Issue And Debates Flashcards
What are the 5 different topics?
Gender bias Vs Culture bias
What is gender bias?
When one gender is treated less favourable than the other
What are the different types of gender bias?
Alpha bias
Beta bias
What is alpha bias?
When the difference between men and women are exaggerated
What is beta bias?
When the difference between men and women are minimised
What is the example of alpha bias?
Freuds research (psychosexual development theory)
How is Freud’s research an example of alpha bias?
- his research is based on what culture was like when he was alive. Men were more superior than women as they were better educated and more powerful
- in his psychosexual development theory he suggested that women were less mature than men due to their superego being less developed and inferior as they don’t have a penis.
What is the example of Beta bias?
Fight-or-flight stress response
How is the fight-or-flight response an example on beta bias?
- the stress response is based on research on male animals as female animals have variations in hormone levels which makes it difficult to do research. This suggests that males and females have the same stress response
- however Taylor challenges this and found out that female produce a tend-or-befriend response to stress which is adaptive as ensures the survival of their offspring
What is androcentrism?
Centred or focused on men, often ignores women
What is universality?
The aim to develop theories that apply to all people, which include real differences.
What is determinism?
all behaviour is determined and predictable
What is hard determinism?
single cause and effect
What is soft determinism?
cause and effect but considers many causes
What are the 4 types of determinism?
- biological
- scientific
- environmental
- psychic
What is biological determinism?
certain genes cause behaviours e.g MAOA causes aggression
What is environmental determinism?
experiences shape what we do e.g phobias
What is psychic determinism?
internal unconscious factors decide our behaviour
What is scientific determinism?
all events have a cause - IV changes the DV e.g attachment
What are the two levels of determinism?
hard and soft
What is free will?
individuals have the power to make choices about their own behaviour
What are the 2 types of free will?
humanism
moral responsibility
What is humanism?
Maslow / Rogers say self-determination is crucial for self-actualisation and happiness
and that we must take responsibility to change ourselves
What is moral responsibility?
society assumes “normal” adult males own their decisions and are responsible
What is cultural bias?
is the tendency to judge all people in terms of your own cultural assumptions
What is cultural alpha bias?
refers to theories which suggest that there are real differences between cultures e.g Freud
What is cultural beta bias?
refers to theories which minimise or ignore the differences between cultures e.g Ainsworth
What is ethnocentrism?
use of their own culture as a judgement of other cultures
What is alpha bias in ethnocentrism?
own culture is seen as better so other cultures devalued
What is beta bias in ethnocentrism?
when psychologists believe that their view on the world is the only one
What is cultural relativism?
is the opposite of ethnocentrism - all cultures are respected and by studying one culture we need to understand how other cultures view the world too.
What is cultural relativism alpha bias?
where the assumptions of real differences lead to psychologists over looking universals (particular group)
What is cultural relativism beta bias?
assuming that the same rules apply universally
What is an example of cultural relativism beta bias?
misdiagnosis - in SZ study where doctors in America gave different diagnosis compared to in the UK
What is nurture?
environmental factors can influence our behaviour
What is nature?
behaviour is a product of genes
What are 2 examples of a nature explanation?
genes - family, twin, adoption studies
e. g the concordance rate for SZ
- MZ twins (genetically the same) had a concordance rate of 40%
- DZ (share 50% of the same genes) had a concordance rate of 7%
evolutionary -
What are 2 examples of a nurture explanation?
- behaviourism - behaviourists assume that all our behaviour can be explained by experiences alone
e.g attachment can be explained through classical and operant conditioning
classical - food is associated with the mother who feeds the baby
operant - food reduces the discomfort from hunger and therefore it is rewarding
Social Learning Theory
What are some evaluation points about the gender and culture argument?
- double standards - women do the same as men but are often judged unfairly because we assume that there are innate differences
- beta bias in culture could cause harm to patients e.g wrong diagnoses and treatments which could cause antibiotics resistance
What is idiographic?
- focuses on the individual and recognition of uniqueness
- qualitative methods used
What is nomothetic?
- attempts to establish laws and generalisations about people
- quantitative methods used
What is an example of nomothetic?
- classifying people into groups - DSM-V for classifying people with mood disorders
What is an example of idiographic?
humanistic approach - emphasises the individual
