Issues And Debates

Question 1

Bias

Answer 1

distorted view of the world

Question 2

1.Gender bias:

Answer 2

research offering a view that isnt representative of usual behaviour between a gender.

Question 3

Universality:

Answer 3

argument in psychology that all behaviours apply to al humans regardless of any characteristics.

Question 4

Alpha bias -
Beta bias

Answer 4

Alpha bias - differences are being exaggerated/overestimated between the sexes. Usually devalues females.

Beta bias - differences are ignored/underestimated.

Question 5

Androcentrism

Answer 5

Androcentrism, is a consequence of beta bias
= being dominated/centred by men

patriarchy is quite dominant etc. Results in a male view of the world, because what is found from the male participants is the ‘norm’. Female behaviour is therefore misunderstood, seen as a condition.

This can result in pathologizing women, meaning their behaviour, although the same one as a males, might be treated as psychologically abnormal one if all studies are male centered.

Question 6

Cornwell et al (2013)

Answer 6

Cornwell et al (2013) found that females are better at learning as they are more attentive and organised, valuing positive attributes of women. This challenges gender stereotypes

Question 7

WEIRD characteristics

Answer 7

western, educated, industrialised, rich and democratic man which isn’t a a majority of the global population.
Also most samples are opportunity samples, which are psychology students, narrowing down the sample even further.

Question 8

Sociobiological theory of sexual behaviour

Answer 8

• male sexual promiscuity is a product of evolution. Men can I’m pregnant as many females as they want with no restriction.

Question 9

Social influence EG of gender difference

Answer 9

Sheridan and King: 100% of women killed puppies but 54% of men did. Sufficiently higher rate of obedience
Jenness: jelly bean study:

Question 10

Culture bias

Answer 10

tendency to ignore those differences and interpret behaviours thorugh the lens of your own bias.

Question 11

Ethnocentrism

Answer 11

Belief that ones own culture is superior

Question 12

Cultural relativism

Answer 12

= idea that behaviours in a culture only make sense RELATIVE TO/ WITHIN that culture.
Cultural relativism and ethnocentrism are polar opposites.

Question 13

Henrich et al

Answer 13

Henrich et al (2010): hundreds of psychological studies (meta analysis):
Found - 68% are US participants.
96% from Western industrialised nations.
67/68% of american participants where under grad psych students.

This means that the nomothetic application of research is in accurate and wrong.

Question 14

Cultural differences

Answer 14

Cultural differences, are differing behaviours from culture to culture, which results in cultural bias.

Question 15

Ekman 1989

Answer 15

Ekman (1989) basic facial expressions such as happiness are relative to all humans and animals, can be seen in blind humans and animals that are expressed.

Shows that there may be some universal things beyond cultural relativity

Question 16

Van ijzeendoorn and kroonenberg

Answer 16

Van ijzendoorn and kroonenberg:
There was 150% more variation WITHIN culture than between them 46-90%

Question 17

What is etic and emic
In food for eg

Answer 17

Etic food: doesn’t change according to other countries (starbucks) ‘ick’
Emic food: menu changes in each country, considering native tastes. (McDonald’s)

Ainsworth attachment study style reflects western views of healthy attachment as being ‘secure’. The measure used in that study is only appropriate to individualistic cultures.

Question 18

Brislin (76

Answer 18

Brislin (76) - does mental quickness = intelligence?
Baganda people in Uganda characterise intelligence as slow and deliberate thoughts

This shows that using individualistic cultures as the ‘normal’ is weak

Question 19

Lesley and peterson

Answer 19

Lesley and Peterson (86) -
European/american ideas of mental health arent universal: self sufficiency, independence, internal locus of control.

Question 20

Smith and bond

Answer 20

Smith and Bond - replicated Aschs study and found conformity was higher in collectivist cultures.

Question 21

Takano and Osaka

Answer 21

Takano and Osaka - found 14/15 studies that compared the USA and Japan found no evidence of traditional distinction between the differing cultures.

Question 22

Obédience differences

Answer 22

Miranda - 81% to 450 volts (all female students) SPAIN
Kilman - 16% to 450 volts australia
Mann - 85% to 450 volts germany

Question 23

Jahoda:

Answer 23

Jahoda: the ‘ideal mental health’ definition of abnormal
Gave the criteria of ideal mental health: independence, self actualisation, manage stress, environmental mastery.
Is independence a universal value? Its a very western value.

Question 24

Ethical implications

Answer 24

Ethical implication: The impact that psychological research may have in terms of the rights of other people, especially in terms of social sensitivity

Question 25

Sieber and Stanley:

Answer 25

identified concerns that researchers should be mindful when conducting socially sensitive research.
For example
Implications
Public policies
Validity of research

Examples
attachment: expectation, pressure on caregivers for example maternal deprivation, same sex parents

Question 26

Examples of ethical implications in eugenics

Answer 26

eugenic implications: which means that certain races/people are better/worse.
Whaley: found that African Americans are more likely to have schizophrenia. Is because we overdiagnose African Americans? Overtreat?

Question 27

Whaley

Answer 27

found that African Americans are more likely to have schizophrenia. Is because we overdiagnose African Americans? Overtreat?
Cultural differences?

Question 28

4 Examples: of socially sensitive research

Answer 28

Sub groups becoming stigmatised
Biased reporting or misrepresentation of finding
To justify government decisions or social control
Funding for psychological research

Question 29

Hamed (1993)

Answer 29

Hamer (1993)
Genetic studies on gay men
Correlated patterns in dna and suggested that male homosexuality is influenced by genetics
Argues that gay men have no choice and environmental influences make little difference
Homosexuality evolved

Homosexuality isn’t classified anymore as a disorder until 1973 (sociopathic personality disorder)

Question 30

Gould

Answer 30

Gould
to get army recruits a test was conducted after ww1
Test was ethnocentric for eg: us president knowledge
South Eastern Europeans and African Americans scored lowest so the study was basically used to inform racist discourse about genetic inferiority

Question 31

Raine

Answer 31

Raine (96)
Carried out brain scans of violent criminals
Found that they rended to have some damage in OFC associated with impulse control.
This could have a good impact because it might mean lots of money and violence could be saved if something is done when people are young.

Question 32

Mobley defence (1991)

Answer 32

“Mobley defence ”(91), Stephen mobleys defence team argued that his criminal acts were biologically determined as past four generations of his family had committed similar crimes
1 & 3

Question 33

Burt (55)

Answer 33

MISINTERPRETATION OF DATA/INACCURATE RM

Burt (55) developed the 11+ exam which determines what school a kid goes to. Based on his twin studies, he found that IQ was highly heritable and could be detected by 11. This was inaccurate and later discovered that much of the study was fake

Question 34

Free will

Answer 34

Ability to be autonomous

Question 35

Determinism

Answer 35

DETERMINISM - studies claiming that behaviour is out of control of free will

Question 36

hard determinism

Soft determinism

Answer 36

Hard determinism: also known as fatalism (an extreme point of view)
Everything we think/do is due only to external/internal forces that we cannot control

Soft determinism: behaviour is due to these internal/external forces, but we also excercise some free will to control these forces = limited personal choice like the cognitive approach

Question 37

what are the three branches of hard determinism

Answer 37

Biological determinism : all human behaviour is controlled by innate and determined by genes (Nestadt (2000) found that people with first degree relatives who have OCD are 5x more likely to have it)

Environmental determinism : behaviour is caused (learnt) by outside forces. Therefore behaviour is caused by experience eg classical/operant behaviour
(Phobias can be learnt: Mowrers two process model: acquisition through classical and maintenance by operant)
(BOBO DOLL: aggression is taught through vicarious reinforcement)

Psychic determinism: human behaviour is result of unconscious conflict, innate drives and childhood experiences (ID, Ego and Superego)
(Freuds five stages of development says that unconscious conflict in childhood are responsible for later fixations in adulthood)

Question 38

Biological determinism

Four studies

Answer 38

all human behaviour is controlled by innate and determined by genes (Nestadt (2000) found that people with first degree relatives who have OCD are 5x more likely to have it)
(Nestadt (2000) found that people with first degree relatives who have OCD are 5x more likely to have it)

Bounton : biological preparedness. Phobias are evolutionary in order to help us survive
Dias and Ressler: Rat epigenetics test - shows that phobias are innate
Taylor - 230 genes are polygenic for OCD.

Question 39

Environmental determinism

2 studies eg

Answer 39

Environmental determinism : behaviour is caused (learnt) by outside forces. Therefore behaviour is caused by experience eg classical/operant behaviour

Mowrers two process model: acquisition through classical and maintenance by operant)
(BOBO DOLL: aggression is taught through vicarious reinforcement)

Question 40

Psychic determinism

Answer 40

Psychic determinism: human behaviour is result of unconscious conflict, innate drives and childhood experiences (ID, Ego and Superego)

Question 41

Benefits 3
Disadvantages 4
Of a deterministic perspective

Answer 41

Benefits/ disadvantages of a deterministic perspective
Benefits
the scientific emphasis on causal explanations depending on determinism. Assuming that human behaviour is orderly and predictable increases psychology’s credibility as a social science.
Without causes we can provide treatment or provide supportive intervention
Implications in bringing up children, education, crime, addiction…

Disadvantages
Determinism provides alibi or justification - leads to eugenic thinking
Identical people in same circumstances can still have different outcomes

Not aligning with the legal system which does allow accountability for perpetrators.
Not consistent: Twin studies. MZ Studies find an 80% similarity in intelligence scores and 40% in likelihood of depression. Hard determinism is weak and unlikely