Issues And Debates Flashcards
Alpha bias
EXAGGERATING THE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN MEN
& WOMEN
Beta bias
EXAGGERATING THE SIMILARITY BETWEEN MEN & WOMEN
• OFTEN HAPPENS WHEN FINDINGS OBTAINED FROM MEN AND APPLIED TO WOMEN WITHOUT ADDITIONAL VALIDATION
Androcentrism
TAKING MALE THINKING/BEHAVIOUR AS NORMAL, REGARDING FEMALE THINKING/BEHAVIOUR AS DEVIANT, INFERIOR, ABNORMAL, ‘OTHER’ WHEN IT IS DIFFERENT
Free will
We are able to control and choose our course of action. We can make our own decisions and act in unconstrained ways
Determinism
This is the philosophy that all events are predetermined and necessitated by precursor events and conditions
Hard determinism
Our behaviour and traits is caused by factors over which we have no control. Therefore we should be able to identify the causes of behaviour.
Soft determinism
Our behaviour and traits are caused by internal or external factor but we can still exercise a limited amount of choice over our actions.
Biological determinism
Our behaviour and traits are governed by internal, biological factors such as hormones, neurochemicals and our genes
Environmental determinism
Our behaviour and traits are governed by external forces such as experiences, peers and learning.
Psychic determinism
Our behaviour is governed by unconscious instincts and drives as well as early childhood experiences
Causal determinism
Whether X causes Y, or whether the independent variable causes changes in the dependent variable.
Nature nurture debate
Nature versus nurture debate is one of the oldest debates in psychology. It centres on the relative contributions of genetic inheritance and environmental factors to human development and behaviour.
Nature
Behaviour is caused by internal or innate factors
Nurture
Behaviour is caused by external, environmental factors
Heredity
The process in which traits are passed down genetically from one generation to the next
Environment
The environment is seen as everything outside the body, which can include people, events and the physical world.
Interactionist approach
An interactionist approach argues that several levels of explanation are necessary to explain a particular behaviour, ranging from lower (biological) to higher levels (social and cultural).
Gender bias
A gender bias is the differential treatment and/or representation of males and females, based on stereotypes and not on real differences.
Culture bias
A cultural bias is the tendency to judge people in terms of one’s own cultural assumptions.
Universality
when a theory is described as universal, it means that it can apply to all people, irrespective of gender and culture.
Ethnocentrism
Ethnocentrism means seeing the world only from one’s own cultural perspective, and believing that this one perspective is both normal and correct.
Cultural relativism
The idea that cultural norms and values are culture specific and no-one culture is superior to another culture
