Issues and Debates

Question 1

What is Universality

Answer 1

there are a range of psychological characteristics of human beings that can be applied to all
despite differences of experiences, gender or cultural background.

Question 2

What is gender bias

Answer 2

misrepresentation of gender differences and/ or similarities

Question 3

What is Androcentrism

Answer 3

Male- centred, when behaviour of all is judged according to the male standard

Question 4

What is Beta bias

Answer 4

Minimisation of gender differences

Question 5

What is Alpha bias

Answer 5

Exaggeration of gender differences

Question 6

What is an example of Alpha bias in psychological research

Answer 6

Freud (psychosexual stages)

-Superego is weaker than males as they don’t experience the intense emotion of castration anxiety
he said penis envy was failed masculinity

Question 7

What is an example of Beta bias in psychological research

Answer 7

research on fight or flight
-Female behaviour is affected by regular hormonal changes

Question 8

What is an example of Androcentrism in psychological research

Answer 8

Zimbardos study all were male and white (obedience)

Question 9

Give 2 evaluations of gender bias

Answer 9

-Psychology is changing, with the increased prominence of female psychology researchers such as Loftus and Ainsworth

-A significant amount of influential historical studies such as Asch and Milgram and Zimbardo only contained male participants.

Question 10

What is Ethnocentrism?

Answer 10

Studying behaviour of others using their own cultural beliefs

Question 11

What is Cultural relativism

Answer 11

In order to understand a behaviour you must study it in the context it originated in

Question 12

What is Imposed etic

Answer 12

using theories and measurements designed in one culture
and applying it to other cultures

Question 13

What is an example of Ethnocentrism in psychological research

Answer 13

Ainsworth - assumed all cultures had secure
attachment as their majority.

Question 14

What is an example of Imposed etic in psychological research

Answer 14

Ainsworth - assumed all cultures had secure
attachment as their majority.

Question 15

Give 2 evaluations of cultural bias

Answer 15

-Some researchers are attempting to represent cultural differences in behaviour such as Ijzendoorn and kroonenberg There is also an increase in indigenous psychology, with researchers from varying cultures investigating their own cultures.

The majority of Influential research is culturally bias e.g. Asch and Milgram studies

Question 16

What is Free will?

Answer 16

Humans can make choices and their behaviours are not determined by other forces

Question 17

What are the 5 types of determinism

Answer 17

Soft
Hard
Biological
Environmental
Psychic

Question 18

What is Soft determinism

Answer 18

Behaviour may be caused by internal or external factors but there is also room for personal choice

Question 19

What is an example of Soft determinism

Answer 19

Cognitive approach - Although it may be the job of scientists to explain what determines behaviour, we still make rational conscious choices

Question 20

What is Hard determinism

Answer 20

All behaviour is caused by external or internal forces we cant control

Question 21

What is Biological determinism

Answer 21

The belief all behaviour is caused by biological influences we cant control

Question 22

What is environmental determinism

Answer 22

All behaviour is caused by features of the environmental we cant control
e.g. conditioning

Question 23

What is psychic determinism

Answer 23

All behaviour is caused by unconscious psychodynamic forces we cant control

Question 24

Give 3 evaluations of free will and determinism

Answer 24

-Free will has face validity, personal experience suggests we make our decisions and act after conscious thought.
-However determinists argue this is an illusion and decisions are made before we are consciously aware of them.

-Deterministic arguments for behaviour such as aggression has important implications for the justice system.

-Deterministic theories also have implications for our understanding of correct child-rearing, provision of education, and blame for addiction.

Question 25

What is Nature

Answer 25

All human characteristics psychological & Physical are innate and determined by genes

Question 26

What is Nurture

Answer 26

All Behaviour is from the influence of experience and environment e.g. behaviourist approach
(Tabula Rasa)

Question 27

What is the interactionist approach?

Answer 27

The combination of both nature and nurture,
e.g. the diathesis stress model in schizophrenia

Question 28

What are Epigenetics?

Answer 28

A change in genetic activity without the change of genes themselves caused by interaction with the environment
e.g. change in diet can switch genes on or off

Question 29

Give 2 strengths of Nature and nuture

Answer 29

Studies show evidence for a biological (nature) origin of behaviour include genetic evidence for disorders like schizophrenia (Grossman)

Studies that show evidence for an environmental (nurture) origin of behaviour are social leaning theory experiments such as banduras bobo-doll

Question 30

Give 2 limitations of Nature and nurture

Answer 30

• Both nature and nurture perspectives are deterministic
  biological determinism for nature, environmental determinism for nurture
• Concordance rates for biological explanations are never 100% meaning there are other influences

Question 31

What is Holism

Answer 31

Looks at something as a Whole instead of subdividing behaviour or experiences into smaller units

Question 32

What is Reductionism

Answer 32

Human behaviour is best understood by studying the smaller subdivided parts

Question 33

What are the two types of Reductionism

Answer 33

Biological reductionism (All behaviour is from genes, hormones etc)

Environmental reductionism (All behaviour is from experience and interactions)

Question 34

What is a strength of reductionist approaches that’s also a limitation of holism

Answer 34

They often form the basis of a scientific approach
- in order to conduct a well controlled research we need to operationalise the variables studied

Question 35

What are 2 limitations of reductionism

Answer 35

Oversimplifying complex topics leads to reduced validity
as it doesn’t acknowledge there are other factors

-Reductionist explanations can only ever form a small part of an explanations

Question 36

What is one limitation of Holism

Answer 36

lacks practical value - When we acknowledge there are many factors to an explanation how do we know which is the most influential
-its then hard to prioritise tackles for improvement e.g. therapy and depression

Question 37

What is the Idiographic approach

Answer 37

Suggests psychology should be a study of the individual
-By gaining lots of detailed information this individual or group we can understand human behaviour better

Question 38

What is the Nomothetic approach

Answer 38

Psychology should be a study of large and varied groups
-so generalisations can be made and general theories of behaviour are identified

Question 39

What are the key concepts of an Idiographic approach

Answer 39

Qualitative research - Based on first hand accounts from a small number of people (e,g Case study or interviews)

-Data is analysed and themes are identified

-An example the psychodynamic approach, little Hans (castration anxiety)

Question 40

What are the key concepts of a Nomothetic approach

Answer 40

Quantitative research - A more scientific method
- e.g. Laboratory experiments

• An example is skinners rats

Question 41

What are 1 strength and 1 limitation of Nomothetic approaches

Answer 41

Nomothetic techniques with clear procedures are replicable, due to the standardised controlled tests making it more reliable

Superficial - Do not give a full picture of the individual.
Two people with an OCD diagnosis are likely to have very different personal experiences even if they have the same gene in common.

Question 42

What are 2 limitations of Idiographic approaches

Answer 42

due to the small sample its hard to generalise

Subjectivity- Idiographic researcher’s intensive data collection techniques can result in researcher bias

Question 43

What are ethical implications?

Answer 43

The consequences that psychological research may have on individual participants or the wider society

Question 44

What is social sensitivity?

Answer 44

Sieber & Stanley defines social sensitivity as - studies in which there are potential consequences either directly for the participants or the class of individuals represented by the research

Question 45

What are the stages of conducting a socially sensitive research

Answer 45

Sieber & Stanley
Research question - warn participants the way in which its phrased and investigated may influence the way findings are interpreted

-Making sure all the ethical guidelines are followed

-Researcher should consider in advance how research findings may be used
e.g. some may use it as evidence to existing prejudices

Question 46

What are 2 strengths of Ethical implications

Answer 46

Real world application - Sieber and Stanley give baseline methodology of how socially sensitive research should be approached
-Researchers carefully considering their own role, responsibilities and influential position.

-The government look to socially sensitive research when developing social policies e.g. child care, education
-This means psychologist have an important role in providing quality research on socially sensitive topics

Question 47

What are 1 limitation of Ethical implications

Answer 47

Bowlby’s Theory of Attachment suggests that children form one special attachment bond, usually with their mother, which must take place within a critical period.
-has led to negative patriarchal stereotypes