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A level psychology > Issue And Debate > Flashcards

Issue And Debate Flashcards

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1
Q

What does it mean if research is biased

A

our view of people is distorted and of limited value

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2
Q

Gender bias def

A

Being prejudiced against or for males or females

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3
Q

What is Alpha bias

A

exaggerating the differences between men and women

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4
Q

What is beta bias?

A
  • minimising or ignoring differences between men and women
  • e.g using all male/female Ps and generalising results to everyone
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5
Q

Alpha bias vs beta bias

A
  • Alpha bias is exaggerating differences between men and women
  • beta bias is minimising/ ignoring differences between men and women
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6
Q

What is andocentrism

A
  • viewing the world through a male-centred point of view
  • using male views to explain all human experience
  • can lead to female behaviour bing misunderstood
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7
Q

What’s the opposite of androcentrism

A

Gynocentrism - when we view the world from a female-centred point of view (not as common)

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8
Q

How is there researcher bias in psychology (andocentrism and publication bias)

A

males tend to be appointed higher roles in psychology, so more researchers are male? This means they tend to:
- research things that support stereotypes rather than real differences/similarities
- not research things important to women (pregnancy, female harassment), as this is less interesting to them.

There is also publication bias as editors may filter some studies to exaggerate gender differences published in works.

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9
Q

General evaluation of gender bias

A
  • beta bias helps us see men and women as similar so can lead to equal treatment (e.g in laws)
  • alpha bias has led to a criticism of certain male traits that were traditionally seen as desireable and adaptive (e.g aggression)
  • Alpha bias can sustain prejudices and stereotypes
  • socially sensitive research? But we should not shy away from it
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10
Q

What are the implications of gender bias

A
  • can validate stereotypes and discrimination: maternity/ paternity leave
  • may justify denying women of opportunities (because of PMS)
  • can have damaging consequences in real world - e.g the diagnosis of autism being seen as an “extreme male brain”, leading to less diagnosis in women
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11
Q

What are studies which are examples of gender bias

A
  • Freuds psychodynamic approach (e.g castration anxiety is hidden as superego develops. Superego= less likely to be a criminal. Women develop less of a superego, so women are more likely to be criminals? Not statistically true.)
  • Explanations of attachment (mothers attachment more important, leading to changes in maternity/ paternity leave)
  • Zimbardo’s prison experiment (all male participants, but results were generalised to women. Lack of validity)
  • The evolutionary approach in psychology has also been criticised for its alpha bias. This is because this approach suggests that evolutionary processes in the development of the human species explain why men tend to be dominant, why women have a more parental investment in their offspring, and why men are more likely to commit adultery. However, society has changed considerably over recent years, and it is argued that the evolutionary perspective shouldn’t be used to justify gender differences.
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12
Q

What are the issues with cultural bias?

A
  • our view of people is distorted and of limited value
  • research might reinforce stereotyping and discrimination
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13
Q

What is universality?

A
  • when findings can be generalised globally
  • psychology has been criticised for ignoring the effect of culture on behaviour and assuming findings from a study done in one culture can be done to all cultures
  • mainstream psychology studies are mostly done in Western cultures
  • This means differences may be seen as “abnormal” behaviour just because they deviate from what is normal in Western Cultures,
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14
Q

What is ethnocentrism and give an example of this

A
  • the belief in the superiority of one’s own culture
  • we think that our view of the world, behaviours and other cultures is correct

E.g Strange Situation reflects American norms. German mothers are seen as cold or rejecting because they don’t fit the ‘ideal’.

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15
Q

What is cultural relativism

A

behaviour can only be understood with specific social and cultural contexts

  1. ETIC: looking at behaviour from outside of a culture. A culture specific idea is wrongly imposed on another culture (assuming that an epic construct is actually etic)
  2. EMIC: looking at behaviour from within a culture. Findings are applied to only this culture. This is the desired technique, however it is difficult to do due to time/money restraints.
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16
Q

What are two examples of what cultural bias affects

A

Diagnosis of mental disorder and intelligence

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17
Q

How has cultural bias shaped Diagnosis of mental disorder

A
  • the DSM now contains guidance on how people from different cultures may present symptoms differently
  • in the past, there have been a number of culture-bound syndromes which are only found in certain cultures,
  • our definition of mental illness is not universally agreed - e.g Jahoda’s criteria
    -Māoris are 2-3 times more likely to be admitted to a psychiatric hospital than white New Zealanders
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18
Q

How has cultural bias shaped intelligence tests

A
  • intelligence tests often show an imposed etic - timed conditions, mental quickness
  • other cultures (e.g Asian cultures) view intelligence as slows careful and deliberate thought
  • Eysenck found racial differences in intelligence test scores and said this was genetic.
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19
Q

General evaluation for cultural bias

A
  • application to real life: diagnosis of disorders
  • validates discrimination: IQ tests being used universally
  • cross cultural research (Van Ljendoorn and Kroonenberg) attempts to help us understand cultural differences
  • individualist and collectivist may be old fashioned terms - little difference found between USA and Japan in terms of individualism/ collectivism - is cultural bias now less of an issue because of media globalisation?
  • we should not consider all behaviour to be culturally relative: e.g basics faced expressions of emotions have been found to be universal. If we consider the effect of culture on behaviour, theories are more likely to be valid.
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20
Q

Soft determinism def and an example of a study

A
  • The belief that behaviour is constrained by the environment or biological make-up, but only to a certain extent.
  • e.g cognitive approach (pre-existing beliefs in the form of schemas)
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21
Q

Hard determinism def and an example of a study

A
  • the view that forces outside of our control (e.g. biology or past experience) shape our behaviour.
  • e.g biological approach
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22
Q

Biological determinism def and an example of a study

A
  • the idea that all human behaviour is innate and determined by genes
  • e.g biological approach
23
Q

Psychic determinism def and example of a study

A
  • The belief that human behaviour is the result of the unconscious mind (childhood experiences and innate drives)
  • e.g Freud’s theories on development of the id, ego and superego
24
Q

Environmental determinism def and example of a study

A
  • the view that behaviour is determined or caused by forces outside the individual
  • e.g Bandura found that children with violent parents are more likely to become violent parents themselves, as a result of observational learning (observation + imitation of behaviour).
25
Q

What is the scientific emphasis on causal explanations

A
  • basic principle of science: every event in the universe has a cause
  • we can explain causes using general laws
  • understanding these laws allows us to predict and control events in the future
26
Q

How can cultural bias be minimised?

A
  • education and training of researchers so they’re more aware of cultural bias’ effects and hence are more careful
  • researchers can work with individuals and communities to understand unique perspectives
27
Q

What is free will?

A
  • the idea that we can play an active role and have choice in how we behave.
  • The assumption is that individuals are free to choose their behaviour and are self-determined.
28
Q

Describe the nature debate

A
  • characteristics are a result of heredity
  • we inherit them through genes
  • nativist - genes define characteristics
29
Q

Describe the nurture debate

A
  • characteristics are as a result of our environment (e,g the mothers state during pregnancy, cultural/historical/social conditions we grow up in)
  • empiricist - we are born a blank slate, learning/ experience molds us
30
Q

What is the heritability coefficient

A

Looks at the extent to which a characteristic has a genetic basis

31
Q

Nestadt et al twin study

A
  • 68% concordance rate for OCD in twins 31% coefficient for non -twins

EVALUATION
- difficult to tell if higher concordance rates are due to shared environment or genetics
- more useful to look at how both influence behaviour

32
Q

Describe the interactionist approach

A
  • nature and nurture are linked
  • it does not make sense to separate the two - both interact and influence one another
  • e.g the temperament hypothesis in attachment (a child’s innate personality will affect the parent’s response)
33
Q

What is phenylketonuria (PKU) and what does it imply about the nature/nurture approach

A
  • genetic condition: unable to break down a specific protein
  • can lead to brain damage if protein is eaten
  • if detected from a young age - special low-protein diet means development is normal
  • cannot distinguish between nature and nurture: we cannot say one alone is responsible for the brain damage
34
Q

What is the diathesis-stress model

A
  • psychopathologies are caused by a genetic vulnerability and an environmental trigger
  • there is an interaction between the two
  • e.g a family history of schizophrenia and being raised in a dysfunctional family increases likelihood of developing schizophrenia
35
Q

What is the idea of epigenetics and how this is relevant to the nature nurture debate

A
  • a change in genetic activity without changing genetic code
  • caused by interaction with the environment
  • can also affect our children’s genes
  • nature nurture debate must now consider the life experience of previous genetics
36
Q

General evaluation for the nature nurture debate

A
  • different to distinguish between the two because environment affects us before we are even born (epigenetics). E.g Women in WW2 went through starvation whilst pregnant and babies were more likely to develop schizophrenia later in life.
  • MZ/DZ concordance rates: difficult to distinguish nature/nurture. BUT adoption studies have shown a correlation between twins which have grown up in different environments (e.g Tienari et al study on schizophrenia in adopted children)
  • nature - biological determinism - can lead to eugenics - creating the ‘perfect’ society, e.g through Sterilisation of people with ‘bad’ genes
  • nurture - environmental determinism - can lead to behaviour shaping behaviour (e.g governments controlling and manipulating citizens)
37
Q

Reductionism def

A
  • The idea that behaviour can be studied by breaking down its parts
  • we can explain behaviour using the most basic principles
38
Q

Holistic def

A
  • the idea that we can only understand behaviour by considering the person as a whole
39
Q

What is insight learning

A
  • behaviour is learnt through insight rather than trial and error
  • the “aha experience” - we suddenly see the solution to a problem
  • this happens when all parts of the problem are seen in relation to each other and it forms a meaningful whole
40
Q

Describe Kohlers study about a chimpanzee and a banana as evidence of the “aha experience”

A
41
Q

What is the basis of the humanistic approach

A
  • study of the whole person
  • there is no point studying small aspects of humans and ignoring the bigger picture
42
Q

What are the levels of explanation

A
43
Q

Evaluation for reductionism vs holism debate

A
44
Q

what is the difference between an idiographic and nomothetic approach

A

A nomothetic approach seeks to apply general laws of behaviour
An idiographic approach seeks to understand the subjective experience of the individual

45
Q

describe the nomothetic approach

A

The aim of nomothetic research is to investigate groups of people in order to be able to generalise findings
Nomothetic research tends to favour scientific methods such as lab experiments which involve high levels of control
Nomothetic research aims to use large sample sizes so as to generate robust quantitative data which is able to withstand statistical analysis

46
Q

describe the idiographic approach

A

The aim of idiographic research is to investigate the unique and subjective experiences of the individual
Idiographic research tends to favour qualitative methods such as case studies which allow the researcher to use a range of methods to create a complete picture of the participant
Idiographic research uses small samples - often only a single participant - in order to generate data which is rich, thick and insightful
Research such as Freud’s psychodynamic theory is idiographic as it seeks to understand the influence of the unconscious mind and childhood experience on an individual’s current behaviour

47
Q

evaluate the nomothetic approach

A
  • Being able to generalise laws of behaviour and compare groups of people is useful in predicting behaviour e.g. a questionnaire on post-natal depression can help to identify women who may be in need of medication and/or counselling
  • Nomothetic research which applies statistical methods to test findings have enabled psychologists to identify what the norm for specific behaviours are e.g. IQ, which in turn strengthens psychology’s claim to be considered a science
  • The nomothetic approach can highlight the what of behaviour but not the why; a large data set cannot explain the subjective experience of the individual which may actually be more important and useful than a statistically significant result
  • Samples in psychological research are not always large enough from which to generate laws of behaviour e.g. Milgram’s (1963) obedience study used only 40 (male) participants so it would be unwise to state that this sample and their behaviour in the study is at all generalisable
48
Q

evaluate the idiographic approach

A
  • The idiographic approach provides a comprehensive, global understanding of the individual which in turn can lead to better insight into to inform therapies such as psychotherapy or Roger’s client-centred approach
  • Nomothetic methods seek to ‘banish’ the individual from the process so the idiographic approach is one way to reinstate human beings as the focus of psychological research (which is, after all, the study of human behaviour)
  • It is not possible to generalise findings from idiographic research due to the restricted sample size which limits the overall usefulness of the research
  • The methods used to study single individuals tend to be subjective which means that they may suffer from bias e.g. researcher bias, confirmation bias
49
Q

What are ethical implications

A

the impact research may have on people

  • does it affect public policy?
  • does it affect the way groups are viewed?
50
Q

What is socially sensitive research

A
51
Q

What are the ethical issues in socially sensitive research

A
52
Q

What are some examples of socially sensitive research

A
53
Q

Evaluation of socially sensitive research

A

A level psychology (13 decks)

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