Issues And Debates Flashcards
Gender Bias - AO1 + AO2?
When considering human behaviour, bias is a tendency to treat one individual or group in a different way to others. In the context of gender bias, psychological research or theory may offer a view that does not justifiably represent the experience and behaviour of men and women (usually women). Gender bias can have huge implications on the universality (the ability to apply findings to all humans) of findings.
There are three ways gender bias can occur; having an all male sample; emphasising biological differences and androcentrism.
Androcentrism is when the behaviour of men is taken as the norm and that the behaviour of women, if it differs, is therefore abnormal. Women’s behaviour may be pathologized, that is, taken as a sign of psychological instability.
A further aspect of gender bias is alpha bias, which emphasises the difference between males and females. One topic this applies to is social influence in particular Milgram’s research on obedience. The initial study, which is the most often cited, was a male only sample and Milgram did not hide this fact. However, the findings have been used to explain all obedience to an authority figure from both males and females.
Finally, there is also beta bias which instead downplays the differences between the genders. This is shown through biopsychology, in particular the fight-or-flight response (that in a threatening situation an individual is likely to flight or fight/ stay and fight or run away which is documented as being universal. However, research by Lee and Harley (2012) indicates that women have a slightly different reaction and that they are more likely to ‘tend and befriend’ showing how these results cannot be generalised to both genders.
Idiographic and nomothetic - AO1 + AO2?
The term ‘idiographic’ means ‘own’ or ‘private’. Psychologists who take an idiographic approach focus on the individual, and emphasise the unique personal experience of human nature. This means they favour qualitative research methods, such as the case study, unstructured interviews and thematic analysis which allow an in-depth insight into individual behaviour. The idiographic approach does not seek to formulate laws or generalise results to others.
One example of a topic that the idiographic approach relates to is memory, the case study of KF in particular. KF experienced a motorbike accident. His short-term forgetting of auditory information was greater than his forgetting of visual information, suggesting that short-term memory has multiple components. KF undermines the Multi-Store Model of Memory suggesting that STM is not a singular component. Therefore, an individual case study can highlight flaws within a theory and significantly undermine other research.
The term ‘nomothetic’ relates to ‘law’. Psychologists who adopt this approach are mainly concerned with studying what we share with others. Psychologists who take a nomothetic approach are concerned with establishing general laws, based on the study of large groups of people. This means that experiments, correlations, psychometric testing and other quantitative methods are favoured among nomothetic researchers.
One topic that the nomothetic approach can be applied to is psychopathology. Biological Psychologists take a nomothetic approach when explaining psychological disorders, such as OCD and depression. They typically pinpoint biological factors, such as neurotransmitters, that are responsible for such disorders and use biological therapies (e.g. drugs) to treat all patients.
Culture bias - AO1 + AO2?
Culture bias refers to a tendency to ignore cultural differences and interpret all phenomena through the ‘lens’ of one’s own culture which ultimately impacts the ability of psychologists being able to universalise (apply the theory to all people) their findings to other cultures. Psychologists argue that culture is ignored in many studies within psychology, meaning that many human behaviours have been mistakenly universalised to non-western cultures.
Ethnocentrism is a type of culture bias and involves judging other cultures by the standards and values of one’s own culture. This can be caused by the belief of superiority in one’s own culture, which may lead to prejudice and discrimination towards other cultures. In the topic of attachment, we study Ainsworth’s Strange Situation, which is criticised as it only reflects the norms and values of American culture. German mothers were seen as cold and rejecting, rather than encouraging independence for their children. This was simply due to different child-rearing practices.
Cultural relativism is the idea that norms and values, including ethics and moral standards, can only be meaningful and understood within specific social and cultural contexts. Berry identified etic approaches (researching one culture and applying the findings to other cultures) and emic approaches (researching a culture and identifying behaviours that are specific to that culture) in the study of human behaviour. Ainsworth’s study is also an example of imposed etic, e.g. she studied behaviour within a single culture (America) and then assumed her ideal attachment type could be applied universally. Emic approaches are shown in psychopathology; some of Jahoda’s classifications of ideal mental health are specific to Western cultures. E.g. the description of personal achievement in the concept of self-actualisation would be considered self-indulgent in non-Western communities because it does not refer to the development of a community. Therefore, not all of Jahoda’s criteria can be understood in every cultural context.
Free will and determinism - AO1 + AO2?
Determinism is the idea that our behaviour is determined by internal (e.g. hormones) and external (e.g parents) forces that we cannot control. There are two main types of determinism; hard determinism is the idea that forces are outside of our control, e.g. biology shapes our behaviour; and soft determinism is the idea that our behaviour is controlled by the environment only to a certain extent and that free will is still possible.
There are a further three distinct types of determinism. Biological determinism refers to the idea that all human behaviour is innate and determined by genes. Environmental determinism is the view that behaviour is determined by forces outside of the individual, such as previous experiences learned through classical/behavioural conditioning. Psychic determinism claims that behaviour is the result of childhood experiences and innate drives (id, ego and superego). Biological determinism is shown in the topic of stress, in which acute and chronic stress are caused by the ‘fight or flight’ response to a stressful situation. The theory suggests that we are determined to feel the psychological effects of the fight or flight response, because we cannot control it.
Free will is the idea that we have a choice over the way we behave and individuals are free to choose their behaviour therefore a person is responsible for their behaviour. One topic that freewill applies to is psychopathology, in particular Rogers Client Centred therapy (to help people cope with problems of everyday living and suggests importance to control their own destiny and overcome difficulties), as it views humans as autonomous beings rather than determined by internal and external factors.
Holism and reductionism - AO1 + AO2?
Reductionism is the belief that human behaviour can be broken down into component parts and then explained. Reductionism is based on the scientific assumption of parsimony; complex phenomena should be explained in the simplest terms possible.
There are levels of explanation within this approach; the lowest level considers biological explanations (where behaviour is explained by neurochemicals, brain structure and genes); the middle level considers psychological explanations (e.g. cognitive and behavioural explanations); and the highest level considers social and cultural explanations (where behaviour is explained by influences from social groups). In the topic, addiction, we study the brain neurochemistry explanation for nicotine addiction. The theory states that nicotine addiction develops through the desensitisation hypothesis, in which nAChR receptors are continuously desensitized. This theory is criticized for being biologically reductionist, because it ignores other social and environmental factors by explaining nicotine addiction at a simplistic level.
Holism is the idea that human behaviour should be viewed as a whole integrated experience, and not as separate parts. Humanistic psychology advocates a holistic approach, as it argues that humans react to stimuli as an organised whole, rather than as a set of stimulus-response links. It uses qualitative methods to investigate all aspects of the individual, as well as the interactions between people. One topic that holism applies to is psychopathology, in particular Rogers treatment– Client Centred therapy (to help people cope with problems of everyday living and suggests importance to control their own destiny and overcome difficulties), as it views humans as a whole rather than reducing them down to one simple component.
Ethical implications - AO1 + AO2?
Ethical issues arise when there is a conflict between a psychologist’s need to gain valid research whilst preserving the rights and dignity of the participants. Ethical guidelines were established to help protect participants in research. Psychologists can control how participants are treated during a study, however, they have little control over how studies are interpreted by the media. In the Attachment topic, Bowlby’s theory of attachment suggests children form a special attachment with their mother in the critical period and this affects their ability of forming future relationships regarding the internal working model. His theory has contributed to childcare practices, but has also encouraged the view that a woman’s place it at home with their child, therefore contributing to women’s feeling of guilt for returning to work following childbirth.
Socially sensitive research involves studies in which there are potential consequences or implications either for the participants in the research or the individuals represented by the research. Some studies are subjected to greater social sensitivity. A study about cognitive processes in long-term memory is unlikely to have any consequences. However, a study investigating the link between race and IQ might be more damaging. Studies that tackle topics like sex, race, gender and IQ attract more attention. Sieber & Stanley highlighted three concerns the researcher should be mindful of concerning social sensitivity. The first is implications of the research, public policy and validity. An example of socially sensitive research comes from Cyril Burt, who used studies of genetically identical twins and found that IQ was largely genetic. His view influenced the Hadow report which led to the creation of the 11+ exam which affected generations of children even though there was a controversy as to whether Burt had falsified his research data.
Nature and nurture - AO1 + AO2?
Nativists (nature) suggest that human characteristics are innate, a result of heredity, the genetic transmission of characteristics from one generation to another. The heritability coefficient ranges from 0 to 1.0 and indicates the extent to which characteristics has genetic basis. One topic that takes a nativist stance is the evolutionary explanation for relationships. This theory views males and females to have various selective pressures therefore leading them to different strategies to maximise their reproductive potentials. This determines males and females behaviour according to biology and therefore excludes their ‘nature’/environment.
On the other hand, nurture suggests that environmental influence has an impact in characteristics. It can be pre-natal such as the mothers physical state, or postnatal, such as social conditions. One topic that focuses on nurture is the family systems theory (FST) within eating behaviours, which states that anorexia nervosa results from dysfunctional patterns of family interaction. The FST sees families as intensely connected emotionally and where changes in the functioning of one member affects the functioning of other members. For example, an adolescent fearing their parents’ divorce may lead to the child becoming anorexic to divert family attentions onto themselves.
Ethical implications - AO3?
One strength of ethical implications within psychology is the benefits of socially sensitive research. Scarr argues that studies of under-represented groups and issues may promote a greater sensitivity and understanding. This can help reduce prejudice and encourage acceptance. Similarly, socially sensitive research has benefited society, for instance, research into the unreliability of eyewitness testimony has reduced the risk of miscarriages of justice.
However, a problem of research which has ethical implications comes from Sieber and Stanley. They warn that the way in which research questions are phrased and investigated may influence the way in which findings are interpreted. Kitzinger and Coyle note how research into so called ‘alternative relationships’ has been guilty of a form of hetrosexual bias, within which homosexual relationships were compared and judged against hetrosexual norms.
A further weakness is the consequence of social control. In America in the 1920’s a large number of states enacted legislation that led to the compulsory sterilisation of many citizens on the grounds that they were feeble minded and a drain on society. The fact that socially sensitive research has been used to prop up discriminatory practices in the past is an argument against its widespread adoption.
Finally, socially sensitive research has been used by the government and other institutions to shape social policy, despite the sometimes dubious nature of its findings and without full consideration of the moderating effects of the environment on characteristics such as intelligence. In the 1950’s, research into the persuasive effects of subliminal messages was used by marketing companies to advertise their products. The findings concluded that sales of coca cola increased significantly when adverts popped up on cinema screens too quickly for people to be aware of them. Packard’s findings were later found to be made up, research that seeks to manipulate the public has ethical implications.
Gender bias - AO3?
A positive that has come out of gender bias is that many modern researchers are beginning to recognise the effect their own values and assumptions have on the nature of their work. They embrace it as a crucial aspect of the research process in general. In their study of the lack of women in executive positions in accountancy firms, Dambrin and Lambert (2008) include reflection on how their gender-related experiences influence their reading of events. Such reflexivity is an important development in psychology and may lead to greater awareness of the role of personal biases in shaping research in the future.
However, bias can have a negative and long lasting effect on individuals. Valeria Walkerdine reports how, in the 1930’s, ‘scientific’ research revealed how intellectual activity – such as attending university – would shrivel a woman’s ovaries and harm her chances of giving birth. These are often politically motivated arguments disguised as biological ‘facts’. This often creates a ‘double-standard’ in the way that the same behaviour is viewed from a male and female perspective. These ‘facts’ stopped women going to university in the 1930s, which, in some cases, would have had a long-lasting effect on their financial and social status.
Finally, feminist commentators such as Judith Worrell have put forward a number of criteria that should be adhered to in order to avoid gender bias in research. Woman should be studied within meaningful, real-life contexts and genuinely participate in research, rather than being the objects of study. Diversity within groups of women should be examined, rather than comparisons made between women and men. Finally, there should be greater emphasis placed on collaborative research methods that collect qualitative, as opposed to numerical data.
Idiographic and nomothetic - AO3?
A strength of the idiographic approach is its in-depth qualitative methods of investigation, provides a complete and global account of the individual. This may compliment the nomothetic approach by shedding further light on general laws or indeed by challenging such laws. E.g. a single case may generate hypotheses for further study (HM). The case of HM and other brain-damaged individuals may reveal important insights about normal functioning brains.
However, a strength of the nomothetic approach is that the processes involved in nomothetic research tend to be more scientific, mirroring those employed within the natural sciences – testing under standardised conditions, using data sets that provide group averages, statistical analysis, prediction and control, for example in the field of IQ testing. Such processes have enabled psychologists to establish norms of ‘typical’ behaviour (such as the average IQ of 100) arguably giving the discipline of psychology greater scientific credibility.
However, a weakness of the nomothetic approach is the preoccupation within the nomothetic approach on general laws, prediction and control has been accused of ‘losing the whole person’ within psychology’. Knowing that there is a 1% lifetime risk of developing schizophrenia tells us little about what life is like for someone who is suffering from this disorder. This suggests that in search for general rules, the nomothetic approach may sometimes overlook the richness of human experience.
Finally, some psychologists consider the eclectic approach as being better. Rather than seeing idiographic and nomothetic approaches as mutually exclusive alternatives, it is possible to consider the same issue or topic from both perspectives, depending on the nature of the research question. In research on gender development, there are attempts to establish general patterns of behaviour (Bem’s androgyny scale) alongside case study examples of atypical development. Ultimately, the goal of modern psychology is to provide rich, detailed descriptions of human behaviour as well as the explanation of such behaviour within the framework of general laws.
Culture bias - AO3?
One evaluation of cultural bias is that it should not be assumed that there is no such thing as universal human behaviour and that all psychology is culturally relative. Research suggests that basic facial expressions for emotion, such as happiness or disgust, are the same all over the human world. Critiques of Ainsworth’s Strange Situation should not obscure the fact that some features of human attachment, such as imitation and interactional synchrony, are universal. A full understanding of human behaviour requires the study of both universals and variation among individuals and groups.
A second evaluation of cultural bias is that there are problems with the operationalisation of variables. An issue with conducting research in different cultures is that the variables under review may not be experienced in the same way by all participants. E.g. The behavioural expression of emotions, such as aggression, may give rise to quite different behaviours within an indigenous population than they would in the West. In China, invasion of personal space is seen as normal, whereas in the West this may be seen as threatening or confrontational. Issues like these may affect interactions between the researcher and participants in cross-cultural studies and therefore could inadvertently affect the results.
Finally, cross-cultural studies may be easier to carry out now due to contemporary psychologists who are significantly more open-minded and well-travelled than previously, and have an increased understanding of other cultures at both a personal and professional level. E.g. International psychology conferences increase the exchange of ideas between psychologists which has helped to reduce ethnocentrism is psychology and enabled a better understanding and appreciation of cultural relativism.
Free will and determinism - AO3?
Humanistic psychologists argue against determinism, claiming that humans have self-determination and free will and that behaviour is not the result of any single cause. Furthermore, there is plenty of evidence to support humanistic psychologists. For example, identical twin studies typically find an 80% similarity in intelligence scores and a 40% similarity in the likelihood of depression. However, as identical twins share 100% of their genes, these results suggest that 20% is caused by other (environmental) factors. This demonstrates that biological determinism is unable to explain any particular behaviour, in this case, depression and intelligence. The same evidence indicates that no behaviour is completely environmentally determined. If identical twins only show an 80% likeness in terms of intelligence, it is therefore assumed that only 20% is caused by the environment.
While Freud appears to support a deterministic point of view, in that he argued that the unconscious controls our actions and our thoughts, the goal of psychoanalysis is to help patients overcome that force. This insight has been taken up by several neo-Freudians, and one of the most influential has been Erich Fromm. He argued that all of us have the potential to control our lives but that many of us are too afraid to do so, which means we give up our freedom and allow our lives to be governed by circumstance, other people, political ideology or irrational feelings. However, determinism is not inevitable, and Fromm sees the essence of human freedom in being the choice between good and evil.
Furthermore, many psychologists, theorists and legal experts do not favour a deterministic point of view. If behaviour is determined by outside forces, that provides a potential excuse for criminal acts: For example, Stephen Mobley argued that he was ‘born to kill’ after killing a pizza shop manager, because his family had a disposition towards violence and aggressive behaviour. An American court rejected this.
However, the idea of free will has attracted similar criticisms. Some psychologists, such as Skinner, argue that free will is an illusion. Skinner insisted that our behaviour is in fact environmentally determined, even if we are unable (or unwilling) to admit it. Also, more recent evidence provides some support for Skinner’s claim. For example, Libet et al. found that the motor regions of the brain become active before a person registers conscious awareness of a decision, i.e. the decision to move the finger was actually a pre-determined action of the brain. This strongly suggests that many responses are biologically determined and that although we may believe that we have free will, Skinner’s claim that free will is an illusion, may be correct.
Holism and reductionism - AO3?
One strength for the reductionist stance is that most experimental psychology is based on the assumption that human behaviour can be studied effectively through relatively simple experiments, where complex behaviour is reduced to isolated variables. This allows researchers to study different factors that influence human behaviour in a controlled manner while establishing a causal relationship.
Although experimental research has produced a wealth of findings, the results of highly controlled laboratory studies are often questionable. For example, the findings of laboratory
research examining the reliability of eye-witnesses (e.g. Loftus and Palmer) have not been confirmed by studies examining real-life witnesses (e.g.Yuille and Cutshall).
Furthermore, both biological and environmental reductionisms are viewed as scientific. Breaking complex behaviours into small constituent parts means that they can be scientifically tested, and over time explanations based on scientific evidence will emerge. In addition, biological reductionism has led to the development of biological therapies, such as drugs. For example, SSRIs are more effective than placebos at treating the symptoms of OCD and reduce the symptoms for up to three months after the treatment (Soomro et al., 2008). The use of SSRIs in patients with OCD has helped to reduce the anxiety associated with OCD, thus providing relief for some patients.
However a case for holism is that some psychologists argue that biological reductionism can lead to errors of understanding because it ignores the complexity of human behaviour. For example, to treat conditions like ADHD with drugs in the belief that the condition consists of nothing more than neurochemical imbalances is to mistake the symptoms of the phenomenon for its true cause. Ritalin may reduce these symptoms, but the conditions which gave rise to the ADHD have not been addressed. Whether or not this is true depends on what one thinks of as causation, but since success rates of drug therapy are so highly variable, the purely biological understanding seems inadequate.
Finally, the holistic explanation attempts to blend different levels of explanation; holistic theory and approaches attempt to provide a complete and realistic understanding of human behaviour. However, holistic explanations do not establish causation because they do not examine behaviour in terms of operationalised variables that can be manipulated and measured. This means that holistic explanations are viewed as unscientific.
Nature and nurture - AO3?
A strength of the nature view is that this has useful applications. Identifying behaviours that are inherited or specific to the individual can help us to intervene. Casey showed that specific regions of the brain influence the ability to delay gratification, which helps us consider how the brain activity can be enhanced to help people to put off till later a desired thing. Taking this view prevents people being blamed for their behaviour, so they are more likely to co-operate with any intervention designed to change it. However, this deny’s the possibility of culpability – people are not seen as responsible for their own behaviour.
A weakness of nature-nurture debate is the implications each one can have. Nativists suggest that inherited genetic makeup determines our characteristics and behaviour. This determinist stance can cause controversy in some socially sensitive research linking race, genetics and intelligence. In addition, empiricists (nature side) suggest that behaviour can be changed by altering environmental conditions. This means that desirable behaviour can be reinforced while undesirable behaviour is punished. This may advocate a model of society which controls citizens using these techniques. Both nature and nurture has weaknesses in its research and implication.
Furthermore, constructivism suggests how genes and the environment interact. It suggests that people create nurture by actively selecting environments appropriate for their nature. As a result, this affects their development, suggesting it is impossible to separate nature and nurture as both have influence on a child’s behaviour.
Finally, it may be more beneficial to use an interactionist approach, which takes into account both nature and nurture. This is because research into environments suggests that it is complicated to “tease out” the influence of the environment. Twin studies on monozygotic twins do not show exact concordance rates, suggesting that even siblings raised in the same family might not have had the exact same upbringing. This supports the conclusion that heredity and environment cannot be separated and therefore supports Tienari’s research.
