Issues and debates Flashcards
What is the first issue and debate
Gender and culture
What is universality?
to develop theories that apply to all peopple
what is alpha bias?
research that exaggerates differences between men and women
what is beta bias?
researh that ignores differences between men and women.
what is androcentrism?
centred on men
what is ethnocentrism?
judging others by the standards of your own culture.
what is cutural relativism?
behaviour cannot be properly judged unless it is viewed in the context of the culture in which it orignates.
Evaluation of gender bias
Misleading assumptions
As science leads to real world applications, it may provide scientific justification for denying women opportunites.
Evalution of gender bias
Sexism in research process
male researchers are more likely to have their work published than females.
Evaluation of gender bias
Feminist commentator views
women should be studied in meaningful, real life contexts.
diversity within groups of women should also be examined.
Collaborative research methods that collect qualitative data.
Evaluation of culture bias
Individualism-Collectivism
Western cultures place emphasis on independence, whereas collective cultures emphasise interconnectedness.
Research has suggested that culture bias is less of an issue than it once was, 14/15 studies that compared the USA and Japan found no evidence of traditional distinction.
Evaluation of culture bias
Cultrual relativism vs universality
it should not be assumed that all psychology is culturally relative and that there is no such thing as universal behaviour.
basic facial expressions are the same all around the world.
Evalution of culture bias
Unfamiliarity with research tradition
In western culture, aims and objectives of scientific enquiry is assumed, however, may not extend to cultures without a history of research.
What is the second issue and debate?
Free will and determinism
What is determinism?
behaviour is controlled by either internal or external forces acting upon the individual.
what is hard determinism?
all human behaviour has a cause and in principle it should be possible to identify all these cuases.
What is soft determinism?
there is some room for manoeuvre, in that peole have some conscious control over the way they behave.
What is biological determinism?
behaviour is determined by biological factors outside of out control.
What is environmental determinism?
Behaviour is determined by environmental factors outside of our control.
What is psychic determinism?
Behaviour is determined by unconscious conflicts outside of our control.
For determinism
consistent with the aims of science.
notion that human behaviour follows laws places psychology on an equal footing to other sciences.
the prediction and control of behaviour has led to the development of therapies and treatments.
Against determinism
not consistent with the way our legal system operates- offenders held morally acountable.
unfalsifiable.