Issues And Debates Flashcards
Universality
Ideas that conclusions from research can be applied to everyone everywhere, regardless of time or culture
Undermined by bias
types of gender bias
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
Causes of gender bias
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
consequences of gender bias
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
solutions to gender bias
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
Gender bias discussion
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
What is culture?
Set of customs, social and behavioural norms shared by a group of people
what is cultural relativism?
idea cultures can only be understood within the context of that culture
types of culture bias
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
what is an imposed etic?
when researcher use culturally specific methods in other non-compatible cultures
Causes of culture bias
Psychology developed in western cultures
Assumed people were all the same so applied to results to all
Eg Asch and Zimbardo
Consequences of culture bias
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
solutions to culture bias
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
Culture bias discussion
May lead to prejudice- ethnic stereotypes
- causes discrimination
Find ways to avoid - use researchers familiar with culture being studied
Carry out cross cultural reseach
What is free will?
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
What is determinism?
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
Types of determinism
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
Determinism in the approaches
Behaviourism - environmental
Cognitive - both
Biological - biological
Psychodynamic - psychic
Humanistic - free will
What is reductionism?
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
Types of reductionism
Biological - explained at level of genes, neurotransmitters etc
Environmental - product of environment, stimulus-response
Machine reductionism - explaining in terms of mechanistic models
What is holism?
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
Levels of explanation (Rose)
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)
Reductionist in approaches
Behaviourist - environmental
Cognitive - machine
Biological - biological
Psychodynamic - holistic, personality results from interactions
Humanistic - holistic
What is nature?
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%
What is nurture?
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
Interactionist approach (and diathesis stress)
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
Ways of studying nature and nurture
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%
Nature and nurture in approaches
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
What is the nomothetic approach?
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
Idiographic approach
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
Nomothetic v idiographic in approaches
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
What is socially sensitive research?
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
Examples of socially sensitive research
Genetic influences
- excuses crime
- leads to genetic testing
Race as an IV
- leads to discrimination
How can researchers deal with social sensitive issues?
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
Seiber and Stanley
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)
