Issues And Debates

Question 1

Universality

Answer 1

Ideas that conclusions from research can be applied to everyone everywhere, regardless of time or culture
Undermined by bias

Question 2

types of gender bias

Answer 2

alpha - differences exaggerated, often to undervalue other
- eg Freud

beta - differences ignored, when sample uses on gender
- eg Asch

androcentrism - male behaviour seen as norm and centre of culture, applied to women
- eg Freud, males norm

ethnocentrism - female behaviour seen as norm, applied to men
- eg Ainsworth, mothers norm

Question 3

Causes of gender bias

Answer 3

Many studies occurred when most students were males
- Sample should be selected in an unbiased way - use both genders

Rosenthal found male researcher treat female participants different
- Treat male and female participants the same

Question 4

consequences of gender bias

Answer 4

androcentrism - male behaviour norm and female abnormal
creates prejudice and inequalities

interpretations can lead to discrimination and create stereotypes

female psychologists may receive less attention or funding for studies

findings wrongly applied = incorrect explanations

Question 5

solutions to gender bias

Answer 5

use samples that are representative
- contain both men and women

conduct research from within context of group
- studying women in a female environment

ensure female researchers given equal funding and status

• acknowledge differences but treat as equal

Question 6

Gender bias discussion

Answer 6

Gender bias results in androcentrism - beliefs men’s behaviour is normal
Therefore female behaviour abnormal

Interpretations may have impacts - used to reinforce inequalities and prejudice

Avoid gender bias - eg studying women in a women only environment

Question 7

What is culture?

Answer 7

Set of customs, social and behavioural norms shared by a group of people

Question 8

what is cultural relativism?

Answer 8

idea cultures can only be understood within the context of that culture

Question 9

types of culture bias

Answer 9

ethnocentrism - researcher views own culture as norm
- eg Ainsworth - reflect Western culture

etic - research from a specific culture which is than applied to others to create universe laws
= imposed etic

emic - research that takes place within a specific culture, not applied
- but can exaggerate differences
avoids imposed etic

Question 10

what is an imposed etic?

Answer 10

when researcher use culturally specific methods in other non-compatible cultures

Question 11

Causes of culture bias

Answer 11

Psychology developed in western cultures
Assumed people were all the same so applied to results to all
Eg Asch and Zimbardo

Question 12

Consequences of culture bias

Answer 12

Prejudice
- leads to discrimination and ethnic stereotypes

Findings wrongly applied
- done in one culture and applied to another = wrong explanation

ethnocentrism = western viewpoint norm, other cultures seen as abnormal = discrimination

Question 13

solutions to culture bias

Answer 13

don’t generalise findings to hose not represented in sample

create a representative sample
- include cultures to avoid generalising

emic research to avoid imposed etic - study cultures from within the context of that culture
- cross cultural research
- adapt procedure to fit

ensure ethnic minority researchers given same funding and status

Question 14

Culture bias discussion

Answer 14

May lead to prejudice- ethnic stereotypes
- causes discrimination

Find ways to avoid - use researchers familiar with culture being studied
Carry out cross cultural reseach

Question 15

What is free will?

Answer 15

Belief people are able to chose how to behave
- behaviour not influenced by external or past factors
- behaviour determined by decisions and intentions

+ feels like we do
+ justice
- subjective, people may only think they have free will
- some behaviours lack it eg OCD

Question 16

What is determinism?

Answer 16

Belief that everything happens in a cause and effect relationship
- thoughts and behaviour influenced by external and past factors

+ scientific, establish cause and effect

• against legal system, not responsible
• unfalsifiable, can,t be proven wrong

Question 17

Types of determinism

Answer 17

Soft - behaviour dictated by external factors to an extent but also have some control over actions

Hard - all behaviour dictated by external factors outside of someones control, no choice

Biological - determined by biology eg genes and neurotransmitters

Environmental - determined by external influences in environment, learning and past experiences

Psychic - adult behaviour determined by innate drives and early experiences, unconscious factors
repressed but still influence

Question 18

Determinism in the approaches

Answer 18

Behaviourism - environmental
Cognitive - both
Biological - biological
Psychodynamic - psychic
Humanistic - free will

Question 19

What is reductionism?

Answer 19

Scientific view that it is possible to explain more complex things by reducing them into simple structures
Means it’s possible to establish cause and effect
eg biological, environmental, machine (mechanistic models)

+ easier to understand, can generate therapies eg SD
- unrealistically simplified , loss of meaning, lacks ecological validity
- ignore other influences, may not test real behaviour

Question 20

Types of reductionism

Answer 20

Biological - explained at level of genes, neurotransmitters etc
Environmental - product of environment, stimulus-response
Machine reductionism - explaining in terms of mechanistic models

Question 21

What is holism?

Answer 21

Arguement human behaviour is more complex
Should be viewed as the product of different influences which all interact

+ ecological validity, reflects real experience more
- difficult to test, no evidence, less scientific
- hard to establish cause and effect, can’t isolate variables

Question 22

Levels of explanation (Rose)

Answer 22

Range of explanations, from lower levels focusing on basic components (reductionist) to those at a higher more holistic level

Molecular level (physics)
Cellular level (biochemistry)
Parts of individuals (biology)
Behaviour of individuals (psychology)
Behaviour of groups (sociology)

Question 23

Reductionist in approaches

Answer 23

Behaviourist - environmental
Cognitive - machine
Biological - biological
Psychodynamic - holistic, personality results from interactions
Humanistic - holistic

Question 24

What is nature?

Answer 24

Innate characteristics determined by physiological and genetic factors
- eg Lorenz, imprinting innate

+ can lead to treatments, eg drugs
- against legal system, not responsible for behaviour
- concordance rates don’t show 100%

Question 25

What is nurture?

Answer 25

behaviour is learnt from the influence of the environment
- eg Bandura, learnt aggression

+ evidence from behaviourism
- can’t account for differences in individuals raised in the same environment

Question 26

Interactionist approach (and diathesis stress)

Answer 26

States nature and nurture interact to form persons character

shown by diathesis stress
- people have genetic predisposition to a disorder and are more icky to develop it when exposed to environmental triggers

+ more holistic

Question 27

Ways of studying nature and nurture

Answer 27

Family studies - shows genetic influence (but have same environment so could be due to nurture)

Adoption studies - show genetic influence as will have different environments
- compare adopted children with biological and adopted parents, more similar to adopted - nurture important

Twin studies - concordance rates, shows genetic influence, but never 100%

Question 28

Nature and nurture in approaches

Answer 28

Behaviourism - nurture
Cognitive - both, genetically determined mental processes, with influences
Biological - nature
Psychodynamic - both, innate instincts and experiences
Humanistic - innate drive to self actualise, determined by experiences

Question 29

What is the nomothetic approach?

Answer 29

Applies general laws and theories to explain behaviour of whole population
- requires large population size, selected at random
- uses lab experiments and correlations
- draws general conclusions
- quantitative methods

+ objective and controlled, can be scientifically tested
- lack ecological validity
- individual differences

Question 30

Idiographic approach

Answer 30

Focuses on the individual in detail
- avoids general laws and theories
- uses case studies, interviews
- uses qualitative methods

+ more complete explanations
- fewer people studied, can’t generalise so less useful

Question 31

Nomothetic v idiographic in approaches

Answer 31

Behaviourism - nomothetic, applies to all
Cognitive - nomothetic, same mental processes
Biological - nomothetic (genes)
Psychodynamic - both, psychosexual stages all, individuals experiences
Humanistic - idiographic, focus on individual

Question 32

What is socially sensitive research?

Answer 32

Research which had potential implications or consequences
- changes way they are treated/perceived
eg leading to prejudice or discrimination

Group of people represented in research may be negatively affected as a result
Eg women in Bowlby’s monotropic theory

Question 33

Examples of socially sensitive research

Answer 33

Genetic influences
- excuses crime
- leads to genetic testing

Race as an IV
- leads to discrimination

Question 34

How can researchers deal with social sensitive issues?

Answer 34

Submit research to ethics committee, abide by recommendations

Evaluate benefits and costs, only proceed when benefits exceed costs

Take care formulating aim, don’t misrepresent a group

Be aware of misuse of information

Question 35

Seiber and Stanley

Answer 35

Identified 4 aspect in research process where ethical issues with social consequences may occur

• research question
• conduct of research (confidentiality)
• institutional context (funding by companies which may misuse it)
• interpretation/ application (eg IQ a used to show inferiority between people)