Issues and debates Flashcards
What is universality and bias (gender bias)?
Everyone’s beliefs have been influenced by their social and historical contexts. Bias is therefore inevitable and undermines psychologies claim to universality, that conclusions can be generalised to anyone regardless of location, time or culture.
What is Alpha bias (in gender bias)?
Differences between men and women is exaggerated in research resulting in potentially devaluing women and their experience.
What is Beta bias (in gender bias)?
Differences between men and women are minimised or ignored in research resulting in minimising of how gender effect’s’ behaviour and treatments or explanations that do not apply to women
What is Androcentrism (gender bias)?
when ‘normal’ behaviour is judged based on a male standard
Evaluate Gender bias in Psychological research
- gender differences are presented as fixed and enduring when they are not
> maccoby and Jacklin: study showing Girls have better verbal ability while boys have better spatial ability.
> Alpha bias presenting girls as ‘speakers’ and boys as ‘doers’
>Joel et al found there was no such difference through brain scanning
CA: Ingalhalikar et al suggest the stereotype of women being better at multitasking has some biological truth - Gender bias promotes sexism in the research process
> women are under represented in university departments despite the intake of Psych undergrads being women
>Murphey et al: uni lecturers are more likely to be men and research is more likely to be done on men, disadvantaging women. - Research challenging gender bias may not be published.
> Formanowicz et al: analysed more than 1000 articles relating to gender bias published over 8 years, found it was often less funded and not published by prestigious journals so schoolers were unaware of the consequence of gender bias.
What is Universality and bias (cultural bias)?
assuming research is applicable regardless of cultures
What is ethnocentrism (cultural bias)?
belief that your own cultural group is supiriour
what is Cultural relativism in cultural bias?
Insists behaviour can only be understood if the cultural context is taken into consideration.
What are Etic Constraints in cultural bias?
Looks at behaviour from outside a given culture and attempts to explain those behaviours as universal.
What are Emic Constraints in cultural bias?
Identifies a behaviour specific to a culture from inside the given culture
What is Imposed Etic in cultural bias?
Studying behaviour from inside one culture and assuming it explains behaviour in another.
What is Alpha bias in cultural bias?
when a theory assumes cultures are very different.
What is Beta Bias in cultural bias?
When a theory minimises/ignores differences in cultures.
Evaluate Cultural bias
- Many influential studies are culturally bias
>Asch, Milgram, Ainsworth’s strange situation
CA the individualist-collectivist
> distinction may no longer apply thanks to the ‘age of media’
> Takano and Osaka: 14/15 studies comparing the US and Japan found no evidence of Individualism and collectivism stating the distinction as lazy and simplistic
+ the emergence of cultural psychology
>cultural psychologists aim to avoid ethnocentrism by taking an emic approach focusing on two cultures at a time. - has lead to prejudice
> Gould: the first intelligence test lead to eugenic social policies in the US
What is free will?
The notion that humans are self determining. It doesn’t deny there are biological and environmental forces that exert some influence but that we can reject those influences.
What is determinism?
The view that behaviourism shaped/controlled by internal/external forces
soft determinism: scientists jobs are to find what determines out behaviour but we have control over rational every day decisions.
Hard determinism: human behaviour has an identifiable cause. we have no control over what we do
What are the types of determinism?
Biological: emphasis on role of biology in influencing behaviour e.g. the autonomic nervous system
Environmental: behaviour is the result of conditioning
Psychic: behaviour is determined by unconscious conflicts, repressed in childhood. There is no such thing as an accident.
Evaluate free will and determinism
+ practical value
> thinking we can exercise free will can improve our mental health
- Brain scan evidence supports determinism but not free will
> Libet et al: participants flicked their wrists when they consciously felt they should but brain scans found unconscious activity prior to conscious thought
CA: Liberts findings showed the brain is involved in decision making not that we have no control over when we act
- determinism goes against the legal system
> the legal system operates under the assumption we have free will, you shouldn’t be punished for what you cant control
What is the interactionist approach in the nature nurture debate?
How nature and nurture interact to form you
What is the Diathesis-stress model?
Behaviour is caused by biological or environmental vulnerability (diathesis) only expressed when paired with a trigger (stressor)
What is Epigenetics?
A change in our genetic activity without changing the genes themselves. Aspects of our lifestyle leave marks on our DNA that can then be passed to our children e.g. smoking
What is Nature?
Inherited influences/ hereditary behaviour.
what is nurture?
Influence of experience on behaviour
How do you measure nature and nurture?
concordance of heritability
Evaluate nature nurture debate?
+ Use of adoption studies
> Adoption studies separate nature and nurture if children are more similar to biological parents nature’s rights if children are more similar to adopted parents nurture is right.
CA Research suggests this approach may be misguided nature nurture are not too separate entities children choose their environment based off of their biology
+ Epigenetics
> Environment can affect biology for example during a famine babies were twice as likely to develop schizophrenia.
+ Real world application
> People with high genetic risks of something may be able to get help
What is Holism?
Looks at a system as a whole. sees any attempt to subdivide as inappropriate. Uses Qualitative methods
What is reductionism?
Seeks to analyse behaviour by breaking it down.
What are the types of Reductionism?
Biological reductionism includes neurochemical and physiological levels also evolutionary and genetic influences. Behaviour is determined by biological organisms.
Environmental reductionism
behaviour is learned and acquired through interactions with environment
Evaluate reductionism and holism
- Practical value
> because holism doesn’t see any one part as more important, it can be hard to know where to start in, for example, treating depression
+ reductionism has scientific bases
CA: reduction in validity - reductionism may be too simple
> for example there are behaviours that only come out in group settings
What is the Idiographic approach?
Looks at individual behaviour aiming to understand behaviour. makes no attempt to compare behaviour. Uses qualitative data
What is the nomothetic approach?
Aims to create general laws of behaviour by looking at groups of people. it can be helpful for some people to be compared to others and classified. uses quantitative data
Evaluate Idiographic and Nomothetic
+ Idiographic contributes to nomothetic
> it can bring in understanding to nomothetic statistics and laws
CA: Idiographic approach can be too narrow and restricted. generalisations cannot be made
+ Both fit withing the aims of science
- Nomothetic approach has a loss of personal understanding
What are ethical implications?
The consequences of research in terms of effect on individual participants.
What is social sensitivity?
studies with potential consequences for implications for the participants in the research or class of individuals represented
What are implications for the research process?
Research questions: the way they are phrased may impact the answer and the way the answers are interpreted (social sensitivity)
Dealing with participants: informed consent, confidentiality and psychological harm are important for socially sensitive research
the way findings are used: Researchers should consider how findings will impact. media attention is often grabbed by socially sensitive research.
Evaluate ethical implications of research studies
+ beneficial to groups being studied in terms of understanding them
CA: some studies could have negative consequences
+ real world application
> can help governments make informed decisions
- poor research may lead to erroneous findings
