Issues And Debates Flashcards
Gender bias
Seek universality but bias may be inevitable
Alpha bias
Exaggerates differences between genders devalue women
Weaker superego
Beta bias
Underestimates differences when conducting research
Fight or flight response
Androcentrism
Leads to alpha or beta bias normal behaviour is judged from male standard
PMS - female aggression
Male aggression seen as rational
Cultural bias
68% of research pp from the USA
80% are students
WEIRD westernised educated people from industrialised rich democracies
Ethnocentrism
Superiority of own cultural group others are deficient
Eg ainsworths attachment types
Cultural relativism
Etic - study behaviour from outside culture eg Starbucks
Emic - study behaviour from inside eg McDonald’s
Imposed etic = ainsworth and abnormality
Free will
Humans are free to make own choices - humanistic approach
Hard determinism
All human action has a cause
Soft determinism
People have freedom to make choices within a restricted range of options
Biological determinism
Genetic on mental health, influence of ans on stress
Environmental determinism
Free will is an illusion
Choice is the sum of our reinforcement contingencies
Psychic determinism
Human behaviour determined by conflicts in childhood no such thing as an accident slip of tongue = unconsc
Nature belief
Behavioural and cognitive aspects based on genetics and hormones etc
Mental disorders affected by genetics eg 50% conc rate with schizophrenia
Nurture debate
Empiricists - everything is learnt and is caused by environment
Behaviourism - classical and operant conditioning
SLT behaviour = observe others eg Bandura
Holism
The whole is greater than the some of its parts
Humanistic approach and qualitative data
Reductionism
Reducing the whole to its simplest parts and principles
Ocd explained different levels
Psych = least reductionist science
Biological reductionism
Neurochemical physiological evolutionary and genetic influences cause behaviour
OCD reduced to serotonin levels
Environmental reductionism
All behaviour acquired from environment conditioning
Attachment slt link to milk
Idiographic approach
One person/group studied doesn’t aim to produce general laws
Qual research - unstructure interviews
Examples unconditional positive regard derived from in depth talking therapy
Freud little hans phobia develop and Oedipus
Nomothetic approach
Establish laws or norms
Quant research - hypothesis testing statistical analysis quantify behaviour
Example Sperry split brain study repeat and test basis for understanding HL
Objective vs subjective
Nomothetic assumes objective measurements possible
Idiographic believes only individual experience matters
Social sensitivity
Research that has consequences for the participants or groups they represent
Implications for research process
-Research question - narrow focus alternate relationships = Hetero. bias
-Dealing w participants - victims of domestic abuse may worry about confidentiality
-Way findings are used - may give scientific credence to prejudice eg US iq test used to restrict immigration
