Issues and Debates Flashcards
Gender Bias
What is the definition of gender bias?
The differential treatment and/or representation of males and females, based on stereotypes and not on real differences
Gender Bias
What is bias?
A distorted view, in favour or against something without acknowledging an alernative view
What is gender?
A group of people who share qualities or ways of behaving which society associates with being male, female, or another identity. This can be based on biology or based on societal ideals
Gender bias
What are the twp types of gender bias?
Aplpha and Beta Bias
Gender bias
What is alpha bias?
When a researcher exaggerates the diffrences between men and women
Gender bias
What is beta bias?
when a researcher minimises or ignores the differences between men and women
Gender bias
What is androcentrism?
Research focused on male behaviours and attitudes
Gender bias
When can we say research has an androcentric bias?
When it leads to a lack of validity ot relaiability
Gender bias
What is an example of androcentric bias?
Freud pleaded that boys traits were normal and desirable as girls get ‘penis envy’ and so, due to girls being different from men, girls are abnormal and inferior
Gender bias
What are the consequences of gender bias?
- inaccurate and misleading conclusions about female behaviour has gone unchallended e.g Darwins evolutionary theory
+ Acknowledges natural differences that leads to future research and allows for solutions - Eagly - claimed women are less effective leaders which led to the development of training programmes to develop female leadership
+ Equal pay act - unfavouable treatment of men and women has been reduced in the workplace
Gender bias
What is bias?
A distorted view, in favour or against somwthing without acknowledging an alternative view
Gender bias
What are some examples of alpha bias?
Bowlby maternal deprivation
Gender bias
What are some examples of beta bias?
Zimbardos prison experiment and Bowlby’s 44 Thieves Study
Gender Bias
What are the evaluation points of Gender bias?
- Gender bias in psychological research validates misleading stereotypes
- promotes sexism inresearch - lack of female senior researchers means female concerns may not be refelcted in research questions
+ Reflexivity - researchers can use own experiences of sexism to evidence their points - Practical application - feminists have sugested there are ways to avoid gender bias - collabaritive research across genders in the future, use men and women in samples
Cultural bias
What is cultural bias?
When researchers own cultural experiences and backgrounds can distort the way they interpret or research other cultures - this bias leads to misunderstandings
Cultural Bias
When is cultural bias an issue?
- If research exaggreates/disregards cultural differences
- The norm of behaviour is only judged frim the viewpoint of 1 culture
- Any cultuirual difference in behaviour that depends on the standard will be judged as abnormal when comparing behaviour to ones own culture
Cultural Bias
What are a few key studies that have cultural bias?
- Milgram and obedience
- Asch and Conformity
- Ainsworth attachment types - USA norm
- Bowlby 44 thieves
Cultural bias
What is ethnocentrism?
Seeing the world from ones own cultural perspective and believing this one perspective is both normal and correct
Cultural bias
What is cultural relativism?
Behaviour can only be properly understood is the cultural context is taken into consideration
Cultural bias
What is eposed etic?
Looks at the behaviour from the outside of a given a culture (not within it) and attempts to apply universally
Cultural bias
What is an example of imposed etic?
Ainswoth attachment types were based on USA norm - all children outside were assessed using USA criteria
Cultural Bias
What is imposed emic?
Researcher is within the culture and identifies behaviours that are specific to this culture - not cutural bias but can cause it if an emic approach is misinterpreted as an etic approach
Cultural Bias
What is an example of the imposed emic?
Ainsworth’s attachment types only make sense in the USA
Freewill v Determinism
What is freewill?
- we can choose our thoughts and actions
- Implies we are able to resist pressures of environmental and biological factors when influencing our behaviour
- advocated by the humanistic approach
Freewill v Determinism
What is determinism?
- Freewill doesnt explain our behaviour
Freewill v Determinism
What are the 5 different types of determinism?
- soft
- hard
- biological
- environmental
- psychic
Freewill v Determinism
what is hard determinism?
- all human behaviour has an identifiable cause
- compatible with the aims of science - to uncover causal laws that govern thought and action
- assumes everything we think and do is dictated by internal/external forces we can’t control
Freewill v Determinism
What is soft determinism?
- important feature of the cognitive approach
- all human action has a cause
- suggets some room for manouvre as people have conscious mental control over how they behave
- we have the freedom to rational, conscious choices in everyday situations
Freewill v Determinism
What is biological determinism?
- linked with biological approach
- emphasises role of genetics, hormones and brain processes in explaining behaviour
- nature v nurture debate - we are ‘doubtly minded’ in way we cant control
Freewill v Determinism
What is environmental determinism?
- all behaviour is the result of conditioning (Skinner)
- ‘Choice’ is merely the sum of reinforcement contingencies that have acted upon us in our lives
- Behaviour is shaped by environmental events and ‘agents of socialisation’ (parents, teachers etc)
Freewill v Determinism
What is psychic determinism?
- Behaviour is determined and directed by unconscious conflicts repressed in childhood
- No such thing as accident, everything is determined by the unconscious
- More emphasis on biological drives than behaviourist approaches
Freewill v Determinism
What is the scientific emphasis on causal explanations?
- science states that everything has a cause that can be explained by general laws
- knowledge of causes and the formations of laws are important as they allow scientists to predict and control events in the future
- E.g lab experiments enable the researcher to simulate test conditions and remove extraneous variables in attempt to predict and control human behaviour
Freewill v Determinism
What are the pros and cons of freewill?
:) it has face validity from our everyday experiences and makes cognitive sense - research shows those with an ILOC are healthier (believing you have freewill has a positive impact on your mind and behaviour)
:( Contradictory evidence from meurological studies - Soon et al: brain activity that determines the outcome of simple choices may predate our knowledge of having made such a choice (conscious-decision making occurs after brain activation and our most basic experiences of freewill are already decided and determined)
Freewill v Determinism
What are pros and cons of determinism?
:) Consistent with the aims of science - the prediction and control of behaviour has led to treatments being developed, therapies etc. Also, no one would choose to have SZ and mentally suffer by losing control over their thoughts. So, mental illness = determined
:) Soft determinsim provides a compromise - Bandura (SLT): although environmental factors are key in learning, we are free to choose who or what we attend to in regard to behaviours - inetractionist approach best compromise for the freewill v determinism debate
:( Hard determinism isnt consistent with the way the legal system operates - offenders held accountable for their actions suggeting they have freewill
:( Deteminism is unfalsifiable as its impossible to prove wrong - can’t be tested (problematic)
Nature v Nurture
What is the definition of nature?
The extent to which particular aspects of behaviour are a product of inherited or internal characteristics
Nature v Nurture
What is the definition of nurture?
The extent to which particular aspects of behaviour are a product of acquired characteristics from the environment
Nature v Nurture
What is the definition of environment?
Everything outside the body, which can include people, events and the physical world
Nature v Nurture
What is the diathesis stress model?
The biological vulnerability or being born with a gene that predisposes a disorder. But, the disorder will only develop if there’s an environmental/biological ‘stressor’ to trigger it
Nature v Nurture
What is the nature v nurture debate?
The extent to which particular aspects of behaviour are a product of either inherited e.g genetics OR acquired e.g learned influences
Nature v Nurture
What is heredity?
The process by which traits are passed down genetically from 1 generation to the next
Nature v Nurture
What did Early Nativists such as Descartes argue surrounding the nature v nurture debate?
That human characteristics and even some aspects of knowledge are innate and the result of heredity factors (Nature)
Nature v Nurture
What dud Empiricists such as Locke argue surrounding the nature v nurture debate?
That the mind is a blank slate at birth upon in which learning and experience writes (Nurture)
Nature v Nurture
Does Psychology encompass Nurture or Nature?
Both when studying and explaining the brain and behaviour so both need to be considered
Nature v Nurture
What is an interactionist approach?
Suggests N and N interact together to produce/shape human behaviour
Nature v Nurture
What are epigenetics?
- Changes in organisms caused by modification of the ways that genes are expressed
- Genetic activity also changes via interaction with environmental influences such as smoking, diet and pollution
- These leave marks on DNA which in turn, may go on and influenece the genetic codes of our offspring
Nature v Nurture
What is niche picking?
The idea that people create their own ‘nurture’ by actively selecting environments that complement their ‘nature’
- E.g extroverts may seek out other extroverts
Nature v Nurture
What is Neuroplasticity?
The changes in the structure of the brain (nature), as a result of life experience (nurture) E.g Taxi Driver Study
Nature v Nurture
What are the pros of both Nature and Nurture?
:) Provides an understanding and allows for further investigation e.g biologists will use biological techniques such as brain scans to further enhance their theory that there are neurological differences
Nature v Nurture
What are the cons of both Nature and Nurture?
:( Both ignore freewill and choice
:( Only focusing on N or N is too restrictive - one cant be examined without the other as its an interactionist approach (niche picking, diathesis stress etc)
:( Both reductionist
:( Both deterministic
Nature v Nurture
What are the pros of nature?
:) Objective
:) Compatible with the aims of science
:( Establishes cause and effect more easily
Nature v Nurture
What are the cons of nature?
:( Ignores nurture and combination of N and N
Nature v Nurture
What are the pros of nurture?
:) More holistic
:) Implication for creating change - treatments?
Nature v Nurture
What are the cons of the N and N debate?
:( Ignore nature and combination of N and N
:( Not always objective or controlled
Holism v Reductionism
What is the definition of Holism?
Only makes sense to study an indivisible system rather than ts constituent parts (the whole picture)
Holism v Reductionism
What is the definition of Reductionism?
The belief that human behaviour is best explained by breaking it down into smaller constituent parts
Holism v Reductionism
What is the definition of Biological Reductionism?
Explains social and psychological phenomena at a lower biological level (in terms of genes, hormones, etc)
Holism v Reductionism
What is the definition of Environmental Reductionism?
Explains all behaviour in ters of stimulus-response links that have been learned through experience
Holism v Reductionism
What are ‘Levels of Explanation’?
Suggests there are different ways of viewing the same phenomena in Psychology - some more reductionist than others
- Can range from sociology (least reductionist so at the top), psychology, biology, chemistry and physics (most reductionist so at the bottom)
Holism v Reductionism
What is an example of the ‘Levels of Explanation’?
OCD
- Sociological context - producing behaviours that may seem irrational to others
- Psychological context - having obsessive thoughts
- Physiological level - hypersensitivity of the basal ganglia
- Neurochemical context - underproduction of serotonin
Holism v Reductionism
What is the reductionist hierachy related to the ‘Levels of Explanation’?
Some researcjers suggest that those disiplines towards the top will eventually be replaced by those towards the bottom as our nderstanding of social and psychological phenomena increases
Holism v Reductionism
What are the pros of holism?
:) Can explain key aspects of social behaviour that only emerge within a group context - the Stanford Prison Experiment (the prisoners and guards couldn’t be examined as individuals as it was the interaction between the group members that was important) - provides a more complete understanding of behaviour than reductionist approaches
Holism v Reductionism
What are the cons of Holism?
:( Difficult to test scientifically - E.g Humanistic psychology (holistic) is criticised for its lack of empirical evidence and is seen as a loose set of concepts and Depression - there are many factors that contribute so may have implications for therapy and knowing exactly what to treat
Holism v Reductionism
What are the pros of Reductionism?
:) Forms basis of scientific research - to operationalise variables, breaking down target behaviours into constituent parts is necessary to conduct experiments or record observations = reliability
Holism v Reductionism
What are the cons of reductionism?
Oversimplify complex behaviours - loss of validity
Holism v Reductionism
What is a compromise to Holism v Reductionism?
Interactionist approach e.g Diathesis Stress model explains SZ as the outcome of predisposition (genetic) and is triggered by an environemental stressor (psychological) - more multi-disciplinary approach to treatment (e.g combining drugs with family therapy)
Idiographic v Nomothetic
What are idiographic approaches?
- Focuses on the individual and emphases unique personal experience of human nature as means of understanding behaviour
- Allows for a deep understanding of individual uniqueness and subject experiences
- Seen in RMs that collect qualitative data - case studies, unstructured interviews and unstructured observations
- Can be found within the humanistic and some aspects of the psychodynamic approach
Idiographic v Nomothetic
What are Nomothetic Approaches?
- Attempts to study human behaviour through the development of general principles and universal lawa
- Provides understanding of general patterns, trends and universal principles that may apply to larger populations
- Provides benchmark between which behaviour can be compared, classfied and measured - behaviour to some extent can be controlled
- Seen in RMs that collect quantitative data - experiments, correlations, content analysis and structured observations
- Seen in the biological, behavioural and some asoects of the cognitive approach
Idiographic v Nomothetic
What is the I v N debate?
Is I or N the most appropriate when researching the complexities of human behaviours?
Idiographic v Nomothetic
What are the pros of the Idiographic Approach?
:) Provides a fuller account of an individual, their behaviours and/or disorders
:) Provides a basis for further investigation e.g Clive Wearing
:) Allows for natural phenomenon to be studied that would not be able to be studied experimentally
Idiographic v Nomothetic
What are the cons of the Idiographic approach?
:( Subjective
:( Oly focuses on unique cases which means wider generalisation isn’t possible
:( Open to interpretation from the researcher
:( RMs used within the idiographic appraoch are criticised for being least scientific
:( Cause and Effect isn’t able to be established so information collected is open to things that aren’t controllable
Idiographic v Nomothetic
What are the pros of the Nomothetic Approach?
:) Generaly scientific and mirrors elements of natural science
:) Allows for comparisons to be made
:) Allows for norms/standards of behaviours to be established and then applied to all so has generalisability and universalitu
Idiographic v Nomothetic
What are the cons of the Nomothetic Approach?
:( Reductionist - loses the whole person by reducing the complexity of human behaviour
:( Subjective experience - ignored which is vital for examining behaviour
:( Potentially ignores individual differences
:( Focused on how much rather than why
Ethical Implications and SSR
What are ethical implications?
- The impact Psychological Research may have in terms of the rights of other people (especially pp)
- Includes influencing public poicy and/or the way in which certain groups of people are regarded
Ethical Implications and SSR
What is SSR?
Refers to studies in which there are potential social consequences or implications, either directly for the pp in reseach or the class (type) of individuals represented by research
Ethical Implications and SSR
Who was SSR proposed by?
Sieber and Stanley (1988)
Ethical Implications and SSR
What are some examples of research that could be classed as socially sensitive?
- Zimbardo (1973)
- Hofling - obdience to authority nurses
- Rutter - Institutionalisation
- Ainsworth - Strange Situation
- Bowlby - MD theory
Ethical Implications and SSR
What did Seiber and Stanley argue?
The APA and BPS guidelines dont offer advice, as to how ethical issues should be resolved in the long term
Ethical Implications and SSR
What were the 4 aspects Seiber and Stanley identified whereby ethical issues with social consequences may occur within the research process?
- The research question
- Conduct of research and treatment of pp
- The institutional context
- Interpretation and application of findings
Ethical Implications and SSR
What do Seiber and Stanley mean by the ‘research question’ causing ethical implications?
E.g “Are there racial differences in IQ?” - may be damaging to members of a particular racial group because it appears to add scientific credibility to the prevaling prejudice
Ethical Implications and SSR
What do Seiber and Stanley mean by the ‘Conduct of research and treatment of pp’ causing ethical implications?
The main concern is the confidentiality of the information collected e.g if a pp confesses to a crime, should confidentiality be maintained?
Ethical Implications and SSR
What do Seiber and Stanley mean by ‘The institutional context’ causing ethical implications?
Research may be funded and managed by private institutions why may misuse the data or misunderstand the data that is produced
Ethical Implications and SSR
What is an example of a campaign that has helped with institutional context?
The ‘All Trials Campaign’ - drug therapies
- Headed by medial doctor - Ben GoldacreCalled for all research to be made public and that all research should be pre-registered - includes stating the intended statistical analysis so that researchers cant process data in a way that makes the outcome look more favourable to the drug
Ethical Implications and SSR
What do Sieber and Stanley mean by ‘Interpretation and application of findings’ causing ethical implications?
Research findings may be used for purposes other than originally intended. E.g the development of IQ tests by psychologists was used to demonstrate the inferiority of certain groups of people
Ethical Implications and SSR
What were the ethical issues Sieber and Stanley identified in SSR?
- Privacy
- Confidentiality
- Valid Methodology
- Deception
- Informed Consent
- Equitable Treatment
- Scientific Freedom
- Ownership of Data
- Values
- Risk/Benefit Ratio
Ethical Implications and SSR
What is meant by the ethical issue ‘privacy’?
- During research, a skilled investigator may extract more information from the pp than they intended to give
- Some research may lead to social policies that are an invasion of people’s private lives e.g AIDS research may lead to laws requiring certain people to undergo compulsory testing
Ethical Implications and SSR
What is meant by the ethical issue ‘Confidentiality’?
Pp may be less willing to divulge information in the future if confidentiality is breached and further related research would be compromised (sensitive issues could have far-reaching social and economic consequences)
Ethical Implications and SSR
What is meany by the ethical issue ‘Valid Methodology’?
Findings from research with poor methodology may find their way into the public domain and therefore shape important social policy
Ethical Implications and SSR
What is meant by the ethical issue ‘Deception’?
Includes self-deception whereby research may lead people to form untrue stereotypes (e.g believing women are less good at maths) which then affects one’s own performance (self-fulfilling prophecy)
Ethical Implications and SSR
What is meant by the ethical issue ‘Informed consent’?
Potential pp may not always comprehend what is involved
Ethical Implications and SSR
What is meant by the ethical issue ‘Equitable treatment’?
All pp should be treated in an equitable manner, and resources which are vital to the pp well-being- e.g educational opportunities aren’t witheld from one group whilst being available to another
Ethical Implications and SSR
What is meant by the ethical issue ‘Scientific Freedom’?
The scientist has the duty to engage in research, but at the same time, has an obligation not to harm pp as well as the institutions in society
Ethical Implications and SSR
What is meant by the ethical issue ‘Ownership of Data’?
There can be problems with dtermining ownership which involves the sponsership of the research (e.g a universuty department or commercial organisation) and the public accessibility of data
Ethical Implications and SSR
What is meant by the ethical issue ‘Values’?
- Psychologists differ in their orientation towards subjective (idiographic) approaches and more objective (scientific) approaches
- Sensitive issues arise when there is a clash in such values between the scientist and recipient of the research
Ethical Implications and SSR
What is meant by the ethical issue ‘Risk/benefit Ratio’?
Risks or costs should be minimised , but problems arise in determining risks as well as benefits
Ethical Implications and SSR
What are the evaluation points for ethical implications and SSR?
- The wider impacts of research: there is an even larger impact with SSR than some social consequences to participation in research - e.g there’s increased potential for a more indirect impact on the pp family, co-workers etc. So, researchers need to take account for the safeguarding interests beyond the individual within the research
- Inadequate current ethical guidelines: current guidelines research may still inflict harm on a group of people in society - the present ethical guidelines don’t ask researchers to consider how their research may be used by others (considerations outlined some time ago have not yet permeated into professional practice)
- May disadvantage marginalised groups: many groups in society have suffered the consequences of being excluded from research or misinterpretated when they are included e.g the disabled, elderly and the disadvantaged - means our understanding of human behaviour has been unnecessarily restricted
- Just ignore SSR: however, thsi would leave psychologists with nothing to examine but unimportant issues - therefore, psychologists have a duty to conduct such research
