issues Flashcards
paper 3
Bias
a view that is distorted in some way
Gender bias
research and theories in psychology are not equally reflecting the experience of men and women
Universality
psychologists try to create theories that apply to all people equally regardless of time , gender or cultured differences of experience
Androcentrism
the male view of behaviour dominates
theories produced tend to represent male views
leads to neglect or exclusion of women’s experience
Alpha bias
exaggerates the difference between men and women
suggests the difference between men and women are real, fixed and don’t change
leads to the bias that one gender is devalued compared to the other
Beta bias
minimises differences between men and women
men an women are assumed to be more similar than they actually are
leads to the ends of one gender being ignored
‘normal’ behaviour is often based on male characteristics
female behaviour judged as abnormal compared to males standard
Freud alpha bias
suggests all women have penis envy suggesting they re morally inferior too men
women cannot fully develop a superego as they have a weaker identification to their mothers
Chodorow alpha bias
suggests daughters and mothers have a stronger connection than sons and mothers because they are biologically similar
meaning women develop empathy and can bond with others
Feminist response to freud
penis envy is phallocentric
women may differ to men because they envy their power and status in society not their penises
Consequences of freud
demeaned women
reduced female development to frustrated desire for masculinity
suggests women are “ a strange, inferior, less-than-human species”
contributes to stereotypes of women
Impact/effects of gender bias
misleading assumptions about female behaviour
negative stereotypes are formed and unchallenged
validation of discriminatory practise on incorrect assumptions
‘scientific’ justification
male standard of comparison impacts women
societal impacts affects lives
differing responses to therapy
historical research on ability
Limitation of alpha bias
p - alpha bias leads to a distorted view
e- Freuds’s theory includes concept of penis envy and oedipus complex - suggesting women can’t fully develop superego
e- THIS IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM BECAUSE suggest women are inferior to men as they have reduced development , women will always envy men
l- alpha bias raises ethical implications because it impacts the way women are seen which impacts their opportunities in society
Limitation of beta bias
p- historical beta bias results from using all male samples
e- Milgram, Asch and Zimbardo use of men and no women - no universality
e- THIS IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM BECAUSE limited generalisability of how women may be more or less obedient and competent , may differ due to socialising differently
l- limited validating as basing females on male findings.
Limitation of gender bias
p- gender bias leads to a distorted view of female experience
e- biological view of fight or flight is based on male response as women would ‘fend to befriend’ response - incorrect assumptions of women behaviour
freud - women’s ambition based on penis envy suggesting women are abnormal and inferior
e- THIS IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM BECAUSE misleading assumptions about women fail to challenge negative stereotypes
Tarvis “it becomes normal for women to feel abnormal”
l- ethical implication - disadvantages women
Limitation of gender binary
p- psychology is limited by the use of gender binary
e-categorising and researching distinct ‘male’ and ‘female’ behaviour presents a narrow view that isn’t always supported by evidence eg hormones are both ‘male’ and ‘female’
e- USE OF THE GENDER BINARY IS A PROBLEM BECAUSE research continues to categorise male and female behaviour separately - people who don’t identify as these genders aren’t represented
l- findings shouldn’t be generalised, research should use samples that represent all members of target population
Gender bias through research
p- critics argue that gender bias is a serious problem that runs through all stages of psychological research
e- research shows theres a male dominance in academic departments although most undergrads are women- findings will represent ‘male’ qs and interpretations of behaviour
e- THIS IS A SERIOUS PROBLEM BECAUSE it shows that issues like the Matilda effect and misrepresentation of female behaviour and not being challenged , research by women less represented
l- issues with validity remain, not all behaviour same for men and women.
Positive consequences of gender bias
p- understanding the impact of gender bias has led to improved research
e- new approach recognises full objectivity not possible, researchers reflect on how experience has shaped research and interpretation
Dambrin and Lambert highlight context of their research into why few women in accounting were in high positions
e- THIS IS A POSITIVE CONSEQUENCE BECAUSE reflexivity enhances the trustworthiness and credibility of research by making the researchers influence transparent
l- understanding of negative effects of gender bias has good application, raised standard of research
Why is psychology weird - Henrich et al
W: Western- 95% research comes from USA, Europe and English speaking countries (12% of population)
E: Educated
I: Industrialised
R: Rich
D: Democratic
Cultural bias
Jahoda and Maslow
Tendency to ignore cultural differences and explain all behaviour from the perspective of a person’s own culture, distorted view
Ethnocentrism
Ainsworth
Researcher sees things in terms of themselves and their social groups
Researchers culture is superior, culture studied judged as inferior
Cultural relativism
The view that behaviour cannot be judged properly unless seen in terms of context of its own culture, can be difficult to ensure awareness of differences to avoid ethnocentrism
Imposed etic
When a technique or theory developed in one culture is used to study the behaviour of people in another culture, associated to ethnocentrism
Ainsworth strange situation, Cochrane and Sashidharan, Deviation from ideal mental health, the Chitling test
Emic
When individual culture are studied, and generalisations are only made within that culture, associated to cultural relativism
DSM-5
reducing cultural bias in psychology
Cross cultural research - expanding the number and variation of cultures researcher adds to theories, so they are relevant
Reflexivity - Researchers should be continually reflecting on the bases they hold and there potential impact
Universality - do not assume characteristics are universal across all cultures
Immersion and indigenous psychology - Uses researchers who are active to/ familiar with/ immersed in the culture
Sample use and generalisation - don’t extrapolate from WEIRD samples to cultures that are not represented in your research
Emic approaches - study a single culture to understand that culture, interpret behaviour in it’s cultural context
weakness of culturally biased theories - 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 to necessarily apply to other non-western culture.
This is a problem the theory assumes universality and is used to access behaviour in other cultures. Trying to understand people in non-western cultures according to Maslow’s’ theory may misrepresent their experience and reduce validity of his theory. Therefore, psychologists need to specify the context of their research and the population it can be applied to.
A problem of cultural bias - negative consequences
One example of use is the army IQ tests in USA before WW1.
Questions reflected an imposed etic, using western concepts to assess people of different cultures. Results of these tests suggested (incorrectly) that African Americans had lower mental age. Negative consequences of these findings were that they contributed to negative stereotypes based on race which in turn were used to justify discrimination. This is an ethical limitation.
Therefore, socially sensitive research into characteristics like intelligence needs to be undertaken with care. Materials should use culturally appropriate language to ensure fair assessment.
A weakness of imposed etic, ethnocentrism
Ainsworth’s strange situation reflects on imposed etic by assessing attachment using the US model as the norm. Her findings presented a distorted view of attachment because when applied too 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 o the USA.
Therefore researchers hold adopt emic approaches to understand attachment in the context of the culture in which it’s shown.
A positive consequence of cultural bias - new research methods developed
Researchers have improved on ‘etic’ approaches by working with indigenous researchers in each culture. This has allowed them to continue to work towards formation of universal theories.
Buss looked at mate preferences in 37 cultures. In each culture they had 3 local researchers- 1 translated from the questionnaire from English, the second translated the answers from native to English and the third looked for and resolved any discrepancies. This minimised cultural bias gives the researcher greater validity.
Therefore it is possible to look for universal laws whilst reducing cultural bias.
A positive consequence of cultural bias - ‘indigenous psychologies’
Indigenous psychologies refers to different groups of theories that have been developed in specific countries eg Afrocentrism has developed suggesting that all black people who have their roots in Africa , should have African centred theories. This is a benefit because it has led to the development of theories relevant to the life and culture of African people.
Limitations or negative consequences of cultural bias in psychology
- distorted view of behaviour, validity
- negative consequences, ethical implications
- demonstrates ethnocentrism, validity
- use of weird samples limits objectivity
Positive consequences of cultural bias in psychology
+ new research methods developed, validity
+ improvements in practice, application
+ reduce cultural bias, validity
+ universally & culturally reactive behaviour, validity
+ develops ‘indigenous’ psychologies, validity
Implications
A positive consequence of something - conclusion draw but not explicitly stated
Socially sensitive research
Research with negative impacts that puts the sample or targeted group at a disadvantage
can have positive and negative implications
Sieber and Stanley: implications in the research process
1) the research question - take care when forming aim and questions, submit research q’s to EC & abide by recommendations
2) conduct of research and treatment of participants - consider possible reactions of participants to any research procedure they experience & take account of ethical implications
3) institutional context - all trials campaign has supported legislation requiring trials results to be published to give a fuller picture of effects
4) interpretation and application of findings - be alert to possible misuse of findings, present findings in a value-free way, consider wider effects of published findings, use peer review process, take steps to avoid prejudice
Reasons we should carry out SSR
Addresses and challenges discrimination to benefit disadvantaged groups
Reasons we should not carry out SSR
Allows for negative prejudice and discrimination to disadvantaged groups
Negative implications of genetic research
p- a negative consequence of running genetic research is it raises ethical implications
e- research into genetic influences on IQ has led to ‘scientific racism’. This informed the eugenics movement and was used to justify discrimination.
e- research into a ‘criminal gene’ can be use to remove responsibility for crimes behaviour. Families could face stigma and discrimination if others assume that crime is ‘in their genes’.
l- therefore genetic research raises negative ethical issues is important that researchers carefully consider the research question and potential benefits that ensure that published findings don’t misrepresent the groups involved.
Clark and Clark’s ‘doll test’
African American children were given a black doll and an identical white doll and asked questions such as ‘which doll is smarter?’, ‘which doll is evil?’ and ‘which doll is prettier?’ to see the effects of segregation on the children’s cognitive processes
p- SSR should be carried out because it has good application in society
e- Clark and Clark’s doll test greatly befitted groups I society is it challenged discrimination and policy of segregation.
e- this influenced the government to stop segregation in schools and public. However, the study have made the children in the study feel the effects of discrimination more.
l- therefore SSR should be carried out as it’s benefits and applications in society outweigh the costs to the children in the study.
Positive implications of SSR on informing government policy making
P- SSR should be carried out as it informs government policy making in society.
E- Psychologists carry out scientific research on a range of sensitive topics relating to human behaviour. As published research has been approved by ethics committees and peer reviewed, this gives credibility.
E- There are positive ethical implications because findings can be used to inform policy makers eg child development research informs policy relating to childcare and education provision, mental health research can inform policy relating to diagnosis and provision as well as responsibility for offending behaviour.
L- Therefore, SSR has a range of positive applications which benefit the disadvantaged in society, so it should be carried out with appropriate safeguards.
Summarise 4 ‘P’ points for ethical implications
- a negative consequence of conducting SSR is it raises negative ethical implications
- a negative consequence of using SSR like Milgram is it can lead to negative effects
+ SSR should be carried out because it has positive applications in society
+ SSR is important in challenging stereotypes and discrimination
