Issues and debates Flashcards
What is Alpha Bias in psychology?
Alpha Bias exaggerates differences between men and women (e.g., Freud – women = weaker superego).
What is Beta Bias in psychology?
Beta Bias ignores or minimizes differences between genders (e.g., Kohlberg – moral development based on male sample).
What are the implications of gender bias in research?
It raises awareness of bias in research but is still prevalent due to the majority of male researchers influencing interpretations.
What is Ethnocentrism?
Ethnocentrism is the belief that one’s own culture is superior (e.g., Ainsworth’s Strange Situation – Western norms).
What is Cultural Relativism?
Cultural Relativism states that behavior must be understood in cultural context (e.g., definitions of abnormality).
What are the implications of cultural bias in research?
It promotes diversity in research through cross-cultural studies but can lead to imposed etic, applying Western ideas to non-Western cultures.
What is Free Will in psychology?
Free Will is the belief that humans have control over their behavior (Humanistic Approach).
What is Hard Determinism?
Hard Determinism asserts that there is no free will (Biological, Behaviourist, Psychodynamic).
What is Soft Determinism?
Soft Determinism suggests that behavior is influenced but we still have some choice (Cognitive, SLT).
What are the implications of Free Will vs. Determinism?
Determinism is scientific and allows for predictable behaviors useful for treatments, but the legal system relies on the concept of free will for accountability.
What does Nature refer to in psychology?
Nature refers to biological influences such as genetics and neurochemistry (e.g., twin studies – OCD, schizophrenia).
What does Nurture refer to in psychology?
Nurture refers to environmental influences and learning (e.g., conditioning, SLT).
What is the Interactionist Approach?
The Interactionist Approach posits that both nature and nurture interact (e.g., diathesis-stress model – genes + environment = disorder).
What are the implications of Nature vs. Nurture?
It has real-world applications for understanding the causes of disorders, but it is impossible to separate the influences of nature and nurture.
What is Holism in psychology?
Holism is the approach of understanding the whole person (e.g., Humanistic Approach, Gestalt psychology).
What is Reductionism?
Reductionism is breaking down behavior into parts, including biological reductionism (e.g., genes/neurotransmitters) and environmental reductionism (e.g., stimulus-response links).
What are the implications of Holism vs. Reductionism?
Reductionism allows for scientific study and simplifies research, but it can oversimplify complex behavior by ignoring social factors.
What is the Idiographic approach?
The Idiographic approach focuses on individuals and in-depth studies (e.g., case studies – Freud, Clive Wearing).
What is the Nomothetic approach?
The Nomothetic approach establishes general laws for all (e.g., biological explanations, behaviourist studies).
What are the implications of Idiographic vs. Nomothetic approaches?
The Idiographic approach provides detailed insights useful for unique cases, while the Nomothetic approach may lose the richness of individual experience.
What are Ethical Implications in psychology?
Ethical Implications refer to how research impacts society (e.g., Bowlby’s maternal deprivation theory → stay-at-home mothers encouraged).
What is Socially Sensitive Research?
Socially Sensitive Research (Sieber & Stanley, 1988) involves implications, uses/public policy, and validity of research findings.
What are the implications of Ethical Implications & Social Sensitivity?
It raises awareness of ethics in psychology but may discourage valuable research (e.g., into genetic links to behavior).
