Issues and Debates Flashcards
Define gender bias
The differential treatment or representation of men and women based on
stereotypes rather than real difference.
What is alpha bias?
A tendency to exaggerate differences between men and women, suggesting
that there are real and enduring differences between the two sexes.
Typically to de-value females.
What is androcentrism?
The consequence of beta bias and occurs when all behaviour is compared
according to a ‘male’ standard, often to the neglect or exclusion of women.
What is beta bias?
A tendency to ignore or minimise differences between men and women. Such theories tend to ignore questions about the lives of women, or insights derived from
studies of men will apply equally well to women.
What is universality?
The aim to develop theories that apply to all people, which may include
real differences.
Define culture
The rules, customs, morals and ways of interacting that bind together members
of a society or some other collection of people.
What is culture bias?
The tendency to judge all cultures and individuals in terms of your own
cultural assumptions. This distorts or biases your judgements.
What is cultural relativism?
The view that behaviour, morals, standards and values cannot be
judged properly unless they are viewed in the context of the culture in which they
originate.
Define determinism and what are its 3 types?
The belief that behaviour is controlled by external or internal factors
acting upon the individual and beyond their control.
Biological
Environmental
Psychic
Define biological determinism
The view that behaviour is always caused by internal biological
forces beyond our control, such as the influence of genes.
Define environmental determinism
The belief that behaviour is caused by previous experience
through classical and operant conditioning. i.e. phobias are a result of conditioning
Define psychic determinism
Freud’s theory of personality suggests that adult behaviour is
determined by a mix of innate drives and early experience. These result in unconscious
conflicts over which we have no control.
What is free will?
Each individual has the power to make choices about their behaviour, without
being determined by internal or external forces beyond their control
Define hard determinism
The view that all behaviour can be predicted, according to the
action of internal and external forces beyond our control, and so there can be no free
will.
Define soft determinism
A version of determinism that allows for some element of free will
and suggests that all events, including human behaviour, has a cause.
What is moral responsibility?
The basis is that an individual is in charge of their own actions.
What is the ‘environment’?
Everything that is outside our body, including people, events and the
physical world. Any influence on behaviour which is non-genetic.
What is ‘nature’?
Any influence on behaviour which is genetic e.g. the action of genes,
neurochemistry, neurotransmitters and neurological structures.
What is heredity?
The process by which traits are passed from parents to their offspring, usually
referring to genetic inheritance.
What is holism?
With respect to a behaviour such as memory or mental disorder, perceiving the
whole experience rather than the individual feature and or the relations between them.
What is reductionism?
An approach that breaks complex phenomena into more simple
components
What is biological reductionism?
Reduces complex human behaviour to basic biological elements
What environmental reductionism?
Explains behaviour through simple stimulus response mechanisms
e.g adult behaviour is a result of reinforcement from childhood.
What is environmental reductionism?
Explains behaviour through simple stimulus response mechanisms such as adult behaviour is a result of reinforcement in childhood.
What are levels of explanation and give some examples?
Explanations vary from those at a lower or fundamental level focusing on basic components or units to those at a higher level
biological reductionism= basic level
psychological explanation= mid-level
sociological explanations= high level
What is the idiographic approach?
A method of investigating behaviour which focuses on individuals and emphasises their uniqueness
What is the nomothetic approach?
Seeks to formulate general laws of behaviour based on the study of groups and the use of statistical, quantitive techniques. It attempts to summarise the differences between people through generalisations
What is socially sensitive research?
Any research that might have direct social consequences for the participants in the research or the group that they represent.
Name some examples of socially sensitive research
Bowlby’s monotropic attachment theory: led to Britain not offering free childcare under the age of 5 due to the critical period leading to negative consequences.
What is ethnocentrism?
Researchers consider their own culture or ethnic group to be superior and the norm, use it as a standard for evaluating other cultures.
What is implications of research?
Consequences of constructing theories for participants and the groups they represent.
What is Reflexivity?
Researchers should carefully consider their own personal biases, beliefs, and influential position.
What are ethics committees?
Decide if the study should go ahead and use a cost-benefit analysis
Evaluate Gender bias
- Gender differences are often presented as fixed and enduring when they are not: Studies have concluded girls have superior verbal ability where is boys have better spatial ability, this is suggested these differences are hardwired into the brain before birth, yet may just be fitting a stereotype.
- Sexism: Women are underrepresented in university departments lecturers are more likely to be men so research is more likely to be conducted by men so may disadvantage women.
- Research challenging gender bias may not be published:
Studies have found research on gender bias is funded less often and is not published therefore less people are aware of it within their own work.
Evaluate cultural bias
- most influential studies are culturally biased for example social influence Milgram and asch normally conducted in America replications of these studies in different cultures have different results.
+ Emergence of cultural pschology:
Studies into cultural experiences are emerging and incorporates work from many disciplines and tries to avoid ethnocentric assumptions using local researchers.
- Lead to prejudice against groups of people:
The first intelligence tests were ethnocentric as they assumed everyone would know the names of US presidents therefore participants from Southeast Europe and African-Americans had lower scores and were deemed mentally unfit.
Evaluate the free will vs determinism debate
+ practical value:
The view that we can exercise free well has a positive impact on mental health. A study found adolescence were significantly greater at risk of developing depression if they thought that their lives were decided by events outside of their control.
- Brain scan evidence does not support free will, but does determinism:
A study instructed participants to choose a random moment to flick that wrist participants had to say when they felt the conscious well to move brain scans found the unconscious brain activity leading up to the conscious decision came around half a second before a conscious decision. - The law:
Our legal system is determined on the criminal having free will to carry out the crime so is not deterministic.
Evaluate the nature vs nurture debate
+ adoption studies:
A meta analysis of adoption studies found that genetic influences accounted for 41% of the variance in aggression this can help us determine whether aggression is down to genes or nurture.
+ Epigenetics:
A study reported that women who became pregnant during the famine in the Second World War went on to have low birthweight babies but also were twice as likely to develop schizophrenia supporting the view the previous generations can leave epigenetic markers.
+ real world application:
Research suggests OCD is a highly heritable disorder this understanding can inform genetic counselling because it’s important to understand that it doesn’t mean the OCD is inevitable this develops counselling for people with a higher likelihood of developing the disorder and how they might prevent it.
What are epigenetics?
Refers to a change in our genetic activity without changing the genes from selves a process that happens throughout life and it’s caused by interaction with the environment may influence genetic codes of our children.
What is the Diathesis stress model?
Suggest behaviour is caused by biological or environmental vulnerability which is only expressed when coupled with a biological or environmental trigger
Evaluate holism and reductionism
- Practical value:
Holistic accounts may be hard to use as they become more complex this can prevent researchers with a practical dilemma struggle to know causation
+ Reductionist form basis for scientific research:
In order to conduct well-controlled research we need to operationalise the variables breakdown target behaviours so it’s easier to record observations more reliable.
- some behaviours can only be understood on a higher level:
Often there are aspects of social behaviour that cannot be understood in terms of individual group members such as the effects of conformity to social roles it’s an interaction between people and the group.
Evaluate idiographic and nomothetic
+ complete account:
The idiographic approach uses in-depth qualitative methods which may complement the nomothetic approach by shedding light on general laws.
+Scientific credibility:
Both approaches fit in with the aims of science processes involved in nomothetic research or similar to those using natural sciences, standardisation. the idiographic approach also seeks to objectify methods such as triangulation.
- Losing the person:
The fact that the nomothetic approach is preoccupied with general laws tells us little about the person and can be quite subjective.
Evaluate ethical implications
+ benefits for the group:
Where examples homosexuality in 1952 the day as someone listed it as a sociopathic personality disorder but was finally removed in 1973 this changes being credited to the Kinsey report which is based on anonymous interviews of 5000 men.
+ real world application:
Policymakers rely on research related to socially sensitive issues the government looks to research when developing important social policies and his preferred appeal to base the policies of scientific research rather than politically motivated views.
- Poor research design:
Research on socially sensitive topics need to be researched with great care as it can affect the public such as the 11+ in schools is there to test intelligence as this has found to be detected by age 11 yet the research had found to be imaginary and fake.
