issues and debates Flashcards
what are the 5 key words regarding gender bias
universality alpha bias
beta bias
androcentrism
essentialism
define universality
this means that the conclusion drawn from research can be generalised and applied to all people. This is undermined when studies are biased e.g. only include males p’s.
define alpha bias
theories which exaggerate differences between men and women, such differences are represented as fixed and inevitable
define beta bias
theories which underestimate the difference between men and women.
define andorocentirism
A theory demonstrates this is male behaviour is deemed to be normal and female behaviour as abnormal
define essentalism
a theory is this if it suggests that there are gender differences and that these gender differences are fixed in nature
what has reduced gender bias in psychology
the equal opportunity legalisation and feminist psychologist have reduced institutional gender bias and drawing attention to sources of bias. A criteria was developed to reduce bias
give some examples of gender bias in psychology grossman field kohlberg giligan
GROSSMAN looked at attachment between mum and dads. The study found a significant difference between attachment with mum and dad. ALPHA BIAS
FIELD filmed babies interreacting with primary caregivers fathers and secondary caregiver fathers and found that primary father could be just as nurturing as mothers UNDERMINES ESSENTIALISM
KOHLBERG- theory of moral reasoning, he developed these stages through interviews with teenage boys, and generalised it to both male and female. He later carried out this moral reasoning on females and found that women reach levels of lower moral reasoning than men. ANDOROCENTRISM
GILLIGAN criticised Kohlberg’s theory and suggested that male morality is based on abstract principles whereas female morality is based on ethic of care. ALPHA BIAS
define holism
looking at the whole person rather than one specific factor
define reductionism
the belief that behaviour is best explained when broken down into small parts
state and define the different types of reductionism
biological reductionism which explains behaviour in terms of genes/hormones
environmental reductionsm explaining behaviour through stimuli repsonse which have been built through experience
evaluate holism
there are aspects of social behaviour that can only be meaningfully understood within a group concept
however these explanations arent scientific and can become vague as they become more complex
evaluate reductionism
often forms the basis of scientific research,
in order to operationalise we much first break behaviour down into target behaviour
however the approach has been accused of over simplifying complex phenomena leading to loss of validity
define freewill
idea that humans can make choices which arent determined by biological or external cues
define determanism
the idea that humans are not free to make their own choices but that behaviour is determined by genes or environment
what are the 5 types of determanism
hard determinism- behaviour is always determined by genes or environment. freewill is an illusion
soft determinism- behaviour is determined by genes an environment but we do have some freewill
biological determinism- behaviour is determined by genes
environmental determinism- behaviour is only determined by the environment
psycho determinism- behaviour is caused by unconscious conflicts that we cant control
evaluate determinism
determinist theories support psychologies claim to be a science. one of the basic principles of science is that every event has a sauce that can be explained through general laws. this allowed events to be controlled and predicted
however it doesnt account for individual difference
hard determinism suggests that criminals cannot be held accountable for their crimes because theyre not responsible for their behaviour
evaluate freewill
isnt falsifiable and agrees that behaviour is always completely under the individuals control
what is environment in the nature vs nurture debate
any influence which isnt genetic. this could range from pre-natal influences to the influence of society and culture
define interaction approach
the idea that both nature and nurture interact with eachother to such an extent that it wouldnt make sense to separate them
define diathesis-stress model
suggests that mental illness is caused by a genetic vulnerability which is only expressed when there is an environmental trigger
define epigenetics
genetic activity can change through interaction with the environment. this leaves ‘marks’ on the DNA whcih can be passed onto future generations
give the degree to which approaches apply to either nature or nurture
nature
biological psychodynamic cognitive humanistic
behaviorist nurture
evaluate the nature vs nurture debate
shared vs unshared
genotype
constructivism
shared vs unshared environment- extracting the influence of environment is difficult because even siblings have different upbringings. DUNN and PLOMIN suggests that individual differences mean that siblings may experience life events differently. this explains the findings that MZ twins dont even show perfect concordance rates which supports interactionist approach
genotype, STARR AND MCCARTNEY gene interaction- positive; parents gnes influence how they treat their child. evocative; the childs genes shape the environment they grow up in. active; the child creates its own environment through the people it selects
constructivism, people create their own nurture by actively seleting evironments that match their nature
define etic approach
human findings is studied from outside and then generalised
emic approach
human findings is studied from within and finds specific behaviour to that culture
imposed etic
where a theory rooted in the psychologists culture is then used to study other cultures
cultural relativism
the idea that behaviour can only be meaningfully understood within the specific cultural context
evaluate cultural bias
TAKANO and OSAKA found that 14/15 studies that compared USA and Japan found no evidence pf traditional distinction between individualistic and collectivist, which suggests that cultural bias is less of an issue
operationalisation, variables under review may not be experienced in the same way e.g. facial features associated with aggression. researchers need to be careful that they fully understand a culture before interpreting behaviour
relativism and universality- a full understanding pf behaviour requires the study of both universal and specific behaviours. greater use should be made of research conducted from within each culture and across culture research should be encouraged
evaluate gender bias
implication- gender bias research may create misleading assumptions about female behaviour, fail to challenge negative sterotypes and validate discriminatory behaviour. therefore not only is gender bias a methological issue but it also had damaging consequences e.g. BURNs found that a majority of research on women with disabilities focused on women in a negative light
sexism within the research process, a lack of women being appointed as senior reseachers means that female concerns may not be reflected in the research question
define ethic approach
the impact psychological research has on the rights of people
define socially sensitive research
any research which has ethical implications that impact outside the context
evaluate socially sensitive research
studies on underrepresented groups could premote greater sensitivity and remove discrimination.
socially sensitive research has led to the unreliability of eye witness testimony
however research into socially sensitive research has changed social policy with gov, despite the dubious nature of the findings.
BURTS research into IQ determined the 11+ and whether children could go to grammar school, however it was later found that he had made up most of his research
research into race and IQ in education led to discrinimatuon because they were considered less intelligent
define idiographic approacb
psychologists interested in this wanted to discover what makes us unique
humanistic and psychodynamic
define nomothetic approach
psychologists interested in this want to discover what we share with others, to establish laws and generalisations
behaviourists and biological
evaluate idiographic
provices indepth qualitive data on an individual
however results r usually subjective
unscientific and cant be generalised because theure only suitable for the individual
evaluate nomothetic approach
is more scientific because it is more valid and precise and reliable.
it adds to the credability of science
howver it has been accused of loosing the whole person
studies involving memory, ps are treated as test scores rather than individual people
