Issues And Debates

Question 1

Gender and Culture in psychology- GB- evaluation-
What are the limitations of gender bias?

Answer 1

• presented as fixed and enduring, Macoby and Jacklin (1974), women= verbal, men= spacial. However Joel (2015), used brain scans showed no difference, fed into stereotypes at the time
• research challenging gender bias may not be published. Fotmanowicz (2018) studied 1000< articles, found it is funded less and published in less prestigious journals, so less people apply it to their research true when compared with other bias
• promotes sexism. Women = majority of psychology students, men= majority of lecturers. Lab experiments disadvantage, majority male researchers, can label women as unreasonable, irrational and unable to complete tasks.

Question 2

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Answer 2

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Question 3

Gender and Culture in psychology- CB- evaluation-
What is a limitation of cultural bias?

Answer 3

• many of the most influential studies are culturally biased. ASCH (used 123 white American males) USA= individualistic, Smith and Bond found higher conformity rates in collectivist cultures (such as china), SI studies should only be applied to individualistic cultures
• led to prejudice. Gould (1981), the first IQ tests led to eugenic social policies. Many items on the test were ethnocentric, (expected to name US residents) not all military were from US (Eastern Europe and African Americans), these people scored the lowest.

Question 4

Gender and Culture in psychology- CB- evaluation-
What is a strength of cultural bias?

Answer 4

• the emergency of cultural psychology- Cohen (2017) stated multi-cultural psychology, how people are shapes by their cultures. Which includes work fro other areas such as anthropology, sociology and political science, helps us avoid being ethnocentric

Question 5

Nature vs Nurture- a valuation-
What are the strengths of nature vs nurture?

Answer 5

• use of adoption studies. (Rhee and Walkman (2002) conducted a meta analysis, genetic influences accounted for 41% of aggression.) This separates the two factors, supports the interaction it’s approach)
• epigenetics. (An irony gal effects can span generations)

Question 6

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Answer 6

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Question 7

Free will and determinism- evaluation-
What is a strength of free will and determinism?

Answer 7

• practical value (-thinking we have free will makes our mental health better (roberts et al).), (teenagers who had a fatalist view were more likely to develop depression)

Question 8

Free will and determinism- evaluation-
What is a limitation of free will and determinism?

Answer 8

• the law. (Hard deterministic view does not line up with how the legal system works.), (offenders are held responsible for their own actions)

Question 9

Free will and determinism- evaluation-
What is a strength and limitation of free will and determinism?

Answer 9

• research evidence, (supports determinism, but no;t free will.), (Libet at al- instructed pps to flip their wrists at random times, while their brain activity is monitored (readiness potential). The brain sent the signal before the pps had actually decided to flip their wrist.), (even our basic ideas of free will are predetermined by our brain, before we are even aware of them)

Question 10

Holism and reductionism- evaluation-
What are limitations of Holism and reductionism?

Answer 10

• lacks practical value
• holistic accounts of human behaviour become to complex, if we accept (humanistic approach) that there are many different causes of depression (past, present, relationships, etc) it id difficult to find the most influential cause
• makes illnesses hard to treat, cannot identify trigger (so patient can not get therapy)
• can only be understood on a higher level
• aspects of human behaviour may only be expressed in group settings, not individual
• Zimbardos study supports this, as with two participants (guard and prisoner) we do not know if the same results would occur
• produces a more valid account
• lacks reliability
• doesn’t take nature fan nurture into account, and neither do the studies supporting it
• interaction isn’t approach is key to the idea of psychology
• not reliable

Question 11

Holism and reductionism- evaluation-
What is a strength of holism and reductionism?

Answer 11

• strength of RA and limitation of HA, form the basis of the scientific approaches
• we operationalise studies, which makes it possible to conduct experiments or record observations in an objective and reliable
• Ainsworth- (TSS)

Question 12

Idiographic and nomothetic- evaluation-
What is a strength (I)?

Answer 12

• complete analysis- contributes to the nomothetic approach.
• uses in depth analysis and qualitative methods, this may compliment the nomothetic approach by shedding further light on general laws
• HM, helps us to understand the hippocampus and what it controls, which applied to make general laws
• idiographic supports the nomothetic one

Question 13

Idiographic;hid and nomothetic- evaluation-
What is a strength (I and N)?

Answer 13

• fits with the aims of science.
• I uses qualitative data, standardised instructions cause them to reflect on bias and perceptions. N uses quantitative data, so increases standardisation, control, and statistical testing to create general laws
• I approach seeks objectivity,

Question 14

Idiographic;hid and nomothetic- evaluation-
What is a limitation (N)?

Answer 14

• lose of understanding the individual
• NA is preoccupied with understanding general laws, predictions and control.means it is accused on losing the whole person
• 1% risk of devolving schizophrenia tells us little about what life is like living with it,
• fails to relate to experience