Issues And Debates

Question 1

Gender bias

Answer 1

Universality and bias
Alpha bias - Freud
Beta bias - fight or flight
Androcentrism - pms

Biological vs social explanations
Counter : psychologists should still study gender differences
Sexism in research
Gender biased research

Question 2

Culture bias

Answer 2

Universality and bias
Ethnocentrism
Cultural relativism

Classic studies
Counter: are cultures that different today ( takano and Osaka)
Cultural psychology
Ethical stereotyping - eugenics

Question 3

Free will vs determinism

Answer 3

Free will
Determinism
Types of
Scientific basis

Practical value
Research support
Counter: expected
The law

Question 4

Nature nurture

Answer 4

Interactionist approach
Diathesis stress model
Epigenetics

Adoption studies
Counter- can’t isolate nature and nurture
Epigenetics
Real world application

Question 5

Holism and reductionism

Answer 5

Holism
Reductionism
Types of
Levels of explanation

Practical value
Scientific - experiments
Counter : over simplified
Higher level

Question 6

Idiographic and nomothetic

Answer 6

Idiographic approach - examples , qualitative research
Nomothetic - quantitative , examples
Objective vs subjective

Complete account
Counter : case study validity
Both are scientific - triangulation
Losing the person - too stat based

Question 7

Ethical implications

Answer 7

Social sensitivity
How research should be done

Benefits for groups
Counter - could have consequences
Real world application - policy makers
Poor research design - 11+