issues and debates AO1 Flashcards
psychology paper 3
what is gender bias?
when psychological theories give a view that isnt representative of men or womens experiences and behaviours
what is universality?
the aim to create theories that apply to all people regardless of gender or experience differences
what is bias?
tendancy to treat a group differently to another
what is alpha bias?
research that exaggerates differences between males and females usually fixed
what research links to alpha bias?
freuds theory of psychosexual development
- during phallic stage of development both boys and girls develop desire for opposite gender parent
- boys form castration anxiety, anxiety resolved when boy identifies with father
- girls eventual identification with mum is weaker so superego weaker
- girls seen to be morally inferior to men
what is beta bias?
research which ignores or minimises sex differences.
what research links with beta bias?
research into flight or fight biology research generally favoured using male animals
- assumed both woman and men respond the same in flight or flight
- research said the women do tend and befriend instead (release of love hormone)
- reduces fight or flight and enhances preference
what is androcentrism?
research conducted on males and behaviour being judged to the male standard and see females as abnormal links to aschs research
what is culture bias?
report all phenomena through the lens of ones own culture ignoring the effects that cultural differences might have on behaviour
what is ethnocentrism?
seeing the world only from ones own cultural perspectuve and believing that this perspective is normal and correct
what research does ethnocentrism linked to?
ainsworth the strange situation
- conducted research on attachment types
- led to misinterpretation of childrearing practices in other countries which deviated from american norm
what is cultural relativism?
behaviour can be properly understood only if cultural context is taken into consideration links to ainsworth strange situation
what is etic approach?
looks at behaviour from outside a given culture and attempts to describe it as universal
what is emic approach?
functions from inside a culture and attempts to describe those behaviours as universal
what is free will?
notion that humans can make choices and their behaviour isnt determined by external/biological factors
what is determinism?
view that individuals behaviour is shaped or controlled by internal or external forces
what is hard determinism?
idea that internal/external forces shape our behaviour - like biological approach
what is soft determinism?
idea our behaviour may be predictable but there is room for personal choice from limited range of possibilities - like cognitive approach
what is nature in psychology?
view that behaviour is the product of innate biological or genetic factors. early nativists believe all human characteristics are innate
what is environmental determinism?
type of hard determinism that believes that behaviour is caused by environmental factors - skinner argues that free will is an illusion and behaviour is result of conditioning
what is psychic determinism?
type of soft determinism and that behaviour is caused by unconscious conflicts that we cant control - freud believed that free will is an illusion but emphasises influence of of biological drives and instincts
what is nature in psychology?
the view that behaviour is the product of innate biological and genetic factors. early nativists argued that all human characteristics are innate
what research links to nature in psychology?
- bowlby proposed that children come into the world are biologically programmed to form attachments to help them survive so attachments behaviours are naturally selected
- many psychological disorders said to have genetic components
what is nuture in psychology?
refers to the influence of experience and environments empiricists argued that the mind is a blank state at birth which is shaped by environment - later became an important feature of behavioural approach
what research links to nuture in psychology?
behavioural psychologists explain attachment in terms of classical conditioning and through many repeated pairings
what is the nature nuture debate?
tries to find answer to question on whether our behaviour is influenced more by nature or nuture
what is the research links to nature nuture debate?
researcher suggests that babys attachment type is determined by warmth and continuity of parental love but other researchers suggest babys innate personality affects baby attachment type so environment and genetics interact
what is diathesis stress model?
model suggests that behaviour is caused by biological/environmental vulnerability which is expressed when coupled with a biological/environmental stressor/trigger
what is epigenetics?
change in our genetic activity without genes changing themselves. lifestyle etc makr our DNA genes which switch genes on or off. epigenetic factors go on to influence the genetic code of our children
what is reductionism?
belief that human behaviour can be explained by breaking it into small parts
what is holism?
idea human behaviour is viewed as a whole integrated experience
what is holism reductionism debate?
whether holism or reductionism is a better approach to understand human behaviour
what are levels of explanations?
suggests there are different ways of vieweing the same phenomena in psychology
name some examples of levels of explanations
socio cultural level physical level neurochemical level etc
what is biological reductionism?
when biological psychologists try reduce behaviour to physical level and explain in terms of neurones hormones brain structure etc
what research links to biological reductionism?
drugs that increase serotonin have been found to be effective in treating OCD - biological explanations of OCD
what is environmental reductionism?
behaviourists assume that all behaviour is learnt through experience this learning can be reduced to simple blocks like S - R (stimulus response)
what research links with environmental reductionism?
learning theory of attacgment reduces idea of love to learned association between food and the person feeding resulting in pleasure
what is the holistic approach in psychology?
looks at system as a whole and arguing the whole is better than small parts of system
what research links to holistic approach?
humanistic psychology focuses on individuals experience which is something cant be reduced to biological units use qualitative methods to investigate
what is idiographic approach?
psychologists focus on the individual and emphasise unique personal experience of human nature. it doesnt formulate general laws
what are idiographic methods?
use qualitative research through interviews and data will be used to find themes and conclusions are made
subjective research psychologists working with idiographic approach dont believe objectivity in psych is possible
what research links to idiographic approach?
humanistic and psychodynamic approaches case studies like little hans etc
what is nomothetic approach?
psychologists are concerned with establishing general laws based on studies of large groups of people
what are nomothetic methods?
- quantitative research looks at traditional models of scientific research hypotheses are formulated sample of people assessed numerical data produced for stats
- objective research laws of behaviour are only possible if assessment are delivered in standardised objective way
what research links to nomothetic approach?
aschs research into conformity used large sample of participants which led to conclusions about effects of group size etc on conformity
what are ethical implications?
consquences of any research into terms of the effects om individual participants or on the way in certain groups regarded
what is social sensitivity?
studies which have potential consequences or implications for participants of research or individuals represented by research
what are implications for the research process?
- research question (qeuestion may influence how data interpreted)
- dealing with participants ethical issues really important in socially sensitive research
- the way findings are used (researched have to know in advance how theyll use data and be careful so dont reinforce stereotypes etc)
does social sensitivity and ethical implications affect all research?
yes but some more than others like memory may have less social sensitivity than research into depression
