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
