Issues & Debates

Question 1

What is gender bias ?

(Gender Bias)

Answer 1

Research which does not accurately represent the experience/behaviour of men and women

Question 2

What is alpha bias ?

(Gender Bias)

Answer 2

Bias which exagerates the difference between the sexes

Question 3

What is beta bias ?

(Gender Bias)

Answer 3

Bias which ignores or underestimates the difference between men and women

Question 4

What is androcentrism ?

(Gender Bias)

Answer 4

Possible consequence of beta bias

When all male samples are used - normal behaviour is judged as the male standard

This means female behaviour is often seen as abnormal

Consequence - Female behaviour is misunderstood as they are examined in comparison with a man

Question 5

Evaluation - Sexism within the research process

(Gender Bias)

Answer 5

Point - Lack of women appointed at senior research level, means female concerns not reflected in questions. Male researchers are more likely to have work published. Studies which find gender differneces are more likely to appear in journal articles

Further - Male researchers are more pleasent, friendly and encouraging to female participants leading to an exagerated difference in results

Question 6

Evaluation - Implications of alpha bias

(Gender Bias)

Answer 6

Point - Gender bias research can create misleading assumptions about female behaviour, failing to challenge negative stereotypes and validate discriminatory pratices would lead to unequal opportunites in the workplace for women

Real life application - Walkerdine reported that in the 1930s research revealed that ‘intellectual activity’ shrinks womens ovaries

Question 7

Evaluation - Reducing gender bias

(Gender Bias)

Answer 7

Point - Psychologists have tried to reduce bias by developing theories that emphasis the importance or value of women. Cornwall et al - claims females are better at learning as they are more attentive and organised.

Further - Judith Worrell put foward a criteria that should be followed to avoid gender bias

Question 8

What is culture bias ?

(Culture Bias)

Answer 8

Ignoring cultural differences and examining behaviour through the ‘‘lens’’ of ones own culture

Question 9

What is ethnocentrism ?

(Culture Bias)

Answer 9

Belief that ones own cultural group is superior to others

Question 10

What are the etic and emic approaches ?

(Culture Bias)

Answer 10

Etic - attempts to study behaviour across multiple cultures to find universal human behaviour

Emic - identifies behaviours that are specific to that culture

Question 11

What is cultural relativism ?

(Culture Bias)

Answer 11

norms and values can only be meaningful and understood when we look at them in their specific social and cultural contexts

Question 12

Evaluation - Consequences - amplifies and validates stereotypes ?

(Culture Bias)

Answer 12

Point - US army used IQ tests before WW1that were culturally biased towards white majority therefore African Americans were bottom of the scale.

Further - Use of Ainsworth’s to judge attachment in other cultures has led to a misinterpretation of child rearing in other countries, such as stereotyping German parents as cold and neglecting

Question 13

Evaluation - There is some behaviour which is universal

(Culture Bias)

Answer 13

Point - Some behaviours are universal. Ekman suggested that basic expressions for happiness and sadness are the same everywhere

Further - One of the criteria of Ainsworth’s strange situation study is interactional synchrony which is a universal attachment behaviour

Question 14

Evaluation - Individualism and collectivism distinction no longer exists ?

(Culture Bias)

Answer 14

Point - Psychologists always use individualist and collectivist cultures. However, as the world is globally interconnected these distinctions are lazy and no longer apply

Further - Takano and Osaka found 14/15 studies that compared USA to Japan found no evidence of a traditional distinction

Question 15

Define free will ?

(Free Will and Determinism)

Answer 15

the idea that humans can make choices that are not determined by biological or external forces

Question 16

Define determinism ?

(Free Will and Determinism)

Answer 16

the view that an individual’s behaviour is shaped or controlled by internal or external forces rather than free will

Question 17

Define hard and soft determinsim ?

(Free Will and Determinism)

Answer 17

Hard determinism - Behaviour is always caused by internal or external events beyond our control, implying free will is not possible

Soft determinism - behaviour is determined by internal or external or forces but an individual can still exercise some control through their conscious choices

Question 18

What is biological determinism ?

(Free Will and Determinism)

Answer 18

belief that behaviour is determined by biological influences we cannot control

Question 19

What is environmental determinism ?

(Free Will and Determinism)

Answer 19

the belief that behaviour is caused by features of the environment

Question 20

What is psychic determinism ?

(Free Will and Determinism)

Answer 20

the belief that behaviour is caused by unconscious conflicts that we cannot control

Question 21

Evaluation - Determinism meets aims of science

(Free Will and Determinism)

Answer 21

Point - Dterminism meets the aims of science, because we can test theories for behaviour, which has led to the development of treatments

Counter - Hard determinism goes against our legal system which is based on free will and taking responsibility, people would be unable to take responsibility if we could blame their behaviour on their biology

Question 22

Evaluation - Free will can lead to good mental health ?

(Free Will and Determinism)

Answer 22

Point - People with an internal locus of control believe they have control over events and behaviours this is more mentally healthy. Robert et al found those with fantalistic thinking were at greater risk of developing depression.

Counter - Chung Siong Soon et al found brain activity determines outcome of simple choices happens before we are aware of made a choice

Question 23

Evaluation - Interactionist might be the best

(Free Will and Determinism)

Answer 23

Point - Interactionist approach considers both free will and determinism. Approaches that have a coginitive element such as SLT may be most appropriate

Further - SLT is interactionist as it claims we learn from our environment and we make the choice as to if we imitate the behaviour

Question 24

Define nature approach ?

(Nature vs Nurture)

Answer 24

The view that behaviour is the product of innate biological or genetic factors

Question 25

Define nurture approach ?

(Nature vs Nurture)

Answer 25

The view that behaviour is the product of environmental influences

Question 26

Can you seperate nature and nurture ?

(Nature vs Nurture)

Answer 26

Nature and nurture are so closely intertwined that it makes no sense to try and seperate the two

Question 27

What is the interactionist approach ?

(Nature vs Nurture)

Answer 27

We should study how nature and nurture interact with eachother

Question 28

Evaluation - Nature - Real life application - Explanation for offending behaviour ?

(Nature vs Nurture)

Answer 28

Point - Christiansen found concordance rate of 33% for MZs and 12% for DZs for offending behaviour suggesting offending has a genetic component

Counter - Social learning theory can explain offending behaviour. Sutherland suggests criminal behaviour is learned through interactions with significant others, suggests environment plays an important role

Question 29

Evaluation - Nature can shape nurture ?

(Nature vs Nurture)

Answer 29

Point - Plamin et al stated there are genetic influences on parental behaviour which creates a particular environment in which children are raised.

Further - constructivism – people can create their own “nurture” by actively selecting environments appropriate to their “nature”

Question 30

Evaluation - Nurture may affect nature ?

(Nature vs Nurture)

Answer 30

Point - Neural plasticity claims life experiences can shape biology. Maguire et al investigated the hippocampi volume of london taxi drivers brains and found the region was larger than non-taxi drivers (nurture)

Further - When the brain experiences trauma and damage, it undergoes functional recovery whereby it rewires itself to fix the problem. The environment has fixed the nature.

Question 31

What is holism ?

(Holism and Reductionism)

Answer 31

A theory which suggests it only makes sense to study an undivided system rather than its constituent parts

Question 32

What is reductionism ?

(Holism and Reductionism)

Answer 32

theory that human behaviour is best explained by breaking it down into smaller constituent parts

Question 33

What is biological reductionism ?

(Holism and Reductionism)

Answer 33

The attempt to explain social and psychological phenomena at a lower biological level

Question 34

What is environmental reductionism ?

(Holism and Reductionism)

Answer 34

The attempt to explain all behaviour in terms of stimulus-response links that have been learned through experience

Question 35

Evaluation - Biological reductionism - drug therapies ?

(Holism and Reductionism)

Answer 35

Point - Biological reductionism has led to the development of drug therapies which have led to a reduction of institutionalistionand is a more humane treatment of mental illness

Counter - drug therapy only treats the symptoms not the causes which may not have a lasting effect

Question 36

Evaluation - Weakness - Reductionism - Ignores complexity of human behaviour ?

(Holism and Reductionism)

Answer 36

Point - Biological reductionism can lead to errors of understanding as it ignores the complexity of human behaviour

Further - an interactionist approach may be necessary which considers how an individuals biology can interact to the environment

Question 37

Evaluation - Strength - Holistic - Helps to explain social behaviour ?

(Holism and Reductionism)

Answer 37

Point - Some social behaviour can only be understood by analysing interactions with others and the whole experience

Counter - Holistic explanations cannot usually be scientifically tested because they are too vague. This means some theories will be unscientific

Question 38

What is the idiographic approach ?

(Idiographic and Nomothetic)

Answer 38

an approach to research which focuses more on the individual case to understand behaviour, not to formulate general laws of behaviour

gain insight into the person’s unique way of viewing the world

Question 39

What is the nomothetic approach ?

(Idiographic and Nomothetic)

Answer 39

Attempts to study human behaviour by developing general principles and universal laws

Question 40

Evaluation - Strength - Nomothetic approach uses scientific methods ?

(Idiographic and Nomothetic)

Answer 40

Point - Nomothetic approach is involved with more scientific testing under standardised conditions This allowspsychologists to establish norms for ‘typical’ behaviour

Counter - By focusing on making general laws the nomothetic approach “loses the whole person”. Ex schizophrenia only affects 1% of people but this doesnt tell us what itslike to have schizophrenia

Question 41

Evaluation - Strength - Idiographic approach useful for evaluating theories ?

(Idiographic and Nomothetic)

Answer 41

Point - It provides a complete account of the individual and may shed light or challenge general theories. Ex case study of HM and developed amnesia was unable to remeber facts but could perform procedures. Showed LTM has different stores and MSM didnt account for this.

Counter - This is unscientific and you cant make meaningful generalisations.

Question 42

Evaluation - Should view these as complementary ?

(Idiographic and Nomothetic)

Answer 42

Point - Psychologists can be tempted to use either or. But many approaches use both.

Further - the goal of modern psychology is to describe the richness of the human experience as well as provide explanations for human behaviour within a framework of general laws

Question 43

What are ethical implications ?

(Ethical Implications)

Answer 43

Ehtical issues occur when there is a need to gain valid data but also protect the rights of the participant. These are dealt with through ethical guidelines

However it is hard to protect the social impact once research has been conducted

Question 44

Define socially sensitive research ?

(Ethical Implications)

Answer 44

Studies in which there are potential consequences or implications, either directly for participants or for the class of individuals represented by the research

Question 45

What do you need to consider with socially sensitive research ?

(Ethical Implications)

Answer 45

Implications - the wider effects of research, considering whether study may give scientific credence to prejudice or discrimination

Uses/Public policy - What the research is likely to be used for

Impact - Researchers should ensure that interpretation of the data or findings has no impact on the Ps involved or the group of people that those Ps represent

Question 46

Evaluation - Socially sensitive research can be good for society

(Ethical Implications)

Answer 46

Point - Can provide an insight into controversial topics and promote greater understanding and awareness. Scarr claimed more studies on gender and race variables are needed to help underrepresented people to suceed in society

Further - Research into eyewitness testimony have been useful for society. Loftus and Palmer showed that eyewitness testimony can not always be trusted which has helped prevent miscarriages of justice

Question 47

Evaluation - Limitation - Socially sensitive research may be damaging for society ?

(Ethical Implications)

Answer 47

Point - Sieber and Stanley stated socially sensitive research can give scientific credence for prejudice or discrimination

Counter - Sieber and Stanley argue this does not mean psychologists should not carry out socially sensitive research, but should ensure findings are reported in a socially sensitive way

Question 48

Evaluation - Psychologists should assess research on its own merits ?

(Ethical Implications)

Answer 48

Point - Cost benefit analysis should be used for all research that is potentially socially sensitive. Weigh up potential costs in terms of ethical implications the possible benefits of research to psychology to determine if it should be allowed

Counter - some wider ethical implications of research involving vunerable groups may be difficult to anticipate. So the real impact can be known once made public