Debates Flashcards
Alpha bias
exaggerated difference between male and female
Beta bias
minimises differences between male and female
Androcentric
when normal behaviour is judged by male standard
Ethnocentrism
judging others culture norms and values by your own
Cultural relativism
norms and values can only be meaningful and understood within specific social and cultural contexts
Free will
humans can make choices by themselves an aren’t determined by environment or biology
Determinism
behaviour is controlled by internal/external forces not choice
A will cause B
Biological determinism
belief that biology will influence behaviour
Environmental determinism
belief that behaviour is caused by environment
Psychic determinism
belief is caused by unconscious conflict (Freud)
Hard determinism
free will is impossible ad all behaviour is caused by internal/external factors
Soft determinism
everything has a caused but behaviour can be influenced by individual choice
Strengths of determinism
scientific as establishes direct cause and effect
develop practical application
Weaknesses of determinism
research doesn’t support- twin studies
too simplistic
don’t understand how people take control
Nature
behaviour as a result of biology
Nurture
behaviour as a result of environment
Weaknesses of nature vs nurture
impossible to answer
both are linked
cant isolate one- concordance rates on twin studies
Holism
when an approach looks at a picture as a whole
Qualitative
Reductionism
psychological phenomenon can be reduced to simple parts
B is as a result of A
Quantitative
Biological reductionism
All behaviour is biological
Environmental reductionism
All behaviour is stimulus response, learnt through experience
Strengths of holism
provides complete picture
accepts behaviour is complex
useful- behaviour influenced by many factors
Weaknesses of holism
hard to investigate all aspects
not scientific
rejects importance of biology
Strengths of reductionism
scientific
easier to explain
high predictive power
weaknesses of reductionism
oversimplified
doesn’t provide context
doesn’t consider all influences
Idiographic
focuses on the individual to study behaviour
Nomothetic
establish general laws of behaviour that can be generalised to everyone
Strength of idiographic
in depth
helps other approaches as can add to general laws
weaknesses of idiographic
generalisation can’t be made
less scientific
time consuming
Strength of nomothetic
scientific
establish patterns of behaviour
standardised
weaknesses of nomothetic
doesn’t consider the effects on the individual
inappropriate to use one size fits all for some
