Issues and Debates Flashcards
Gender bias- Universality
Any underlying characteristic of human beings that is capable of being applied to all, despite differences of experience and upbringing. Gender bias and culture bias threaten the universality of findings.
Gender bias- Alpha bias
This exaggerates or overestimates differences between the sexes. They may enhance or undervalue members of either sex, but typically undervalue females.
Gender bias- Beta bias
Ignores, minimises or underestimates differences between men and women. This often occurs when female participants are not included as part of the research process and then it is assumed that research findings apply equally to both sexes.
Gender bias- Androcentrism
One possible consequence of beta bias is androcentrism. This mean’s it is male centred, when normal behaviour is judged according to a male standard, that means female behaviour is often judged to be abnormal by comparison.
Gender bias- evaluation
Gender bias may have damaging consequences which affect the lives of real women. It may provide a scientific ‘justification’ to deny women opportunities within the workplace or society.
Male researchers are more likely to have their work published meaning that psychology may be guilty of supporting a form of institutional sexism that creates bias in theory/research.
Cultural bias- Universality
Many argue that although psychology may claim to have unearthed ‘truths’ that say something about people all over the world, in reality, finding from studies only apply to the particular groups of people who were studied.
Cultural bias- Ethnocentrism
Judging other cultures by the standards and values of one’s own culture. In its extreme form it is the belief in the superiority of one’s own culture which may lead to prejudice and discrimination towards other cultures.
Mary Ainsworth’s strange situation (attachment) is an example of this as it only reflects the norms and values of American culture. It led to misinterpretation of child rearing practices.
Cultural bias- Cultural relativism
The idea that norms and values, as well as ethics and moral standards, can only be meaningful and understood within specific social and cultural contexts.
Cultural bias- etic approach
Looks at behaviour from outside of a given culture and attempts to describe those behaviours that are universal
Cultural bias- emic approach
Functions from within or inside certain cultures and identifies behaviours that are specific to that culture.
Cultural bias- imposed etic
Argues that theories and concepts are universal, when they came about through emic research. Mary Ainsworth studies behaviour within a certain culture (America) and then assumed her ideal attachment type could be applied universally.
Cultural bias- evaluation
Takano and Osaka found that 14 out of 15 studies compared the USA and Japan found no evidence of the traditional distinction between individualism and collectivism. This could perhaps suggest that cultural bias in research is less of an issue than it once was.
Free Will
Suggests that as humans we are essentially self determining and free to choose our thoughts and actions and are not determined by biological or external forces.
Determinisim
The view that an individuals behaviour is shaped or controlled by internal or external forces rather than an individual’s will to do something. There can be hard or soft determinism.
Hard determinism
Suggests that all human behaviour has a cause, and in principle, it should be possible to identify and describe these causes. Free will is not possible as our behaviour is always caused by internal or external events beyond our control.
Soft determinism
James, whilst acknowledging that all human action has a cause, soft determinist’s also suggest some room for manoeuvre in that people have conscious mental control over the way they behave.
Biological determinism
The belief that behaviour is cause by biological (genetic, hormonal, evolutionary) influences that we can’t control.. For example, the influence of the autonomic nervous system during periods of stress/anxiety. Testosterone in aggressive behaviour.
Environmental determinism
The belief that behaviour is caused by features of the environment (such as systems of reward and punishment) that we can’t control. Skinner and Locke describe free will as an illusion and argued that all behaviour is the result of conditioning. Our behaviour is shaped by environmental events as well as agents of socialisaton- parents, teachers…
Psychic determinism
The belief that behaviour is caused by unconscious conflicts that we can’‘t control. Freud agreed that free will is an illusion, but sees human behaviour as determined and directed by unconscious conflicts, repressed in childhood. Freudian slips.
For determinism
It’s consistent with the aims of science. Control of human behaviour has led to the development of treatments, therapies and behavioural interventions that have benefited many. Eg. psychotherapeutic drug treatment for managing schizophrenia. Schizophrenics lose control of their thoughts and behaviour suggests no free will and appears to be deterministic.
Against determinism
It’s unfalsifiable, it’s based on the idea that causes of behaviour will always exist, even though they may not have been found yet. The hard deterministic stance that the individual choice is not the cause of behaviour is not consistent with the way that our legal system works- offenders are held morally accountable for their actions.