Issues And Debates Flashcards
What is holism
An argument or theory that proposes it only makes sense to study an indivisible system rather than its constituent parts.
What is reductionism
The belief that human behaviour is best explained by breaking it down into smaller constituent parts.
What is biological reductionism
It explains social and psychological behaviour at a lower biological level
What is environmental reductionism
It explains all behaviour in stimulus-response links.
What did Gestalt psychologists claim, that became the basis of holism
The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
What are levels of explanation
They suggest that there are different ways of viewing the same phenomena in psychology.
What are the different levels of explanation
Social and cultural, psychological, biological
What is gender bias
The tendency to treat one individual or group in a different way than others based on their gender.
What is universality
Any underlying characteristic of human beings that is capable of being applied to all.
What is alpha bias
Suggests that there are real, enduring differences between men and women, often undervaluing women.
What is beta bias
Ignoring or minimising differences between the sexes
What are women’s’ third option apart from fight or flight?
Tend and befriend, which is ignored due to beta bias
What is androcentrism
Male-centred, when behaviour is judged by male standards and female behaviour is abnormal.
What is cultural bias
Refers to a tendency to ignore cultural differences and interpret all phenomena through the lens of one’s own culture.
What is ethnocentrism
Judging other cultures by the standard of one’s own culture.
What is cultural relativism
The idea that norms and values, as well as ethics and moral standards, can only be meaningful and understood within specific social and cultural contexts.
What is an etic approach
Looks at behaviour from outside of a given culture and attempts to explain those behaviours as universal.
What is an emic approach
Functions from within certain cultures and identifies those behaviours that are specific to that culture.
What is the nature-nurture debate
Concerned with the extent to which aspects of behaviour are a product of inherited traits or acquired characteristics.
What is nature
The idea that characteristics or aspects of knowledge are innate
What is nurture
Based on environmental influences - there are different levels of nurture, defined in prenatal terms, for example the mothers physical and psychological state during pregnancy.
What is heredity
The genetic transmission of mental and physical characteristics from one generation to another.
What is the interactionist approach
The idea that nature and nurture are linked to such an extent that it does not make sense to separate them.
What is the diathesis stress model
Suggests that psychopathology is caused by a biological/genetic vulnerability which is only expressed when coupled with a trigger.
What are epigenetics
Refers to a change in our genetic activity without changing our genetic code
What is the idiographic approach
- attempts to describe the nature of the individual
- people are studied as unique entities, each with their own subjective experiences, motivations and values
What is the idiographic approach usually associated with
- methods that produce qualitative data, such as case studies, unstructured interviews, and other self-report methods
What is the nomothetic approach
- aims to produce general laws for behaviour
- these provide a benchmark against which people can be compared, classified and measured
Which side is the humanistic approach, idiographic or nomothetic?
- idiographic, as Rogers and Maslow took a phenomenological approach to the study of humans and were only interested in documenting the conscious experience of the self
Which side is the psychodynamic approach, idiographic or nomothetic?
- idiographic, because of Freud’s use of the case study method. However, Freud also assumed he had found universal laws of behaviour, making it also nomothetic
Are the biological, cognitive and behavioural approaches nomothetic or idiographic?
Nomothetic, as they promote general laws of psychology
What are ethical implications
The impact that psychologists may have in terms of the rights of other people, especially participants.
What is social sensitivity
Includes research in which there are potential consequences or implications, either directly for the participant in the research, or those that the research represents.
What are ethical guidelines
Rules established to protect those involved in research, preserving their rights.
Three main concerns of Sieber and Stanley
- research may be seen as giving scientific credence to discrimination
- findings may be used to create prejudicial public policy
- some findings have been found to be fraudulent
Four places Sieber and Stanley found in which ethical issues may occur:
- the research question
- conduct and treatment
- institutional context
- interpretation and application
