Issues and debates

Question 1

What is universality?

Answer 1

The aim of psychology to develop theories that apply to all people, which may include real differences

Question 2

What is alpha bias?

Answer 2

Theories assume there are real and enduring differences between men and women.
These differences are exaggerated and are likely to devalue one gender in comparison to another.

Question 3

What is Beta bias?

Answer 3

Ignores or minimises gender differences.
Assumes that all people are the same and therefore it is reasonable to apply the same theories to men and women.

Question 4

Give an example of alpha bias

Answer 4

In Freudian theory, girls are thought to have a weaker superego because they don’t experience castration anxiety in the phallic stage. She does not identify as strongly with the same sex parent, therefore has a weaker morality.

Question 5

Give an example of beta bias

Answer 5

Original research into the fight or flight response was conducted on male animals because hormonal changes in female animals made research more difficult.
Taylor et al. found that women release more oxytocin when stressed leading to a tend and befriend approach.

Question 6

What is the biological explanation behind gender differences?

Answer 6

Maccoby and Jacklin conducted several gender studies and concluded that girls have a superior verbal ability whereas boys have a greater spatial ability. These differences are hardwired into the brain.

Question 7

Sexism in research as a limitation of gender bias.

Answer 7

P: Promotes sexism in the research process
E: Women remain underrepresented in university departments. Lecturers are more likely to be men.
E: This disadvantages participants who are women, assuming they are incapable of certain tasks
L: results are not universal as findings are gender biased.

Question 8

Gender biased research as a limitation

Answer 8

P: Research challenging gender bias may not be published
E: Formanowicz analysed more than 1000 articles and found that research on gender bias receives less funding and are published less by prestigious journals
E: Fewer scholars become aware of gender bias
L: gender bias in psychological research may not be taken as seriously as other forms of bias

Question 9

Interpretations of gender bias as a limitation

Answer 9

P: gender bias can create misleading assumptions about female behaviour
E: men set the standard for normalcy so it becomes normal for women to feel abnormal
E: This can have damaging consequences on women
L: researchers can use this to reflect on their studies

Question 10

Universality in terms of cultural bias?

Answer 10

There is a greater bias surrounding the location of studies and participants used. 68% of research participants come from the United states, 96% from industrialised nations

Question 11

What does WEIRD stand for?

Answer 11

W - western
E - educated
I - industrialised
R - rich
D - democracies

Question 12

What issues arise through WEIRD?

Answer 12

Behaviours set by WEIRD people makes people from other cultures seem abnormal or inferior.

Question 13

What is ethnocentrism?

Answer 13

The belief in the superiority of one’s own cultural group

Question 14

Give an example of ethnocentrism.

Answer 14

Ainsworth’s strange situation, which reflects only the norms of western culture. Ainsworth suggested that the ideal attachment type is secure. This caused misinterpretation in other countries child rearing practices.

Question 15

What are etic and emic approaches?

Answer 15

An etic approach looks at behaviour from outside a given culture and attempts to define these behaviours as universal.

An emic approach looks at behaviour from inside a given culture, and identifies them as specific to that culture.

Question 16

Give an example of the etic approach

Answer 16

Ainsworth’s strange situation. She studied behaviour within a single culture and then assumed the ideal attachment type could be applied universally.

Question 17

Classic studies as a limitation of cultural bias

Answer 17

P: many of the most influential studies in psychology are culturally biased
E: Both Asch and Milgram’s studies were conducted exclusively with participants from the USA
E: collectivist cultures found significantly higher rates of conformity than individualist ones
L: this suggests our understanding of topics such as social influence should only be applied to individualist cultures

Question 18

What is a counterpoint to the classic studies limitation of cultural bias?

Answer 18

P: the individualist - collectivist distinction no longer applies in an age of globalisation
E: Takano and Osaka found that 14 out of 15 studies found no evidence of individualism or collectivism
E: this suggests the distinction is lazy and simplistic
L: cultural bias in more recent research may be less relevant

Question 19

Cultural psychology as a strength of cultural bias

Answer 19

P: one strength is the emergence of cultural psychology
E: this is an emerging field. The study of how people shape and are shaped by their cultural experience
E: Focuses on larger scale studies with multiple cultures or countries
L: this suggests that modern psychologists are mindful of the dangers of cultural bias and are taking steps to avoid it.

Question 20

What is free will?

Answer 20

As humans we have the freedom to choose our own thoughts and actions. We have an active role in controlling our behaviour

Question 21

What is determinism?

Answer 21

An individuals behaviour is shaped and controlled by internal or external forces. Our behaviour should be predictable.

Question 22

What is hard determinism?

Answer 22

All human behaviour has a cause that we should be able to identify. An extreme position

Question 23

What is soft determinism?

Answer 23

Accepts that people have a degree of conscious mental control over how they behave

Question 24

What is biological determinism?

Answer 24

Recognises the influence of the environment on biological structures, eg. aggression in a tense situation could be caused by increased fight or flight adrenaline production

Question 25

What is environmental determinism?

Answer 25

Recognises all behaviour as the product of conditioning, so the total sum of all the reinforcement we have experienced in our lives

Question 26

What is psychic determinism?

Answer 26

Recognises the influence of the unconscious and of biological drives/instincts. There are no accidents, just behaviours.

Question 27

What is the scientific emphasis on causal explanations

Answer 27

Every event has a cause and these causes can be explained by general laws

Question 28

Strength of determinism

Answer 28

P: Has helped establish psychology as a science
E: genes associated with OCD have been found to reduce levels of serotonin in the brain
E: OCD treatments such as SSR’Is have been created. This shows that taking a determinist stance can lead to finding effective treatments
L: determinism has real world applications

Question 29

Weakness of determinism

Answer 29

P: Doesn’t align with the position of the legal system
E: hard determinism suggests no one chooses to behave the way they do
E: this changes how we view responsibility in terms of crime
L: this suggests determinism isn’t consistent with systems in society
C: however there have been cases where offenders have had sentences reduced due to acknowledging determining factors

Question 30

Strength of free will

Answer 30

P: free will has practical value
E: a more optimistic approach that has positive implications
E: believing we have free will can have a positive impact on our mental health. Roberts found that adults who believed in fatalism were more likely to have depression
L: free will can be a better approach for people who suffer with mental disorders

Question 31

Weakness of free will

Answer 31

P: scientific evidence that suggests we don’t have it
E: Libet conducted brain scans, asking pp’s if they felt the conscious will to move
E: brains were already making the decision to move a second before
L: this suggests basic experiences are determined by the brain

Question 32

What is heredity?

Answer 32

The genetic transmission of mental and physical characteristics from one generation to another

Question 33

What is the nurture theory?

Answer 33

Behaviourist theories. John Locke argued we are born a blank slate waiting to be filled up with experiences gained from environmental interaction.

Question 34

What is the interactionist approach?

Answer 34

The idea that nature and nurture are linked to such an extent that it doesn’t make sense to separate the two

Question 35

What is epigenetics?

Answer 35

Area of research that looks at changes in our genetic activity. The idea that experiences can leave marks on our DNA. This influences the genetic code of our children. This introduces a third factor to the nature nurture debate.

Question 36

Research into epigenetics

Answer 36

Dias and Ressler gave male lab rats an electric shock every time they were exposed to the smell of acetophenone. They showed a fear reaction to the smell. Their children also showed a fear reaction, despite never being exposed. This suggests trauma is something we can inherit.

Question 37

Adoption studies as a strength of the nature nurture debate.

Answer 37

P: twin studies have highlighted the influence of environmental factors
E: comparisons have been made between twins and siblings that have grown up together and those separated.
E: This showed the influence of environmental factors on personality
L: Research into the nature/nurture debate can have real world applications

Question 38

Epigenetics as a strength of the nature/nurture debate

Answer 38

P: research support for epigenetics
E: events of the second world war - the Dutch hunger winter. Women pregnant during the famine gave birth to lower weight babies
E: babies developed SZ compared to typical rates
L: this supports the theory that life experiences of the previous generation can leave marks on the next

Question 39

Real world application as a strength of the nature/nurture debate

Answer 39

P: helps understand the interaction between nature and nurture
E: Nestadt found the OCD inheritability rate to be 0.76
E: people who have a higher risk of OCD can receive advice on how they can prevent the likelihood
L: real world applications and good for the economy

Question 40

What is holism?

Answer 40

An argument or theory that proposes it only makes sense to study an indivisible system rather than its constituent parts. Analysing the person or behaviour as a whole

Question 41

What is reductionism?

Answer 41

Human behaviour is best explained by breaking it down into smaller constituent parts. Should be explained using the most basic principles

Question 42

What is biological reductionism?

Answer 42

Attempts to explain social and psychological phenomena at a lower biological level

Question 43

What is environmental reductionism?

Answer 43

Attempts to explain behaviour as a stimulus response

Question 44

What are the levels of explanation?

Answer 44

• socio cultural
• psychological
• physical
• environmental
• physiological
• neurochemical

Question 45

Practical value as a limitation for holism

Answer 45

P: may lack practical value
E: researchers are presented with a practical dilemma as behaviour becomes more complex
E: we accept there are many different factors but we don’t know which to prioritise
L: reductionism could be a better approach

Question 46

Scientific approach as a strength of reductionism

Answer 46

P: often forms the basis of a scientific approach
E: behaviours are broken down and operationalised
E: this means it is possible to conduct experiments and record observations
L: this approach gives psychology more credibility

Question 47

What is a counterargument to reductionism as a scientific approach

Answer 47

Oversimplifying complex phenomena leads to decreased validity. Often physiological processes are looked at without any social context which doesn’t give a complete analysis of the behaviour.

Question 48

Higher level as a limitation of reductionism

Answer 48

P: some behaviours can only be understood at a higher level
E: aspects of social behaviour only emerge in a group context
E: in the Stanford prison experiment, interaction between people and group behaviour was important
L: this suggests that holism may produce a more valid account

Question 49

What is the idiographic approach?

Answer 49

attempts to describe the nature of the individual as a unique entity. Focuses on individual cases in order to make general laws

Question 50

What methods are used in idiographic research?

Answer 50

• qualitative data
• unstructured interviews
• data is analysed and themes are identified
• conclusions can help others going through similar experiences

Question 51

What is the nomothetic approach?

Answer 51

aligned with scientific methods in psychology. Interested in producing general laws of human behaviour

Question 52

What does nomothetic research look like?

Answer 52

• research tends to be quantitative
• numerical data is produced through structured questionnaires

Question 53

Which approaches are nomothetic?

Answer 53

Reductionist and determinist.
Skinner looked at the responses of hundreds of rats to determine general human laws

Question 54

Complete account as a strength of the idiographic approach

Answer 54

P: contributes to the nomothetic approach
E: idiographic uses in depth qualitative methods of investigation
E: this can compliment the nomothetic approach and reveal important insights about human functioning
L: despite focusing on fewer individuals, idiographic research can build effective general theories of behaviour

Question 55

Counterpoint to Idiographic approach as a complete account?

Answer 55

Meaningful generalisations cannot be made without further examples. There is no adequate baseline with which to compare behaviour. This requires the subjective interpretation of the researcher.

Question 56

Scientific credibility as a strength of both approaches

Answer 56

P: both approaches fit with the aims of science
E: processes involved in nomothetic research are similar to those used in natural sciences
E: idiographic research can also be standardised through triangulation or reflecting on biases.
L: suggests both approaches raise psychology’s status as a science

Question 57

Losing the person as a limitation of the nomothetic approach

Answer 57

P: loss of understanding of the individual
E: this approach is preoccupied with general laws. Eg. understanding there is a 1% lifetime risk of developing schizophrenia tells us little about what life is like for that person
E: understanding the subjective experience may be useful when devising treatments
L: this means the nomothetic approach may fail to relate to experience

Question 58

Psychological research needs to carefully balance which two things?

Answer 58

• Ethics and validity

Question 59

What are the qualities of socially sensitive research?

Answer 59

• controversial
• risking stereotypes and prejudice
• subject to social values/norms
• able to shape the laws

Question 60

What are ethical implications?

Answer 60

• the consequences that research and theories have
• could be in relation to the individuals or the wider group that participants represent
• can influence social policy

Question 61

How do Sieber and Stanley define socially sensitive research?

Answer 61

• studies in which there are potential consequences or implications either directly for the participants or the class of individuals represented

Question 62

What is the research process?

Answer 62

• Researchers must be mindful how research is planned and conducted as well as how findings are handled

Question 63

Parts of the research process?

Answer 63

• Research questions: must be considered carefully
• Dealing with pp’s: researchers need to consider the treatment of the participants and their right to remain anonymous
• The way findings are used: the researcher should be mindful how the data is going to be used and who is funding research. How findings can be interpreted and applied in the real world