Issues And Debates

Question 1

What is gender bias?

Answer 1

When one gender is treated less favourably than the other

Question 2

What is universality?

Answer 2

The idea that conclusions drawn can be applied to everyone.

Question 3

What is alpha bias?

Answer 3

An exaggeration of the differences between males and females

Question 4

What is beta bias?

Answer 4

Ignoring or minimising the differences between males and females

Question 5

What is androcentrism?

Answer 5

A consequence of beta bis where if behaviours considered as ‘normal’ are drawn from all male samples, other behaviours such as those of women may be misunderstood or marginalised.

Question 6

How can we reduce gender bias?

Answer 6

1. Take a feminist perspective
2. Reverse alpha bias: develop studies which emphasise the value of women

Question 7

Strengths of alpha bias

Answer 7

• led to theorists asserting the worth of feminine qualities
• led to criticisms of values which praise bad male qualities

Question 8

Weaknesses of alpha bias

Answer 8

• ignores the differences between women
• can sustain stereotypes and prejudices

Question 9

Strengths of beta bias

Answer 9

• makes people see women and men as the same leading to equal treatment in legal terms

Question 10

Weaknesses of beta bias

Answer 10

• HM & M argue that arguing for equality draws attention away from the special needs of women

Question 11

Strengths of gender bias as a whole

Answer 11

Researches are starting to see the effect their values have on their work. DAMBRIN & LAMBERT’s study included reflection on how their gender related experiences influenced their work. This reflexivity is important and leads to greater awareness

Question 12

Weaknesses of gender bias as a whole

Answer 12

This type of research may creat misleading assumptions about female behaviour and have damaging consequences to women’s lives

Question 13

What is culture bias?

Answer 13

A tendency to ignore cultural differences and interpret everything through the lens of one’s own culture

Question 14

What is an EMIC approach?

Answer 14

An investigation of a culture within that culture. Applied to only one culture and so vary across cultures.

Question 15

Evaluation of emic approach

Answer 15

Strength: higher ecological validity
Weakness: culture bias can occur if a researcher assumes that an emic construct is actually an etic construct

Question 16

What is an ETIC approach

Answer 16

Investigation of a culture outside of that culture. These ideas are assumed to apply in all cultural groups. Assume that most human behaviour is common but cultural factors influence the display of the behaviour.

Question 17

Evaluation of ETIC approach

Answer 17

Assuming that behaviours are universal across cultures can lead to imposed ETICS, where a construct from one culture is inappropriately applied to another

Question 18

What is ethnocentrism

Answer 18

A belief in the superiority of one’s own cultural group.

Question 19

What is cultural relativism

Answer 19

The principle of regarding the beliefs, values and practices of a culture from the viewpoint of that culture.

Question 20

Who distinguished between EMICS and ETICS?

Answer 20

BERRY

Question 21

What are the consequences of cultural bias

Answer 21

Some research may highlight cultural differences and use it as an excuse to say one culture is superior to another

Question 22

How to reduce cultural bias

Answer 22

• encourage the use of indigenous psychologists
• encourage a worldwide psychology community

Question 23

Strengths of culture bias

Answer 23

It may challenge our western ways of viewing the world and bring a greater sensitivity to cultural relativism. This counters the problem of ‘scientific racism’ and increases the validity of the conclusions.

Question 24

Weakness of culture bias

Answer 24

The variables may not be experienced in the same way by all participants. In China invasion of personal space is normal whereas in the West it may be seen as confrontational.

Question 25

What is free will

Answer 25

The notion that humans can make choices and aren’t determined by external forces

Question 26

Definitions of free will

Answer 26

• choice
• unconstrained behaviour
• voluntary behaviour

Question 27

Strengths of free will

Answer 27

• everyday experience gives the impression that we always exercise free will; face validity
• people with an internal LOC tend to be more mentally healthy
• ROBERTS ET AL: teens who believe in fatalism are more at risk of depression
• emphasis on the individual
• self efficacy is useful in therapies

Question 28

Weaknesses of free will

Answer 28

• studies by LIBET & CHUN SIONG SOON ET AL show that brain activity involved in decision making may predate our knowledge of having made a choice meaning our experiences of free will are determined by our brain before we become aware of them
• may be a culturally relative concept
• untestable and unscientific

Question 29

What is determinism

Answer 29

The view that an individuals behaviour is controlled by internal or external forces rather than their will to do something

Question 30

What is hard determinism

Answer 30

The idea that free will is an illusion and every event and action has a cause

Question 31

What is soft determinism

Answer 31

The idea that behaviour is determined to an extent but in the absence of compulsion people have a degree of choice

Question 32

Definitions of determinism

Answer 32

• comes in many forms
• all behaviour has a cause and future behaviour is predictable
• fits classical science
• modern physics disputes hard determinism

Question 33

Environmental determinism

Answer 33

• behaviour is caused by outside influence
• behaviourist approach sees behaviour as caused by reinforcement and punishment
• SKINNER: free will is an illusion; behaviour is determined by past experiences + reinforcement

Question 34

Psychic determinism

Answer 34

• psychodynamic approach believes our personality is determined by our childhood experiences
• FREUD: free will is an illusion because the causes of our behaviour are unconscious and predictable

Question 35

Biological determinism

Answer 35

• our biological systems govern our behaviour
• biological approach says we can predict our behaviour as a result of our
  • structure and functions
  • hormones

Question 36

Strengths of determinism

Answer 36

• consistent with the aims of science; places psychology on equal footing with established sciences
• the prediction and control of behaviour has led to treatments and therapies
• society is more willing to accept its findings based on facts

Question 37

Weaknesses of determinism

Answer 37

• the hard deterministic view isn’t consistent with the legal system where offenders are held morally accountable
• it’s unfalsifiable because it’s based on the idea that causes of behaviour will always exist even though they may not have been found
• reductionist
• doesn’t account for individual differences