issues and debates

Question 1

what gender dominates psychology ?

Answer 1

males

Question 2

what can happen to female psychologists ?

Answer 2

• may have been marginalised and played down
• may be judges against the male ‘standard’

Question 3

what have psychologists beliefs and values been influenced by ?

Answer 3

social and historical contexts they live in
- means they will be biased within their judgement

Question 4

what does universal mean ?

Answer 4

it should be able to be applied to everyone regardless of gender

Question 5

if a psychologist claims that something is universal can it be true ?

Answer 5

no

Question 6

what is gender bias ?

Answer 6

the different treatment or representation of men and women based on stereotypes rather than real differences

Question 7

what is alpha bias ?

Answer 7

it occurs in research which exaggerates or overestimates the differences between males and females
- any differences are presented as real, fixed, enduring and inevitable

Question 8

what gender does alpha bias most frequently devalues ?

Answer 8

females

Question 9

what is beta bias ?

Answer 9

this occurs in research which ignores, minimises, underestimates the differences between men and women
- then assumed that the research finding apply to everyone

Question 10

what is a consequence of beta bias ?

Answer 10

androcentrism

Question 11

what is androcentrism ?

Answer 11

• if a male sample only is used then its seen as the ‘norm’
• so ‘male behaviour’ is judges as the norm and anything different in seen as abnormal
• often means female behaviour is assumed to be wrong

Question 12

what can happen to female behaviour ?

Answer 12

misunderstood and pathologised

Question 13

what does pathologised mean ?

Answer 13

that is when it is so different to the male ‘norm’ that it is assumed to be a sign of a psychological disorder

Question 14

what are the 3 evaluations of gender bias ?

Answer 14

• number of implications arise from it in research
• it can work against males and females
• increased understanding has led to recommendations about how to avoid gender bias

Question 15

what is culture bias ?

Answer 15

the phenom of generalising research and findings of one culture to many different cultures

Question 16

what do many psychologist argue about culture bias ?

Answer 16

they only have theories that can explain the behaviour of the groups that they have studied

Question 17

what does critics argue about culture bias ?

Answer 17

that psychology ignores the influence of culture on human behaviour

Question 18

what is culture ?

Answer 18

a way of life of a group of people
- the behaviours, beliefs, values and symbols that they accept generally without thinking about them

Question 19

what are the 2 types of culture bias ?

Answer 19

• ethnocentrism
• cultural relativism

Question 20

what is ethnocentrism ?

Answer 20

the belief that your own cultural group is superior to other cultural groups

Question 21

what can ethnocentrism lead too ?

Answer 21

discrimination and prejudice towards other cultures

Question 22

what is an example of ethnocentrism ?

Answer 22

diagnosis of schizophrenia

Question 23

what is cultural relativism ?

Answer 23

idea that norms, values, ethics and morals can only be meaningful and understood within specific social and cultural contexts

Question 24

what is an example of cultural relativism ?

Answer 24

strange situation

Question 25

what are the 2 ways that Berry (1989) established to study behaviour ?

Answer 25

• etic approach
• emic approach

Question 26

what is the etic approach ?

Answer 26

looking at behaviour from outside of a given culture and attempts to describe those behaviours that are universal

Question 27

what is the emic approach ?

Answer 27

looks at behaviour from inside a culture and identifies features that are specific to that culture

Question 28

what approach does Berry think psychology takes ?

Answer 28

an etic approach
- as the theories are universal when in fact those theories have come about through an emic approach with research in a single culture

Question 29

what is the only way we can understand behaviour ?

Answer 29

from the perspective in which they were discovered

Question 30

what are the 3 analysis points of cultural bias ?

Answer 30

• possible some behaviours are universal so culture relativism isn’t always the case
• methodological problems as western pps are familiar w the researcher process
• difficult to operationalise variables as problems with how to study behaviours

Question 31

what are ethical implications ?

Answer 31

the wider consequences that psychologists have to consider relating to communication and publication of their findings

Question 32

what can research findings influence ?

Answer 32

• public policy
• perception on certain groups

Question 33

what is public policy ?

Answer 33

can be used by the government for political means

Question 34

what can public policy lead too as an issue ?

Answer 34

socially sensitive research

Question 35

what does socially sensitive mean ?

Answer 35

used to describe studies where there are potential social consequences for the pps or groups of people represented in the research

Question 36

what are 4 aspects of the scientific research process that can raise ethical implications ?

Answer 36

• research questions
• methodology used
• funding
• interpretation and application of findings

Question 37

what implication does research questions raise ?

Answer 37

researcher must consider their research question carefully

Question 38

what implication can methodology used raise ?

Answer 38

researcher needs to consider the treatment of pps

Question 39

what implication can funding raise ?

Answer 39

researcher should be mindful of how the data is going to be used and consider who is funding the research

Question 40

what 2 things can socially sensitive research lead too ?

Answer 40

• influencing public policy
  eg) 11+ exams
• discrimination against those groups studied
  eg) sterilization

Question 41

what are 4 examples of socially sensitive research ?

Answer 41

• bowlbys maternal deprivation study
• milgrams study
• loftus EWT
• bobo doll study

Question 42

how can you attempt to deal with research questions implication ?

Answer 42

• ensure the lang used isnt harmful or detrimental
• mindful of prejudice and leading questions

Question 43

how can you attempt to deal with methodology used implications ?

Answer 43

• take more care over consent and debriefing

Question 44

how can you attempt to deal with funding implications ?

Answer 44

• should be careful with how they communicate with the funding body
• consider how findings could influence policy makers

Question 45

how can you attempt to deal with interpretation and application findings implications ?

Answer 45

• aware of findings interpretations and usage of others

Question 46

what are the 3 analysis points of ethical implications ?

Answer 46

• socially sensitive research can be used as a form of social control
• important psychologists are free to carry out whatever research seems important to them
• benefit of studying underrepresented groups can reduce prejudice