Eg: diathesis stress model. Takes an interactionist stance- now different labels of the explanation may combine and interact.

Can provide a move multi-disciplinary and holistic approach to treatment eg: combining drugs and family therapy- lower relapse rates

Question 61

What was Smith et al (1947) study on paralysing the vocal cords?

Answer 61

Smith et al did an experiment to challenge Watson’s idea of ‘sub-vocal’ speech. He ingest curare (poison) causing all his muscles to become paralysed. This was to see if thinking is merely sub-vocal speech then preventing any speech movements at all should make it impossible to think

Smith was kept alive using an artificial oxygen supply but he was still able to recall and solve cognitive puzzles even in a state of paralysis

Contradicts Watson’s theory it demonstrates you do not need physical movements to shape the process of thoughts . As he thought the process of thought itself was characterised by physical movements

Question 62

What did Wolfgang Köhler (1925) do that supported holism?

Answer 62

Wolfgang Köhler (1925) set Hungary chimpanzees a puzzle. A banana and stick were placed outside the chimpanzee’s cage. The stick was in reach but not the banana. The chimpanzee tried to get the banana but failed. It stopped trying but returned shortly afterwards using the stick to rake in the banana. This provides insight into learning and demonstrates it can only occur when all the elements of a problem (arm, stick, banana, distance) are understood in a meaningful whole as the chimpanzee found the inter-relationship between them.

Question 63

Booklet definition and explanation of holism:

Answer 63

It argues that it only makes sense to study behaviour as a whole. Hence the complete ‘whole’ circle

Indivisible system

Eg: biological AND environmental influences on behaviour, family, leisure and job context

The sum of the parts does not equal the whole

Question 64

Booklet definition and explanation of reductionism:

Answer 64

Human behaviour is best explained by breaking down into constituent parts

The belief that the best way to research and understand behaviour is by ‘reducing’ it down to its smaller parts or units eg: the genetic explanation of schizophrenia or the role of hormones in aggression

The scientific principle of ‘parsimony’ suggests all phenomena should be explained using the most basic principles

When explaining use terminology like so…

• It reduces the behaviour down to the units of….
• if reduce down to a unit, more measurable and use it to be more scientific

Question 65

What are levels of explanation (booklet):

Answer 65

The idea of ‘levels of explanation’ is that there are different ways of viewing the same behaviour. Higher levels tend to be less scientific and consider a range of factors affecting behaviour, lower levels are more reductionist and scientific looking at behaviour in terms of one basic aspect of unit to explain behaviour

Question 66

Give examples and description of each level of explanation (booklet):

Answer 66

Higher (more holistic) eg: social and cultural explanations eg: how groups effect behaviour

Middle - psychological explanations eg: schizophrenia involves thought disorder

Lower (more reductionist) eg: biological explanations like hormones and genes

Question 67

Give an applied example of how the different level of explanations explain a behaviour:

Answer 67

OCD

Higher (social and cultural)-Producing unusual or irrational behaviour
Middle (psychological)- obsessive thoughts
Lower (biological):
at a physical level-a sequence of movements involved in washing ones hands
At a physiological level- hypersensitivity of the basal ganglia
At a neurochemical level- underproduction of serotonin

Question 68

Give an example of holism in psychology (booklet), why?

Answer 68

Humanistic psychology

Subjective experience can only be understood by considering the whole person

What matters is a sense of unified identity. The person needs to feel a sense of ‘wholeness’ to stay mentally healthy

Therapies eg: Roger’s client centred therapy aims to bring together all aspects of the whole person

Question 69

What is the perception of the holism vs reductionism debate by Gestalt psychologists (booklet), what did they learn from chimpanzees?

Answer 69

These psychologists argues that what we can see can only make sense by considering the whole of an image not just the individual parts

Gestalt psychologists also looked at learning and applied ‘insight learning’ to chimpanzees. This meant when a solution to a problem suddenly comes to us in a flash

Holism explained insight learning shown in Kohler’s chimpanzees as theorists suggest this happens when all elements of the problem are understood as a meaningful whole allowing a solution to be found

Question 70

What is parsimony (booklet)?

Answer 70

Scientific principle which suggests all phenomena should be explained using the most basic principles

Question 71

How is reductionism explained in an biological, environmental and experimental sense?

Answer 71

Biological- reduces social and psychological behaviour to biological units eg: genes and hormones, brain structures and neurotransmitters

Environmental- (behaviourism) reduces complex behaviour to units of stimulus and response- links that are learned through experience

Experimental- reduces complex behaviour to a form or unit that can be studied. Variables are isolated , manipulated and measured

Question 72

Give some examples of environmental reductionism:

Answer 72

Behaviour can be modified using reward to strengthen a given behaviour eg: praise a child for being good

Attachment is formed through stimulus response links in where a child learns to associate its mother with the pleasure of food

Units of stimulus and response can be used to explain the acquisition of phobias through classical conditioning

Question 73

Give some examples or biological reductionism:

Answer 73

The dopamine hypothesis of schizophrenia explained the illness in terms of neurotransmitters

Evidence suggests OCD is influences by a brain circuit involving the frontal cortex, basal ganglia and the thalamus

The MAOA gene is implicated in aggression

Question 74

Give some examples of experimental reductionism in psychology:

Answer 74

Loft us work on EWT in the lab operationalised variables ina way to make them measurable

Cognitive psychologists assess mementoes using lists of words and nonsense words recalled in a set amount of time

Question 75

What is the compromise/ interactionist approach in the holism vs reductionism debate?

Answer 75

The interactionist approach suggests there is more than one level of explanation which may operate at one time

Interactionist approach looks at HOW these different levels may combine and interact in behaviour

Question 76

Give an example of the interactionist approach in the holism vs reductionism debate- schizophrenia:

Answer 76

Interactionist explanations accept that there are different levels of explanation for schizophrenia but they also suggest that more than 1 level of explanation can operate at the same time

Higher- background of family dysfunction/ started a new job
Middle- dysfunctional thought and processing
Lower- father with a diagnosis of schizophrenia

Question 77

Give an example of the interactionist approach- diathesis stress explanation of schizophrenia:

Answer 77

Example of how different levels of explanation can interact at the same time in schizophrenia

Lower- diathesis eg: genetic disposition + higher- stressor eg: starting a new job, divorce… = schizophrenia

Question 78

Explain why the interactionist approach is not the same thing as holism

Answer 78

Interactionist- compromises between holistic approches and reductionist approches

Interactionist- can look at different levels of explanation at the same time to come to a fuller understanding

Holism- all aspects of behaviour as being indivisible- can’t separate them- have to look at as a whole where as interactionist accosts they are separate but can look at them as part of an explanation- more insight

Question 79

Look at booklet for PEEL examples and comparison paragraph, but here are some pointers…

Answer 79

• strong links to evaluating science. Reductionist approaches reduce behaviour down to units that are measurable. As a result, they are more testable, and research is more replicable.

Question 80

What are some strengths of reductionism?

Answer 80

Reliability- operationalising variables gives measurable units of behaviour eg: stimulus response units

Validity- these approaches give psychology greater scientific credibility

Reliability- operationalising variables gives measurable units if behaviour eg: genetic research and neurotransmitters in schizophrenia

Application- systematic desensitisation and flooding are used to treat phobia

Application- biological explanations have led to drug therapies for a range of mental illness

Question 81

What are the weaknesses of reductionism?

Answer 81

Validity-genetic is biological explanations do not include the social context of behaviour seen in higher levels of explanation

Application- drug therapies based on lower levels of explanation treat one aspect of complex mental disorders like schizophrenia

Validity/ generalisability- evidence for stimulus response links is based on animal research in lab settings

Question 82

What are the strengths of holism?

Answer 82

Validity- higher level explanations give more complete global understanding

Validity- high levels of explanation take all factors affecting the individual into account eg: humanist explanations

Validity- looking at group contexts and group behaviour gives good understanding of social bahviour eg: de individuation in the Stanford Prison Experiment

Question 83

What are the weaknesses of holism?

Answer 83

Generalisability/validity- humanist approches reject scientific method and it is difficult to test the concepts

Question 84

What are the strengths of interactionist approches?

Answer 84

Validity- the diathesis-stress modelof uses more than 1 level of explanation to explain schizophrenia

Application-a multi-disciplinary approach to treatment of mental illness uses more than 1 therapy to address factors from different levels of explanation eg: biological, psychological and social

Question 85

What is free will in psychology? What are some of its key trends?

Answer 85

The notion that humans can make choices and are not determined by biological or external forces

• self determining, free to choose our thoughts and actions
• are able to reject biological or environmental forces that exert some influence in our behaviour
• advocated by the humanistic approach

Question 86

What is determinism?

Answer 86

An individuals behaviour is shaped or controlled by internal or external forces rather than an individuals will to do something

Question 87

What are the two types of determinism?

Answer 87

Hard and soft determinism

Question 88

What is hard determinism? What are some of its key characteristics?

Answer 88

Implies that free will is not possible as our behaviour is always caused by internal or external events beyond our control

• or ‘fatalism’
• compatible with the aims of science- to uncover causal laws that govern thought and action
• have no control
• extreme position
• behaviour has a cause-can identify and describe

Question 89

What is soft determinism? What are some of its characteristics?

Answer 89

All events, including human behaviour have caused but behaviour can also be determined by our conscious choices in the absence of coercion (different to hard determinism)

• philosopher William James first to put it forward
• important feature of cognitive approach
• acknowledges behaviour has a cause but has ‘room for manoeuvre’-have conscious mental control over the way they behave
• have freedom to make rational conscious choices in everyday situations

Question 90

What are the 3 types of hard determinism?

Answer 90

Biological, environmental, psychic determinism

Question 91

What is biological determinism and some of its characteristics?

Answer 91

Belief that behaviour is caused by biological (genetics, hormonal, evolutionary) influences that we cannot control

• psychological and neurological (brain) processes are kg under our conscious control eg: influences of autonomic nervous system during periods of stress and anxiety
• mental disorders- genetic basis eg: hormone levels
• biopsychologists recognise the mediating influence of the environment and our biological structures

Question 92

What is environmental determinism?

Answer 92

The belief that behaviour is caused by features of the environment (such as reward or punishment) that we cannot control

• skinner described free will as ‘an illusion’, argued all behaviour is the result of conditioning
• our ‘choice’ is a sum of reinforcement contingencies that has influenced us throughout our lives
• act independently but our behaviour is shaped by environmental events and ‘agents of socialism’ eg: parents, teachers, institutions etc.

Question 93

What is psychic determinism? What are some of its characteristics?

Answer 93

Belief that behaviour is caused by unconscious conflicts that we cannot control

• Freud agreed with skinner, free will is ‘an illusion’ but he placed more emphasis on the influence I’d biological drives and instincts than behaviourists
• sees human behaviour as determine by unconscious conflicts, repressed in childhood
• according to Freud there is no such thing as an accident, a ‘slip of the tongue’ can be explained by underlying authority of the conscious

Question 94

What is the scientific emphasis on causal explanations?

Answer 94

• causes can be explained using general laws
• knowledge of causes and formulation of laws are important as they allow scientists to predict and control events in the future
• laboratory experiment enables researchers to stimulate the conditions of test tube and remove all extraneous variables in attempt to control and predict behaviour

Question 95

Who were the Kray twins?

Answer 95

• notorious east end gangsters
• born in 1933
• 1951 started national service but given dishonourable discharge in 1954
• known for their violence and crimes
• established the gang called “The Firm”
• took part in armed robbery, arson, hijacking and murder
• sentenced life in prison at 35 years old

Question 96

Why did they do it? Determinism influences?

Answer 96

• Father was a second hand clothes dealer who was in and out of the boys lives because he went in the run to avoid military service
• the boys were devoted to their mother Violet who was the classic gangster’s mother; described as proud of her boys and totally spoiled them from birth
• grandfather Jimmy “Cannonball” Lee, was a fighter. Following in his footsteps, Ronnie and Reggie became boxers. Ronnie had some success, buy his brother was considered the real contender. Outside of the ring, Ronnie had the more explosive temper and was known for his willingness to fight anyone that slighted him
• The reins were fascinated by movie mobsters if their cinema childhood; their role model was a dashing gangster called Billy Hill, who exercised the same control over Soho as they would do over the East End

Question 97

Why did they do it? Free will?

Answer 97

They outgrew the poverty and deprivation they were born into and being a corner of the city to their will with ruthless violence

Question 98

Combination of free will and determinism?

Answer 98

Ronnie Kray was rumoured to be gay which was not openly accepted in society at that time. Ron was experiencing paranoid schizophrenia and, on 9 March 1966 it is said he shot George Cornell at The Blind Beggar Pub for calling him a “fat poof”

-usually too simplistic to say it was free will or determinism as it was likely to be a combination of both. They could have made different choices and there was external influences on their behaviour

Question 99

Overview of debate (booklet), free will, compromise and determinism

Answer 99

Free will- people make choices about their actions
Determinism- behaviour is caused by factors outside the individual’s control
Compromise- soft determinism, all behaviour has a cause, but people have conscious choice over their actions

Question 100

Key characteristics of free will? Which approach is free will closest to?

Answer 100

• people make choices about their actions
• a person is capable of self-determination
• even though other factors can influence a person’s behaviour, this approach suggests that individuals make choices that put them in control of and responsible for their own futures

Eg: the legal system holds people accountable for their actions having chosen to break the law

Closest to the humanist approach

Question 101

What are the key characteristics of determinism? What approach is it closest to?

Answer 101

• Human bah jour is caused by factors a person cannot control
• these forces can be internal eg: biology or external eg: upbringing
• behaviour cannot be explained in terms of free will

Eg: determinists would argue that if people commit a crime it is because of factors outside of their control, they are not responsible

• this approach does not often stand up as a legal defence except in cases of eg: self-defence or mental illness
• Removes blame from individual
• closest to biological approach

Question 102

What did Carl Rogers say about free will?

Answer 102

People have freedom to bring about change in their lives by choosing to see their situation differently. If psychological barriers are removed, greater personal growth is possible and people can work towards achieving their potential

Question 103

Name some examples of free will in the humanistic approach:

Answer 103

-self-determination is necessary for healthy development of self and self actualisation (we talk about self actualisation in Maslow’s hierarchy of needs)

• Roger’s client centred therapy:
• being free to effect change in their lives by choosing to see their situation differently
• Remove psychological barriers that may prevent personal growth-free to work toward their potential (self-actualisation)
• conditions of worth and congruence

Question 104

What are the 3 things that free will and determinism differ on?

Answer 104

Levels of choice, control and causality of behaviour

Question 105

How is hard and soft determinism different to biological, environmental and psychic determinism?

Answer 105

Hard (definite) and soft determinism (determining factors but can exert some choice within contraints) look at the extent to which an approach thinks that behaviour is caused

Biological, environmental and psychic determinism identify factors that cause the behaviour- types of hard determinism as it suggests that our behaviour is determined by internal or external factors that we do not control- (shows how it is highlighted/ presented)

Question 106

Booklet definition of hard determinism:

Answer 106

These views are sometimes referred to as fatalism because they believe that everything that we do is governed by internal or external forces. These forces cannot be controlled by the person. Hard determinism is compatible with the aims of science because it suggests that we should be able to identify causes of behaviour.

Question 107

What is soft determinism booklet definition?

Answer 107

The idea was out forward by William James and accepts that behaviour has a cause but adds some flexibility by suggesting that people have conscious mental control over their behaviour. James thought that scientists should try to explain the various forces that determine behaviour, but that it was also important to look at the freedom we have to make conscious choices in everyday life. This is an important feature of the cognitive approach.

Question 108

What are the definitions for the 3 types of hard determinism (booklet):

Answer 108

Psychic- Freud thought free will is an illusion and emphasised a range of determining influences in behaviour eg: biological drives and instincts and unconscious conflicts repressed in childhood. Behaviour is never accidental, a ‘slip of the tongue’ has an unconscious cause.

Biological- genetics, hormones, evolution play a role in personality, health and intelligence. The nervous system, hormones, neurotransmitters and brain structures influence a range of behaviour

Environnement- skinner (behaviourism) said free will is an ‘illusion’. What we think of as free will is just a result of conditioning and reinforcement in all aspects of life eg: systems of reward and punishment. Behaviour is shaped by events and socialising agents eg: parents

Question 109

Name an example of soft determinism in psychology:

Answer 109

It is not so easy to find examples of soft determinism. Theories that incorporate cognitive aspects relating to conscious mental control are relevant eg: Bandura’s Social Learning Theory- environnemental factors like reinforcement in learning are important (determinism), but people can choose what to attend to ( Bandura’s médiation all processes) and whether to show certain behaviour (free will)

Question 110

How do psychologists use determine approaches in research as part of being scientific?

Answer 110

• emphasises the causality of behaviour and that it should be predictable. This in line with scientific approches that aim to identify cause and effect in order to make general laws about behaviour
• if behaviour has a cause, a scientist can test predictions about future behaviour. The lab experiment (using an IV and DV) reflects attempts to control and predict human behaviour
• free will is not compatible with science because it cannot be tested, controlled or manipulated in a systematic way to see its effect on behaviour. Humanist approches emphasise free will and reject the scientific approach

Question 111

What concepts are shared by both determinism and science?

Answer 111

• prediction
• cause and effect
• general laws
• test predictions
• control

Starts to also highlight overlapping features with a nomothetic approach eg: general laws

Question 112

What are the strengths of determinism? (Evaluation)

Answer 112

✅consistent with the aims of science- places psychology on equal footing with other more established sciences
✅ valuable- the prediction and control of human behaviour has led to the development of treatments , therapies eg: psychotherapeutic drug treatment in schizophrenia
✅Realistic in terms of mental illness as in one would “choose” fo have schizophrenia- causes doubt in free will

Question 113

What are the disadvantages of determinism?

Answer 113

❌ The hard determinism stance is not consistent with the way our legal system operates. In a court of law, offenders are held morally accountable for their actions

❌ unfalsifiable- based on the idea that causes of behaviour will always exist even though may not have been found- hard to prove wrong-suggests determinist approach to human behaviour may not be as scientific as it first appears

Question 114

What are the strengths of free will? (Evaluation):

Answer 114

✅ makes cognitive sense, gives face of validity as we constantly make choices throughout the day

✅ if have internal locus of control suggested more mentally healthy eg: Roberts et al (2000) demonstrated that adolescents with a strong belief in fatalism (that their lives were decided) were at a greater risk of developing aggression- even if we don’t have free will, the fact we think we do has a positive impact on mind and behaviour

Question 115

What are the weaknesses of free will in psychology?

Answer 115

-neurological studies- Benjamin Libet (1985) + Chun Siong Soon et al (2008)- demonstrated that brain activity that determines the outcome of simple choices. Found that the activity related to whether press a button eight the left or right hand occurs in the brain up to 10 seconds before participants report being consciously aware of making the decision. This highlights that our most basic experiences of free will are decided by our brain before we become aware of them

Question 116

What is the compromise between free will and determinism, where can this be seen in psychology?

Answer 116

Eg:
-Bandura’s Social Learning Theory- Bandura’s argued that although environmental factors in learning are key, we are free to choose who or what to attend to when we perform certain behaviours- more realistic and useful

-Bandura’s- ‘reciprocal determinism’ compromised by free will-determinism, you are influenced by your environment and you also influence the environment around you, each impacts on the other, through the behaviours we choose to perform. This is an example of soft determinism because this element of choice suggests that there is some free will in the way we behave

Question 117

How does free will affect the law?

Answer 117

Only in extreme circumstances are juries instructed to act with greater leniency eg: if the law of diminished responsibility is applied- self-defence, mental illness or ‘crimes of passion’- disadvantage of determinism as incompatible with legal responsibility.

-As the justice system is based on free will, there is no pony in punishments such as prison as they have minimisant and will ultimately not change the persons behaviour where as if we have an innate predisposition then the criminal cannot be held responsible for their behaviour

Question 118

How is humanism shown in free will?

Answer 118

• illustrates his belief in free will because he thinks that the client should discover their own solutions to their problems therefore making their own choices on how to grow and develop as an individual
• The aim of the therapy is to achieve congruence where the self-concert and ideal self match. If a person feels conditions of worth eg: certain requirements they feel they need to be loved, cannot become a fully functioning person and only then can they exercise free will
• The therapist guides the individual but ultimately the individual makes their own choices and solutions to their problems in therapy

Question 119

Does free will exist? Give some evidence to prove this

Answer 119

• the concept of free will has face validity because people feel that they are exercising choice in their everyday lives. This is incorporated into humanist theories of psychology that suggest people need to be self-determining and able to make choices in their life in order to be mentally and emotionally healthy
• Research into locus of control also supports the idea of exercising free will in relation to better mental health (this would support a Maslow and Rogers)
• Roberts et al (2000) research showed that adolescents who felt their lives were influenced by factors they couldn’t control were higher risk of developing depression

Question 120

Evidence against the existence of free will:

Answer 120

Some suggest free will is an illusion (skinner and Freud) this is because…

• It is difficult to measure the concepts of free will and determinism. Libet’s famous neuroscience experiment did so by measuring brain activity during decision making
• The results of Libet’s research suggest that the brain determines our decision making, not free will (therefore this study questions free will and supports determinism)
• can also use Derren Brown example- designing campaign

Question 121

What type of experiment was libets study? When was it carried out? What were the participants asked to do?

Answer 121

• Lab experiment
• 1985
• used EEG brain scanning
• Asked them time do a simple hand movement such as press a button when they felt like it. Also measured the time in which they decided to move their hand

Question 122

What did the findings show in terms of brain activity and when the person decided to act?

Answer 122

• The brain activity increased before the person thought they had taken the decision to act
• Found That brain activity initiated the movement hundreds of millions-seconds before the decision was reported. Experiment showed the conscious decision didn’t cause the movement

Question 123

Explain why these measures of brain activity suggest that there is no free will?

Answer 123

• Determinists suggests that this shows that the brain determines the decision to act because the EEG shows increased activity before the person said they made the decision to move their hand or press the button
• Proof free will is an ‘illusion’ as brain activity started before the individual willed anything to happen. Our conscious decisions are therefore decisions on what’s already happening which causes our action/ response

Question 124

What else did Libet suggest and question?

Answer 124

• Although he said we may not have free will, he suggests ‘free won’t’ exists- conscious veto if an action that is started in the brain
• questioned his ability to accurately measure the time of an subjective decision to move
• questioned if findings could apply to more complex conscious decisions

Question 125

Name one other study that supports Libet and gives evidence against the existence of free will:

Answer 125

Chun Siong Soon et al (2008)

Example PEEL in booklet-consistent with the aims of science

Question 126

What are some of the strengths of soft determinism?

Answer 126

• offers a workable compromise between free will and determinism explanations
• these approaches offer a more realistic way of explaining why a perosn behaves the way they do
• these approches offer a fuller explanation of why a person behaves the way they do

These approches are able to explain why one person might behave differently to another

Approches have good application in treatment

These explanations are more appropriate for the legal system

Question 127

Give some examples of soft determinism:

Answer 127

Cognitive approach:
-we choose our thoughts and behaviours. The choices we make operate within the limits of what we know and have experienced

Bandura SLT:

• reciprocal determinism:
• a perosn is influenced by their environment but they can also influence their environment by the behaviour they choose to perform

CBT and depression:
-includes elements of free will in terms of making choices and individual goals for therapy. A person may also experience a determinism approach to treatment if given medication to manage biological determinants of the illness

Bandura social Learning Theory of Observational Learning:
-environmental factors include role models and the presence of vicarious reinforcers. He described cognitive meditational processes including motivation (choice and free will) that influenced whether the behaviour was copied or not

Question 128

Summary strengths and weaknesses of free will, determinism and soft determinism:

Answer 128

Free will:
✅face validity- cognitive sense
✅Roberts et al (2000)-locus of control
❌Libet and Chung Siong Soon et al-neurological studies

Determinism:
✅Consistent with the aims of science
✅development of treatments
✅Explanatory power- no one chooses to have a mental disorder
❌Legal systems operates differently
❌Unfalsifiable- don’t know external causes of behaviour- not been found

Soft determinism:
✅Social learning theory and reciprocal determinism
❌No definitive answer-makes legal cases hard to justify eg: self defence

Question 129

Consolidation of debates

Answer 129

Look in booklet- week 11 of lockdown

Question 130

Relationship to science:

What features does research need to show in order to be scientific?

Answer 130

Researchers make and test hypotheses and predictions of cause and effect. An important aspect is the control, manipulation and precise measurement of variables. The findings are used to identify general laws that can be used to explain behaviour in groups of people. Scientific research should be objective and have procedures that can be replicated.

-if an approach shows features of science this adds ‘scientific credibility’

Question 131

Using debates to compare approches:

Answer 131

Look in booklet- week 11 of lockdown- gives positions of approaches within different debates and explanation

Question 132

Gender bias:

What is the aim of psychology?What is universality?

Answer 132

• psychologists aim to understand human behaviour and explain it in an ‘objective’ and ‘value free’ way (without bias)
• they aim to make theories about behaviour that can be applied to all people equally regardless of time and culture despite differences in experiences- universality

Question 133

What is androcentrism?

Answer 133

The theories produced lend to represent a male world view that may neglect or exclude female experience

Question 134

Why is gender bias an issue?

Answer 134

Historically, psychology has been a male dominated area. This is an issue because this leaves psychological theories open to question. Can predominantly male research explain ‘female’ experience? The prevalence of male researchers in psychology is easy to see

Question 135

Give some examples of some influential female psychologists:

Answer 135

• Mary Ainsworth -attachment
• Mane Jahoda - definitions of abnormality
• Elizabeth Loftus- EWT

Question 136

Where are the stages of research where a male dominant view can occur?

Answer 136

-Institutional sexism:
👫Men predominate at senior research level
👫Research agenda follows male concerns, female concerns being marginalised or ignored

-standardised procedures in research studies:
👫Women and men may respond different in the situation
👫Women and men may be treated differently by researchers

-Dissemination of research results:
👫Publishing bias toward positive results
👫Research that finds gender differences more likely to get published than that which doesn’t

Question 137

What is bias?What is gender bias? (Booklet):

Answer 137

A biased view is one that is distorted in some way

👫Gender bias is the idea that research and theory in psychology does not equally reflect the experience of men and women

Question 138

What are the effects of gender bias? Why does gender bias lead to problems in validity?

Answer 138

Effects- differential treatment of men and women based on stereotypes not real differences

Gender bias leads to problems with validity eg: a theory based on male behaviour may not fully explain female behaviour

Question 139

What are the two types of gender bias?

Answer 139

Alphas bias and beta bias

Question 140

What is alpha bias? What does it suggest?

Answer 140

Alpha bias is when the differences between men and women are exaggerated and over emphasised

• it suggests real differences between men and women
• Differences are seen as fixed and unchanging
• Cab devalue one gender compared to the other (usually women)

Question 141

What is an example of alpha bias?

Answer 141

• Freud’s theory saw feminist as failed masculinity
• He devalued females in using makes as the basis for comparison
• He suggested that because girls cannot experience castration anxiety and the Oedipus conflict as boys do, they from a weaker indentifucation with their same sex parent (their mother).
• As a result, girls are seen to form weaker superego and sense of morality than males

Question 142

What is beta bias? What does it suggest?

Answer 142

Beta bias is when the difference between men and women are minimises, ignored or underestimated.

• men and women are assumed to be more similar than they are eg: all male samples in research need to explain male and female behaviour
• can mean the needs of one gender add ignored (often women)
• descriptions of ‘normal’ behaviour for everyone (including women) can be based on male characteristics
• female behaviour can be judged as abnormal in comparison to male standard

Question 143

Give 2 examples of beta bias:

Answer 143

Example 1:

• Fight or flight response is based on male response- research used male animals because female hormones fluctuate
• It assumed a universal response which didn’t explain female behaviour
• Shelley Taylor et al (2000) suggest females have evolved to inhibit fight or light in order to protect their young
• They show ‘tend and befriend’ behaviour that isles social networks for support

Example 2:
Milgram used male sample to explain obedience in men and women- suggested a universal response when only used a male sample- can’t be generalised to women

Question 144

Why do we study gender bias?

Answer 144

It is important to consider whether gender bias exists because of its effects

It also means a gender biased view is distorted therefore has weaker validity

Question 145

Which one (beta or alpha) can devalue one sex? How can this be a problem?

Answer 145

Both Alpha and beta bias can devalue one sex
Eg:Alpha bias of Freud
Eg:Beta Bias- understanding female experience by using male behaviour as the standard

👫This is an issue as our view of what counts as ‘normal’ is based on males and females can be judged as ‘abnormal’ in comparison. Therefore women can be seen as abnormal because they don’t behave in the way that is typical of men

👫It can also trivialises their experiences eg: premenstrual syndrome in women as a diagnostic category suggests that the behaviour shown is abnormal, and is medicalised in terms of hormones , yet it is argued that male anger is often seen as a rational response to pressure.
Not equal- double standards

Question 146

Why is Asch’s line study on conformity gender bias?

Answer 146

Asch used a sample of 50 male students from 3 American colleges.

This was gender biased by demonstrating beta bias. Asch underestimated the differences between males and females by only using a male sample (50 male students) and generalising the results to everyone including women. This therefore does not justifiably represent women’s behaviour in the same situation making the results invalid

Question 147

What was kohlberg’s research on moral development:

Answer 147

• proposed a stage theory of moral development based entirely on the longitudinal study of a sample of American men
• Based on male-orientated principles but argued they were universal and represented moral reasoning for males and females

Question 148

What form of gender bias did Kohlberg demonstrate?

Answer 148

Beta bias

Underestimated the differences between male and females by not including female participants and generalising his reasoning in moral reasoning to everyone. This is bad as it leads to misleading assumptions and takes the male view as correct or ‘normal’

Question 149

What was Carol Gilligan’s criticism of Kohlberg?

Answer 149

-Attacked Kohlberg for the absence of female participants in the research. Argued that whilst female morality is different to men (seen as influenced by ethnic care and responsibility of others) it is no less mature or sophisticated then the men, which she argued was based on abstract principles like justice

Question 150

What form of gender bias did Gillian demonstrate?

Answer 150

Alpha bias

Gillian exaggerates the differences in morality between men and women. She suggests that it is the same for all men and women that it’s pre-existing/ cant be stopped. This can lead to misleading assumptions and it doesn’t challenge stereotypes.

Question 151

What are the implications/ long term effects of gender bias in psychology?

Answer 151

• misleading assumptions
• fail to challenge negative stereotypes
• validate discriminatory practices eg. Provide scientific ‘justification’ to deny women opportunities in the workplace or in wider society
• Carol Tavris, ‘it becomes normal for women to feel abnormal’
• Damage lives and prospects of women eg: statistic that females are around twice as likely to be diagnosed with depression than men

Question 152

Textbook- why is there gender bias in psychology?

Answer 152

In the past women have been subjected to sexism in the exploration of psychology, their voice being minimised, marginalised or judged as ‘abnormal’ against men. This has led psychology to have many male dominated concepts and theories

• Psychologists attempt to make theories that apply to all people which is known as universality
• this can be problematic if it ignores differences between men and women
• psychology has been dominated by male researchers in the past which has led to androcentrism which means a male world view
• therefore, androcentrism theories do not incorporate the experience of women and show gender bias- they show a distorted view based on men, not men and women
• a biased or distorted view will have weaker validity when used to explain behaviour in all people

Question 153

What is universality?- textbook

Answer 153

Any underlying characteristic of human beings that is capable of being applied to all, despite differences of experience and upbringing. Gender bias and cultural bias threaten the universality of findings in psychology.

Question 154

What is gender bias?-textbook

Answer 154

-when considering human behaviour, bias is a tendency to treat one individual or group in a different way from others. In the context of gender bias, psychological research may offer a view that does not justifiably represent the experience and behaviour of men or women (usually women)

Question 155

What is androcentrism?- textbook

Answer 155

Male centred- when ‘normal’ behaviour is judged according to a male standard (meaning that female behaviour is often judged to be ‘abnormal’ or deficient’ by comparison)

Question 156

What is alpha bias?- textbook

Answer 156

Psychological theories that suggest there are real and enduring differences between men and women. These may enhance or undervalue members of either sex, but typically undervalue females.

Question 157

What is beta bias?-textbook

Answer 157

Theories that ignore or minimise differences between the sexes

Question 158

What are some of the characteristics of universality and bias?

Answer 158

• influenced by social and historical context
• bias undermines psychology’s claims to universality
• there despite aims to make it ‘objective’ and coherent with the ‘facts’

Question 159

What is the characteristics of alpha bias?

Answer 159

-alpha bias exaggerated or overestimates differences between the sexes. Typically presented as fixed and inevitable or real and enduring

Question 160

What is an example of alpha bias?

Answer 160

• sociobiological theory eg: Wilson 1975 which explains human sexual attraction and behaviour through a principle of ‘survival efficiency’. Whereby, males try to impregnate as many women in hope that their genes will be passed to the next generation. For the female, they preserve their genes by ensuring the healthy survival of offspring in her lifetime
• this demonstrates alpha bias as it exaggerates the difference between sexes, men’s sexual promiscuity seen as genetically determined whilst females who do the same as seen as going against their ‘nature’
• also shows the essentialist argument in psychology

Question 161

What are some of the characteristics of beta bias?

Answer 161

• minimises or underestimates differences between men and women
• this is when female participants are not included as part of the research process and the research findings just assume to apply to both sexes

Question 162

What are the examples of beta bias?

Answer 162

-for example this is shown in kohlberg’s theory of moral development
-or fight or flight response:
➡️Early research was based exclusively on male animals (preferred for research because female hormones fluctuate). This was then assumed to be a universal response to a threatening situation
➡️BUT recently (2000) Shelley Tayloret al suggested female biology has evolved to inhibit the fight or flight response, shifting from tending to their offspring to forming defensive networks with other females (befriending)

Question 163

What are the characteristics of androcentrism?

Answer 163

• consequence of beta bias
• if understanding of what counts as ‘normal’ behaviour is being drawn from research of all- male samples, then any behaviour that deviates from this is likely to be judged as ‘abnormal’, ‘inferior’ or ‘deficient’ in comparison
• therefore, female behaviour is misunderstood or pathologists (sign of psychological instability or disorder)
• eg: feminist commentators have objected to the diagnostic category pre-menstrual syndrome (PMS) as their behaviour doesn’t follow the stereotypes of female experience
• Brescoll + Uhlman (2008) claim PMS is a social construction which medical users female emotions like anger in hormonal terms. Where as male anger is seen as a rational response to external pressures

Question 164

Explain the Freudian theory- example of gender bias

Answer 164

• in the psychosexual stages he suggested girls no not have the same pressure as boys to identify with the same- sex parent. This is because a girl does not experience castration anxiety in the phallic stage.
• also bad implications in the structure of personality suggesting females have a weaker superego. Therefore, female’s sense of morality is inferior to that of men
• Freud saw femininity as an expression of failed masculinity eg: concept of penis envy. This means that women are psychologically defined by the fact they are not men
• Freud saw female ‘vanity’ as a defence mechanism- to make up for their sexual inferiority to men they focus on ‘physical charms’
• critics have dismissed the ‘phallocentrism’ in Freud’s theory

Question 165

Give another example of gender bias?

Answer 165

• Neo-Freudian Karen Horner (1926):
• argued Freud overlooked the fact men are likely to have jealously of women’s ability to conceive and bear children (womb envy)

Question 166

Textbook-moral development- Kohlberg:

Answer 166

1)Kohlberg (1973) proposed a stage theory of moral development based off a longitudinal study of American men (only). It was based on male- orientated principles which he argued where universal. Therefore representing moral reasoning for men and women

Question 167

Textbook-moral development- Gilligan:

Answer 167

2)Carol Gilligan attacked Kohlberg for his absence of female participants in his research. She argued that whilst male morality is based on abstract principles eg: importance of justice, female morality is influenced by ethnic care and responsibility of others. Gilligan argued that this female attribute places them lower or less mature level of moral reasoning in Kohlberg’s model. But she argues that whilst female morality is different to men it is no less mature or sophisticated.

Question 168

What is the ‘essentialist’ argument?

Answer 168

-research in the 1930s suggested the intellectual development of females would decrease the amount of women falling pregnant (has)

Question 169

Where can you find the gender bias summary and extra examples?

Answer 169

Week 12 of issues and debates- ANSWERS

Question 170

Gender bias evaluation- textbook- drawback: implications of gender bias:

Answer 170

❌Creates misleading assumptions about female behaviour
❌Fails to challenge negative stereotypes
❌Validate discriminatory practices
❌May provide scientific ‘justification’ to deny women opportunities eg: in the workplace or in wider society
❌Carol Tavris- ‘it becomes normal for women to feel abnormal’
❌Not just a methodological problem but can affect the lives and prospects of real women eg: females are twice as likely to be diagnosed with depression than men

Question 171

What is a strength of gender bias?

Answer 171

✅Reflexivity:
✅Psychologists recognising own values and assumptions have impacts on the nature of their work
✅Embrace it as a crucial and critical aspect of the research process in general
✅EG: Dambrin and Lambert who reflected on how their gender- related experiences may influence their reading of events of women in executive positions at accountancy firms
✅ important as it leads to greater awareness of the role of personal biases in shaping research in the future

Question 172

What is a drawback of gender bias?- Essentialism

Answer 172

• many gender differences have been reported based in the essentialist perspective- that gender differences is essential and ‘fixed’ in nature
• Walkerdine (1990)- shows how ‘scientific’ research in the 1930s, revealed how intellectual activity eg: attending university, could shrivel a women’s ovaires and harm her chances of giving birth
• these essentialist accounts are usually politically motivated and disguised as biological ‘facts’
• this creates a ‘double standard’ in the way that the same behaviour is viewed from a male and female perspective

Question 173

What is another drawback to gender bias?- sociobiological theory

Answer 173

-Shows double standards in the way it presents male and female behaviour- based on the notion behaviour is partly inherited and affected by natural selection. Therefore, it suggests behaviour just like physical traits have evolved over time. A double standards is therefore set for one group of people than another eg: the sociobiological theory of relationships promotes gender differences in sexual behaviour eg: applies more severe standards of sexual behaviour to women than to men

Question 174

What is a strength of gender bias?-feminist psychology:

Answer 174

-feminist commentators eg: Worrell and Remer (1992) put forward a number of criteria that should be adhered to in order to avoid gender bias in research
-EG: women should be studied in meaningful real-life contexts, should genuinely participate in research…
-they also suggest there should be diversity within groups of women examined rather than just comparisons between women and men
-lastly, they suggest there should be greater emphasis placed in collaborative research methods that collect qualitative data, as opposed to numerical data
-this qualitative data may be more preferable/ less gender bias than the laboratory based research as laboratory-based research permits investigation expectations and stereotypes than male participants
-qualitative data like looking at diversity may be more preferable by showing that female stereotypes don’t apply to all women and could reduce stereotypes
-collaborative research (produces qualitative data) may also be preferred as it allows for unexpected findings because questions are not fixed in
advance (and will not always support existing views)

Question 175

Where can you go for extra information and summary?

Answer 175

Week 13 video notes- has some extra stuff on comparing approches using issues and debates as well as grave

Question 176

What are the top tips for gender bias Evaluation?

Answer 176

• Get evidence in a psychological theory or research
• Is it a problem for psychology? Why? Why not?
• what are the consequences of gender bias, negative? why?
• signpost your PEEL

Gender bias ➡️ effects ➡️ who, positive/ negative, how serious

Question 177

Impact of gender bias- diagnosis of mental illness- (example, impact, grave, link)

Answer 177

Example:

• USA research has shown androcentrism in diagnosis because the standard of healthy adult behaviour is based on typical male behaviour
• Research also showed the psychiatrist’s gender affected diagnosis

Effect:

• women are less mentally healthy compared to men
• incorrect diagnosis prevents correct treatment
• the effects of gender bias are complex

Grave:
-ethics: clinicians have a duty to help people and ensure equal access to correct treatment
Validity: if diagnosis is based on a distorted view this reduces validity

Question 178

Gender bias is a serious problem as shown by…

Answer 178

1) Alpha bias in psychology
2) Beta bias in psychology
3) problems throughout the research process
4) various damaging effects

Question 179

Gender bias is a less serious problem for psychology because:

Answer 179

• it can play a valuable role in research (reflexivity)

- it is possible to address some of the problems of gender bias in research

Question 180

Gender bias is a serious problem as shown by alpha bias- explain

Answer 180

Example:

• Freud’s psychodynamic theory includes the concept of penis envy and the Oedipus complex
• it suggests that women cannot fully develop a super ego (as men do) and have weaker identification with their mother

Impact:
-in attempting to create a universal theory, alpha bias has led to a limited explanation that devalues female experience and suggests that women are morally inferior

Grave:
Validity- Freud exaggerated the difference between men and women based on untestable concepts. His assumptions are not based on real differences

Link:
-therefore in attempting to create a universal theory, alpha bias weakens the value of psychodynamic theory in psychology

Question 181

Gender is a serious problem shown by beta bias- explain

Answer 181

Example:

• Kohlberg’s research into moral reasoning showed Beta Bias by…
• sample of American men and used moral dilemmas with male bias
• suggested that female morality based on ethnic care and responsibility and male morality based on more abstract concepts

Impact:

• suggests that women are at a less mature level of moral reasoning
• this can be seen as devaluing women

Grave:
- validity-carol Gilligan (1982) said this misrepresented female moral reasoning. Her research showed women show different styles but not less mature

Link:
-therefore in attempting to create a universal theory, beta bias weakens the value of Kohlberg’s theory

Question 182

Gender bias is a serious problem throughout research- explain:

Answer 182

Examples:
-publication bias- lack of women at senior research levels meaning female concerns are not asked. Male researchers were also more likely to have their work published and more evidence if gender differences are more likely to appear eg: journal articles

-institutional sexism- laboratory experiments may disadvantage women as female participants are put on an inequitable relationship with the usually male researcher- has the power to label them unreasonably, be irrational and may be unable to complete complex tasks eg: Denmark et al

• men predominate
• research agenda follows male concerns
• standardised procedures in research may lead to different responses
• women AND men might be treated differently by researchers
• publishing bias towards positive results
• research that finds gender differences is more likely to get published than that which doesn’t

Impact:

• creates artificial differences
• masks real differences

Grave:
-validity: historical problem of gender bias have presented a distorted (and androcentric) view. Research needs techniques to accurately reflect experience of men and women as there are also examples where gender bias can disadvantage males eg: diagnosis of eating disorders

Question 183

Gender bias is a serious problem with a variety of damaging effects- explain (example, impact, grave, link)

Answer 183

Examples:

• misleading assumptions about female behaviour
• assumptions may validate discriminatory practices
• may provide scientific justification to deny women
• opportunities at work eg: pre-menstrual syndrome. If male is used as standard for comparison, Travis- ‘it becomes normal for women to feel abnormal’- affects lives and prospects eg: women approx 2x more likely to be diagnosed with depression then men

Impact:

• devalues one sex
• fails to challenge negative stereotypes
• justifies discrimination
• affects lives and prospects
• Tavris ‘normal for women to feel abnormal’

Grave:
Ethics-negative impact on women
-reduced life prospects and opportunities

Links:
-therefore improvements need to be made to limit negative effects of gender bias

Question 184

Gender bias is a less serious problem for psychology because it can play a valuable role in research?-explain (example, impact, grave, link)

Answer 184

Example:

• reflexivity=researchers recognition of their effects on their own work
• embrace bias as a crucial part of their work
• Dambrin + Lambert (2008) looked at lack of women in high positions in accountancy firms
• they included a reflection of HOW their gender related experiences may have influenced their reading of events

Impact:

• greater awareness of role of gender bias in psychology
• reflexivity may help develop new research techniques in the future

Grave:

• validity= by aiming to understand the role of gender in research, it is possible to give additional context to the research question looked at, and, the findings.
• this depth and can be used to guide people in the interpretation of the results eg: academic reports will outline where gender may have played a role and specifically who the results can be applied to

Link:
-therefore, the effect of gender bias can be valuable in research

Question 185

Gender bias is a less serious problem for psychology because it is possible to address some of the problems of gender bias in research:

Answer 185

Examples:

• practical ways of dealing with it…
• instead of looking at topics like female menopause as ‘specialised’ research, and topics male behaviour as ‘basic/essential’ research, identify the particular group of relevance in all cases

Impact:
-reduces gender bias in all stages of research. Ensures that findings are only interpreted in light of the participants and sample used . Reduces misleading similarities or differences. Minimises damaging effects

Grave:

• ethics: ensures better application of findings eg:in treatments
• reduces negative effects
• validity: increases the likelihood of measuring what you claim to
• ensures describing behaviour in people that is reflected in the sample used in research

Link:
-therefore, by addressing problems of gender bias in the research process, the quality of research will be improved

Question 186

Where can you see the summary/ recap paragraph and example essay?

Answer 186

Week 13 booklet (back)- gender bias in psychology A03

Question 187

L3-Cultural Bias:

-what is cultural bias?

Answer 187

🌍The tendency to judge all people in terms of your own cultural assumptions

• this is a problem because it presents a distorted view of behaviour
• probed with validity and generalisations

Question 188

-What is ethnocentrism?

Answer 188

• Seeing things from the point of view of ourselves and our social groups
• problem= research may assume their culture is superior (this can be intentional or unintentional). As a result, the culture being studied may be judged to be less developed or inferior

Question 189

-what is cultural relativism?

Answer 189

-opposite of ethnocentrism

• strength= the view that behaviour cannot be judged properly unless it is viewed in the context of the culture in which it originates
• awareness of cultural relativism when doing research will help to minimise the effects of ethnocentrism

Eg: auditory hallucinations or forensics- different legal systems

Question 190

What is universality?

Answer 190

• psychology attempts to explain aspects of behaviour that hold true for all people
• in reality, findings only strictly apply to people in the research (problem when generalising)

Question 191

What is imposed etic?

Answer 191

-the research approach associated with ethnocentrism is imposed etic- this is when a technique or theory developed in one culture is used to study the behaviour of people in another culture

Question 192

What is imposed emic?

Answer 192

-the research approach associated with cultural relativism is emic- this is when individual cultures are studied and generalisations are only made within that culture

Question 193

Give an example of imposed etic:

Answer 193

-Ainsworth= the ‘strange situation’ was developed in America and used to compare attachments in different cultures- one culture is used as a standard for comparison

Question 194

Give another example of imposed etic:

Answer 194

-Cochrane and Sashidharan- African Caribbean immigrants are seven times more likely to be diagnosed with a mental illness- using western classification systems to diagnose another culture

Question 195

-Give an example of imposed emic:

Answer 195

-in the DSM-IV-TR, ‘koro’ is listed as an episode of sudden and intense anxiety that the Penis will recede into the body and possibly cause death, it is mostly experienced by Chinese men- generalised to Chinese men- individual culture studied

Question 196

What is a good metaphor for explaining the difference between etic and emic?

Answer 196

Think globalisation and interconnectedness

1) Etic:
- Mac Donald’s have different menus to reflect culture preferences of individual countries
- Starbucks- imposed same (Western) menu on other cultures

2) Emic:
- Mac Donald’s (one of first) menus made adjustments to add food from country in/ where it is being sold

Question 197

-Why is psychology still seen as culturally biased?

Answer 197

• Takano and Osaka:
• found 14/15 studies comparing US and Japan found no evidence of this distinction
• Henrich (2010):
• revised psych journals
• 68% US based
• 96% industrialised nations
• Arnett (2008):
• other reviews found 80% patients were psych undergraduates

Henrich also often said the groups of people studied by psychologists are weird:

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

which makes non- weird people seem inferior or unusual

Question 198

What is the Chilting Test (1968)?

Answer 198

• a demonstration of how cultural content on intelligence tests may lead to culturally biased score results
• a culturally biased test as not everyone would be aware of these songs, traditions or familiar with their specific cultural past
• It’s known as the ‘Dove Counterbalance General Intelligence Test’- designed by a black sociologist Adrian Dove
• designed to demonstrate differences in understanding and culture between races, specifically between African Americans and white people
• In determining how streetwise someone is, the chilting test may have validity, but there have been NO studies demonstrating this
• the chilting test has only proved valid as far as facts validity is concerned and no evidence been brought to light in the chilting predicting performance

Question 199

In more detail, how is Ainsworth strange situation culturally biased?

Answer 199

• shows imposed etic
• suggested that the ideal form was ‘secure attachment’ shown in western children by moderate separation anxiety
• when applied to German children, suggested (wrongly) that German mothers were cold and rejecting
• the categories developed by Ainsworth in the USA did- not incorporate cultural differences seen and were used to suggest that the German parenting was somehow inferior

Question 200

Give some examples of cultural relativism:

Answer 200

1) Auditory hallucinations- listed as a symptom of Sz in DSM but it is not a sign of mental illness in all cultures some tribes seeing it as a gift
2) Forensic psychology- defining a crime may be subject to cultural variations as legal systems differ

Question 201

-Give an example of imposed etic- cultural bias:

Answer 201

-Lefley and Pedersen (1986):

• European/ American ideas about what it means to be mentally healthy and mentally ‘normal’ are not necessarily shared by the rest of the world
• clinicians in US and Europe regarded characteristics such as self-sufficiency, independence, goal- orientated behaviour- internal local of control as indicators of mental health
• in contrast, individuals who demonstrate dependence on others and external LOC are often seen as less healthy- but these characteristics may be seen as more positively in other parts of the world

Question 202

What are the effects of cultural bias in psychology:

Answer 202

• psychologists may overlook the importance of cultural diversity in understanding human behaviour, resulting in theories that are scientifically inadequate and lack validity
• may also privilege their own world view, leading to research that either intentionally or unintentionally supports racist and discriminatory practices in the real world- ethics

Question 203

L4- Culture bias EVALUATION:

-Some have argued that in a world of global communication and interconnectedness, culture bias is no longer such an issue- why?

Answer 203

• research has emphasise a distinction
• western- ‘individualist’ cultures- eg: UK and USA, independence and personal freedom
• collectivist cultures- India and China- interdependence and group

Question 204

Some behaviours are universal and therefore an emic approach would not be needed- what are two examples?

Answer 204

1) Facial Expressions- emotions are universal across cultures and can be seen in the animal world
2) Interactional synchrony- some features of attachment are universal

Both show an etic approach can be appropriate

Question 205

-what does ‘challenging implicit assumptions’ mean- why is this a strength of cross cultural research?

Answer 205

• CC research helps to show differences in beliefs and understanding
• helps western researchers to challenge their western views
• research can become more sensitive to differences and cultural relativism
• increase validity of findings

Question 206

REMEMBER! 🌝

Answer 206

• evaluation summary in notes

- pages of strength and weakness peels in notes !!

Question 207

Explain in full 2 weaknesses of cultural bias in psychology:

Answer 207

1) A weakness of culturally biased theories is that they can give a distorted view of behaviour:
- one example is humanist theory and Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. This approach is based on western culture and values independence and striving to achieve self-actualisation. These ideals do not necessarily apply to other non-western cultures.
- this is a problem if the theory assumes universality and is used to assess behaviour in other cultures. Trying to understand people in non-western cultures according to Maslow’ theory may misinterpret their experience and lacks validity
- therefore, psychologists need to specify the context of their research and the population it can be applied to

2) A weakness of using an imposed etic is ethnocentrism:
- Ainsworth’s strange situation reflects imposed etic by assessing attachment using the US model as the norm
- Her findings presented a distorted view of attachment because when applied to German children, the approach wrongly suggested that German mothers were cold and rejecting
- by suggesting that German parenting was somehow inferior, the research shows ethnocentrism
- this is socially sensitive and reduces the validity of her work when applied to countries outside of USA
- therefore, researchers should adopt emic approaches to understand attachment in the context of the culture in which it is shown

Question 208

Explain in full two strengths of cultural bias in psychology:

Answer 208

1) A positive consequence of identifying cultural bias in psychology is improvements in practice. Cultural bias has been a serious difficulty on western concepts which may be inappropriate for people from other cultures. Further, this may have led some groups to be diagnosed with certain disorders more frequently than others eg: Sz. Recognition of cultural differences and bias in diagnosis has led DSM 5 to include guidance for psychiatrists on how people from ethnic minorities may present symptoms differently. This has improved application by reducing misdiagnosis. Therefore, the problem of cultural bias may be reducing over time.
2) A strength resulting from awareness of cultural bias is the development of ‘indigenous psychologies’. Indigenous psychologies refers to different groups of theories that have been developed in African countries eg: Afrocentrism has developed suggesting that all black peoples who bave their roots in Africa and should have African centred theories. This is a strength because it has led to the development of theories relevant to the life and culture of specific people. These theories will give a more valid insight into the behaviour of African people than those developed in western cultures. Therefore, awareness of cultural bias has had a positive influence in the development of additional theories in psychology.

Question 209

L5=Free will and Determinism:

Answer 209

-LOOK OVER REST WITH NOTES FROM LOCKDOWN:

TEST ONLY ON:

• Gender 👥
• culture 🌍
• free will and determinism 😉😳
• nature vs nurture 🧬 🌿