Issues And Debates Flashcards
What is the nature vs nurture debate
Whether our behaviour is due to our genetics (nature)
Or influenced from our environment, up bringing and life experiences (nurture)
What is an ‘issue’
A topic that creates conflict and should not be ignored
e.g gender bias
What are examples of issues in psychology
Gender bias
Cultural bias
Ethical implications
What is a ‘debate’
An academic discussion of a topic where both sides of an argument are presented
e.g nature - nurture
What are examples of debates in psychology
Nature v Nurture
Free will v determinism
Holisim v reductionism
Idiographic v nomothetic approaches
What is universality and how is it challenged in gender bias
It means that what is found can apply to all people. The belief some behaviours are the same for everyone.
This is challenged as gender differences in behaviour tend to be ignored or exaggerated. Researcher must show similarities and differences between females and males without devaluing genders.
Define the environment
Everything outside the body which can include people, events and the physical world
Define heredity
Genetic inheritance
The process in which traits are passed down from one generation to the next
What is the basic assumptions of the nativist argument
- biological approach
Behaviour is innate and determined by brain structures, genetics and DNA.
Humans are a production of evolution
-OCD
- Lorenz
What is the basic assumptions of the empiricist argument
behaviourist
All behaviour is learnt through environment, we are born a blank slate. Learn through experiences mostly in childhood.
Pavlova dog
What is gender bias
The term used to suggest a persons views are distorted in some way, and evidence the gender is presented in a biased way. Bias leads to differential treatments of the genders based on stereotypes not real differences. This distortion could be
Alpha bias
Beta bias
What is the interactionist approach
Hereditary (nature) and environment (nurture) influence each other
What is an example of the nature debate
OCD
Baillargeon
Lorenz
Aggression (MAOA-L gene)
What is an example of the nurture side of the debate
Psychopathology ( phobias )
Work place stress
Bowlbys bobo doll
What is alpha bias
The exaggeration of the difference between men and women’s behaviours.
e.g Freud argued girls do not identify with their mothers as strongly as boys do with their fathers so develop weaker superegos
Explain nature v nurture debate for aggression
Nature - innate drives, MAOA gene, hormones
Nurture - SLT, de-individuation
Explain nature v nurture debate for psychopathology
Nature - genetics and neurochemicals
Nurture - development of phobias, PTSD
What is beta bias
The assumption men and women are the same, ignores differences between them which leads to one gender being misrepresented. Usually focuses on male behaviour and draws conclusions for females.
e.g research for fight or flight was carried out on male animals because they had fewer variation hormones than females. It was assumed fight or flight response same for both genders however Taylor found women actually ‘tend and befriend’ Beta bias meant stress response was not really understood as gender difference ignored
Evaluate gender in psychology
Gender biased research may lead to misleading assumptions about female behaviour used to support discrimination. e.g Darwin’s theory of sexual selection may lead to employers to assume women are less competitive than men, providing a scientific justification to deny women certain opportunities at work.
Strength of discussing gender bias, it helps to raise awareness of gender bias in research. Led to psychologists developing theories that emphasise the value of women. e.g Cornwell noted females tend to be better at learning as they are more attentive and organised, emphasising positive attributes of women. This type of research helps challenge gender stereotypes which can have positive consequences in everyday life.
Gender bias can work against males. e.g women more likely to be diagnosed with depression and given treatment. May be because more women suffer from depression or could be diagnostic system is more biased to finding depression in women. Expectation men should ‘pull themselves together’ may highlight an issue of gender bias with the diagnostic systems for mental disorders
What is ethnocentrism
Making judgements based on one’s own cultural perspective and believing this is both normal correct and superior.
Ethnocentrism is a lack of awareness that other ways of seeing things can be as valid as one’s own e.g AINSWORTH
What is cultural relativism
Human behaviour only understood within specific cultural context from which it originates. We have to understand particular views, values and norms of a culture before we can evaluate and understand the behaviour individuals that belong to that culture
Evaluate culture in psychology
Culturally biased research can have significant real world effects. E.g by amplifying and validating damaging stereotypes. The US army used an IQ test before WWI which was culturally biased to the white majority. test showed African Americans were at the bottom of the IQ scale and this had a negative effect on the attitudes of Americans towards this group of people which highlights the negative impact that culturally biased research can have
Researchers are beginning to recognise the effect that cultural bias can have on their work as researchers travel more than they used to which allows them to exchange ideas with other psychologists from other cultures. This will help reduce ethnocentrism and increase understanding of cultural relativism shaping future positively
Awareness of cultural bias had positive impact in diagnosing mental disorders. Early Americans DSM ignored mental disorders that are found in non American cultures. DSM IV later established acknowledging the inadequacy of that approach
What is meant by determinism
Free will is an illusion
Behaviour is due to internal factors
No control over behaviour
What is free will
We are free to make whatever choice we want and do as we please
What is hard determinism
No choice
What approaches are hard determinist
Biological
Behavioural
What is soft determinism
Element of choice but only to a certain extent
What approach is soft determinist
Cognitive
What is biological determinism
Human behaviour is innate
Determined by genes
What is an example of biological determinism
Nestadt
1st degree relative with OCD 5x more likely to suffer
What is environmental determinism
Behaviour caused by forces outside the individual caused by previous experiences
What is an example of environmental determinism
Psychopathology
Phobias are acquired though classical and operant conditioning
What is psychic determinism
Behaviour due to childhood experience and innate drives
What is an example of psychic determinism
Psychodynamic oedipus and electra complex in children in the phallic stage
Evaluate the use of determinism in psychology
Strength - deterministic approaches easily generate research evidence e.g brain scans and twin studies, lab experiments and case studies
Deterministic views implies there is always a cause for behaviour. Led to scientific methods such as experimental methods which is good because it allows researchers to be more objective and precise which enables studies to be replicated to see if findings are reliable
What are ethical implications
The impact of consequences that psychological research could have on people.
Explain ethical implications for participants
Ethical implications include the consequences of deceiving or psychologically harming participants as well as the impact of not ensuring confidentiality of participants data
What is a study you can link to ethical implications
Milgram
Participants may feel embarrassed and not want to take part in researxh again.
Milgram did not protect them from harm - they have to live with the feeling they could kill someone
What is meant by socially sensitive
Refers to psychological research which tends to be particularly controversial, could have severe consequences for people in wider context.
Socially sensitive research is often hard to predict and control
e.g Raine research within cognitive neuroscience, suggested frontal lobe activity was a marker for violent criminality and we should screen children’s brains
e.g male aggressive because of sexual jealousy towards women as gives men ready made excuse to their aggression
What are examples of ethical implications beyond the research setting
Effect of publishing research on the wider public (Bowlby)
Economic implications, such as funding for further psychological research. Findings that demonstrate drug therapy is effective for depression may take cost away from other causes such as relationshop breaking down
Potential bias against certain people/cultures/race
What four issues did seiber and Stanley raise about social sensitivity
Research question - ‘are there racial differences in IQ’ ‘is intelligence inherited’ may be damaging to a particular group
Methodology - research techniques resulted in participants being treated unfairly, confidentiality
Institutional context - how the data is being used, who is funding it, why are they funding it and what they intend to do with the findings
Interpretation and application - how research can be applied to real world, could their data used to inform policy
How can researchers deal with the issues of social sensitivity
Before research, consider social sensitivity in all four aspects of the research process as suggested by sieber and Stanley
Undertake cost benefit analysis
Submit research proposals to ethical comittees
Take steps to avoid prejudice and biased findings in media.
After research - sensitively debrief participants
Take care when publishing findings, disclosing results and when assuring confidentiality
Give an example of a study that was socially sensitive
Burt used twin studies to support view intelligence was inherited which came to the creation of the 11+ entry exam for grammar schools
Generations of children were affected by this even though it was found Burt had falsified his results
Evaluate ethical implications/socially sensitive research
Focus on ethical implications has forced psychologists to be aware of the need to safeguard individuals affected by research. Includes all protected groups and those excluded from research but may be harmed by conclusion and application
Research with potential ethical implications should still be conducted if the research will have desirable and beneficial impact on society. Research examining use of child witnesses found young children can be reliable witnesses if questioned in a timely and appropriate manner. Research with potential ethical implications resulted in procedures being introduced to improve accuracy and validity of child eye witness. Research in ethical implication may play valuable role in society
Some argue socially sensitive research should not be conducted because it can be used as a means of social control. Legislation introduced in US that led to compulsory sterilisation if they deemed to have low intelligence or suffer mental illness ‘unfit to breed’. Using socially sensitive research to validate discrimination is one of the compelling arguments for abolishing results
What is the idiographic and nomothetic debate about
Whether psychologists should investigate behaviours and generate laws to explain them which apply to everyone or whether they should focus on the unique experience of the individual
Explain the idiographic side of the debate
Emphasise unique experiences of individual, they do not wish to draw conclusions about large samples of people
Favour qualitative research methods such as unstructured interviews
What approaches are idiographic
Humanistic
Psychodynamic (other than psychosexual stages)
What are idiographic case studies
HM
Little Albert
What is the nomothetic side of the debate
Views the role of psychology as one concerned with the generation of laws - they explain all behaviours
Prefer to study large groups of people as prefer quantitive data such as unstructured interviews with closed questions
What approaches are nomothetic
Behaviourist
Biological
What have nomothetic approaches looked at establishing as general laws of behaviour
Learning theory
Drug therapy
Evaluate idiographic approaches
It is difficult to produce general predictions or laws. Severely limits the usefulness of idiographic approaches for understanding the cause of treatment of psychological disorders such as OCD
Unscientific, methods used such as Cade studies often heavily rely on subjective interpretation meaning conclusions drawn are open to bias. Problem as use of idiographic approaches to explain behaviours questions the credibility of psychology as a scientific discipline
Some argue approach is more valid than those with statistical methodologies that are more scientific. This is because the use of qualitative methods provides an in depth and more complete account of an individual, meaning idiographic approaches could reveal important insights which contribute to our understanding of behaviour
Evaluate nomothetic approaches
Useful for predicting and controlling behaviour. Social psychologists such as Milgram used a nomothetic approach to create general conclusions about human behaviour - that situational factors are responsible for both obedience and conformity. Biological psychologists typically pinpoint biological factors such as neurotransmitters to be responsible for such disorders and use biological therapies (drug) to treat patients
However as drug treatments not successful for all patients, some psychologists argue alternative treatments based on idiographic approach are more suitable for treating individuals with such conditions as they seek to understand and explain the disorder from a patients point of view, questions the value of research based on a nomothetic approach
Generally scientific, use of quantitative methods and controlled measurements are all seen as strengths, controlled methods allow for replication to examine the reliability of findings which has helped psychology establish itself as a science
