Issues and debates Flashcards
GENDER BIAS (AO1) - Gender bias definition.
- differential treatment/representation of males & females based on stereotypes & not real differences.
GENDER BIAS (AO1) - What is alpha bias and give an example.
Alpha bias- theories that provide exaggerated differences between males & females.
FREUD (psychosexual development)
- argues that there is a genuine psychological difference between males & females
- suggests that women are inferior by suggesting that young girls experience ‘penis envy’
- he viewed femineity as failed masculinity
GENDER BIAS (AO1) - What is beta bias and give an example.
Beta bias- ignores/minimises sex differences between males & females, often assumes that findings from males can be equally applied to females.
FIGHT OR FLIGHT (biopsychology)
- research was often carried out on male animals
- assumed fight or flight was same for both sexes
- HOWEVER it has pos outcome as more research done for females
TAYLOR (2002), found females adopted a ‘tend or befriend’ approach where they formed an alliance with another women or protect their offspring in stressful situations.
GENDER BIAS (AO1) - What is androcentrism and give an example.
Androcentrism- theories which are centred/focused on males
ASCH (social influence)
- 123 male ptp’s
- assumed that results from the study could be equally applied to females
CULTURE BIAS (AO1) - Culture bias definiton.
- tendency to judge people in terms of of ones own cultural assumptions.
CULTURE BIAS (AO1) - What is alpha bias (culture) and give an example.
- theory assumes groups are profoundly different.
VAN LJZENDOORN & KROONENBERG (attachment)
- in Ainsworth’s strange situation test - highest rate of insecure avoidant was found in German kids (category suggests that this is negative)
- German mothers encourage independence, suggests research suffers from ethnocentrism.
CULTURE BIAS (AO1) - What is beta bias (culture) and give an example.
- real cultural differences are ignore/minimised, people assume people are the same, results in universal research designs & conclusions.
STATISTICAL INFREQUENCY & DEFINITIONS OF ABNORMALITY (schizophrenia)
- symptom of hearing voices in schiz is common in some cultures (and is a pos experience) but may be statistically infrequent in others.
- by assuming that same rules apply universally (beta bias) we may diagnose people as mentally ill, but that diagnosis is relative to our culture.
CULTURE BIAS (AO1) - What is ethnocentrism?
- seeing the world from ones own cultural perspective and believing that perspective is normal & correct.
CULTURE BIAS (AO1) - What is cultural relativism?
- insists behaviour can only be properly understood if cultural context is taken into consideration.
CULTURE BIAS (AO1, additional) - What is Emic constructs?
- specific to given culture & vary from one culture to another, look at behaviour from inside of the cultural system.
CULTURE BIAS (AO1, additional) - What is Etic constructs?
- analysis of behaviour focused on the universal of human behaviour factors that hold across all cultures, looking at behaviour from outside the cultural context.
ETHICAL IMPLICATIONS OF RESEARCH STUDIES & THEORIES (AO1) - What are the 4 aspects in the research where ethical implications may arise?
Research questions; questions may be damaging to a particular group (racial/sexual orientation, etc) because it appears to add scientific credibility to prejudice.
Conduct of research & treatment of ptps; confidentiality of info of ptps (should confidentiality be maintained if they confess to a crime).
Institutional context; research may be funded/managed by a private institution who may misuse or misunderstand data. They media may obtain reports of this.
Interpretation & application of findings; research may be used for purposes not originally intended for.
ETHICAL IMPLICATIONS OF RESEARCH STUDIES & THEORIES (AO1) - Give example of study that has ethical implications within the research.
MILGRAM, 1963 (social influence)
- ptp’s deceived so unable to give informed consent.
- caused distress as coerced against their will to administer shocks
- question harmful as was researching if ‘Germans are really evil’ after Holocaust.
ETHICAL IMPLICATIOND OF RESEARCH STUDIES & THEORIES (AO1) - What is socially sensitive research and what are the ethical issues within it?
SSR- research which could have social consequences or implications for the ptps in the group or the people that they represent (social group, family & friends, government, researchers & institutions).
PRIVACY- invasion of private lives.
CONFIDENTIALITY- less willing to give info in future if broken.
DECEPTION- includes self-deception, may form stereotypes which affects ones own performance.
INFORMED CONSENT- ptps may not always comprehend what’s involved in study.
(not necessary to discuss all, just provide brief example).
ETHICAL IMPLICATIOND OF RESEARCH STUDIES & THEORIES (AO1) - Give example of a study/theory that is socially sensitive.
BOWLBY (attachment)
- although it helped childcare practices (bonds & attachment), it has reinforced the idea that a women’s place is at home with her child which could make her feel guilty about wanting to return to work following childbirth.
FREE WILL VS DETERMINISM (AO1) - What is determinism?
- behaviour which is controlled by external or internal factors acting upon the individual
FREE WILL VS DETERMINISM (AO1) - What is the difference between soft & hard determinism?
hard determinism; view that all behaviour can be predicted & there is no free will (the two are incompatible)
soft determinism; version of determinism that allows for some free will.
FREE WILL VS DETERMINISM (AO1) - What is biological determinism and give example.
- behaviour is innate & determined by genes.
DOPAMINE HYPOTHESIS (schizophrenia)
- genes influence brain structure & neurotransmitters such as serotonin & dopamine that are often implicated in behaviour (such as schiz)
FREE WILL VS DETERMINISM (AO1) - What is environmental determinism and give example.
- behaviour caused by forces outside the individual, learned through classical & operant conditioning.
BANDURA, 1961 (social-learning theory)
- children with violent parents are more likely to become violent parents themselves as a result of observational learning.
FREE WILL VS DETERMINISM (AO1) - What is psychic determinism and give example.
- behaviour as a result of childhood experiences & innate drives (ID, ego, superego)
FREUD (psychodynamic theory)
- becoming fixated on a particular stage in the psychosexual development stages, the method of obtaining satisfaction will dominate adult personality (like homosexuality as a consequence).
FREE WILL VS DETERMINISM (AO1) - What is free will?
- we play an active role & have a choice in how we behave. The person is responsible for their own actions, therefore impossible to predict human behaviour with any precision (self-determined).
FREE WILL VS DETERMINISM (AO1) - Explain the humanistic approach in free will (example of free will).
MASLOW & ROGERS
- argued self-determinism was necessary part of behaviour. without it healthy self-development & self-actualisation not possible.
ROGERS (1959)
if individual remains controlled by other things/people - they cannot take responsibility of actions & cannot change it
FREE WILL VS DETERMINISM (AO1) - Explain moral responsibility in free will.
- person in charge of own actions - can exercise free will
- children & mentally ill do not possess this
- ‘normal’ adult behaviour is self-determined
- responsible for own actions, regardless of innate factors or influences of early life experiences (trauma, etc.)
HOLISM VS REDUCTIONISM (AO1) - What is reductionism?
- belief that human behaviour can be broken down into simpler components to explain it.
HOLISM VS REDUCTIONISM (AO1) - What is the difference between holism & reductionism?
HOLISM
- considers whole experience
- cognitive, emotional, spiritual, social, cultural, env, eco
- deals with person holistically
REDUCTIONISM
- considers major systems involved
- biological (serotonin), behaviourist (learned, stimulus-response)
- deals with symptoms according to involvement of each system
HOLISM VS REDUCTIONISM (AO1) - What is environmental reductionism and give an example.
- all behaviours can be explained in terms of stimulus-response relationship.
SLT OF ATTACHMENT (attachment)
- reduced to set of probabilities; mother is likely to provide food which is reinforcing (reduces discomfort). Hence, she is a rewarding individual & so becomes a loved one.
HOLISM VS REDUCTIONISM (AO1) - What is biological reductionism and give an example.
- all behaviours can be explained in terms of biological processes (neurotransmitters, etc.)
BIOLOGICAL EXPLANATIONS OF SCHIZ (schizophrenia)
- it is caused by excess activity of the neurotransmitter dopamine, drugs that block this neurotransmitter reduce the symptoms if this disorder.
HOLISM VS REDUCTIONISM (AO1) - What is holism?
- idea that human behaviour should be viewed as whole integrated experience, not as separate parts.
HOLISM VS REDUCTIONISM (AO1) - What is Gestalt psychology in relation to holism?
- holistic approach to perception (when we see something in the real world we see it as a whole rather than individual components)
HOLISM VS REDUCTIONISM (AO1) - What is humanistic psychology in relation to holism? (this is your example)
- argues that humans respond to a stimuli as an organised whole rather than a set of stimulus-response links.
- as an approach it uses qualitative methods to investigate all aspects of the individual, as well as interactions between people
HUMANISTIC APPROACH (approaches)
- investigates all aspects of people including their interactions.
- Maslow’s hierarchy of needs to self-actualisation is comprised of different components which work towards achieving the goal.
NATURE VS NURTURE (AO1) - What is the current nature-nurture debate about?
- the modern debate recognises that both factors play a role but aims to investigate the impact that each nature and nurture have on human behaviour and how they interact with one another.
NATURE VS NURTURE (AO1) - What is nature?
- behaviour is seen to be a result of innate biological factors (such as genetics and evolution)
NATURE VS NURTURE (AO1) - What is nurture?
- behaviour is seen to be a result of environmental factors (factors external to the individual)
NATURE VS NURTURE (AO1) - What is meant by hereditary?
- process by which traits are passed down genetically from one generation to the next (usually advantageous to aid survival and successful reproduction)
NATURE VS NURTURE (AO1) - What is the interactionist approach?
- suggests that several levels of explanation is needed in order to explain human behaviour, ranging from low levels (biology) to higher levels of explanation (social & cultural)
NATURE VS NURTURE (AO1) - Give an example of where ‘nature’ is used to explain human behaviour?
GOTTESMAN & SHIELDS (1991)- schizophrenia
- risk of being diagnosed is 1% of the population
- looked at 40 family studies, found that risk increased to 46% for children with 2 schiz parents
JOSEPH (2004)- schizophrenia
- pooled data from studies prior to 2001
- found that MZ twins diagnosis concordance rate it 40.4%
- DZ twins = 7.4%
- highlights significant genetic component (nature at play).
NATURE VS NURTURE (AO1) - Give an example of where ‘nurture’ is used to explain human behaviour?
BANDURA, (SLT & aggression)
- aggression is learned through observation, direct and indirect reinforcement (vicarious) and imitation
BATES (1956), (schizophrenia)
- double-bind theory
- schiz can develop from contradictory messages (mum tells son she loves him but turns away in disgust), this creates and inconsistent construction of reality and therefore causes symptoms of schiz.
- highlights significance of external factors such as the environment (nurture at play).
IDIOGRAPHIC VS NOMOTHETIC APPROACH (AO1) - What does the debate aim to investigate?
- the idiographic and nomothetic approach debate aims to investigate which approach is the best way to study human behaviour.
IDIOGRAPHIC VS NOMOTHETIC APPROACH (AO1) - How does the idiographic approach investigate human behaviour.
- approach focuses on the individual, and emphasises the unique personal experience of human nature.
- does not seek to formulate laws or generalise results to others
- it favours qualitative methods such as case studies, unstructured interviews and thematic analysis which provides an in-depth insight into individual behaviour
- doesn’t use large groups
IDIOGRAPHIC VS NOMOTHETIC APPROACH (AO1) - How does the nomothetic approach investigate human behaviour.
- concerned with establishing general laws based on the study of large groups of people, and the use of statistical techniques to analyse data
- uses experiments, correlations and psychometric testing
IDIOGRAPHIC VS NOMOTHETIC APPROACH (AO1) - Give an example of research which uses an idiographic approach.
SHALICE & WARRINGTON, KF CASE STUDY (memory), 1970
- experienced a motor bike accident
- short-term forgetting of auditory info greater than his forgetting of visual info
- suggested STM consisted of different components - this undermines the MSM of memory which suggests that STM is a singular unitary store.
- individual case studies can highlight flaws within a theory & significantly undermine other research.
FREUD, LITTLE HANS (psychodynamic approach)
- bases psychosexual development and complexes off of a case study (Little Hans)
IDIOGRAPHIC VS NOMOTHETIC APPROACH (AO1) - Give an example of research which uses an nomothetic approach.
BIOLOGICAL APPROACHES/BIOPSYCHOLOGY
- used to explain psychological disorders such as schizophrenia, OCD and depression. It pinpoints biological factors such as neurotransmitters and create treatments based off of it (drug therapies).
BEHAVIOURIST APPROACH/SLT - PAVLOV/SKINNER
- conducted animal research in order to establish laws of learning (classical & operant conditioning) that could be generalised to humans and non-human animals
ASCH & MILGRAM - SOCIAL INFLUENCE
- conducted experiments to create general conclusions about human behaviour - situational factors are responsible for both obedience and conformity
