Issues and debates Flashcards
universality
any underlying characteristic of all human beings that is capable of being applied to all, despite differences such as gender, upbringing and experience.
Gender bias
when psychological research or a theory may offer a view that is not justifiably representative of men or women
Androcentrism
when normal behaviour is judged to a male standard, meaning that when women’s behaviour differs, it is seen as abnormal.
alpha bias
theories that suggest there are real and enduring differences between men and women, often devaluing women in the process.
beta bias
theories that suggest there is no difference between men and women or minimise the difference too much.
what are some implications of gender bias?
may lead to stereotyping of one gender, usually women and validate discriminatory practices. for example women being denied opportunities in the workplace because they are expected to care for children
how is the research process possibly sexist?
lack of high level female psychologists means that research is often male led.
men are more likely to have their research published than women
the lab experiment may also damage a woman as they are put in an inequitable relationship with a male researcher.
why is reflexivity important in gender bias?
allows researchers to acknowledge how their own bias and experience may affect the reading of a situation. vital in creating greater awareness of the role of bias in future research.
how do feminists think that gender bias can be minimised?
women should be studied in real life contexts and participate in research rather than be the object of it. diversity within groups of women should be studied equally to the differences between men and women. more qualitative data collected.
cultural bias
the tendency, in psychology, to ignore cultural differences and see events through the lens of our own cultural experiences.
Ethnocentrism
judging other cultures by the standards and values of our own culture. can lead to extreme views that our culture is the best and lead to the discrimination of others.
cultural relativism
the idea that norms and values can only be meaningful and understood within social and cultural contexts.
imposed etic
assuming that the results of research done in one culture is the norm for all cultures and any other behaviour from other cultures is abnormal - i.e. the strange situation
emic approach
studying something from within a culture and identifying behaviours that are specific to that culture.
why might the individualist and collectivist definitions be flawed?
new technology has overcome these differences and we live in a more interconnected world than ever before. these definitions may be too simplistic.
universality and cultural relativism
despite the imposed etic of a lot of studies, not all behaviour is culturally relative, we must also take into account universal human behaviours, for example interactional synchrony.
why might it be hard to apply western research to other cultures?
the knowledge and faith that western cultures have of scientific research may not be shared by other cultures. some cultures may have no concept of a study, and so any experiment done will be very difficult to replicate in these cultures and there will be more demand characteristics.
why is the operationalisation of variables difficult across cultures?
different social norms mean that the same prompt/stimulus may illicit very different responses. for example the invasion of personal space is seen as very normal in china.
free will
the notion that humans can make free decisions, unaffected by biological or environmental factors.
