ISSUES AND DEBATES Flashcards
Describe an issue with beta bias in psychological research
It’s important not to minimize differences between genders, as this can lead to misleading conclusions. For example, Asch’s conformity experiments are often criticized for using an all-male sample, which might have led to a beta bias by assuming that findings could be generalized to both men and women. Neto (1995) suggested that women are generally more conformist than men, which challenges this assumption. By ignoring gender differences, beta bias can result in false claims about behavior that apply universally, even when they may not be accurate for all groups.
Who suggested that women are more conformist than men?
Neto (1995) suggested that women are generally more conformist than men
-> challenges Asch’s study that findings could be applied to all equally
Describe and evaluate the free will vs determinism debate
FREE WILL: people have the ability to choose how they behave
✅ evidence to suggest people with an internal locus of control tend to be more mentally healthy and those that don’t are more at risk of depression -> just believing in free will can have a positive impact on people’s mental health (research by Roberts et al. (2000))
✅ supports the legal system that criminals should be rehabilitated and held responsible for their actions. If a determinist approach is taken it would contradict the criminal justice system
❌ doesn’t fit well with the scientific method because behaviour accounted for by free will cannot be objectively measured
❌ an interactionist approach may be better - Bandura’s reciprocal determinism: rather than behavior being solely determined by external forces, it is influenced by 3 factors: personal factors (eg values), environmental factors (eg actions of others) and behaviour factors (eg actions and choices). They all interact to determine our behaviour
DETERMINISM: fate/external forces cause behaviour (more scientific approach)
✅ major depressive disorder is linked to lack of seretonin in the prefrontal cortex -> direct evidence for genetics determining behaviour
✅ aligns with features of science and behaviour can be measured objectively using lab experiments
❌ would suggest all people born into criminal families would be criminals, unethical and could lead to stereotyping or discrimination, better to take a soft approach
❌ undermines the legal system that people are responsible for their own actions, creates the question of whether there’s any point to rehabilitating criminals
Summarise Takano and Osaka study (1999)
Analysed and found 14/15 studies had no differences in characteristics between individualist and collectivist cultures
-> suggests research done in one culture may be generalisable to others (take an Eric approach)
