Issues And Debates

Question 1

What is alpha bias in gender?

Answer 1

A tendency to exaggerate differences between men and women

The consequence is that theories devalue one gender in comparison to the other

Question 2

What is androcentrism?

Answer 2

Centred or focused on men, often to the neglect or exclusion of women

Question 3

What is beta bias in gender?

Answer 3

A tendency to ignore/minimise differences between men and women

These theories ignore questions about the lives of women - or assumes that insights derived from studies of men will apply equally well to women

Question 4

What is gender bias?

Answer 4

The differential treatment or representation of men and women based on stereotypes rather than real differences

Question 5

What is universality?

Answer 5

The aim to to develop theories that apply to all people - may include real differences

Question 6

Who proposed the ideas of alpha bias and beta bias in gender?

Answer 6

Rachel Hare-Mustin and Jeanne Marecek (1988)

Question 7

How has androcentrism generally affected psychology?

Answer 7

Most of psychology has been very much male-dominated

Almost all psychologists were men therefore their theories tended to be of a male world view

Question 8

How did Freud’s theories reflect the culture that he lived in?

Answer 8

In 19th century men were more powerful + more educated, regarded as superior to women

Question 9

What problems were found in Freud’s psychoanalysis theory?

Answer 9

The theory was alpha-biased

The theory viewed femininity as failed masculinity - he exaggerated the difference between men & women

Question 10

What did Josselson (1988) point out about Freud’s psychoanalysis theory?

Answer 10

Women are seen as inferior to men as they’re jealous of men’s penises (penis envy) as they don’t experience castration anxiety

Women must be morally inferior - as they have a weaker identification with their mothers

Question 11

Give an example of a theory with alpha bias (gender)

Answer 11

Freud’s psychoanalysis theory - women believed to be inferior to men

Question 12

How can androcentrism cause beta bias?

Answer 12

People assume that what’s true for men is also true for women, therefore one gender is minimised (usually women)

Question 13

Give an example of beta bias (gender)

Answer 13

The fight-or-flight stress response

Research was conducted on men & it was assumed that male-only samples wouldn’t matter as it would be the same for women

Question 14

What did Shelley Taylor at al. propose that women did instead of fight-or-flight?

Answer 14

Tend and befriend

This is because it ensures the survival of their offspring

Question 15

What is cultural bias?

Answer 15

The tendency to judge all people in terms of your own cultural assumptions

This distorts or biased your judgement

Question 16

What is cultural relativism?

Answer 16

The view that behaviour cannot be judged properly unless it is viewed in the context of the culture in which it originates

Question 17

What is culture?

Answer 17

The rules, customs, morals and ways of interacting that bind together members of a society or some other collection of people

Question 18

What is ethnocentrism?

Answer 18

Seeing things from the point of view of ourselves and our social group

Evaluating other groups of other people using the standards & customs of one’s own culture

Question 19

What are the 5 evaluations for gender bias?

Answer 19

• Feminist psychology
• Bias in reseach methods
• Reverse alpha bias
• Avoiding beta bias
• Assumptions need to be examined

Question 20

Write a PEEL paragraph for feminist psychology as an evaluation of gender bias

Answer 20

P - A way to counter androcentrism is using feminist perspective, Carol Gilligan did this.

E - Feminist psychology, branch of psychology that aims to reduce inbalances in theories - there are real biological sex differences but social stereotypes contribute more. Suggests using evidence that women are ‘inferior’ to provide women w more support

E - Eagly, claimed women are worse leaders, knowledge should be used to develop training programmes to create a future with more women as leaders

L - Feminist psychology seeks to understand behaviour in terms of social processes - means greater equality

Question 21

Write a PEEL paragraph for bias in research methods as an evaluation of gender bias

Answer 21

P - Criticism of psychological theories & studies is they are gender biased as methods used are biased

E - Rosenthal (1966) - found male experimenters are more pleasent & encouraging to f ppts than m - resulted in m ppts performing worse in task

E - Feminists argue lab studies disadvantage women as controlled findings don’t represent real world experiences - Eagly & Johnson’s meta analysis, found m & f leadership style more similar in real world than lab settings

L - Suggest serious issues with data collection methods - creates a false picture of m & f differences

Question 22

Write a PEEL paragraph for reverse alpha bias as an evaluation of gender bias

Answer 22

P - Counter gender bias - develop theories that show differences between m & f but emphasise the value of women

E - Feminist research where instances show women are better

E - Cornwell et al. (2013) - research shows women are better at learning bc they are more attentive, flexible & organised

L - Research challanges the steroetype that in any gender differences the male position must be better & chnages people’s preconceptions

Question 23

Write a PEEL paragraph for avoiding beta bias as an evaluation of gender bias

Answer 23

P - Equal treatment for m & w (beta bias) has given women greater opportunities - could be a disadvantage

E - Hare-Mustin & Marecek (1988) - arguing for equality between m & w draws attention away from women’s special needs

E - In a society where one group holds most of the power, natural actions benefit the froup with power - e.g. equal parental leave ignores biological demands of pregnancy, childbirth & breatfeeding, this disadvantages women

L - Suggests we should avoid beta bias to ensure that significant differences are taken care of

Question 24

Write a PEEL paragraph for aussumptions needing to be examined as an evaluation of gender bias

Answer 24

P - Examples of gender bias continue unchallanged in theories

E - Darwin’s theory of sexual selection portrays women as choosy & males as the ones who compete to be chosen - pays for woman to be selective as the cost (to produce eggs) are high - theory challanged as it is rooted in Victorian ideas about gender roles

E - Has been recognised women are equally competitive & agressive when needed - e.g. DNA evidence supports idea that it is a good adaptive strategy for f to mate with more than one m - puts females in competition with other females

L - Highlights importance of challanging gender research to ensure that research portrays a valid picture of women

Question 25

What is alpha bias in culture?

Answer 25

Thoeries that assume there arfe real & enduring differences between cultural groups

Question 26

Give an example of alpha bias in culture

Answer 26

The distinction that is often made between individualist and collectivist cultures (e.g. US and Japan)

Individualist cultures - expected to be less conformistas they are less orientated to group norms

Question 27

Which study looks at individualism/collectivism in alpha bias?

Answer 27

Takano & Osaka (1999) - reveiwed 15 studies that compared US & Japan in terms of individualism/collectivism

14/15 studies did not support the common view about differences in conformity

Question 28

What is beta bias in culture?

Answer 28

Theories that ignore/minimise cultural differences

This is done by assuming all people are the same & therefore it is reasonableto use the same theories/methods with all cultural groups

Question 29

Give an example of beta bias in culture

Answer 29

Intelligence testing - psychologists use IQ tests devised by Western to study intelligence inmany different cultures

Psychologists assume that their view of intelligence applies to allcultures equally

Western cultures see intelligence as something within the individual - collectivist cultures see intelligence as a functional relationship depending on shared knowledge between the individual & society

Question 30

How is ethnocentrism an example of alpha bias?

Answer 30

One’s own culture is considered to be different & better

Concequence of this is other cultures & their practices are devalued

i.e. individualist attitudes towards attachment where independence is valued - dependence is seen as indesirable (the oppisite in collectivist cultures)

Question 31

How is ethnocentrism an example of beta bias?

Answer 31

If psychologics believe their world view is the only view

i.e. IQ testing - it was deemed acceptable to use American IQ tests all over the world becase it was assumed that American standard was universal

Question 32

How can cultural relavtivism lead to an alpha bias?

Answer 32

The assumption of real differences lead physchologists to overlook universal differences i.e. that men and women are different

Question 33

How can cultural relativism lead to a beta bias?

Answer 33

For example the definition of abnormality in defining mental disorders

Behaviours that are considered normal in one culture may not be in another - assuming the same rule apply universally means some poeple are diagnosed as mentally ill but the diagnosis is relative to our culture

Question 34

What are the evaluations for cultural bias?

Answer 34

• Indigenous psychologies

- Wha

Question 35

Write a PEEL paragraph for Indigenous psychologies as an evaluation for cultural bias

Answer 35

P - Counter ethnocentrism in psychology to encourage indigenous psychologies

E - Afrocentrism movement - all black people have roots in Africa therefore psychological theories concerning them should be African centred & express African values

E - Eueropean values & cultures devalue non-European people & are irrelevant to the life and culture of people of African descent

L - Has led to the development of theories relevant to the life & culture of people of African descent

Question 36

Write a PEEL paragraph for the emic-etic distionction as an evaluation for cultural bias

Answer 36

P - ‘emic’ approach - emphasises the uniqueness of every culture by focusing on culturally specific phenomena

E - Problem: the findings tend to be significant only to the understanding of behaviour within that culture

E - ‘etic’ approcah seeks universals of behaviour - avoid cultural bias by using indigenous researchers in each cultural setting - David Buss et al. study of mate preference, collected data from different cultures

L - This approach allows researchers to investigate universal behaviour, whule avoiding cultural bias

Question 37

Write a PEEL paragraph for bias in research methods as an evaluation for cultural bias

Answer 37

P - Cultural bias can be dealt with simply by using studies with samples from different cultural groups

E - 1998 Smith & Bond study found 66% of studies were American, 32% European and 2% from rest of world

E - Psychologly findings are unrepresentative on a global scale - a randomly selected US student was 4,000 times more likely to be a ppt in a study than a random non-Westener

L - Unrepresentative findings - in Western cultures there is a pressing need for more research with samples from different cultural groups

Question 38

Write a PEEL paragraph for concequences of cultural bias as an evaluation for cultural bias

Answer 38

P - Danger of culturally biased research is that it helps create or reinforce sterotypes

E - US army IQ tests - used just before WW1 is good example. Tests showed European immigrants fell below Americans in terms of IQ & African Amercans fell at bottom of the scale

E - Data reinforced cultural biases towards certain groups of people

L - The concequences was enduring sterotypes concerning ethnic groups & thier IQ

Question 39

Write a PEEL paragraph for the worldwide psychology community as an evaluation for cultural bias

Answer 39

P - researchers in psychology can travel more now

E - allows increased understanding of other cultures at a personal & professional level

E - David Buss has researched 37 different cultures through being able to travel

L - means a greater exchange of ideas - reduces ethnocentrism in psychology & enables understanding of cultural relativism

Question 40

What is determinism?

Answer 40

Behaviour is controlled by external or internal factors acting upon the individual

Question 41

What is free will?

Answer 41

Each individual has the power to make choices about their behaviour

Question 42

What is hard determinism?

Answer 42

The view that all behaviour can be predicted and there is no free will

The two are incompatible

Question 43

What is soft determinism?

Answer 43

A version of determinism that allows some free will

Question 44

What is biological determinism?

Answer 44

Genetic influences on behaviour (our genes control our actions)

Research into the human genome has shown this

Question 45

Give an example of biological determinism

Answer 45

Research on intelligence has identified particular genes found in people with high intelligence - the IGF2R gene (Hill et al.)

Question 46

In modern psychology, are nomothetic or ideographic designs more commonly used?

Answer 46

Nomothetic designs are more commonly used

Question 47

What are the requirements for an experiment using a nomothetic design?

Answer 47

• Large sample
• Numerical data
• Comparing mean, variance, SD, etc

Question 48

How reliable are nomothetic designed studies provide accurate predictions?

Answer 48

They make accurate predictions due to the law of large numbers

Question 49

What is ideographic like?

Answer 49

• Focus on individual & recognises uniqueness
• Private, subjective & concious experiences
• Qualitative methods of investigation

Question 50

What is nomothetic like?

Answer 50

• Attempts to establish laws & generalisations
• Objective knowledge through scientific methods
• Quantitative methods of investigation

Question 51

What does ideographic suggest about people?

Answer 51

Suggests everyone is unique & therefore everyone should be studied in an individual way

Question 52

Does ideographic have general laws?

Answer 52

No general laws are possible because of chance, free will & uniqueness of individuals

Question 53

What sort of data is ideographic normally measured in?

Answer 53

Qualitative data - through investigating individuals in a personal & detailed way

Question 54

What are the methods of measurement in ideographic?

Answer 54

• Case study
• Unstructural interview
• Self-reports
• Autobiographies
• Personal documents

Question 55

What are the strengths of ideographic methods?

Answer 55

• Provides more complete or global understanding of the individual
• Satisfies key aim of science (description & understanding of behvaiour)
• Findings can serve as source of ideas/hypotheses for later study
• Focuses mean the individual feels valued & unique