issues and debates Flashcards
what gender dominates psychology ?
males
what can happen to female psychologists ?
- may have been marginalised and played down
- may be judges against the male ‘standard’
what have psychologists beliefs and values been influenced by ?
social and historical contexts they live in
- means they will be biased within their judgement
what does universal mean ?
it should be able to be applied to everyone regardless of gender
if a psychologist claims that something is universal can it be true ?
no
what is gender bias ?
the different treatment or representation of men and women based on stereotypes rather than real differences
what is alpha bias ?
it occurs in research which exaggerates or overestimates the differences between males and females
- any differences are presented as real, fixed, enduring and inevitable
what gender does alpha bias most frequently devalues ?
females
what is beta bias ?
this occurs in research which ignores, minimises, underestimates the differences between men and women
- then assumed that the research finding apply to everyone
what is a consequence of beta bias ?
androcentrism
what is androcentrism ?
- 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
what can happen to female behaviour ?
misunderstood and pathologised
what does pathologised mean ?
that is when it is so different to the male ‘norm’ that it is assumed to be a sign of a psychological disorder
what are the 3 evaluations of gender bias ?
- 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
what is culture bias ?
the phenom of generalising research and findings of one culture to many different cultures
what do many psychologist argue about culture bias ?
they only have theories that can explain the behaviour of the groups that they have studied
what does critics argue about culture bias ?
that psychology ignores the influence of culture on human behaviour
what is culture ?
a way of life of a group of people
- the behaviours, beliefs, values and symbols that they accept generally without thinking about them
what are the 2 types of culture bias ?
- ethnocentrism
- cultural relativism
what is ethnocentrism ?
the belief that your own cultural group is superior to other cultural groups
what can ethnocentrism lead too ?
discrimination and prejudice towards other cultures
what is an example of ethnocentrism ?
diagnosis of schizophrenia
what is cultural relativism ?
idea that norms, values, ethics and morals can only be meaningful and understood within specific social and cultural contexts
what is an example of cultural relativism ?
strange situation
what are the 2 ways that Berry (1989) established to study behaviour ?
- etic approach
- emic approach
what is the etic approach ?
looking at behaviour from outside of a given culture and attempts to describe those behaviours that are universal
what is the emic approach ?
looks at behaviour from inside a culture and identifies features that are specific to that culture
what approach does Berry think psychology takes ?
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
what is the only way we can understand behaviour ?
from the perspective in which they were discovered
what are the 3 analysis points of cultural bias ?
- 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
what are ethical implications ?
the wider consequences that psychologists have to consider relating to communication and publication of their findings
what can research findings influence ?
- public policy
- perception on certain groups
what is public policy ?
can be used by the government for political means
what can public policy lead too as an issue ?
socially sensitive research
what does socially sensitive mean ?
used to describe studies where there are potential social consequences for the pps or groups of people represented in the research
what are 4 aspects of the scientific research process that can raise ethical implications ?
- research questions
- methodology used
- funding
- interpretation and application of findings
what implication does research questions raise ?
researcher must consider their research question carefully
what implication can methodology used raise ?
researcher needs to consider the treatment of pps
what implication can funding raise ?
researcher should be mindful of how the data is going to be used and consider who is funding the research
what 2 things can socially sensitive research lead too ?
- influencing public policy
eg) 11+ exams - discrimination against those groups studied
eg) sterilization
what are 4 examples of socially sensitive research ?
- bowlbys maternal deprivation study
- milgrams study
- loftus EWT
- bobo doll study
how can you attempt to deal with research questions implication ?
- ensure the lang used isnt harmful or detrimental
- mindful of prejudice and leading questions
how can you attempt to deal with methodology used implications ?
- take more care over consent and debriefing
how can you attempt to deal with funding implications ?
- should be careful with how they communicate with the funding body
- consider how findings could influence policy makers
how can you attempt to deal with interpretation and application findings implications ?
- aware of findings interpretations and usage of others
what are the 3 analysis points of ethical implications ?
- 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
