issues and debates

Question 1

what is meant by universality

Answer 1

that conclusions drawn can be applied to everyone, anywhere ,regardless of time and culture

Question 2

what is gender bias

Answer 2

the differential treatment and representation of males and females, based on stereotypes and not on real differences.

Question 3

what is alpha bias

Answer 3

theories that exaggerate the differences between males and females.

Question 4

example of alpha bias (freud)

Answer 4

Freud argued that because girls do not suffer the same oedipal conflict as boys, they do not identify with their mothers as strongly as boys identify with their fathers due to castration anxiety , so develop weaker superegos.

Question 5

example of alpha bias (chodorow)

Answer 5

Chodorow suggested that daughters and mothers have a greater connections than sons and mothers because of biological similarities. As a result of the child’s closeness,women develop better abilities to bond with others and empathise .

Question 6

what is beta bias

Answer 6

theories that ignore or minimise sex differences. These theories often assume that the findings from studies using males can apply equally to females.

Question 7

Elaborate the beta bias in the fight of flight research

Answer 7

-it assumes that both women and men respond to threatening situations with fight of flight

Question 8

what is androcentrism

Answer 8

male centered,when ‘normal’ behaviour is judged according to a male standard meaning that female behaviour is often judged to be ‘abnormal’ by comparison

Question 9

evaluation 1 of gender bias- biological vs social explanations

Answer 9

-weakness
-gender differences presented as fixed and enduring when they are not
-Maccoby and Jacklin suggested that differences are hardwired into the brain before birth
-Joel used brain scanning and found no such sex differences in brain structure and processing
-suggests that we should be wary of biological facts as they might be explained better as social stereotypes

Question 10

evaluation 2 of gender bias- counterpoint

Answer 10

-doesn’t mean psychologists should avoid studying possible gender differences in the brain
-Ingalhalikar suggests that the stereotype of women being good multitaskers might have a biological truth to it
-woman’s brain may benefit from better connections between right and left hemisphere
-suggests that there might be biological differences but we have to be wary of them

Question 11

evaluation 3 of gender bias-sexism in research

Answer 11

-weakness
-gender bias promotes sexism in research
-Women are underrepresented in uni departments such as science so research is more likely to be conducted by men
-this may disadvantage women participants as a male researcher may see women to be irrational and unable to complete tasks (Nicolson)
-means that methods of psychology may produce findings that are gender biased

Question 12

evaluation 4 of gender bias- gender biased research

Answer 12

-weakness
-research challenging gender bias may not be published
-Formanowicz analysed more than 1000 articles and found that research on gender bias is funded less and is published by less prestigious journals
-it was compared to other forms of bias such as ethnic bias and it was the least dealt with
-suggests that gender bias may not be taken as seriously as other forms of bias

Question 13

what is cultural bias

Answer 13

tendency to interpret all phenomena through the lens of one’s own culture,ignoring the effects that cultural differences might have on behaviour

Question 14

Henrich reviewed hundreds of studies in leading psychology journals and found that ….% of research participants came from the US

Answer 14

68%

Question 15

meaning of ethnocentrism

Answer 15

judging other cultures by standards and values of ones own culture. Its the belief in the superiority of one’s own culture group

Question 16

why is strange situations criticised for ethnocentrism

Answer 16

-reflects only the norms and values of western culture
-it suggested that the ideal attachment is secure attachment which deviated from other countries which have different practices
-japanese infants are most likely to be classed as insecurely attached

Question 17

what is cultural relativism

Answer 17

idea that norms and values as well as ethics and moral standards can only be meaningful and understood within specific social and cultural contexts

Question 18

what does the etic approach look at?

Answer 18

behaviour from outside of a given culture and attempts to describe those behaviours as universal

Question 19

what does an emic approach do?

Answer 19

functions from the inside a culture and identifies behaviours that are specific to that culture

Question 20

how is Aimsworth and Bell’s research an example of imposed etic

Answer 20

they studied behaviour inside one culture (America) and then assumed their ideal attachment could be applied universally

Question 21

what does Berry argue (cultural relativism)

Answer 21

that psychology has often been guilty of an imposed etic approach

Question 22

evaluation 1 of cultural bias- classic studies

Answer 22

-weakness
-most influential studies in psychology are culturally-biased
-e.g. Asch’s and Milgram’s original studies were conducted exclusively with US participants
-replications of these studies in different countries produced different results
-e.g. asch’s type experiments in collective cultures produced higher rates of conformity
-this suggests our understanding of topics such as social influence should be only applied to individualistic cultures

Question 23

evaluation 2 of cultural bias- counterpoint

Answer 23

-due to increased media globalisation, it is argued that individualistic-collectivism distinction does not apply
-Takano and Osaka found that 14 out of 15 studies that compared the US to Japan found no evidence of individualism or collectivism
-this suggests that cultural bias in research may be less of an issue in more recent psychological research

Question 24

evaluation 3 of cultural bias- cultural psychology

Answer 24

-strength
-emergence of cultural psychology
-cultural psychologists strive to avoid ethnocentric assumptions by taking an emic approach and conducting research from inside from inside the culture
-suggests that modern psychologists are mindful of the dangers of cultural bias and are taking steps to avoid it

Question 25

evaluation 4 of cultural bias-ethnic stereotyping

Answer 25

-weakness
-cultural bias has led to prejudice against groups of people
-Gould explained how first intelligence tests led to eugenic social policies in the US
-first IQ test had many ethnocentric items so people from southern europe and african americans received lower scores
-ethnic minorities were seen as mentally unfit and feeble minded in comparison to the white majority
-this illustrates how cultural bias can be used to justify prejudice and discrimination towards certain cultures

Question 26

what is free will

Answer 26

notion that humans can make choices and their behaviour is not determined by biological or external forces

Question 27

what is determinism

Answer 27

view that an individual’s behaviour is shaped/controlled by internal or external forces rather that an individual’s will to do something

Question 28

what are the two versions of determinism

Answer 28

hard and soft determinism

Question 29

what is hard determinism

Answer 29

view that all behaviour is caused by something so free will is an illusion

Question 30

what is soft determinism

Answer 30

view that behaviour may be predictable but there is also room for personal choice (restricted free will)

Question 31

what are the three types of determinism

Answer 31

biological,environmental and psychic

Question 32

what is biological determinism

Answer 32

belief that behaviour is caused by biological (hormones,genetics) influences that we cannot control

Question 33

what is environmental determinism

Answer 33

belief that behaviour is caused by features of the environment that we cannot control

Question 34

what is psychic determinism

Answer 34

belief that behaviour is caused by unconscious psychodynamic conflicts that we cannot control

Question 35

evaluation 1 of free will vs determinism - practical value

Question 36

evaluation 2 of free will vs determinism- research evidence

Question 37

evaluation 3 of free will vs determinism- counterpoint of research evidence

Question 38

evaluation 4 of free will vs determinism- the law

Question 39

what is the nature vs nurture debate

Answer 39

the extent to which aspects of our behaviour are a product of inherited or acquired characteristics

Question 40

Interactionist approach- the nature vs nurture debate

Answer 40

A way to explain the development of behaviour in terms of a range of factors in terms of both biological and psychological ones. Factors combine in a way that can’t be predicted by each one separately.

Question 41

diathesis-stress model- the nature vs nurture debate

Answer 41

Suggests behaviour is caused by a biological/ environmental vulnerability which is only expressed when coupled with a biological/environmental trigger

Question 42

What is an example of the diathesis stress model

Answer 42

A person who inherits a genetic vulnerability for OCD may not develop the disorder, but combined with psychological triggers this may result in the disorder appearing

Question 43

Epigenetics- the nature vs nurture

Answer 43

-refers to change in our genetic code without changing the genes themselves.
-process that occurs throughout life
-caused by interactions with our environment
-Aspects of our lifestyle or events we encounter leave marks on our DNA which switch genes on or off

Question 44

1.what is meant by nature
2. what does descartes argue about it

Answer 44

1-refers to the inherited influences
2-All human characteristics are innate