ISSUE AND DEBATES EVALUATION

Question 1

strength of cultural bias

Answer 1

legislation aims put in place to rid psych of cultural bias and racism.
we must be careful to avoid subtle biases
NOT AS FREQ, CONSEQ REDUCED

Question 2

weakness of culture bias

Answer 2

arguments have been made that western peychology has been oppressive
Eg: determined African americans as feeble minded
CULTURAL BIAS JUSTIFIES DISCRIMINATION

Question 3

strength of gender bias

Answer 3

criteria has been made to avoid gender bias in research
suggesting women should be studied in meaningful contexts
WILL REDUCE MISUNDERSTANDING AND NEGATIVE STEREOTYPES SURROUNDING WOMEN

Question 4

weakness 1 of gender bias (mis)

Answer 4

gender bias may create misleading assumptions about female behaviour, validating discriminatory practises eg: denying womens oppourtunity in society
SHOULD BE EXAMINED AND APPLIED

Question 5

weakness 2 of gender bias

Answer 5

a lack of women in senior research levels means female concerns may not be reflected in research.
male research may impose androcentric views
INSTITUTIONAL METHODS AND STRUCTURES MAY HAVE GENDER BIAS

Question 6

strength of free will

Answer 6

being able to believe we have free will is good for mental health. a study found teens with strong belief in fatalism had high risk of developing depression
POSITIVE IMPACT ON MIND

Question 7

weakness of free will

Answer 7

libet had pps flick wrist at random point whilst measuring brain activity.
found unconscious made decision before the conscious occusing 1/2 second before conscious
basic experience determined by brain

Question 8

strength contradict 2 of free will

Answer 8

libets study not evidence appropriate as it may have just taken time to see decision in conscious
CHALLENGES FREE WILL

Question 9

weakness of determinism

Answer 9

legal system believes opposite to hard determinism as they disbelieve against people having no choice in their behaviour
suggests in real world society hd may not work

Question 10

strength of nature vs nurture

Answer 10

researchers conducted meta analysis of adoption studies and found genetic influence accounted for 41% of aggression
SUGGESTS CAN SEPARATE BETWEEN
however.. children will pick env based on nature ( eg friends ) making it hard to distinguish between influence

Question 11

strength of NATURE

Answer 11

research found women who are pregnant during famine, the babies are twice as likely to develop schizophrenia
EPIGENETIC MARKETS influence health

Question 12

strength of nature 2

Answer 12

people with high risk of OCD due to family background receive education about inheritance etc
PRACTICAL LEVELS IN UNDERSTANDING
POSITIVE FOR SOCIETY

Question 13

weakness of nurture

Answer 13

extreme nativist stance has led to controversy eg: linking gender with eugenic policies.
empiricists have linked to neg behaviour eg: aversion therapies
DANGEROUS CONSEQUENCES ON SOCIETY
interactionist stance preferred

Question 14

strength of hollism

Answer 14

considers all elements influencing behaviour and how these influence a person.
takes into account uniqueness and how influence behaviour
ECOLOGICAL VALIDITY
PRACTICAL LEVEL FOR TREATMENTS

Question 15

weakness of hollism

Answer 15

hard to apply practically
many causes to depression leads to difficulty in prioritising treatments
MAY LACK PRACTICAL VALUE

Question 16

strength of reductionism

Answer 16

uses controlled research with operationalised variables
possible to conduct in reliable manner
SCIENTIFIC
GREATER CREDIBILITY
EQUAL TERMS W SCIENCE

Question 17

weakness of reductionism

Answer 17

accused of oversimplifying, leading to reduced validity.
eg: explanation at level of gene dont consider social context
ONLY FORMS PART OF EXPLANATION

Question 18

strength of idiographic

Answer 18

uses in depth qualitative methods which allows deep understanding, and therefore individual differences
PRACTICAL VALUE, PSYCHOLOGISTS CAN DETERMINE TREATMENTS

Question 19

weakness of idiographic

Answer 19

doesnt acknowledge that meaningful generalisations need further examples, therefore only 1 case study will not be sufficient.
conclusions tend to be less scientific as they rely on subjective interpretation and open to bias
CANNOT MAKE THEORIES OF BEHAVIOUR WITHOUT NOMATHETIC

Question 20

strength of both idiographic and nomathetic

Answer 20

both approaches fit aim of science
n- establish objectivity
i- establishes objectivity through triangulation
BOTH RAISE PSYCHOLOGY AS A SCIENCE

Question 21

weakness of nomothetic

Answer 21

focusses on general laws and such have been accused of loosing the whole person
understanding subjective experience may help treatments improve
FAILS TO RELATE TO EXPERIENCE