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Issues and Debates Flashcards

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1
Q

Gender Bias
* What is gender bias?

A

A tendency to treat an individual or group in a different way, in this context, research or theory that offers a view that does not justifiably represent the experience and behv of M or F (usually F)

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2
Q

Key terms for Gender Bias

  • What is Universality?
  • What is Bias?
  • What is Gender bias?
  • What is Androcentrism?
  • What is Alpha bias?
  • What is Beta bias?
A
  • Universality- Any charac or behv that can be applied to all despite differences of experience and upbringing, threatened by bias
  • Bias- A tendency to treat one individual or group differently from another
  • Gender bias- Psychological research or theories that do not justifiably represent the experience and behv of men or women (usually women)
  • Androcentrism- Male-centred, when “normal” behv judged according to male standard, females often judged to be “abnormal” or “deficient” in comparison
  • Alpha bias- Research that focuses on difference between M and W, presents view that exaggerates these differences
  • Beta bias- Research that focuses on similarities between M and W, presents view that underestimates/minimises/ignores differences between the two
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3
Q

Universality and Bias (Gender)

  • A|B
  • What does bias mean?
  • What is universality, how does bias affect this?
  • What is gender bias?
  • What are the two forms of gender bias?
A
  • Psychologist hold beliefs and values that have been influenced by social and historical context that they live in
  • Beliefs may be biased (leaning towards subjective view not necessarily reflect objective reality)
  • Bias may be inevitable, undermines claim of universality (generalisation to everyone)
  • Gender bias is psych research or theories that may offer view, not justifiably represent experience and behaviour of men or women, comes in two forms, Alpha bias and Beta bias
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4
Q

Alpha Bias

  • What is alpha bias?
  • Give an example of research with alpha bias
  • Give another example that favours women
A
  • Refers to research that exaggerates differences between men and women
  • Differences typically fixed and inevitable, sometimes heighten value of women (most of the time devalue women)
  • Freud (1905) psychosexual development, girls’ superego weaker than boys
  • Superego develops based on moral perspective of same sex gender, mother’s inferior to fathers
  • Therefore, according to this, women are morally inferior to men
  • Sometimes favours women, Chodorow (1968) suggested daughters and mothers have greater connectedness than sons and mothers due to bio similarities
  • Result of closeness, women develop better abilities to bond with others, empathise
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5
Q

Beta Bias

  • What is beta bias?
  • Give an example of research with beta bias
A
  • Refers to research that underestimates/ignores differences between men and women
  • Assume findings apply equally to men and women even if one gender excluded from research process
  • Fight or Flight response, bio research favours male animals, female behaviour affected by regular hormonal changes due to ovulation
  • Early research ignored these difference, assumed males and females both responds with fight or flight
  • Taylor et al (2000) claimed not true, described tend befriend response
  • Oxytocin more plentiful in women, women response to stress by increasing oxytocin production
  • Reduces fight or flight, enhances tend and befriend (evolved response)
  • Illustrates how research minimises gender differences, lead to misrepresentation of behaviour of women
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6
Q

Androcentrism

  • What is Androcentrism?
  • What does history suggest about psychology?
  • How does this relate to alpha and beta bias?
  • Give an example of androcentrism
A
  • Alpha and Beta bias consequences of androcentrism
  • Androcentrism is when behaviour is judged to a male standard (female behv abnormal, deficient in comparison), research on just males
  • Psychology presented male dominated version of the world
  • 100 most influential psychologist of 20th century, 6 were women
  • Suggests psych is subject produced by men, for men and about men (androcentric perspective)
  • Women’s behaviour, misunderstood sometimes pathologized (taken as sign of illness)
  • Women object to diagnostic category premenstrual syndrome, medicalises women’s emotions (anger for example) by explaining them in hormonal terms
  • Men’s anger, seen as rational response to external pressures (Brescoll and Uhlmann 2008)
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7
Q

Evaluation of Gender bias

  • BVS|CP|S|PCGB|UB
A
  • Biological versus social explanations (Maccoby and Jacklin 1974, Joel et al 2015)
  • Counterpoint (Gender differences in brain, Ingalhaikar et al 2014)
  • Sexism in research (Murphy et al 2014, Nicolson 1995)
  • Publication of research challenging gender bias (Formanowicz et al 2018)
  • Understanding bias
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8
Q

Biological versus social explanations (Maccoby and Jacklin 1974, Joel et al 2015)

A
  • Limitation, gender difference presented as fixed, enduring (Alpha bias), they are not
  • Maccoby and Jacklin (1974), findings that concluded girls have superior verbal ability, boys better spatial ability
  • Suggested “hardwired” differences obtained before birth, findings seen as facts, widely reported
  • Joel et al (2015), brain scanning found no such sex differences in brain structure or processing
  • Possible data of M and J popularised due to it fitting existing stereotypes (girls speakers boys doers)
  • Suggest we should be wary of accepting research findings as bio facts, might be better explained as social stereotypes
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9
Q

Counterpoint (Gender differences in brain, Ingalhaikar et al 2014)

A
  • Does not mean should avoid studying possible gender differences in the brain
  • Ingalhaikar et al (2014) suggested women may be better at multitasking than men (biologically true)
  • Women’s brain has better connections between left and right hemispheres then men’s brain
  • Suggests bio difference do exist, need to be wary of exaggerating the effect they have on behaviour
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10
Q

Sexism in research (Murphy et al 2014, Nicolson 1995)

A
  • Limitation, gender bias promotes sexism in research process
  • Women remain underrepresented in university departments
  • Lecturers in psych more likely to be men (Murphy et al 2014)
  • Research more likely to be conducted by men, may disadvantage ppts who are women
  • Male researcher may expect women to be irrational, unable to complete complex tasks (Nicolson 1995)
  • Such expectations likely to mean that women underperform in research studies
  • Intuitional structures, methods of psych may produce findings that are gender biased
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11
Q

Publication of research challenging gender bias (Formanowicz et al 2018)

A
  • Limitation, research challenging gender biases may not be published
  • Formanowicz et al (2018) analysed 1000 articles relating to gender bias, published over 8 years
  • Found research on gender bias, funded less often, published by less prestigious journals
  • Fewer scholars become aware of it or apply it in their own work
  • Suggests gender bias in psych research may not be taken as seriously as other forms of bias
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12
Q

Understanding bias

A
  • Gender-biased research may create misleading assumptions about female behv, fails to challenge negative stereotypes, validates discriminatory practices
  • Gender bias is therefore not just a methodological problem, it may also have consequences which affect the lives of real women
  • For example, premenstrual syndrome medicalises and pathologizes female emotions such as anger in order to delegitimatize them
  • However, modern researchers are beginning to recognise the effect of their own values and assumptions on the nature of their work (reflexivity)
  • By embracing this, I can be a crucial aspect of the research process
  • Dambrin and Lambert (2008) included reflection off how their gender-experiences influenced their reading of events of research on lack of women in executive positions in accountancy firms
  • This is an acknowledgement of the fact that complete objectivity is not possible, researchers are human, unable to separate from social and cultural experiences
  • Suggests gender bias may add an extra dimension to research if psychologists are up front about it in their work
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13
Q

Culture Bias

  • What is culture bias?
A

A tendency to interpret all phenomena through the “lens” of one’s own culture, ignoring effects that cultural differences may have on behv

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14
Q

Key terms for Culture Bias

  • What is culture bias?
  • What is ethnocentrism?
  • What is cultural relativism?
  • What is an etic approach?
  • What is an emic approach?
  • What is imposed etic?
  • What does eugenic mean?
A
  • Culture Bias- A tendency to interpret phenomena through the “lens” of own culture, ignores potential effects of cultural differences on behv
  • Ethnocentrism- Judging other cultures by the standards and values of own culture, extreme form is belief superiority of own culture, may lead to prejudice and discrimination towards other cultures
  • Cultural relativism- Idea that norms, values, ethics and moral standards are only meaningful and understood within specific social and cultural contexts
  • Etic approach- Looks at behv from outside given culture, attempts to describe behvs as universal by finding trends and patterns
  • Emic approach- Functions from inside a certain culture, identifies behvs that are specific to that culture
  • Imposed etic- Studying a behv inside one culture then attempting to apply it universally to other cultures
  • Eugenic- Study of factors that can improve or impair the racial quality of future generations (An attempt to increase the occurrence of “desirable” heritable characteristics)
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15
Q

Universality and bias

  • What did Henrich et al (2010) find?
  • What did Arnett (2008) find?
  • What term did Henrich et al coin?
  • What does this term stand for?
  • What effect does this have on norms and standards?
A
  • Henrich et al (2010) review, found 68% of research ppts from US, 96% from industrialised nations
  • Another review found 80% off research ppts were undergrads studying psych (Arnett 2008)
  • Findings suggest what we know about human behv has a strong cultural bias
  • Henrich et al coined term WEIRD to describe groups most likely to be studied by psychologists (Westernised, Educated people from Industrialised, Rich Democracies)
  • If norm or standard for particular behv set by WEIRD people, behv of people that are not-Westernised, less educated, agricultural and poorer cultures inevitably seen as “abnormal”, “inferior” or “unusual”
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16
Q

Ethnocentrism

  • What is ethnocentrism?
  • Give an example of research that is ethnocentric?
  • Explain how it is ethnocentric
A
  • Particular form of cultural bias, belief in superiority of one’s own cultural group (extreme form), suggested that US and Europe presented ethnocentric view of human behv
  • In general, ethnocentrism is judging other cultures against one’s own culture’s standards and values
  • Ainsworth and Bell’s (1970) Strange Situation, criticised for reflecting the norms and values of “Western” culture only
  • Japanese babies classed as insecurely attached due to considerable distress shown during separation, likely this is due to the fact that Japanese babies are rarely separated from mothers
  • Suggests “ideal” attachment is characterised by baby showing moderate amounts of distress when left alone by mother
  • A and B then judged others against this same characterisation of “ideal” attachment
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17
Q

Cultural relativism

  • What is cultural relativism?
  • What did Berry (1969) draw attention to?
  • What is an etic approach?
  • What is an emic approach?
  • What is imposed etic?
  • Give two examples of research with an imposed etic
  • What does Berry argue about most research?
  • What does this suggest psychologists should do?
A
  • The idea that norms, values, ethics and moral standards can only be meaningful and understood within specific social and cultural contexts
  • Berry (1969), drew attention to distinction between etic and emic approaches
  • Etic approach looks at behv from outside given culture, attempts to describe those behvs as universal
  • Emic approach functions inside culture, identifies behvs that are specific to that culture
  • Ainsworth and Bell’s research example of imposed etic, studied behv inside one culture (America), then assumed their ideal of attachment type could be applied universally
  • Another example of imposed etic can be considered in relation to how abnormality is defined
  • Berry argues that most theories, models, concepts etc are universal, when in reality they came about through emic research inside a single culture
  • Suggests psychologists should be more mindful of cultural relativism of their research (Whatever they discovered may only make sense from perspective of culture where it was discovered)
  • Being able to recognise this is a way of avoiding cultural bias in research
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18
Q

Evaluation for Culture bias

  • CS|CP|CP|ES|UB
A
  • Classic studies (Asch, Milgram, Smith and Bond 1993)
  • Counterpoint (Media globalisation, Takano and Osaka 1999)
  • Cultural psychology
  • Ethnic stereotyping
  • Understanding bias
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19
Q

Classic studies (Asch, Milgram, Smith and Bond 1993)

A
  • Limitation, many influential studies are culturally-biased
  • Cultural bias feature of many classic studies of social influence, Asch and Milgram’s original studies (only US ppts, white, middle-class)
  • Replications in different countries of these studies produced different results, as shown through Smith and Bond 1993 below
  • Asch-type experiment in collectivist culture found higher rates of conformity than original (US, individualist culture)
  • Suggests understanding of topics like social influence should only be applied to individualist cultures
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20
Q

Counterpoint (Media globalisation, Takano and Osaka 1999)

A
  • Increased media globalisation in this day and age, argue individualist-collectivist distinction no longer applies
  • Traditional argument, individualist countries (England, US), value individuals and independence
  • Collectivist countries (India, China), value society and needs of group
  • Takano and Osaka (1999) found 14 out of 15 studies that compared US and Japan found no evidence of individualism or collectivism, describe distinction as lazy and simplistic
  • Suggests cultural bias research may be less of an issue in more recent psychological research
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21
Q

Cultural psychology

A
  • Strength, emergence of cultural psychology, according to Cohen (2017) is the study of how people shape and are shaped by cultural experience
  • Incorporates work from researchers in other disciplines including anthropology, sociology and political science
  • Cultural psychologists strive to avoid ethnocentric assumptions by taking an emic approach, conducting research inside culture alongside local researchers using culturally-based techniques
  • Cross-cultural research tends to focus on just two cultures rather than larger scale studies that may have had eight or more countries/cultures
  • Suggests modern psychologists are mindful of the dangers of cultural bias and are taking steps to avoid it
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22
Q

Ethnic stereotyping

A
  • Limitation, led to prejudice against groups of people
  • Gould (1981) explained how first intelligence tests led to eugenic social policies in US
  • First IQ tests taken by army recruits in WW1, many items on test were ethnocentric, assumed everyone knew US presidents for example
  • Resulted in recruits from south-eastern Europe and African-Americans receiving low scores
  • Poor performance used to inform racist discourse about genetic inferiority of particular cultural and ethnic groups
  • Ethnic minorities deemed “mentally unfit” and “feeble minded” compared to white majority, denied educational and professional opportunities as a result
  • Illustrates how cultural bias can be used to justify prejudice and discrimination towards certain cultural and ethnic groups
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23
Q

Understanding bias

A
  • Cross-cultural research may challenge long-standing ways off thinking and viewing the world
  • Being able to see some knowledge and concepts are not biological (rather social) may provide a better understanding of human nature
  • Counters ethnocentrism from older research, conclusions made are likely to have more validity if they include recognition of the role of culture
  • However, should not be assumed that all psychology is culturally relative, there is still universal traits and behvs
  • Ekman (1989), suggested basic facial expressions for emotions are the same all over the human an animal world
  • Concept of imposed etic is very useful for understanding for how cultural perspective shapes understanding, but an etic approach to cross-cultural research can sometimes be helpful
  • Suggests a full understanding of human behv requires both culturally relative and universal research but for too long the universal view has dominated alone
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24
Q

Free will and Determinism

  • What is free will?
  • What is determinism?
A
  • Free will- The notion that humans make choices, behvs/thoughts are not determined by bio or external forces (can still be influenced by them)
  • Determinism- View that individuals behv shaped or controlled by internal or external forces rather than individuals will to do something
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25
Q

Key terms for Free will and Determinism

  • What is hard determinism?
  • What is soft determinism?
  • What is biological determinism?
  • What is environmental determinism?
  • What is psychic determinism?
A
  • Hard determinism- View that all behv caused by something (internal or external factors), free will is an illusion
  • Soft determinism- View all behv may be predictable but there is room for personal choice from limited range of possibilities (restricted free will)
  • Biological determinism- Belief that behv caused by bio influences that we cannot control, includes genetics, hormonal and evolutionary reasons
  • Environmental determinism- Belief that behv caused by features of environment that we cannot control, includes systems of reward and punishment
  • Psychic determinism- Belief that behv caused by unconscious psychodynamic conflicts that we cannot control, origin in childhood
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26
Q

Free will-determinism debate

  • What is the main question?
  • Determine whether approaches are free will or determinist
A
  • Is behv free will (selected without constraint) or are we a product of a set of internal and/or external influences that determine who we are and what we do?
  • Most approaches in psych are determinist to some extent, different approaches disagree on precise causes of human behv
  • Bio approach suggests causes are internal, behv approach suggests they are external
  • Humanistic approach embraces concept of free will
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27
Q

Free will

  • What is free will?
  • Who advocates this concept?
A
  • Humans are self-determining, free to choose own thoughts and actions
  • Does not deny there may be bio and environmental forces that exert influence on behv, implies we are able to reject these forces if we wish, we are in control off thoughts and behvs
  • This view is advocated by the humanistic approach
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28
Q

Determinism

  • HD|SD
  • What is determinism?
  • What are the two versions of determinism?
  • What did James (1890) think?
A
  • Proposes free will has no place in explaining behv, two versions, hard and soft determinism
  • Hard determinism (fatalism), all human behv has a cause, possible to identify and describe these causes
  • Always assumes everything we think and do is dictated by internal and external forces out of our control, this is a very extreme position
  • Soft determinism, James (1890), put forward notion of SD, later became important feature of cog approach
  • James thought that whilst its important to explain what determines our behv, this does not detract from the freedom we have to make rational conscious choices in everyday situations
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29
Q

Determinism

  • HD|SD
  • What is determinism?
  • What are the two versions of determinism?
  • What did James (1890) think?
A
  • Proposes free will has no place in explaining behv, two versions, hard and soft determinism
  • Hard determinism (fatalism), all human behv has a cause, possible to identify and describe these causes
  • Always assumes everything we think and do is dictated by internal and external forces out of our control, this is a very extreme position
  • Soft determinism, James (1890), put forward notion of SD, later became important feature of cog approach
  • James thought that whilst its important to explain what determines our behv, this does not detract from the freedom we have to make rational conscious choices in everyday situations
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30
Q

Types of determinism

  • P|E|B
  • What are the three types of determinism?
  • Describe each of these types
A
  • Biological determinism, advocated by bio approach, highlights influence such as the autonomic nervous system on the stress response or genes on mental health
  • Modern bio psychologists recognise influence of the environment on our bio structures
  • Environmental determinism, advocated by behv approach, Skinner described free will as “an illusion”, argued all behv result of conditioning, we may think we act independently
  • However, our experience of “choice” is just a sum total off reinforcement contingencies that have acted upon us throughout our lives
  • Psychic determinism, advocated by psychodynamic approach, Freud also believed free will is an illusion, he emphasised influence of bio drives and instincts
  • He saw human behv as determined by unconscious conflicts repressed in childhood, no such thing as an accident according to Freud
  • Even a “slip off the tongue” can be explained by the influence off the unconscious
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31
Q

The scientific emphasis on causal explanations

  • What is one of the basic principles of science?
  • How does psychology attempt to implement this?
A
  • One of the basic principles of science is that every event has a cause that can be explained using general laws (hard determinism)
  • Knowledge of causes and formulation of laws important, allow scientists to predict and control events in future
  • In psychology, lab experiment is the ideal of science, enables researchers to demonstrate causal relationships and control all variables therefore avoiding confounding variables
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32
Q

Evaluation for free will and determinism

  • PV|E|CP|L|DWWD
A
  • Practical value (Roberts et al 2000)
  • Research evidence (Libet et al 1983)
  • Counterpoint (Not surprising)
  • The law
  • Do we want determinism?
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33
Q

Practical value (Roberts et al 2000)

A
  • Strength of free will rather than determinism is its practical value
  • Common sense view, we exercise free choice in everyday lives on daily basis
  • Thinking this is the case can improve our mental health even if this is not the case
  • Roberts et al (2000), looked at adolescents with strong belief in fatalism (life decided by events out of their control)
  • Found they were at significantly greater risk of developing depression
  • Suggests even if we do not have free will, the fact we believe we do may have a positive impact on our mind and behv
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34
Q

Research evidence (Libet et al 1983)

A
  • Limitation of free will, brain scan evidence does not support it, does support determinism
  • Libet et al (1983), ppts instructed to choose random moment to flick their wrists, ppts verbally said when they felt conscious will to move
  • Found unconscious brain activity leading up to conscious decision came around half a second before ppt consciously felt they had decided to move
  • May be interpreted that even the most basic experiences of free will are actually determined by our brain before we are aware of them
35
Q

Counterpoint (Not surprising)

A
  • Findings not surprising, just as we would expect
  • Action may come before conscious awareness of decision to act, this does not mean there was no decision to act, just decision to act took time to reach consciousness
  • Our conscious awareness of decision is a “read out” of our unconscious decision making
  • If there was brain activity beforehand causing the decision to be made, there is no one but us that could have made that decision (our own personal unconscious)
  • Suggests neurological evidence is not appropriate as a challenge to free will
36
Q

The law

A
  • Limitation of determinism, strength of free will, position of legal system on responsibility
  • Hard determinist stance, individual choice not cause of behv, not consistent with how legal system operates
  • Offender held responsible for their actions; main principle is they exercised their free will in committing the crime
  • Suggests in the real world, determinist arguments do not work
37
Q

Do we want determinism?

A
  • Determinist approaches helped establish psychology as a science, adopts language and methods of natural sciences
  • Makes psychology a credible “human science” designed to produce general laws off behv
  • Hard determinism also produced effective real-world applications, treatments, therapies and behv interventions
  • Examples include cog treatments for depression, behv treatments for phobias and medication that corrects imbalance of neurochemicals
  • However, free will has intuitive appeal, approach has face validity, may be liberating for some people in terms of “not accepting one’s fate” if they come from criminal background or mental disorder in family
  • Fatalist and determinist would suggest people are “doomed to repeat” behv patterns off parents and families either due to upbringing or genetic inheritance
  • Free will offers people in these scenarios the idea that they can do as they please
  • Suggests if psych wants to position itself along natural sciences, determinist accounts are likely to be preferred but common-sense experience may be better understood by an analysis of free will
38
Q

The nature-nurture debate

  • What is the nature-nurture debate?
A

The nature-nurture debate- Extent of which aspects of behv are a product of inherited or acquired charac

39
Q

Key terms for nature and nurture

  • What is temperament?
  • What does heredity mean?
  • What is the environment in this context?
  • What is an interactionist approach in this context?
  • What is epigenetics?
  • What is concordance?
  • What is heritability?
A
  • Temperament- Child’s personality or their “nature”
  • Heredity- Genetic transmission of both mental and physical charac from one gen to another
  • Environment- Any influence on behv that is non-genetic, may range from prenatal influences in womb through to cultural and historical influences at a societal level, includes bio influences
  • Interactionist approach- Way to explain development of behv, both bio and psychological factors taken into account, combined in a way that cannot be predicted from separating them (they interact)
  • Epigenetics- Changes in genetic activity without changing the genes themselves, causes a change in the way that genes will be expressed
  • Concordance- degree that two people are similar on a particular trait, represented by correlation coefficient
  • Heritability- Estimate provided by concordance of the extent to which a trait is inherited
40
Q

The interactionist approach

  • What question does the nature-nurture debate ask?
  • Describe how it is not really a debate using example research
  • What are modern psychologists more likely to do as a result?
  • What is the nature-nurture debate really discussing?
A
  • Nature-nurture debate asks question of whether behv is more influence by nature or nurture
  • Not really a debate, any behv/charac comes from combo of both (eye colour, 0.80 heritable according to Bräuer and Chopra 1978)
  • Bowlby (1958) claimed baby’s att type determined by parental love (environmental influence)
  • Kagan (1984) proposed baby’s innate personality (temperament) also affects att relationship
  • Nature (child’s temperament) creates nurture (parents’ response), environment and heredity therefore interact
  • Due to this, modern psychologists more likely to ask what the relative contribution of each influence is
  • Therefore, the nature-nurture debate really is about discussing how nature and nurture interact, an interactionist approach
41
Q

Diathesis-stress model

  • What is diathesis?
  • What is a stressor?
  • Give an example in this context
A
  • Suggest behv caused by bio or enviro vulnerability (diathesis), only expressed when couple with bio or enviro “trigger” (stressor)
  • For example, person who inherits genetic vulnerability for OCD may not develop the disorder, but a psych trigger (traumatic experience) may result in the disorder appearing
42
Q

Epigenetics

  • What is epigenetics?
  • What is it caused by?
  • Why do these factors have lifelong influence?
  • Can they affect anything else?
  • What does this introduce to the nature-nurture debate?
A
  • Refers to change in our genetic activity without changing the genes themselves
  • Process happens throughout life, caused by interaction with environment
  • Smoking, diet, war trauma etc leaves marks on our DNA (genes) which switch genes on or off
  • Explains why these factors have lifelong influence even after you stop, they have changed the way your genes will be expressed
  • Could even go on to influence genetic codes of children, as well as their children
  • Introduces third element into nature-nurture debate, life experience of previous generation
43
Q

Nature

  • What is nature?
  • What approaches use this view?
  • What did Descartes (1596-1650) argue?
A
  • Refers to inherited influences or heredity, Descartes (1596-1650) argued all human charac and even some aspects of knowledge are innate
  • Psych charac like intelligence or personality determined by bio factors (genes) just like physical charac such as eye colour or height
44
Q

Nurture

  • What is nurture?
  • What approaches use this view?
  • What does it include?
A
  • Refers to influence of experience and the environment, empiricists like Locked (1632-1704) argued mind is a blank slate at birth, shaped by environment
  • This view later became important feature of behv approach, Lerner (1986) identified different levels of environment
  • Includes prenatal factors such as how physical influences (smoking) or psych influences (music) affect a foetus
  • More generally, development influence postnatally, social conditions that child grows up in for example
45
Q

Measuring nature and nurture

  • What is concordance?
  • What is heritability?
  • What does a concordance of 0.01 suggest in relation to genes?
  • What does a concordance of 1.00 suggest in relation to genes?
  • What is the general figure of IQ according to Plomin (1994)
  • What does this mean?
A
  • Degree that two people are similar on a particular trait can be represented by corelation coefficient, this is called concordance
  • Concordance provides an estimate about extent to which trait is inherited, called heritability
  • Heritability is proportion of differences s between individuals in population with regards to particular trait due to genetic variation
  • Figure of 0.01 (1%) means genes contribute almost nothing to individual differences
  • Figure of 1.00 (100%) means genes are the only reason for individual differences
  • General figure for heritability in IQ is 0.5 across multiple studies in varying populations (Plomin 1994)
  • This means half of a person’s intelligence determined by genetic factors, other half must be environmental
46
Q

Nature and nurture in relation to the approaches

  • Place approaches on the spectrum of nature-nurture
  • Describe why the approach is positioned where it is on the spectrum
A

View picture in Word doc

47
Q

Evaluation for the nature-nurture debate

  • AS|CP|E|RWA|IOD
A
  • Adoption studies (Rhee and Waldman 2002)
  • Counterpoint (Plomin 1994)
  • Epigenetics (Susser and Lin 1992)
  • Real-world application (Nestadt et al 2010)
  • Implications of the debate
48
Q

Adoption studies (Rhee and Waldman 2002)

A
  • Strength of research into nature-nurture debate, use of adoption studies
  • They separate competing influences of nature and nurture, if adopted child more similar to adoptive parents, suggests environment bigger influence
  • If adopted child more similar to bio parents, genetic factors presumed to dominate
  • Rhee and Waldman (2002), meta-analysis of adoption studies, found genetic influences accounted for 41% of variance in aggression
  • Shows research can separate influences of nature and nurture
49
Q

Counterpoint (Plomin 1994)

A
  • Research suggests this approach may be misguided, that nature and nurture are not two entities that can be simply pulled apart
  • Plomin (1994), people create their own “nurture” by actively selecting environments that are appropriate for their “nature”
  • Naturally aggressive child likely to feel more comfortable with children displaying similar behv, “chooses” their environment accordingly
  • Companions further influence their development, Plomin refers to this as niche-picking
  • Suggests that it does not make sense to look at evidence of either nature or nurture separately
50
Q

Epigenetics (Susser and Lin 1992)

A
  • Strength, support for epigenetics
  • Displayed by WW2, Nazis blocked distribution of food to Dutch people, 22.00 died of starvation (Dutch Hunger Winter)
  • Susser and Lin (1992) report that women who became pregnant during famine went on to have low birth weight babies
  • Babies also twice as likely to develop schizophrenia when they grew up compared to more typical population rates
  • Supports view that life experiences of previous gen can leave epigenetic “markers” that influence the health of their offspring
51
Q

Real-world application (Nestadt et al 2010)

A
  • Strength, real world application
  • Research suggests OCD is highly heritable, Nestadt et al (2010) put heritability rate at 0.76 for OCD
  • This understanding can inform genetic counsel, it is important to understand high heritability foes not mean it’s inevitable that the individual will develop the disorder
  • This means people with high risk can receive advice about the likelihood of developing OCD and how they may prevent this (may learn to manage stress for example)
  • Shows that debate not just theoretical, important at practical level to understand interaction between nature and nurture
52
Q

Implications of the debate

A
  • Nativist suggest “anatomy is destiny”, extreme determinist stance led to controversy (Extreme Nature)
  • This approach used by Hitler and the Nazis, application of Darwinian principle of selective breeding to create a “master race” and remove those regarded as inferior from the gene pool
  • Empiricists suggest behv can be changed by altering environmental conditions, behv shaping is a behv concept that has practical application in therapy
  • Desirable behvs selectively reinforced, undesirable behvs punished or ignored
  • In extreme terms, may lead one to advocate a model off society that control and manipulate citizens using this technique (Extreme Nurture)
  • Suggests both positions taken to extremes may have negative consequences for society so a moderate interactionist position is preferred (both nature and nurture combined in union)
53
Q

The holism-reductionism debate

  • What is the question of the debate?
  • What is the debate about?
  • Is there a continuum?
A
  • Question of whether holism or reductionism is the better approach to use in order to understand human behv
  • Holistic approach studies the whole, there is no continuum between holism and reductionism
  • Debate is more about preference for either one, the different approaches in psych take sides
  • Humanists takes holistic approach where as behaviourists are reductionist
  • The reductionist approach has a continuum called the levels of explanation
54
Q

Art analogy

  • Explain holism-reductionism using the art analogy
A
  • In attempt to understand a work of art, we may focus on how the painting was produced (kind of paints used, individual brushstrokes etc)
  • This tells us little about meaning of the whole painting
  • Some feel knowing about parts may be useful to biologists but psychologists should be concerned with the meaning of the whole
55
Q

Key terms for holism and reductionism

  • What is holism?
  • What is reductionism?
  • What are the levels of explanation?
  • What is biological reductionism?
  • What is environmental reductionism?
A
  • Holism- Proposes that it only makes sense to study and indivisible system (whole) rather than its constituent parts (broken down form, reductionist approach)
  • Reductionism- Belief that human behv is best understood by studying the smaller constituent parts
  • Levels of explanation- Idea that there are several ways (levels) that can be used to explain behv, lowest level, physio & bio exp, middle, psych exp, highest, social and cultural exp
  • Biological reductionism- Attempts to explain behv at lowest bio level (actions of genes, hormones etc)
  • Environmental reductionism- Attempts to explain all behv in terms of stimulus-response links that have been learned through experience
56
Q

Holism

  • What is holism?
  • What does holism focus on?
  • What methods does holism use?
A
  • Looks at system as whole, sees any attempt to subdivide behv or experience into smaller unit as inappropriate
  • This was the view of Gestalt psychologists; whole is greater than the sum of its parts
  • Knowing about parts (charac for example) does not help us to understand the essence of that person
  • Holism focuses on individuals’ experiences; this isn’t something that can be reduced into bio units for example
  • Holism uses qualitative methods to investigate the self, themes are analysed rather than broken down into component behvs
57
Q

Reductionism

  • What is reductionism?
  • What does it seek to do?
  • How is this done?
A
  • Seeks to analyse behv by breaking it down into constituent parts, based on scientific principle of parsimony, all phenomena should be explained using simplest (lowest level) principles
  • This is done using the levels of explanation
58
Q

The Levels of explanation in psychology

  • SC|P|P|EB|N
  • What are the levels of explanation in psychology
  • How do the levels differ from each other?
  • Describe each level in relation to OCD
A
  • Different ways (levels) to explain behv, some more reductionist than others, all levels below described in relation to OCD
  • Socio-cultural level, OCD interrupt social relationships
  • Psychological level, persons experience of anxiety
  • Physical level, movements such as washing one’s hands
  • Environmental/behavioural level, abnormal functioning in the frontal lobes
  • Neurochemical level, underproduction of serotonin
  • Each level above is more reductionist than the one before, which of these provides the “best” explanation is a matter of debate
59
Q

Hierarchy of Psychology

  • What is the hierarchy of psychology?
  • Write the hierarchy in order of reductionism
A

Researchers who favour reductionism would see psych as ultimately being replaced by explanations derived from sciences lower down in the hierarchy

60
Q

Biological reductionism

  • What is biological reductionism?
  • How do biological reductionist arguments often work?
  • Give an example of this
A
  • Includes neurochemical and physiological levels, also evolutionary and genetic influences
  • Based on premise that we are biological organisms, thus all behv is at some level biological
  • Bio reductionist arguments often work backwards, for example drug that increases serotonin is effective in treating OCD, therefore low serotonin may be the cause of OCD
  • We have reduced OCD to the level of neurotransmitter activity
61
Q

Environmental reductionism

  • What is environmental reductionism?
  • How do behaviourists explain behaviour?
  • What is the focus on?
  • Give an example of this
A
  • Behaviourist approach is built on environmental reductionism, proposed that all behv is learned and acquired through interactions with the environment
  • Behaviourists explain behv in terms of conditioning, focused on simple stimulus-response links reducing behv to these basic elements
  • For example, learning theory of att reduces the idea of love to a learned association between person doing the feeding (NS) and food (UCS) resulting in pleasure (CR)
62
Q

Evaluation for holism-reductionism debate

  • PV|S|CP|HL|BAM
A
  • Practical value
  • Scientific approach
  • Counterpoint (Oversimplification)
  • Higher level
  • Brain and mind
63
Q

Practical value

A
  • Limitation of holism approach, may lack practical value
  • Holistic accounts of human behv tend to become hard to use as they become more complex
  • Presents researchers with a practical dilemma, if we accept humanistic perspective, may different factors must be taken into account (depression, past, present relationships, job, family circumstances)
  • Becomes difficult to know which is most influential, then difficult to know which to prioritise as the basis of therapy for instance
  • Suggests holistic accounts may lack practical value, reductionist accounts may be better
64
Q

Scientific approach

A
  • Strength of reductionist approach, limitation of holistic approach, they often form basis of scientific approach
  • In order to conduct well-controlled research, we need to operationalise variables to be studied (break target behvs down into constituent parts)
  • Makes it possible to conduct experiments, record observations (behv categories) in a way that is objective and reliable
  • For example, research on att (strange situation) operationalised component behvs such as separation anxiety
  • Scientific approach gives psychology greater credibility placing it on equal terms with the natural sciences
65
Q

Counterpoint (Oversimplification)

A
  • Reductionist approach accused off oversimplifying complex phenomena, leading to reduced validity
  • Explanations that operate at level of gene or neurotransmitter do not include analysis of social context of which behv occurred, where behv may derive its meaning
  • For example, physiological process involved in pointing a finger, same regardless off context, analysis of this will not tell us why the finger is pointed
  • This may be because the individual is drawing attention to something or is an act of aggression etc
  • This suggests reductionist explanations can only ever form part of an explanation (we know there pointing but why)
66
Q

Higher level

A
  • Limitation of reductionism, some behvs can only be understood at a higher level
  • There are often aspects of behv that only emerge within a group context, cannot be understood in terms of the individual group members
  • For instance, conformity to social roles could not be understood by observing the ppts as individuals, it was the interaction between ppl and behv of the group that was important (Zimbardo’s study)
  • No conformity gene (“that we know of”) so social processes like conformity can only be explained at the level which they occur
  • Suggests for some behvs the higher-level explanations or even holistic ones provide a more valid account
67
Q

Brain and mind

A
  • Reductionist account of consciousness would agree that our thoughts are simply a result of what happens in our brain, we are thinking machines/information processors
  • Physical events in the body (brain) are equivalent to mental events in the mind, extreme form of bio reductionism
  • This is the basis of cog neuroscience, cog processes including all that we think and feel are associated with physical processes in the brain
  • The suggestion is that a detailed and extensive knowledge of localisation and microprocesses in the brain will reveal the material basis of consciousness
  • However, neuroscientists struggle to explain the subjective experience of the same neural process
  • For instance, thinking about colour blue involves exactly same region and activity in brain as thinking of colour red, yet the thought we experience is different
  • There seems to be room for individual differences in the reductionist perspective, how experience and interaction with the world mediates our experience of neural events
  • Referred to as explanatory hap in brain science (Levine 1983), may suggest that thinking is a step beyond what is happening in the brain
  • Mind and body/brain are not one and the same but influence each other in complex ways that are not yet fully understood
  • Suggests not all aspects of consciousness, particularly in individual differences in experience, can be explained by brain activity
68
Q

The Idiographic approach to psychological investigation

  • What is the size of participants used?
  • What does research focus on?
  • What is the initial focus?
  • Is research Qualitative or Quantitative?
  • How is this information obtained?
  • How may this be useful information?
  • What approaches is this associated with?
  • Give examples of how they are associated
A
  • Number of ppts small, single individual, group or institution
  • Research has a focus on detail, what we can learn about individuals’ case
  • Initial focus is to understand the individual
  • Qualitative research, example, research on depression based on first-hand accounts from case study
  • Interviewed in depth, focus on particular side of human behaviour (cope with experience)
  • Interview would be unstructured, data analysed, themes identified
  • May help other people similar experiences, help mental health professionals determine best practice
  • This approach associated with humanistic and psychodynamic approach
  • Rogers, self-development, derived from conversations with clients in therapy
  • Freud’s careful observations, basis of his explanations of human nature (Little Hans, Phobia development)
69
Q

Nomothetic approach to psychological investigation

  • What is the main aim of the approach?
  • What can be formed using this approach?
  • What is the application of this?
  • Is research Qualitative or Quantitative?
  • How are people assessed?
  • What is done with the data obtained?
  • Which approaches are nomothetic?
  • Give examples of this using research
A
  • Main aim of this approach is generalisation, to create “laws”
  • Create general principles of behaviour (Theories), can be applied to individual situations (drug therapy for example)
  • Quantitative research, similar to scientific method, hypotheses formulated
  • Samples of people assessed in some way (structured questionnaire)
  • Numerical data that is produced, analysed for its statistical significance
  • Seek to quantify (count) human behaviour
  • Behv and Bio approaches are nomothetic
  • Skinner studied animals, general laws of learning, aimed to establish general laws
  • Sperry split brain research, basis for understanding hemispheric lateralisation
70
Q

Objective versus Subjective (Difference between idio and nomo)

  • Which is Objective?
  • Which is Subjective?
  • Describe why this is the case for each
A
  • Objectivity, nomothetic, laws of behaviour only possible if methods of assessment standardised and objective
  • Ensures true replication across samples, removes influence of bias
  • Subjectivity, idiographic, peoples individual experience, unique context that is important
71
Q

Evaluation for Idiographic and Nomothetic approaches

  • CA|CP|SC|LP|DOC
A
  • Complete account
  • Counterpoint (Complete absence of nomo)
  • Scientific Credibility
  • Losing the person
  • Distinct or Complementary (Millon 1995)
72
Q

Complete account

A
  • Strength of idio, contributes to nomo approach
  • Idio uses in-depth qualitative methods, provides global description one individual
  • May complement nomo, shedding further light on general laws or challenges laws
  • Single case may generate hypotheses for further study for example
  • Single cases may reveal important insights about normal functioning, contribute to overall understanding
  • Suggests idio approach still help form “scientific” laws of behaviour
73
Q

Counterpoint (Complete absence of nomo)

A
  • Idio still narrow and restricted, meaningful generalisations cannot be made without further examples
  • Without nomo, no adequate baseline to compare behaviour to
  • Case studies tend to be least scientific; conclusions rely on subjective interpretation of researcher (could be bias)
  • Suggests its difficult to build effective gender theories in complete absence of nomo research
74
Q

Scientific Credibility

A
  • Strength, both fit with aims of science
  • Processes in nomo research similar to natural sciences
  • Establishing objectivity through standardisations, control and statistical testing
  • Idio researchers also seek to objectify their methods
  • Triangulation, findings range of studies using different qualitative methods compared, increasing their validity
  • Modern researchers careful to reflect on their own biases and preconceptions, part of research process
  • Suggests both nomo and idio raise psychology’s status as a science
75
Q

Losing the person

A
  • Limitation of nomo, loss of understanding of the individual
  • Preoccupied with general laws, prediction and control, accused of losing the whole person
  • Knowing there is 1% lifetime risk of developing Sz, tells us little about life with Sz for example
  • Understanding subjective experience of Sz useful for devising appropriate treatment options for example
  • Suggests search for generalities, fail to relate to “experience”
76
Q

Distinct or Complementary (Millon 1995)

A
  • Important to distinguish between two approaches, they are distinct
  • Used in different situations for different research aims
  • Schaffer’s general stages of development (nomo), case studies extreme neglect subjective experience (idio)
  • Also, a sense in approaches being two ends of a continuum
  • Used simultaneously, applied to same individual or research question
  • Millon (1995), explains when diagnosing personality disorders, begin with general nomo criteria, then focus on individuals’ unique needs
  • Idio also does not mean research not looking to generalise findings, doing so from smaller evidence base
  • Suggests rather than seeing two distinctly, should consider from both perspectives
  • Aim may well be to develop general understating in both cases
77
Q

Ethical implications and social sensitivity

  • What are ethical implications?
  • What is socially sensitive research?
  • Give examples of both
A
  • Ethical implications are the consequences of any research in terms of the effects on individual ppts or the way in which certain groups are subsequently regarded, may have consequences on societal level
  • Social sensitivity is defined by S and S as “studies in which there are potential consequences or implications, either directly for ppts in research or for class of individuals represented by research”
  • Ethical implications are a further reason for ethical guidelines (Other reason ethical issues)
  • Concerns the consequences that research may have, in particularly socially sensitive research
  • Example, study on depression, consequences for individual ppts, wider social group they represent
  • Ppt may reveal personal info, could be accessed by employer, sways their decision
  • Findings may suggest never fully recover, risk as an employee (more days off, worse atmosphere etc)
  • In terms of social policy, findings could inform preferred treatment options recommended by NHS
78
Q

Sieber and Stanley (1988)

  • What are the four aspects of the research process that require ethical consideration?
A
  • Outlined four aspects of the research process that require ethical consideration
  • The research question should not add any prevailing prejudice or stereotype
  • The information obtained should be treated with confidentiality at all stages off the research process
  • If the research is being funded by the government or an institution, the researcher should ensure that data is not misused in anyway (smoking companies misleading people)
  • Researchers should ensure that the interpretation of the data or findings has no impact for the participants involved or the group of people the participants represent
79
Q

Implications for the research process

  • What is important to consider when thinking of social sensitivity?
  • What did Sieber and Stanley warn about?
  • What did Kitzinger and Coyle discover?
  • What is the media interested in?
A
  • All research has potential consequences, applies to socially sensitive research in particular
  • All stages planning, conducting studies important when thinking of social sensitivity
  • Includes later handling of the findings
  • Research question, Sieber and Stanley (1988) warn about how research question phrased and investigated
  • May influence way in which findings are interpreted
  • Kitzinger and Coyle (1995), research in relationships “heterosexual bias”
  • Homosexual relationships compared and judged against heterosexual norms
  • Dealing with participants, issues (Informed consent etc) important to consider in this research
  • May be extremely stressful for ppts to describe their experiences
  • May provide consent at start, not fully understand effect of the research
  • Way findings used, should be considered in advance, may impact what data is collected
  • Important, findings may be seen as giving scientific credibility to existing prejudices
  • For example, examining ethnic basis of intelligence
  • Sensitive info what media interested in, Owens research of people in minimally conscious state
80
Q

Evaluation of Ethical Implications

  • BFG|CP|RWA|PRD
A
  • Benefits for groups
  • Counterpoint
  • Real World Application
  • Poor research design
81
Q

Benefits for groups

A
  • Strength, socially sensitive research can benefit group being studied
  • Homosexuality, 1952 DSM-1 labelled this as personality disorder, removed in 1973
  • Change credited to Kinsey report, anonymous interview 5000 men on sexual behaviour (Kinsey et al 1948)
  • Report concluded homosexuality typical expression of human sexual behaviour
  • Also had data interviews 6000 women, outrage at time, topics that no one discussed
  • Illustrates importance of researchers tackling sensitive topics
82
Q

Counterpoint

A
  • Can also have negative consequences for groups being studied
  • Research on genetic basis of criminality found “criminal gene”
  • If true, does that mean individual can be convicted for having gene
  • Or should be excused because they cannot be held responsible for any wrong doing
  • Suggest researching socially sensitive topics needs very careful consideration of outcomes and their consequences
83
Q

Real World Application

A
  • Strength, certain groups (policy makers) rely on research related to socially sensitive issues
  • Government, looks at this research when developing social policies (Child care, education etc)
  • Preferable to base policies on scientific research rather than politically motivated views
  • In UK, independent groups such as ONS (Office for National Statistics), responsible for collecting, analysing and disseminating objective statistics about UK’s economy, society and population
  • This data is used in psychological research
  • Suggests psychologists have important tole in providing high quality research on socially sensitive topics
84
Q

Poor research design

A
  • Limitation, poor research design may lead to erroneous findings
  • Once such findings given to public, continue to have impact
  • Burt’s research, concluded using twin studies that intelligence was highly heritable, detected at age 11
  • Government based policies on this, later revealed Burt’s research was fraudulent (Joyson 1989)
  • 11+ exam and idea children should be separated by “natural intelligence” remained
  • Therefore, any research on socially sensitive topics needs to be planned with greatest care
  • Ensure findings are valid, enduring effects on particular groups of people potentially long lasting even if falsified

Psychology (13 decks)

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