Issues & Debates Flashcards
Universality
A characteristic which can be applied to all, despite different experience/upbringing
Gender Bias
The tendency to treat one gender in a different way from one another without valid reason
- Can occur in 3 ways
3 ways gender bias can occur
- Reserach being conducted on all-male samples but the findings are generalised to women
- Male behaviour is seen as the standard & if women’s behaviour differs from that of men, its seen as atypical
- As there are biological differences between men and women, there will be a difference in behaviour between sexes
Alpha bias
Exaggerating differences between men & women
Beta bias
Minimising or ignoring differences between men & women
Androcentricsm
‘Normal’ behaviour is judged according to male standard. If the behaviour of women differs, it’s judged as abnormal
Cultural Bias
A tendency to ignore cultural differences and interpret all phenomena through one’s own cultures norms
Ethnocentrism
- Judging other cultures by the standards & values of one’s own culture
- In extremity, this is the belief that one culture is superior to another (or all) which may lead to prejudice & discrimination
Cultural Relativism
Idea that norms/values/behaviours can only be meaningful and understood within specific social & cultural contexts
- social norms are culturally relative as what’s considered normal in one culture may be abnormal elsewhere
Free Will
- People are free to choose how to think & behave
- Given the same situation we could choose to act differently (unpredictable)
- Behaviour is not random (without cause) but assumes influences can be regected/ignored at will
Determinism
- Behaviour is determined/caused by factors beyond our control
- Predictable
Hard Determinism
- Suggests that all behaviour is caused by preceding biological, environmental, and/or psychic factors
- NO FREE WILL
Soft Determinism
- Determinism exists but there’s also the ability to choose in some circumstances
- Suggests that behaviour is to some extent determined by factors outside of our control but that free will exists if there’s no coercion or compulsion
Biological Determinism
All behaviour is caused by biological influences that we cannot control:
- genes & evolution
- brain physiology
- biochemistry
INTERNAL DETERMINISM
Psychic Determinism
All behaviour is caused by unconscious conflicts which we cannot control
INTERNAL DETERMINISM
Environmental Determinism
- Behaviour occurs because there’s a cause in the environment
- All behaviour is under the control of environmental stimuli and external forces of rewards & punishment
EXTERNAL DETERMINISM
Scientific Emphasis on Causal Explanations
- Determinism places a strong emphasison causal laws which are the basis of science, aims to reveal the laws to predict and control the future.
- All behaviour should be predictable and able to be scientifically studied and analysed through lab experiments
Nature-Nurture Debate
The relative importance of heredity and environment in determining behaviour
Free Will - Determinism Debate
The extent to which behaviour is down to free will or determined by internal and/or external factors outside of our control
Nature
- Emphasis on biology (influence of genes, biochemistry, brain physiology) on behaviour
- Associated with heredity & argue individuals are born with an inherited genetic blueprint that determines behaviour
- Pesimistic (very little that you can do to change behaviour)
Nurture
- Focus on how learning & experience can influence behaviour
- Associated with the environment and believed that the mind is a blank slate
- Implies behaviour can be changed through reinforcement & manipulation of environmental conditions
- Optimistic (change behaviour through enviroinment)
Methods of investigating nature-nurture
- Twin Studies
- Adoption Studies
Twin Studies for N/N
- Looks at the CC rates between Mz & Dz twins either reared together or apart
- Designed to produce a heritability estimate
Adoption Studies for N/N
- Investigates the heritability of a particular trait by comparing adopted individuals with their bio or adoptive parents
Interactionist Approach for N/N
- Anywhere between the extreme positions of nature/nurture
- Both biology & environment play a role in determining behaviour
Holism-Reductionism Debate
Whether behaviour is better understood looking at it as a whole (holism) or by breaking it down into smaller parts (reductionism)
Reductionism
- A single explanation or a single cause
- Behaviour is explained by breaking down into smaller, more basic constituent parts
Levels of Explanation
The belief that psychological phenomena will eventually be explained within the framework of sciences lower down the hierarchy
What does Reductionism argue about the Levels of Explanation?
That the sciences towards the top of the hierarchy will eventually be replaced by those at the bottom
- All psychological phenomena will be able to be explained in physiological & biochemical terms
What are the subjects in the Levels of Explanation?
Sociology
Psychology
Environment
Biology
Chemistry
Physics
Maths
What happens as you move up the Levels of Explanation?
They become less precise & more general
Schizophrenia (Auditory Hallucinations) Example using LoE
Sociological: Unable to function in society (deviation from social norms/cultural norms
Psychological: Beck & Rektor (Dysfunctional thought processing)
Environmental: Family Dysfunction (learning experiences/condition)
Biological: Candidate genes (PCM1), Neural Correlate (Low activity levels in ventral striatum & reduced grey matter)
Biochemical: Dopamine Hypothesis (high levels)
Types of Reductionism
- Biological
- Environmental
Biological Reductionism
- Behaviour can be reduced to biology (brain structure/function & genes)
- Analysis occurs at Biology LoE
Environmental Reductionism
- Behaviour is reduced to the consequence of learned associations, such as simple stimulus-response (conditioning)
- Analysis occurs at Environmental LoE
Holism
- Behaviour should be viewed & studied as a whole
- Emphasises the whole person/behaviour/experience rather than its component parts
- Based on ‘Gestalt Psychology’
What did Gestalt Psychology argue?
Argued that the nature of human experience or behaviour is ‘greater than the sum of its parts’
Interactionism for Reductionism-Holism
- Shows how many (but not all) aspects of a phenomenon can work together to provide understanding
- Several levels of an explanation are necessary to explain behaviour
What’s the key difference between interactionism & holism?
Holism considers the highest level of explanation, whereas interactionism considers the interaction between different levels of explanation
Idiographic-Nomothetic Debate
Whether behaviour is better understood by studying individuals in detail (idiographic) or by studying groups & making general laws
Idiographic
- Everyone is unique & therefore we should study people as individuals to capture the richness of human individuality
- No general laws are possible because of chance, free will, and uniqueness of individuals
Nomothetic
- Involves studying large groups of people & trying to understand why people behave similarly in certain situations
- Formulates general laws of behaviour (don’t have to be about everyone)
Methods of investigation - Idiographic
Focuses on the individual and the recognition of their uniqueness, including numerous aspects of individuality: private & subjective experience, feelings, beliefs, and values.
- Tend to be qualitative
- Case Studies
Methods of investigation - Nomothetic
Focuses on similarities between people and laws that govern behaviour and can be applied to large populations of people
- Tend to be Quantitative
- Scientific Methods/Experiments
- 3 types of Laws
3 Types of General Laws from Nomothetic Research
- Classifying people into groups
- Establishing principles of behaviour that can be applied to people in general
- Establishing dimensions/continuums on which people can be placed to allow comparisons to be made between people
Ethical Implications of Research Studies & Theory
- The impact that research/theory may have in terms of the rights of people (especially ppts)
- Includes influencing public policy and/or the way certain groups of people are thought of or treated
Social Sensitive Research
Any research that has wider ethical implications that impact outside of the research context
- May affect people/groups in society in 3 ways
3 Ways Social Sensitive Research affects people
- Long-term effects on ppts (outside of research) and family & friends as a consequence
- Researcher(s) may also be affected which may have an effect in the institution which they work for
- Groups such as those w/ certain religious/political beliefs, ethnic minorities, or groups of a certain sexual preference/sexuality
Gender Issues AO2 (Forensics)
ALPHA BIAS
- The psychodynamic explanation of offending states that women have a weaker superego and thus are more likely to offend
- Overemphasises differences as it suggests all women have weaker superegos compared to all men
- States all women are more likely to become offenders than men, however it’s likely to be incorrect as men are much more likely to offend & are more likely to have weaker superegos
Gender Issues AO2 (Obedience)
UNIVERSALITY & BETA BIAS
- Milgram only studied male ppts in his original research and then used his results to explain obedience in both genders
- Minimises the differences between males and females even though obedience may change between genders (is beta bias as there’s no evidence for females)
Culture Issues AO2 (Gender)
UNIVERSALITY & CULTURAL RELATIVISM
- Mead illustrates the differences across cultures & how the Western gender stereotypes does not generalise across the world
- Suggests gender is culturally relative as it varies from culture to culture and is therefore not a universal concept
Culture Issues AO2 (Schizophrenia)
UNIVERSALITY & CULTURAL RELATIVISM
- Auditory hallucinations are interpreted as a sign of powers in some cultures, and therefore isn’t indicative of mental illness in those cultures.
- Suggests auditory hallucinations are interpreted differently between cultures & therefore the interpretation is not universal, so should be studied in different cultures
Free Will-Determinism AO2 (Humanism)
FREE WILL
The theories of both Maslow & Rogers stress the concept of free will, personal choice & the power of individuals to direct their lives according to their self-chosen goals
Free Will-Determinism AO2 (Chromosomes)
HARD DETERMINISM, BIO DETERMINISM, CAUSAL EXP
- Atypical sex chromosomes demonstrate a lack of choice or control over their chromosomes, so there’s no control over the development of Kleinfelters or Turners syndrome
- Turners or Kleinfelters is determined by biological factors (no. of sex chromosomes) and there’s no control over these factors
- Allows predictions of whether someone is likely to develop these disorders
Nature-Nurture AO2 (Language Centres)
INTERACTIONISM
- Chomsky claimed that each child is born with an innate potential to acquire language, but the particular language we learn & fluency is due to the environment
- Suggests both nature (innate potential) and nurture (exposure to language) are important to language development
Nature-Nurture AO2 (Diathesis-Stress Model)
INTERACTIONISM
- States diathesis combined with stressor results in a hihger likelihood of developing a disorder
- The diathesis is typically biologial (genes) with the stressor being environmental (stress)
- Both bio & environment interact and are required to develop Sz
Holism-Reductionism AO2 (Humanism)
HOLISM
- The humanist approach rejects scientific methodology and claims we should study the whole person
- Attempts to break up/reduce human experience are inappropriate
Holism-Reductionism AO2 (Dopamine Hypothesis)
BIO REDUCTIONISM
- The dopamine hypothesis claims thta sz is linked to high levels of dopamine
- Reduces a complex behaviour of sz down to a single explanation such as high levels of dopamine
- Ignores evidence from other possible explanations
Idiographic-Nomothetic AO2 (Humanism)
IDIOGRAPHIC
- The humanist approach believes people are unique and believe in free will
- Believes people should be studied as individuals
Idiographic-Nomothetic AO2 (Psychodynamic approach of gender)
IDIOGRAPHIC & NOMOTHETIC
- The psychodynamic approach uses idiographic methods (case study) to formulate nomothetic theories (general laws) about gender and theoedious & electra complexes
Ethical Implications AO2 (Forensics)
SOCIALLY SENSITIVE
- Neural explanations of offending showed that damage around the frontal lobe was in most offender’s brains
- Implies those w/ damage will become violent criminals (self-fulfilling prophecy) and justifies violence
- OR the ppts may believe their violence is uncontrollable so may not try to reform/rehabilitate
Ethical Implications AO2 (Schizophrenia diagnosis)
SOCIALLY SENSITIVE
- Any reserach on psychopathology is potentially socially sensistive as it could affect the individual w/ sz & family
- Issues could lead to misdiagnosis
- Lack of diagnosis leads to lack of treatment & symptoms get worse (so negative impact on relationships w/ family & friends
Gender & Culture Strengths
- Takano & Osaka found 14/15 studies comparing US & Japan there was no evidence for individualism or collectivism (suggests cultures are similar so cul. bias may not be an issue)
- Developed ways to avoid culture bias (don’t extrapolate, native researchers, cross-cultural research, sensitive)
- Cross-cultural research may challenge Western ways of thinking (conclusions will be more accurate & can be generalised if applicable)
Gender & Cultures Limitations
- Problems with research (unfamiliarity with scientific research, variables may be experienced differently)
- Research has consistently shown that rates of conformity & obedience vary between cultures (so theories aren’t universal so are culturally relative)
Free Will Strengths
- High external validity as it aligns with society
Free Will Limitations
- Unethical & unpractical
- Mental disorders follow idea that free will is an illusion
- Subjective & unfalsifiable
- Less scientifically credible
Determinism Strengths
- Compatible with science (gives scientific credibility)
- Widely accepted by many theories and approaches (so more reliable)
Determinism Limitations
- Low external validity (incompatible with society)
- Oversimplistic
- Unfalsifiable
Nature-Nurture Strengths
- Use of adoption studies help separate n/n so are useful in understanding the debate
Nature-Nurture Limitations
- Links w/ determinism (same limitations)
- Individual differences (some are more susceptible to env. influence)
- Difficult to assess the relative influence of n/n in twin studies as they may have experienced some env. influence
Holism Strengths
- More detailed & looks at everything
- Required to study some phenomenon (e.g. Zimbardo’s study)
Holism Limitations
- Less scientific as holism makes it hard to predict & study, so holistic explanations can become vague and more complex
Reductionism Strengths
- Bio reductionism helps development of treatments
- Simple explanations are argues to be more effective as they’re easier to understand
- Allows empirical study and leads to scientific credibility
Reductionism Limitations
- Oversimplistic as it’s unlikely that behaviour has one explanation
Nomothetic Strengths
- Useful as it allows theories of behaviour to be worked out so treatments can be made
- Scientific so has more credibility
- Most of psychology operates on a nomothetic basis
Nomothetic Limitations
- Inaccurate as not everyone is the same, can’t generalise theories so treatments won’t work for all
- Overlooks individuality & takes a very reductionist perspective
Idiographic Strengths
- Detailed (exp with case studies) and THEORETICALLY should be more accurate
Idiographic Limitations
- Time consuming so less accessible & doesnt generalise to all
- Narrow focus & doesn’t generalise so less useful
- Open to bias as theyre qualitative & isn’t objective
Ethical Implications Strengths
- Code of ethics means there should be fewer ethical implications
- SS research may promote greater understanding which can reduce prejudice
Ethical Implications Limitations
- Too restrictive as it may prevent some research as fear of tarnished reputations
- Difficult to predict how research will be used & the worth of the study (so may stop research from going ahead due to worry)
- Subjective (ressearcher bias, overplay benefits & underplay costs)
Gender
Behavioural, cultural and psychological characteristics that distinguish males and females
Cultural Universality
A characteristic which can be applied to all cultures
Heredity
Born with an inherited blueprint
Environment
The mind is a blank slate
Relative importance of heredity and environment in determining behaviour
Don’t adopt an extreme position of either nature or nurture as both are essential for any behaviour/characteristic
