issues and dbates

Question 1

what are the 6 issues and debates

Answer 1

gender bias
culture bias
free will vs determinism
holism vs reductionism
nature vs nurture
idiographic vs nomothetic

Question 2

what is an alpha bias

Answer 2

exaggerating the differences between gender/ cultures and favouring one over another

Question 3

what is an example of alpha bias

Answer 3

gender = Grossman and Freud
culture = Van Ijzendoorn

Question 4

what is beta bias

Answer 4

ignoring the differences between genders/ cultures and assuming that both are the same

Question 5

what are examples of beta bias

Answer 5

gender = Zimbardo (androcentric) and Ainsworth (gynocentric)
culture = most studies e,g Zimbardo

Question 6

what is androcentrism vs gynocentrism

Answer 6

male-centred, seeing males as the norm vs female-centred, seeing females as the norm

Question 7

what are causes of gender bias

Answer 7

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

Question 8

what are consequences of gender bias

Answer 8

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

Question 9

what are solutions to gender bias

Answer 9

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).

Question 10

what is ethnocentrism

Answer 10

viewing other cultures from the perspective of your own and seeing them as ‘other’

Question 11

what is imposed etic

Answer 11

using a culturally-specific method in another culture

Question 12

what is cultural relativism

Answer 12

the opposite of ethnocentrism, seeing each culture as separate and judging it on its own norms and values

Question 13

causes of culture bias

Answer 13

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

Question 14

consequences of culture bias

Answer 14

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

Question 15

solutions of culture bias

Answer 15

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

Question 16

what does determinism suggest

Answer 16

free will does not exist and all of our actions are caused by external and internal influences

Question 17

what are the 5 types of determinisms

Answer 17

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)

Question 18

what does free will suggest

Answer 18

We are in control of our actions and behaviours regardless of external or internal influences

Question 19

discussion for determinism

Answer 19

• 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.

Question 20

discussion for free will

Answer 20

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

Question 21

what does nature suggest

Answer 21

The belief that our characteristics are given to us innately, through genetic inheritance.

Question 22

what does nurture suggest

Answer 22

The idea that we are born as blank slates and our characteristics are the product of our upbringing and experiences

Question 23

discussion for nature

Answer 23

1. 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.
2. Twin studies – identical twin (MZ) concordance is higher than non-identical (DZ), and the only difference between groups is genetic similarity.
3. Adoption studies – adoptees whose biological parents have a characteristic are more likely to develop that characteristic than adoptee controls.
4. Candidate gene research – researchers can identify specific genes that are associated with characteristics, demonstrating nature.

Question 24

discussion for nurture

Answer 24

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. Adoption studies – it is hard to control all variables in adoption studies, including time spent with biological parents, quality of adoptive family etc.
4. Candidate gene research – most characteristics require multiple candidate genes, and life events can ‘switch’ genes on/off (known as epigenetics)

Question 25

conclusion for nature vs nurture

Answer 25

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.

Question 26

what is reductionism

Answer 26

Reductionism is breaking down a phenomenon to its constituent parts and ignoring the connections between parts.

Question 27

what is holism

Answer 27

Explaining a behaviour by looking at all of the different aspects and the interactions between them

Question 28

what are the types of reductionism

Answer 28

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

Question 29

discussion for reductionism

Answer 29

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.

Question 30

discussion for holism

Answer 30

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.

Question 31

what is the nomothetic approach

Answer 31

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

Question 32

what is the idiographic approach

Answer 32

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

Question 33

discussion for nomothetic

Answer 33

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

Question 34

discussion for idiographic

Answer 34

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

Question 35

what are ethical implications

Answer 35

not the issues that arise during the study, but the effect the study can have on society, e.g. in promoting prejudice

Question 36

what is socially sensitive research

Answer 36

any research that could have a negative effect on a specific group (e.g. race, gender, sexuality)

Question 37

who identified problematic areas of research

Answer 37

Sieber & Stanley

Question 38

what were the problematic areas Sieber & Stanley identified + how can they be resolved

Answer 38

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

Question 39

what are the solutions for ethical implications

Answer 39

Avoid all socially sensitive research

All research should be pre-registered

Stricter rules about how the media report on science

Question 40

evaluation of avoid all socially sensitive research

Answer 40

+ 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

Question 41

evaluation for All research should be pre-registered

Answer 41

+ 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

Question 42

evaluation for Stricter rules about how the media report on science

Answer 42

+ Would limit the amount of damaging misinterpretation
- Infringes the freedom of the
press and freedom of
speech
- Could discourage scientific
reporting