ISSUES AND DEBATES Flashcards
ethical guidelines
principles set out by BPS to ensure psychologists conduct research in a safe and honest manner.
ethical issues
issues that arise when there is a conflict of interest between the rights of a participant and the aims of a researcher (e.g. when ethical guidelines are broken).
ethical implications
beyond ethical issues.
Refers to impacts and consequences upon wider society.
Consider how findings are used e.g. how a particular group may be portrayed or stereotyped.
socially sensitive research
- When there are potential social consequences of the participants, or the group of people represented by the research.
Could lead to prejudice and discrimination of certain groups represented in the research.
socially sensitive
effects on participants beyond research setting
Strange Situation – mother may be blamed or feel inadequate if child does not have a secure attachment type, which is considered the ideal and anything that deviates from this is a problem.
socially sensitive
effects of research findings on wider public
schizophrenia
Research indicates that schizophrenia is a result of family dysfunction.
Schizophrenogenic mother – mother’s parenting style is responsible for onset of schizophrenia. Child blames the mother as it could have otherwise been prevented.
Can lead to family therapy and treatment or prevention.
socially sensitive
potential use of findings - political consequences (changes in legislation or public policy)
Bowlby’s maternal deprivation research led to maternity leave (paid and job security) – emphasis on importance of first few months of attachment on rest of child’s life and future attachments.
People can’t be held accountable for aggression if biologically determined as have no conscious control. Violent crimes cannot be punished.
socially sensitive
potential prejudice / bias towards certain groups in society
Mothers may be blamed for delinquency of children, suggested due to maternal deprivation.
If Milgram had found that Americans didn’t obey, it would have lead to significant discrimination and perpetuation of stereotypes against Germans, leading to exclusion from society.
obligation to costs and benefits
Psychologists have an obligation to weigh up possible costs and benefits before conducting research and can only proceed with research if benefits outweigh the costs.
socially sensitive
Raine’s brain scans of murderers
intro
- Had damage to areas of the brain associated with impulse control.
Marker of criminality.
Misery and money could be saved if children could be screened for these markers and ‘something done about it.’
socially sensitive
Raine’s brain scans of murderers
weaknesses
- Looking for a difference between murders and non-murderers, so one group will come off favourably and the other worse.
- Participants may have felt coerced into research as they are imprisoned, so right to withdraw compromised.
- Participants pleaded insane so cannot provide informed consent, cannot fully understand.
- Suggests that participants are destined to be aggressive – could cause long term psychological harm to think that they are aggressive by nature.
- Finding that participants tend to have low levels of activity in the prefrontal cortex could potentially give rise to a mass screening programme that results in labelling and stigmatisation of people who are innocent.
- May also undermine attempts at offender rehabilitation by promoting a deterministic view of aggression.
- Suggests that they are not to blame for their aggressive behaviour which is not empowering as it suggests that they cannot control their behaviour.
May not show guilt or remorse. - Lack of justice for victims as cannot punish behaviour they cannot control.
- If beyond conscious control, important to understand this and focus on treatment and rehabilitation as opposed to punishment.
- Detrimental to society as creates issues with blame and punishment.
Justice not served.
Increase in aggressive behaviour. - Findings could lead to bias and discrimination against people with brain damage or brains that function differently from ‘normal’.
Mass screening could identify those at risk.
People with brain abnormalities could be segregated or cast out and prejudicial attitudes form against this group.
Could lead to self-fulfilling prophecy.
social sensitivity
societal gains / changes in legislation
Bowlby’s maternal deprivation and monotropic theory
- Idea that a child needs a continuous relationship with the mother in the first 5 years of life to develop normally.
- Disruption to this bond through separation can have a negative effect on later social, emotional, and intellectual development.
social sensitivity
societal gains / changes in legislation
Bowlby’s maternal deprivation and monotropic theory
strengths
- Allowed for recognition of the negative effects of hospitalisation on a child’s emotional wellbeing.
Parents are now able to stay in hospital with their child and this aids child’s recovery – changed hospital practice / policy.
Maternity leave – keeps a woman’s job secure so she can care of a baby during the critical period and reduce separation that could lead to deprivation.
social sensitivity
societal gains / changes in legislation
Bowlby’s maternal deprivation and monotropic theory
weaknesses
- Could create prejudice towards working mothers. Blamed for child’s intellectual and emotional development.
- Could also lead to bias towards men.
Less likely to get custody of child as role of the father is downplayed.
socially sensitive
biological explanations of aggression
weaknesses
- Excuses male aggression against women.
Arises from sexual jealousy and lack of parental certainty. - Problematic for females in wider society if seen as excusable or unavoidable.
- Removes accountability for men so may lead to worsened aggression or violence against women. Subsequently is difficult to punish.
- May bias judgement in male vs female aggression.
Males more likely seen as instigator due to biological theories suggesting male aggression is more likely.
how to deal with socially sensitive research
consider framing of research question
ensure findings are presented responsibly
conduct cost benefit analyses
consider framing of the research question
- Avoid researching sensitive topics e.g. looking for a difference between certain groups.
One group will always appear worse. - Research into cultural or sex differences could be avoided if there are negative implications for either group.
ensure findings are presented responsibly
- Psychologists should have awareness of negative implications that could arise e.g. bias towards a certain group.
- Should ensure that findings are presented responsibility in a way that minimises misrepresentation where certain groups may be prone to bias or stigmatisation.
- E.g. in Hofling’s obedience study, 21/22 nurses administered a lethal dose of drug to a patient.
Makes nurses sound bad and untrustworthy.
May cause psychological harm to those who obeyed as may doubt their abilities.
Public may lose faith in nurses. - Findings should be presented in a way that nurses are not portrayed negatively and should ensure that findings are not sensationalised and reported in a way that negatively impacts a group in society.
Could lead to suggestions on how to educate nurses to question orders.
Work with policy providers about training of nurses.
Say that all humans would have acted in this way, not just nurses. - Researchers could work with policy makers to help make changes that will benefit society in some way.
conduct cost benefit analyses
- Researcher should ensure that any potential costs to participants or groups are outweighed by societal benefits.
- Research should be approved by an ethics board before it takes place.
Research adapted to minimise potential ethical implications. - However, it can be difficult to determine what the benefits and costs could be before.
importance of socially sensitive research
Socially sensitive research poses risks for groups in society but by researching sensitive topics, we can identify interventions that make society a safer place. By understanding processes behind human behaviour, we can reduce some pressing problems. It could be argued that researchers have a duty to engage with socially sensitive research, not avoid it.
gender bias
- Practice of psychology routinely and persistently operating for the benefit of one gender in relation to the other.
One gender favoured over the other or one gender discriminated against. - Failure to adequately consider the differences between men and women can lead to gender bias but so too can exaggerating the differences.
why does gender bias arise
male samples and researchers dominate the field
male behaviour seen as the norm / ideal
research demonstrating a difference between genders is more likely to be published
male samples and researchers dominating the field
- Predominance of research based on samples of men, conducted by male researchers. Findings may then be generalised to women.
Procedures may not be suitable for females as designed from a male point of view.
Editors of psychology are predominantly men (60%).
More likely to pick male studies that appeal more to men to publish. - Researchers may have different expectations of men and women, which may affect research outcomes.
Milgram found that 65% of both men and women reached 450v.
Confirmation bias of expectations of female behaviour.
Women showed more moral strain. May have expected women to be more emotional.
male behaviour seen as the norm / ideal
- If male researchers dominate the field, then male behaviour may be viewed as the ideal and if women deviate from this standard they may be seen as abnormal or inferior.
research demonstrating a difference between genders is more likely to be published
- Publication bias
- Research may overemphasise differences between men and women.
alpha bias
when differences between males and females are exaggerated, thus misrepresenting the behaviour of the genders.
beta bias
when differences between males and females are minimised or ignored, this misrepresenting the behaviour of the genders.
androcentrism
gender bias can result in this. Describes a predominantly male perspective that often minimises or completely excludes the female experience and perspective.
universality
if a behaviour is universal in terms of gender, this means that we would see the same behaviour occurring in all genders. However, many researchers only study one gender and assume that all the behaviour they find is universal, leading to gender bias.
alpha bias / androcentrism
Freud’s theory of psychosexual development
- Suggested that anatomical differences between men and women lead to vast psychological differences.
- Women defined as ‘not men’ and suffer from penis envy, which grows over time and manifests in a daughter’s love for her father and desire to give birth to a son (as close a woman can get to having a penis of her own).
Theory suggests that femininity is failed masculinity as women will never be as good as men. They are inferior as do not have own penis.
Substitute desire for a penis with having a baby (Electra complex). - Theory suggests that women have weaker superego development. During the Oedipus complex, boys internalise their fathers as they suffer from castration anxiety (believe this will happen with their father learns the truth about wishing to sexually possess their mothers).
- Girls do not have this fear, so when they internalise their mother, it is not to the same extent, meaning their superegos are much weaker.
Pathologises women who are ambitious and career driven, suggesting that they are suffering from penis envy and want to be like men.
beta bias
research into social influence
- All male samples and all male researchers.
- Assumed findings would be the same in females.
- But Jenness found that females conformed more than males.
alpha bias
evolutionary explanations of human behaviour e.g. aggression and relationships
- Evolutionary aggression suggests that male on male aggression is due to men lacking parental certainty, which drives sexual jealousy and aggression.
- Males are more aggressive as they have more to lose from raising a child that is not theirs. Women may lose resources if man left them but would have successfully passed on genes.
- Infidelity more likely in males as need to increase chances of reproduction.
- Highlighting differences between men and women provides justification for male aggression and blames the female. Suggests that men cannot help their aggression, which reduces accountability and excuses aggressive behaviour.
alpha bias
attachment, role of the father
- Suggests that fathers fulfil a qualitatively different role to mothers.
Men are more fun and are risk takers.
Women provide emotional support and are more nurturing.
Maximises differences.
beta bias
diagnosing mental illness
- Clinicians may base judgements on stereotypical beliefs about males and females, affecting validity of diagnosis.
- Only 32% of consultant psychiatrists are female, leading to gender bias in diagnosis.
Male symptoms seen as normal.
Assume women show the same symptoms.
Could lead to misdiagnosis as looking for male symptoms.
Treatment might be focused on males and not effective in females.
consequences of androcentrism
- Gender bias can result in the belief that male behaviour represents the norm.
- Female behaviour seen as abnormal, so women are misrepresented and pathologised. Can lead to misdiagnosis.
consequences of reinforcement of stereotypes and prejudice
- Research that exaggerates differences (alpha) may create or reinforce dangerous stereotypes.
Psychodynamic approach suggests that women in positions of power suffer from penis envy and have failed masculinity.
Damaging to women by suggesting they are not independently capable to be in a position of power. - If biological differences are emphasised, social and external factors in human behaviour are downplayed or ignored.
E.g. male aggression or promiscuity deemed biologically driven, removes accountability so cannot be punished.
ways to avoid
women in psychological research
- Worrell suggests research criteria important to ensure non-gender biased investigations:
Using alternative methods of inquiry to explore the personal lives of women.
Considering women in the natural settings in which they function.
Collaborating with research participants to explore personally relevant variable.
Studying diverse female samples (women who vary by age, socio-economic class, partner preferences, minority or ethnic group).
Promotes the idea that all members of a sex are the same.
Important concept to consider when aiming to reduce gender bias.
ways to avoid
address publication bias
- Research that suggests a significant differences between men and women is most likely to be published.
- Leads to exaggeration of differences between men and women and the presentation of scientifically misleading information.
- Can publish research that does not show a difference, do not compare groups not investigated and not compare men and women.
culture bias
- The tendency to judge people in term of one’s own cultural assumptions, distorting or biasing our judgement of other cultures.
Preferential treatment of one culture to the detriment of another. - In 1992, 64% of researcher were American, so psychology is mainly a study of white Americans. This ethnocentrism, where psychologists and subjects come from a narrow range of wester cultures leads to significant biases in psychological research.
Individualistic / western – prioritise self over group.
Collectivistic / non-western – prioritise group over self.
ethnocentrism
– centred on one’s own ethnic group, emphasising the importance of the behaviour of one’s own culture. Seeing your own culture as the norm or most important.
imposed etic
– construct from one culture is inappropriately applied to another.
cultural relativism
behaviour can only be properly understood and only has meaning in the context of the norms and values of the society or culture in which it occurs.
Appreciating that behaviour varies between cultures.
Ainsworth would suggest that children in Japan and German have insecure and worse attachments based on American ideals.
Germans had more type A as they value independence.
Japanese had more type C as children weren’t separated from mother until 2 years old.
universality
when there are personal qualities and characteristics, including attitudes and values, that are assumed to be common across cultures.
culture bias in attachment
- Cross-cultural research using strange situation procedure is ethnocentric.
Devised by Ainsworth, based on American ideals, using original sample of American children. - Used same procedure in other cultures, assuming that it is internally valid.
Procedure was unsuitable for Japanese children, as they were extremely distressed when separated from the mother and the experiment had to be stopped, as hadn’t previously been separated. - Therefore, attachment ideals were based on Westernised values and beliefs. Categorising other cultures using this is ethnocentric.
culture bias in attachment
why is an issue
- Distorts our judgement of those from other cultural backgrounds.
German mothers may be perceived as lacking sensitivity and nurturing as children were insecurely attached (type A).
Independence in children is valued and encouraged.
Japanese mothers didn’t leave children alone until they are 2 years old, so higher percentage of type C children. - Research should be culturally relative i.e. researchers should demonstrate an understanding of cultural values, to prevent imposed etic.
culture bias in schizophrenia
- People of Afro-Caribbean descent were 7 times more likely to be diagnosed.
- Cooper found that psychiatrists in New York were twice more likely to diagnose than psychiatrists in London.
- Rack found that in some countries, it is normal to hear voices of deceased loved ones, as part of the grieving process.
Not viewed as a mental illness.
culture bias in schizophrenia
why an issue
- Culture impacts reliability and validity of diagnosis.
- Clinicians from a different cultural background may view symptoms in a ethnocentric way, viewing mental illness from their own perspective, pathologizing normal behaviour.
culture bias in relationships
- Theories such as self-disclosure may be less relevant in certain cultures.
- Some cultures may be willing to disclose a lot of intimate information.
