Issues And Debates Flashcards
Define universality
Exists in all conditions
Define alpha bias
Occurs when the differences between men and women are exaggerated
Stereotypical Male and female traits are emphasised
Define beta bias
Occurs when the differences between men and women are MINIMISED
Define androcentrism
Taking Male behaviour as normal
Regarding female behaviour as deviant, inferior and abnormal
Define gynocentrism
Refers to anything that focuses on women in either theory or practise or focuses exclusively on female and feminist issues
Give an example of gender bias in the psychodynamic approach
ALPHA BIAS:
Process of identification during phallic stage (psychosexual stages of development)
-women passively identify
-men actively identify
.: women do not identify with their mothers as strongly as boys identity with their fathers
So develop weaker superegos
Give an example of gender bias in moral development
BETA BIAS: Lawrence kohlberg
Heinz dilemma- girls reach stage 3 of morals whereas boys reach stage 4
Assumed moral reasoning is the same in men and women- example of beta bias because he assumed the female responses would apply to everyone
Criticise Lawrence Kohlbergs work
Carol Gilligan- women have a different set of criteria, morality of care
Men have a morality of justice
Describe gender bias in the fight or flight response
BETA BIAS
Biological research on this is carried out on Male animals
This assumes the fight or flight response is universal
.: the differences have been minimised as it was assumed to be universal
What are the negative implications of gender bias in psychology
- creates misleading assumptions about female behaviour, failing to challenge negative stereotypes
- gender bias in research could have damaging consequences which affect the lives of real women, eg females are 2x more likely to be diagnosed with depression than men
What did Taylor et al find
Provided evidence that females have a tendency-and-befriend response, this is adaptive because it ensures the survival of their offspring
Name a strength of gender bias
Means current researchers are much more careful when designing their studies and developing theories so to avoid possible gender bias
Two consequences of gender bias
Androcentrism
Gynocentrism
Define cultural bias
To what extent do the theories, models and concepts considered in psychology represent human behaviour
Define universality
Exists in all conditions
Define ethnocentrism
A belief that your society, group or culture is superior to all others, differences in groups are seen as bad
Define cultural relativism
States that an individuals belief and activities must be considered in terms of that persons own culture
How is ainsworths strange situation an example of cultural bias
German parents may be viewed as cold
Ainsworth is culturally biased, studied within one culture and assumed the ideal attachment type can be applied universally
How is definitions of abnormality an example of cultural bias
Ideal mental health:
Autonomy and high self esteem scream individualistic culture
Social norms:
-hearing voices in east is normal but in the west your a schizophrenic
How is intelligence testing culturally biased
Tests in west measure intelligence against the clock
Uganda 🇺🇬 characterise intelligence as slow, careful, deliberate thought
Name three universal behaviours
Kohlbergs stages of gender development ( strengthened by munroe)
Facial expression and emotions- ekman
International synchrony
What four aspects of the research process where ethical issues with social consequences may occur did Stanley and Sieber identify
1) the researcher question
2) treatment of participants
3) institutional context
4) interpretation and application of findings
What are the ethical implications from Raines research into brain scans of violent criminals
What are the potential benefits
- self forfilling prophecy
- euthanise
- abortion if brains cans show the abnormality
Benefits:
- people could provide extra support to these kids- less crimes committed
Ethical implications of bowlbys maternal deprivation theory
- suggests mothers should not go back to work
- blames mother for child
Ethical implications of autism research ( auyeung)
Found a high level of testosterone in the amniotic fluid was a predictor of autistic traits
Aborting babies who may potentially be autistic (before even being given a chance to display autistic tendencies)
Ethical implications of social control
USA 1920/30 sterilisation of people with a low IQ, addicts and mentally ill
Criticised for scientific racism
How do u deal with the following issues:
Lack of informed consent
Deception
Protection from harm
1) prior general consent
2) write a debrief
3) support and counselling
Define biological determinism
The belief that all behaviour and thought is caused by the action of the nervous system and genetic factors
Define psychic determinism
The belief that all thought and behaviour is caused by unconscious forces
Define environmental determinism
Belief all behaviour is under the control of environmental stimuli and external forces of reward and punishment
Define soft determinism
All behaviour is determined or caused by a persons own character wishes or conscious desired goal s
Define hard determinism
Belief that behaviour is caused by events outside of your personal control
Free will is an illusion
Give two examples of biological determinism
- biopsychology
- speech caused by specific areas of the brain
Psychopathology
- OCD COMT and SERT gene - neurotransmitter level’s and orbital frontal cortex
An example of environmental determinism
Phobia
- learnt through environment
- little Albert
Give an example of psychic determinism
Gender development
Psychosexual stages of development- fixation causes behaviour later in life
What is the scientific emphasis on causal laws
The idea that in order to be scientific theory must be cause and effect
What does science aim to provide
Prediction and control
3 criticisms of being determinist
❌removes moral responsibility
❌free will doesn’t fit science
❌mental disorders
Explain the idea that determinism removes moral responsibility
Determinism is inconsistent with societies ideas of self control and personal responsibility, these ideas form the basis of our moral and legal assumptions
Why is it that free will does not fit with science
No causal explanation for free will
Science aims to predict our behaviour and control it, free will says people are able to control what they do
Why do mental disorders criticise free will
Schizophrenia- despite the patients longing for the symptoms to end, it is not optional and there is no free will in the matter
Which two approaches argue free will is an illusion
Behaviourism- one thinks you are making a choice but you are unaware of reinforcement histories
Psychodynamic- one thinks you are making a choice but it’s really driven by unconscious forces
Define the debate nature vs nurture
The extent to which particular aspects of behaviour are a product of either inherited or acquired influences
Define nature
Genetic, hormone, traits and dispositions
Define nurture
Environment, culture and experience
Define nativist
Certain skills or abilities are hardwired into our brains at birth
Define empiricist
Gaining knowledge through experiences
Define heredity
The process by which traits are passed down from one generation to the next
Define interactionist approach
View that both nature and nurture work together to shape human behaviour
Describe the medical condition Phenylketonuria in relation to the nature nurture debate
Caused by the inheritance of two recessive genes, people with PKU are unable to hydrolyse amino acids phenylalamine which builds up in blood and the brain causing mental retardation
This disorder is not expressed because of an altered environment
Describe psychopathology in relation to nature and nurture
Twin studies- nestadt- high concordance rate
Not 100% so nurture must also be a factor
Implications of Accepting nature alone
Removes moral responsibility- unable to change yourself
Implications of nurture
In therapy- changing environment changes behaviour
What is the theory on niche picking
People create their own nurture by actively selecting environments that are appropriate for Their nurture
Eg an aggressive child will choose an aggressive environment
What are epigenetics
Material that acts like a set of switches to turn genes on/off
Life experiences such as nutrition or stress control these switches
These switches are passed to subsequent generations
Define the holism v reductionism debate
What’s the best way to explain behaviour: one component or the whole person
Define holism
Preceding the whole experience rather than the individual features and the relations between them
Define reductionism
Belief human behaviour is best explained when broken down into smaller parts
Define biological reductionism
Explains social and psychological phenomena at a lower biological level
Define environmental reductionism
Explain behaviour in terms of stimulus- response links to what has been learned through experience
Define parsimony
Means simplest theory with the least assumptions and variables with greatest explanatory power
Define levels of explanation
Lowest level- considers biological explanations - brain genes hormones
Middle level- psychological explanation
Highest level- social and cultural explanations
Explain how elements of biopsychology are reductionist
Genetics and neurochemical imbalances are frequently highlighted as the main causes of disorders - biologically reductionist
How are is ocd reductionist
Biologically reductionist - OCD
Drug therapy
How is social influence holistic
Conformity and group behaviour may show characteristics that are greater than the individual alone
Evaluate biological reductionism
Drugs do not cure the underlying issues and so do not have a long term impact
Drugs also have side effects which can sometimes be highly dangerous
Give an example of environmental reductionism
Phobias
- classical conditioning and operant conditioning
- a strength of being environmentally reductionist is that it gives people the power to change their phobias (through treatment)
Criticise environmental reductionism
How her one weakness of environmental reductionism is animal studies-
Explanations are limited because you can’t generalise animals onto humans
What do experiments reduce things down to
What does this allow to be establish
Isolated variables
Establish a causal relationship
Criticise experimental reductionism
Experimental research operationalises variables in behaviour such as eyewitness memory, the results however may be more different in real life
Eg effect of anxiety on EWT
- Johnson and Scott
- yuille and cutshall
What scientific assumption does reductionism work with
Parsimony
Give a strength of experimental reductionism
Reductionism is in-line with the scientific approach and the findings can be replicated and verified
Therefore reductionism has greater test ability than a holistic explanation
Strength of holism
Gives a more complete understanding
Eg the Stanford prisoners behaviour can only be understood when considered within the context of the prison and relationships between prisoners and guards
Criticism of holism methods
Does not fit with scientific testing
Holism does not have isolated variables- cannot establish causes and effect
Holistic view lacks scientific credibility
Criticise reductionism
A limitation of reductionist view is that if only lower levels of expansion are considered then the true meaning may be overlooked
Eg SSRIs given to people with OCD
Describe interactions in reductionism
Diathesis= biology- predisposition Stress= psychological- trauma
Interaction is between levels of explanation
Define the idiographic nomothetic debate
What is the best way to investigate behaviour
Should we focus on the individual you are dealing with
Or make generalisations about behaviour
Define idiographic
An approach to research that focuses more on the individual case as a means of understanding behaviour
QUALITATIVE
Define nomothetic
Attempts to study human behaviour through the development of general principles and universal laws
QUANTITATIVE
Define qualitative
Non numerical- data is collected through interviews and open questions
Define quantitative
Numerical and can be statistically analysed
Define humanism in terms of being idiographic
Described each individual as unique and having free will
Unable to gain qualitative data
How is bowlbys maternal deprivation hypothesis nomothetic
If a child does not have a secure attachment with mother- will be affection less psychopath
❌kolouchova twins demonstrated maternal deprivation could be overcome
How is behaviourism nomothetic
Generalised everyone could learn through reinforcement
How does psychodynamic approach have elements of both idiographic or nomothetic
- case study method qualitative (little Hans)
- but nomothetic- assumed universal laws of behaviour and personality development
Implications of adopting a nomothetic approach
X2
❌generalisations overlook the richness of human experience
❌quantitative data does not include detail, loses insight into personal experiences
Implications of an idiographic approach
X2
❌qualitative data relies on subjective interpretation - open to bias
❌more difficult to compare and analyse data
Instead of interactionism what does idiographic nomothetic approach suggest
They are complementary rather than contradictory
how does the multi store model display the multi store model
through laboratory based research alongside unique case study examples
what are the four aims of science, which are typically idiographic or nomothetic
1) to describe (i)
2) to understand (i)
3) to predict (n)
4) to control (n)
name the three types of law
1) classifying people into groups
2) principles of behaviour
3) establishing dimensions
What are the three nomothetic laws
1) classic thing people into groups- eg DSM- IV
2) principles of behaviour - can be applied to people in general
3) establishing dimensions on which people can be placed
