issues and debates

Question 1

what are the 5 key words regarding gender bias

Answer 1

universality alpha bias
beta bias
androcentrism
essentialism

Question 2

define universality

Answer 2

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.

Question 3

define alpha bias

Answer 3

theories which exaggerate differences between men and women, such differences are represented as fixed and inevitable

Question 4

define beta bias

Answer 4

theories which underestimate the difference between men and women.

Question 5

define andorocentirism

Answer 5

A theory demonstrates this is male behaviour is deemed to be normal and female behaviour as abnormal

Question 6

define essentalism

Answer 6

a theory is this if it suggests that there are gender differences and that these gender differences are fixed in nature

Question 7

what has reduced gender bias in psychology

Answer 7

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

Question 8

give some examples of gender bias in psychology 
grossman
field
kohlberg
giligan

Answer 8

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

Question 9

define holism

Answer 9

looking at the whole person rather than one specific factor

Question 10

define reductionism

Answer 10

the belief that behaviour is best explained when broken down into small parts

Question 11

state and define the different types of reductionism

Answer 11

biological reductionism which explains behaviour in terms of genes/hormones
environmental reductionsm explaining behaviour through stimuli repsonse which have been built through experience

Question 12

evaluate holism

Answer 12

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

Question 13

evaluate reductionism

Answer 13

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

Question 14

define freewill

Answer 14

idea that humans can make choices which arent determined by biological or external cues

Question 15

define determanism

Answer 15

the idea that humans are not free to make their own choices but that behaviour is determined by genes or environment

Question 16

what are the 5 types of determanism

Answer 16

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

Question 17

evaluate determinism

Answer 17

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

Question 18

evaluate freewill

Answer 18

isnt falsifiable and agrees that behaviour is always completely under the individuals control

Question 19

what is environment in the nature vs nurture debate

Answer 19

any influence which isnt genetic. this could range from pre-natal influences to the influence of society and culture

Question 20

define interaction approach

Answer 20

the idea that both nature and nurture interact with eachother to such an extent that it wouldnt make sense to separate them

Question 21

define diathesis-stress model

Answer 21

suggests that mental illness is caused by a genetic vulnerability which is only expressed when there is an environmental trigger

Question 22

define epigenetics

Answer 22

genetic activity can change through interaction with the environment. this leaves ‘marks’ on the DNA whcih can be passed onto future generations

Question 23

give the degree to which approaches apply to either nature or nurture

Answer 23

nature
biological psychodynamic cognitive humanistic
behaviorist nurture

Question 24

evaluate the nature vs nurture debate
shared vs unshared
genotype
constructivism

Answer 24

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

Question 25

define etic approach

Answer 25

human findings is studied from outside and then generalised

Question 26

emic approach

Answer 26

human findings is studied from within and finds specific behaviour to that culture

Question 27

imposed etic

Answer 27

where a theory rooted in the psychologists culture is then used to study other cultures

Question 28

cultural relativism

Answer 28

the idea that behaviour can only be meaningfully understood within the specific cultural context

Question 29

evaluate cultural bias

Answer 29

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

Question 30

evaluate gender bias

Answer 30

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

Question 31

define ethic approach

Answer 31

the impact psychological research has on the rights of people

Question 32

define socially sensitive research

Answer 32

any research which has ethical implications that impact outside the context

Question 33

evaluate socially sensitive research

Answer 33

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

Question 34

define idiographic approacb

Answer 34

psychologists interested in this wanted to discover what makes us unique
humanistic and psychodynamic

Question 35

define nomothetic approach

Answer 35

psychologists interested in this want to discover what we share with others, to establish laws and generalisations
behaviourists and biological

Question 36

evaluate idiographic

Answer 36

provices indepth qualitive data on an individual
however results r usually subjective
unscientific and cant be generalised because theure only suitable for the individual

Question 37

evaluate nomothetic approach

Answer 37

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