issues and dbates Flashcards
what are the 6 issues and debates
gender bias
culture bias
free will vs determinism
holism vs reductionism
nature vs nurture
idiographic vs nomothetic
what is an alpha bias
exaggerating the differences between gender/ cultures and favouring one over another
what is an example of alpha bias
gender = Grossman and Freud
culture = Van Ijzendoorn
what is beta bias
ignoring the differences between genders/ cultures and assuming that both are the same
what are examples of beta bias
gender = Zimbardo (androcentric) and Ainsworth (gynocentric)
culture = most studies e,g Zimbardo
what is androcentrism vs gynocentrism
male-centred, seeing males as the norm vs female-centred, seeing females as the norm
what are causes of gender bias
Social inequality – most influential studies were carried out 50 or more years ago, when most researchers and university students were men
Inequality in research – Rosenthal found that male researchers treated female participants differently to male participants
what are consequences of gender bias
Prejudice (alpha) – assuming there are significant gender differences could lead to discrimination (e.g. towards men for childcare roles)
Wrongly applied findings – if your sample only includes men but you apply the findings to women, it may be damaging
what are solutions to gender bias
Feminist Psychology:
• Include representation for each
gender in the sample and in the
research team, where appropriate
• Aim for – universality acknowledge differences between genders but see them as equal (different but equal).
what is ethnocentrism
viewing other cultures from the perspective of your own and seeing them as ‘other’
what is imposed etic
using a culturally-specific method in another culture
what is cultural relativism
the opposite of ethnocentrism, seeing each culture as separate and judging it on its own norms and values
causes of culture bias
Ethnocentrism in Education – most studies that you learn about in school are US or UK- based research and written in English
Social inequality – most of the funding for research goes to affluent, middle class
consequences of culture bias
Prejudice (alpha) – assuming there are significant cultural differences could lead to discrimination
Wrongly applied findings – if your sample only includes White British people but you apply the findings to another culture/ethnicity, it may be damaging
solutions of culture bias
Indigenous psychologies – employ psychologists who are from each culture to translate the method into something that it more relevant to that culture
Globalisation – the development of technology and transport means that we know more about other cultures than before
what does determinism suggest
free will does not exist and all of our actions are caused by external and internal influences
what are the 5 types of determinisms
Hard – free will does not exist at all
Soft – we are influenced by external/internal influences but ultimately we get to choose
Biological – our behaviour is caused by physical influences
Environmental – our behaviour is caused by our learning
Psychic – our behaviour is caused by a mixture of our innate mechanisms and childhood experiences (caused by unconscious forces)
what does free will suggest
We are in control of our actions and behaviours regardless of external or internal influences
discussion for determinism
- Scientific emphasis on causal explanations
science works by assuming that everything has a cause, so therefore assumes we live in a deterministic universe. - More scientific – sciences emphasises casual explanations, so determinism is more scientific. Free will suggests there are actions without causes
- More useful – because determinism can explain behaviour, this is more useful for predicting or treating/improving behaviour than free will
- Research support – supported by studies including Libet, who found there was brain activity fractions of a second before participants felt the conscious urge to press a button.
discussion for free will
Importance for moral responsibility – as a society we need to believe in free will as it is the paradigm shared by the justice system (we need to hold people accountable for their actions)
Anecdotal evidence – it feels like we have free will, and this is compelling evidence for most people
what does nature suggest
The belief that our characteristics are given to us innately, through genetic inheritance.
what does nurture suggest
The idea that we are born as blank slates and our characteristics are the product of our upbringing and experiences
discussion for nature
- Family studies – researchers have found a link between genetic similarity and concordance rates. Siblings have higher concordance rates (they are more similar) than cousins, who share fewer genes.
- Twin studies – identical twin (MZ) concordance is higher than non-identical (DZ), and the only difference between groups is genetic similarity.
- Adoption studies – adoptees whose biological parents have a characteristic are more likely to develop that characteristic than adoptee controls.
- Candidate gene research – researchers can identify specific genes that are associated with characteristics, demonstrating nature.
discussion for nurture
- Family studies – however, siblings also have greater similarities in the way they are raised. We cannot know if their greater concordance is nature or nurture.
- Twin studies – however, concordance for MZ is never 100% even though they share 100% genes. Also, MZ twins are likely to be treated more equally than DZ twins.
- Adoption studies – it is hard to control all variables in adoption studies, including time spent with biological parents, quality of adoptive family etc.
- Candidate gene research – most characteristics require multiple candidate genes, and life events can ‘switch’ genes on/off (known as epigenetics)
conclusion for nature vs nurture
Interactionist Approaches – The belief that both nature and nurture are involved.
Diathesis-Stress Model - assumes that we have a genetic predisposition but life events are required for the genes to express themselves.
what is reductionism
Reductionism is breaking down a phenomenon to its constituent parts and ignoring the connections between parts.
what is holism
Explaining a behaviour by looking at all of the different aspects and the interactions between them
what are the types of reductionism
Biological – looking only at biological mechanisms
Environmental – only considering learning
Machine – simplifying the mind to a computer model
Experimental – assuming that any change in the DV must be due to changes in the IV
discussion for reductionism
Easier to carry out – it is almost impossible to research psychology in a truly holistic way as there is too much to consider
More useful for application – by simplifying an issue (e.g. explaining depression as a result of low serotonin), we can create simpler treatments (e.g. SSRIs to boost serotonin).
Allows for specialism – individuals can become experts in specific fields, e.g. cognitive explanations. As a result, they can focus on one area rather than trying to understand all factors in a short amount of time.
discussion for holism
More valid – holism is the only way to truly understand behaviour and see the full picture. If we ignore aspects or interactions between aspects), we miss out on truly understanding the behaviour.
Necessary for understanding complex phenomena – some psychological phenomena are ‘emergent properties’, meaning they are the result of interactions between many brain areas. For example, consciousness. This can not be studied in a reductionist way.
what is the nomothetic approach
Views humans as essentially predictable and similar so wants to explain general patterns
• Uses large representative samples
• Uses quantitative methods, such as closed
questionnaires and lab experiments
• Begins with a hypothesis to test
• Generates general laws, e.g. classifications,
principles and dimensions
what is the idiographic approach
Sees the individual experience as most important and understands that people are different
• Individual case studies
• Use qualitative methods to get richer data,
such as case studies and unstructured
interviews
• Does not begin with a hypothesis – only asks
questions
• Used to find exceptions to general laws
discussion for nomothetic
More reliable – focuses on quantitative data that requires as little interpretation as possible. Therefore, the same conclusions should be reached regardless of who the researcher is
More useful and more applications – because of the large samples and the general laws it creates, this is more useful in applying psychology to treatments/explanations and to the wider population
discussion for idiographic
More internal validity – aims to truly understand the complexities of behaviour rather than a reductionist general law
More useful for specific people – the specific cases it studies will benefit more from idiographic research than general laws that may only partially apply to them, if at all
Required to find exceptions – for people who do not conform to the general laws, it is important to understand them fully. This way we can find exceptions to laws and hopefully alter them to be more accurate
what are ethical implications
not the issues that arise during the study, but the effect the study can have on society, e.g. in promoting prejudice
what is socially sensitive research
any research that could have a negative effect on a specific group (e.g. race, gender, sexuality)
who identified problematic areas of research
Sieber & Stanley
what were the problematic areas Sieber & Stanley identified + how can they be resolved
Research question – asking certain questions gives them scientific credibility and the researcher’s intentions are in question
Treatment of participants – must ensure anonymity so participants are not affected after the study
Institutional context – the researchers or their sponsors might manipulate the data or choose not to publish findings they don’t like (publication bias)
Interpretation and application of findings – even if the research is done ethically, the media and general public can interpret them in damaging ways
what are the solutions for ethical implications
Avoid all socially sensitive research
All research should be pre-registered
Stricter rules about how the media report on science
evaluation of avoid all socially sensitive research
+ Prevents damaging research being carried out
- All research could be argued to be
socially sensitive, so who gets to
decide?
- Socially sensitive research is
inherently valuable
evaluation for All research should be pre-registered
+ Would help to avoid publication bias
+ Could offer another stage of regulation for someone to prevent the research
- It is difficult to decide what research is
harmful
- May discourage potentially valuable
research from being done
evaluation for Stricter rules about how the media report on science
+ Would limit the amount of damaging misinterpretation
- Infringes the freedom of the
press and freedom of
speech
- Could discourage scientific
reporting
