ISSUES AND DEBATES IN PSYCHOLOGY Flashcards
What is universitality
Any underlying characteristics of human beings that is capable of being applied to all, despite differences of experience and upbringing.
What do gender and culture bias threaten in psychology
The universality of findings
What might a psychologists beliefs mean for their findings
They follow a subjective and not objective view
What does it mean if there is a high universality
That conclusions drawn can be applied to everyone, anywhere regardless of time or culture
What is bias when considering human behaviour
When considering human behaviour bias is a tendency to treat one individual group in a different ways from another
What is gender bias
Psychological research or theory may offer a view that does not justifiably represent the experience and behaviour of men or women
What gender is usually not justifiably represented
Women
What are the two forms of gender bias
Alpha bias and beta bias
What is alpha bias?
Exaggerates or minimises?
Research that focuses on differences between men and women, and therefore tends to present a view that exaggerates these differences
What 2 things are differences typically presented as in alpha-bias
Fixed and and inevitable
Who’s theory is a classic example of alpha bias
Freud (1905)
What Freud theory is a classic example of alpha-bias
Theory of psychosexual development.
What occurs in the phallic stage of frauds theory of psychosexual development
Both boys and girls develop a desire for their opposite-gender parent
What does the phallic stage of frauds psychosexual theory create within a boy
Strong castration anxiety - fear his father will cut his penis off
How is a boys castration anxiety resolved in frauds psychosexual theory
When the boy identifies his father
What is the difference between a boy and girls eventual identification
What does this mean about superego
A girls eventual identification with her same-gender parent is weaker
Means her superego is weaker
Therefore girls/women are morally inferior to boys/men
Who gave an example of alpha bias favouring women in the psychodynamic approach
Nancy Chodorow (1968)
What was Chodorow’s statement that is an example of women being favoured in alpha-bias
Daughters and mothers have a greater connectedness than sons and mothers because of biological similarities.
This means women develop better abilities to bond with others and empathise.
What is beta bias
Exaggerates or minimises?
Research that focuses on similarities between men and women.
Tends to present a view that ignores or minimises differences
What issue can arise for women as a result of beta bias research and psychological findings
It assumes that research findings apply equally to both men and women even when women have been excluded from the research process.
What is one example of beta bias research
Research on the fight or flight response
What was the assumption made with results from fight or flight investigations
Assumed that both male and females respond to threatening situations with fight or flight
Why are female animals often omitted from biological research
Female behaviour is affected by regular hormonal changes dye it ovulation.
Who claimed that women also doing fight or flight response is untrue
Shelley Taylor et al. (2000)
What did Taylor suggest as a more female accurate response to threatening situations
The tend and befriend response
Describe the tend and befriend response
Name the hormone that she suggested is key in this
The ‘love’ hormone oxytocin is more plentiful in women.
Women respond to stress by increasing oxytocin production.
This reduces the fight or flight response and triggers an evolved response for looking after others.
Give an example and describe how research can misrepresent men
What has proved the initial claim wrong
Research on attachment assumed emotional care is provided solely by the mother
Research on the role of the father shows fathers can supply they emotional care often assumed to be the province of women.
What are alpha and beta bias consequences of
Androcentrism
What is androcentrism
What gender is at the centre of this
What does this mean about assumptions on the other genders behaviour
Male-centred
When ‘normal’ behaviour is judged according to a male standard.
Female behaviour is often judged as being ‘abnormal’ or ‘deficient’ in comparison.
How many women were in the American Psychological Associations list of the most influential psychologists of the 20th century
(How many were names in total)
6 out of 100
What does the number of women named as influential psychologists suggest about the traditional view of psychology as a subject
Produced by men, for men and about men
What type of perspective is psychology being produced by me, for men and about men
An androcentric perspective
What is the extreme take on women behaviour in original psychology
Key word
It has been pathologised - been taken as a sign of illness
Who gave an example of a difference in how men and women emotions are viewed
Brescoll and Uhlmann (2008)
What did Brescoll and Uhlmann state about the difference ways in which female and male emotions are viewed
Women’s emotions such as anger are medicalised by explaining in hormonal terms
Men’s anger in contrast is seen as a rational response to external pressures.
What are the limitations of gender bias (3)
Gender differences are often presented as fixed and enduring
Gender bias promotes sexism in research
Research challenging gender biases may not be published
Who conducted research that falsely proves gender differences are fixed and enduring
Eleanor Maccoby and Carlton Jacklin (1974)
What research did Maccoby and Jacklin present to prove that gender differences are fixed and enduring
Presented findings of several gender studies
What did Maccoby and Jacklin conclude about their research on gender differences being fixed and enduring
Girls have superior verbal ability whereas boys have better spatial ability.
These differences are ‘hardwired’ into the brain before birth.
Who did research on brain structure that also suggests gender differences are fixed and enduring
Daphna Joel et al. (2015)
What was Joels techniqued used when showing gender differences are fixed and enduring
Braun scanning
What did Joel find on the structure of the brain when looking at gender differences
No such sex differences in brain structure or processing.
Why might have Maccoby and Jacklin’s research been popularised
It fitted the existing stereotypes of girls as ‘speakers’ and boys as ‘doers’
What does Maccoby & Jacklin as well as Joel’s findings suggest about accepting research findings
We should be wary of accepting research findings as biological facts when they might be explained better as social steroptypes
What is the counterpoint to much research showing gender differences as fixed and enduring
Psychologists should not avoid studying possible gender differences in the brain.
Who provides evidence for the counterpoint to gender differences often being presented as fixed and enduring
Madura ingalhalikar et al (2014)
What did Ingalhalikar suggest about popular stereotypes in women when counter-arguing gender differences not being fixed and enduring
Popular social stereotypes that woman are better at multitasking may have some biological truth to it.
A women’s brain may benefit from better connections between the right and left hemisphere than in a man’s
Who made statements about gender bias promoting sexism in the research process
Murphy et al (2014)
What did Murphy say about university intake and lecturers
Although psychology’s undergraduate intake is mainly of women, lectures in psychology departments are more likely to be men.
What does Murphys statement about university intake and lectures mean for research
Research is more likely to be conducted by men and this may disadvantage participants who are women.
Who gave an example of how a male psychologist may view women in his research
Nicholson (1995)
What did Nicholson suggest about male researchers expectations of women in research and its impact on results
A male researcher may expect women to be irrational and unable to complete complex tasks and such expectations are likely to mean that women underperform in research studies.
Who analysed articles to show research challenging gender bias may not be published
Magdalena Formanowicz et al (2018)
What was Formanowicz’s method when researching unpublished research challenging gender bias
Analysed more than 1000 articles relating to gender bias, published over 8 years
What did Formanowicz find about research challenging gender bias being unpublished
Research on gender bias is funded less often and is published in less prestigious journals.
What is the consequences of Formanowicz’s findings on research challenging gender bias being under published
Fewer scholars become aware of the research or apply it in their own works.
What further statement did Formanowicz make about other biases in publication
What did they control to ensure this was fair
Still held true when gender bias was compared with other forms of bias.
Gender of the authors and the methodology was controlled.
What is cultural bias
A tendency to interpret all phenomena through the ‘lens’ of ones own culture, ignoring the effects that cultural differences might have on behaviour.
Who reviewed studies focusing on cultural biases as a whole in psychology research
Joseph Henrich et al (2010)
What was Henrich’s method when looking at cultural biases in psychological studies as a whole
Reviewed hundreds of studies in leading psychology journals
What did Henrich find about the nationality used most in psychological studies
68% of research participants came from the United States
What did Henrich find about the percentage of type of nations people come from within psychological studies
96% were from industrialised nations.
Who researched the percentage of psychology undergraduates taking part in research
Arnett (2008)
What did Arnett find the percentage of participants in research were undergraduates in in psychology
80% of research participants were undergraduates studying psychology
Who coined the term WEIRED when describing people most likely to be involved in psychological studies
Henrich et al.
What does WEIRED stand for
Westernised, Educated people from Industrialised, Rich, Democracies
If the standard is set by ‘WEIRD’ people then what type of person will be seen as ‘abnormal’, ‘inferior’ or ‘unusual’
People from a non-westernised, less educated, agricultural and poorer culture.
What is ethnocentrism
Judging other cultures by the standards and values of ones own culture.
Describe ethnocentrism in its extreme form
The belief in the superiority of ones own culture which may lead to the prejudice and discrimination towards other cultures.
Who has an example of research that has been criticised as reflecting only norms and values of ‘western culture’
Mary Ainsworth and Silvia Bell (1970)
What was Ainsworth and Bells criticised experiement called
Strange Stituation
What was Ainsworth and Bells researching within their criticised work
Conducted reserach on attachment type
What did Ainsworth and Bell suggest was the ideal attachment
Ideal attachment is characterised but the babies showing moderate amounts of distress when left alone by their mother-figure
What was the cultural based misinterpretation made in other country’s from Ainsworth and Bell’s findings
Misinterpretation of child-rearing practices in other counties which were seen to deviate from the American ‘norm’
Who investigated attachment type in children in Japan
Takahashi (1986)
What did Takahashis results mean in terms of Ainsworth and Bells findings
Japanese infants were much more likely to be insecurely attached because they showed considerable distress on separation.
What is cultural relativism
The idea that norms and values, as well as ethics and moral standards, can only be meaningful and understood within specific social and cultural contexts
Who drew a distinction between etic and emic approaches in the study of human behaviour
John Berry (1969)
What is an etic approach
An approach that looks at behaviour from outside of a given culture and attempts to describe those behaviours as universal
What is an emic approach
An approach that functions from inside a culture and identifies behaviours that are specific to that culture.
Is Ainsworth and Bells research an example of etic or emic approach
Explain
It was an imposed etic
Explain why ainsworth and bells research is an imposed etic
They studied behaviour in one culture and then assumed their ideal attachment type could be applied universally.
What should psychologists be much more mindful of in their research when it comes to culture
Cultural relativism
The things they discover may only make sense from the perspective of the culture within which they were discovered.
What are the limitations of psychology in terms of cultural bias (2)
Many of the most influential studies in psychology are culturally-bias
Cultural bias in psychology has led to prejudice against groups of people
Give two examples of a very influential study only conducted on American, white, middle-class students
Asch and Milgram
Who repeated Asch’s study on conformity in other cultures
Smith and Bond (1993)
What did Smith and Bond find out about conformity when completing Asch’s experiment in other cultures.
Key words for both culture names
Asch-type experiment in collectivist cultures found significantly higher rates of conformity than the original studies in the US, an individualist culture
What is the counter argument to the differences between individualist and collectivist cultures
Increased media globalisation has lead to the individualist-collectivist distinction no longer applying.
Who conducted research on the individualist-collectivist distinction
Yohtaro Takano and Eiko Osaka (1999)
What did Takano and Osaka find about the individualist-collectivist distinction
14 out of 15 studies that compared the US and Japan found no evidence of individualism or collectivism - describing the distinction as lazy and simplistic.
Who explained how the first intelligence test led to eugenic social policies in the US
Stephen Jay Gould (1981)
When did psychologists pilot the first IQ tests - on how many people
Used WW1 and did it on 1.75 million recruits
Name an ethnocentric item on the original IQ test
Assuming everyone would know the names of the US presidents
What did the ethnocentric items on the original IQ test mean for results
Recruits from south-eastern Europe an African-americans recieved the lowest scores.
What came as a result of different cultures doing ‘worse’ on an ethnocentric IQ test
Ethnic minorities were deemed ‘mentally unfit’ and ‘feeble-minded’ in comparison to the white majority and were denied educational and professional opportunities as a result.
Who defined the term cultural psychology
Dov Cohen (2017)
What did Cohen say cultural psychology was
The study of how people shape and are shaped by their cultural experiences
What approach do cultural psychologists take to avoid ethnocentric assumptions
An emic approach
How do psychologists achieve an emic approach in cultural psychology
Conduct research from inside a culture, alongside local researchers using culturally-based techniques
Work from what other disciplines is incorporated in cultural psychology
Anthropology, sociology and political science
Cross-cultural research tends to focus on how many cultures
2
What question does the free will-determinism ask
Is our behaviour a matter of free will or are we the product of a set of internal and/or external influences that determine who we are and what we do?
What is free will?
The notion that humans can make chooses and their behaviour / thoughts are not determined by biological or external forces
What is determinism
The view that an individuals behaviour is shaped or controlled by internal or external forces rather than an individual’s will to do something
What to some extent are most approaches in psychology
Determinism
What does the biological approach suggest the cause of behaviour is
What debate is this
Internal
Nature and nurture
What does the behaviourist approach suggest the cause of behaviour is
External
What approach embraces the concept of free will
The humanistic approach
What are the two extremities of determinism
Hard and soft
What is hard determinism
The view that all behaviour is caused by something (internal or external actors) so free will is an illusion.
What is hard determinism sometimes reffered to
Fatalism
Is it possible to identify the causes in hard determinism
It should be possible
Who first put forward the notion of soft determinism
What was his expertise
William James (1890)
Philosopher
What approach is soft determinism an important feature of
The cognitive approach
What is soft determinism
The view that behaviour may be predictable (caused by internal or external factors) but there is also room for personal choice from a limited range of possibilities (restricted free will)
What are the three types of determinism
Biological determinism
Environmental determinism
Psychic determinism
What is biological determinism
The belief that behaviour is caused by biological (genetic, hormonal and evolutionary) influences that we cannot control
Give an example of biological determinism in action
The influence of the automatic nervous system on the stress response
Influence of genes on mental health
What is environmental determinism
The belief that behaviour is caused by features of the environment (such as systems of reward and punishment) that we cannot control.
Who argued that free will is an illusion and behaviour is a result of conditioning
B.F. Skinner
In environmental determinism we might think we are acting independently but our experience of ‘choice’ is merely the sum of what
The sum total of reinforcement contingencies that have acted upon us throughout our lives.
What is psychic determinism
The belief that behaviour is caused by unconscious psychodynamic conflicts that we cannot control