Issues And Debates

Question 1

Universality?

Answer 1

Universality is the idea that there are range of Psychological Characteristics that can be applied to everyone, despite differences in Experiences, Upbringing, Gender etc.

Question 2

Gender Bias?

Answer 2

• Gender Bias refers to the tendency to favour one Gender over another in Psychological Research.
• or show Prejudice towards a Gender.

Question 3

Androcentrism?

Answer 3

• Androcentrism refers to the fact that Science/Research has mostly been Conducted by Men, therefore Research represents a Male View of the world.

Question 4

What is the problem with All-Male Samples?

Answer 4

• Results from All-Male Samples may be generalised to Women (results may be different for Women).
• Male behaviour may be seen as the “Normal Behaviour”.

Question 5

Alpha Bias?

Answer 5

Alpha Bias refers to when researchers EXAGGERATE the differences between Males and Females.

Question 6

Beta Bias?

Answer 6

Beta Bias refers to when researchers MINIMISE the differences between Males and Females.

Question 7

Culture Bias?

Answer 7

Culture Bias is when all Human behaviour is interpreted from One Cultural Viewpoint.

Question 8

Ethnocentrism?

Answer 8

• Ethnocentrism refers to when a researcher interprets their own Cultural Behaviour as “Normal” and interprets a deviation from this behaviour as Abnormal.

Question 9

Cultural Relativism?

Answer 9

Cultural Relativism is the idea that Behaviours (and Concepts such as Morality) can only be understood from the Perspective of its Cultural Context.

Question 10

What did Berry mean when he said that Psychology takes an ‘Imposed Etic’ Approach?

Answer 10

• Psychology takes an ‘Imposed Etic’ Approach because it argues that theories are Universal despite research being conducted using ‘Emic Constructs’ within a specific Culture.

Question 11

What are Etic Constructs?

Answer 11

Etic Constructs are Behaviours that are Universal across all Cultural Groups (Smiling when happy)

Question 12

What are Emic Constructs?

Answer 12

Emic Constructs are Behaviours that only apply to certain Cultural groups.

Question 13

Why is research most likely going to continue Over-Representing American College Students?

Answer 13

• Low cost of obtaining them
• Ease

Question 14

Epigenetics?

Answer 14

• Epigenetics is the idea that genes are not always activated at birth.
• Some Genes only become active as a response to a life experience.

Question 15

Causal Explanations?

Answer 15

• Causal Explanations are what Psychologists search for, in other words, whether the Independent Variable causes a change in the Dependent Variable.