Issues and Debates Flashcards
What does universality mean
research can be applied to everyone
How is gender different from biological sex
gender is the behavioural, cultural and psychological characteristics of male/female
Name and explain three types of gender bias
researchers only using p’s from one gender (usually male) and not making this clear in the report
researchers sometimes use male behaviour as a standard and female behaviour is a deviation from the norm
biological differences are emphasised here
What is beta bias
where genuine gender differences are ignored or reduced
What is alpha bias
when exisiting gender differences are shown or exaggerated, shown as fixed and inevitable
What is androcentrism
result of beta bias, one gender researched but generalised to both genders
female behaviour is misunderstood, misinterpreted and often confirms negative stereotypes
What are some gender issues in researching
lack of women in higher roles so they cannot voice concerns
male researchers are more likely to get their work published
research with gender differences is more likely to be published as its ‘more interesting’ which gives a distorted view
What are some positives with gender researching
modern researchers are becoming more aware of the affect of their assumptions
reflexivity being introduced - greater awareness of personal bias
Name some criteria Judith Worrell suggested to avoid gender bias
women should be studied in a real life context
women should genuinely participate and not be objects
diversity in women samples should be looked at also
Where is gender bias most commonly found
in research questions question formulation research method eg lab experiments diagnostics media
How do we overcome gender bias
feminist psychologists join more groups
stop looking at female behaviour as abnormal
What is culture bias
to give an advantage to one culture over another and to ignore differences between cultures
Who carries out psychological research
mainly a white, euro-american enterprise predominately white middle class participants
Describe universality for culture
when there are one set of characteristics that are applied to all, despite cultural differences
Explain imposed etic
when we impose western beliefs on all other cultures then judge them by it
What is an emic
a construct that is specific to particular cultures
Name some problems with cultural bias
can cause conflict, misunderstanding, superiority and acts of aggression towards certain cultures
Why is cultural relativism important
we need to understand that certain theories only apply to where they were constructed
Explain ethnocentrism
when a research only takes into account one culture
How can we avoid culture bias
cross-cultural research and transcultural research should be encouraged
What is free will
we are self-determining and responsible for all of our actions
we are able to reject the forces of biological or environmental factors
Which approach advocates for free will
humanistic approach
What is hard determinism also known as
fatalism
What does hard determinism mean
that everything we do is because of internal and external factors that we cannot control
What is soft determinism
all human action has a cause but people have conscious mental control over the way they behave
What approach advocates for soft determinism
cognitive approach
What is biological determinism
physiological and neurological processes are not under our conscious control
What approach advocates for bio determinism
biological approach
What is environmental determinism
all behaviour is the result of conditioning and that free will is an illusion
What does choice equal in environmental determinism
sum total of reinforcement contingencies that have acted on us in our lives
What approach advocates for environ determinism
behaviourist
What is psychic determinism
Human behaviour is determined and directed by unconscious conflicts, repressed in childhood
free will is an illusion, and there are no accidents
What approach advocates for psychic determinism
psychodynamic approach
Name the fors and againsts for determinism
for - consistent with the aims of science and allows behaviour to be predicted and controlled
against - not consistent with the aims of our legal system and theories become unfalsifiable
Name the fors and againsts for free will
for - consistent with our day to day experiences, the concept has a positive effect on how we behave
against - Libet (1985) and Soon (2008) found brain activity proceeded a behavioural response by up to 10 seconds
Define nature
the view that behaviour is a product of innate biological or genetic factors
Define heredity
the process in which traits are passed down from one generation to the next
Define nurture
the view that behaviour is a product of environmental influence
Define the interactionist approach
both nature and nurture are linked and both shape human behaviour
What is an empiricist
someone who believes in nurture over nature
Name the original nativist
Rene Descartes
Name the original empiricist
John Locke
What studies support nature
twin studies
What is a way we measure nature
the heritability coefficient, which shows that genetics has an important influence on intelligence
What is a way we measure nurture
Lerner identified levels of environment - prenatal, social, cultural and historical
A greater shared environment could explain what
greater hereditability
What model outlines the interactional approach
diathesis-stress model
What does this model suggest
Suggests that psychopathology is caused by a biological/genetic vulnerability (the diathesis) which is only expressed when coupled with a biological or environmental ‘trigger’ (the stressor).
What is epigenetics
change in genetic activity without changing the genetic code
What is constructivism
Psychologically supported nature vs nurture - individuals actively seek out nurture that is appropriate for their nature
What does reductionist look at
trying to explain or understand a behaviour due to one factor
What does holistic suggest we look at
the whole picture by considering the interaction of a number of factors at different levels
What is the debate of holistic vs reductionist about
which is a better explanation for understanding behaviour
What is parsimony
the simplest explanation is the best explanation
Which approaches are the most reductionist (lower levels)
the biological ones - biochemistry, physiology and genetics
Which are the most holistic (higher levels)
social/cultural - social cognition, social groups
Which are the middle levels
psychological - associations and emotion
Why is the biological approach so reductionist
as it reduces the explanation down to genetic and neurochemical influences
Why is holism good
it recognises that human beings are complex
Name a negative about holism
it is less scientific and difficult to predict behaviour
Name some positives about environmental reductionism
parsimony - easy to understand without over detailed explanations
successfully explains behaviour such as phobias
Name some negatives about environmental reductionism
it is too simplistic and the focus is on learned association and ignores other factors
Name some positives about biological reductionism
scientific as it isolates a single variable and we can use experiments to establish a causation
Name some negatives about biological reductionism
ignores learned behaviours and social factors
too simplistic/incomplete explanation
What is the idiographic vs nomothetic debate
whether it is more important to look at the individual as a unique being or should we consider them as part of a group
Define idiographic
understanding behaviour through studying individual cases
Define nomothetic
understanding behaviour through developing general laws that apply to all people
What type of data does idiographic research bring
qualitative/less scientific eg thoughts and feelings through interviews
What does phenomology
the study of the subjective experience
Who do idiographic researchers focus on
the individual, other people’s point of view is worthless to them
What does ‘idio’ and ‘nomos’ mean in latin
idio - belonging to oneself
nomos - law
What is the main feature of the nomothetic approach
identifying similarities between people, generating laws and principles governing behaviour
What are the three types of general law
classification, establishing principles, establishing dimensions
What type of data does nomothetic approach bring
quantitative and more scientific
What are the positives of idiographic approach
rich and detailed information
can uncover causes for behaviour that nomo cant see
What is a negative of idiographic approach
cannot generalise findings to wider population
methods are not standardised
What are the positives of nomothetic approach
can generalise to wider population
methods are standardised and objective
What is a negative of nomothetic approach
Generalised laws and principles may not apply to an individual
Understanding is often superficial
When do ethical issues arise
when there is a conflict between psychology’s need for findings while preserving the rights and dignity of participants
Who do ethical implications concern
partcipants
their families
sub groups represented in research
the researchers
Name a wider ethical implication that researchers cannot control
how the media represent their findings
Define socially sensitive research
studies in which there are potential implications either directly for the participants or the people
What did Seiber and Stanley say researchers should be mindful of in socially sensitive research
What are the implications
how the research might be used
how valid is the research
What is reflexivity
researchers acknowledging and embracing bias
