Issues & Debates Flashcards
Universality
Any underlying characteristic of human beings that is capable of being applied to all, despite differences experience and upbringing.
Gender bias
Psychological research or theory may offer a view that doesn’t represent the experience and behaviour of men or women.
Androcentrism
Male-centred, when ‘normal’ behaviour is judged according to a male standard - meaning that female behaviour is often seen as ‘abnormal’ or ‘deficient’.
Alpha bias
Focuses on differences between men and women and exaggerates differences.
Beta bias
Focuses on similarities between men and women and minimises differences.
A classic example of alpha bias is Freud’s theory of psychosexual development.
A girls identification with same-gender parent is weaker (no castration anxiety, os less pressure to identify with mother) = superego is weaker, making girls/women morally inferior to boys/men.
An example of beta bias is research on fight or flight response.
Bio research has favoured male animals as female behaviour is affected by regular hormones changes due to ovulation. This ignores any possible differences. It assumes both males and females respond with fight or flight.
- Recent research by Taylor (2000) claimed this isn’t true and described ‘tend and befriend’ -> oxytocin is more plentiful in women, and they respond to stress by increasing oxytocin production.
- minimising gender differences may result in misrepresentation of women behaviour.
Androcentrism example
Psychology has presented a male-dominated version of the world. The American Psychological Association published list of 100 most influential psychologists of 20th century, which included only 6 women. Suggests psychology has traditionally been a subject produced by men for men - an androcentric perspective.
One limitation is that gender differences are often presented as fixed and enduring when they are not
Maccoby and Jacklin (1974) presented findings that girls have superior verbal ability, and boys have better spatial ability. These findings became widely reported and seen as facts. However, Joel et al. (2015) used brain scanning and found not sex differences in brain structure or processing. Original findings were popularised as it fit existing stereotypes.
Another limitation is that gender bias promotes sexism in research.
Women remain underrepresented in university departments, particularly in science. Although psychology’s undergraduate intake in mainly women, lecturers in psychology departments are more likely to be men. This means research is more likely to be conducted by men, which may disadvantage female ppts.
- Institutional structures and methods of psychology may produce findings that are gender-biased.
Another limitation is that research challenging gender biases may not be published.
Fromanowicz et al. (2018) analysed more than 1000 articles relating to gender bias. They found that research on gender bias is funded less often and is published less by prestigious journals = fewer scholars become aware of it or apply it within own work.
- gender bias in psychological research may not be taken as seriously as other forms of bias.
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.
Ethnocentrism
Judging other cultures by standards and values of ones own culture.
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.
One limitation is that many of the most influential studies in psych are culturally-biased.
Asch and Milgram were conducted with US ppts. Replications of these studies in different countries produced different results. Asch-type experiments in collectivist cultures found high rates of conformity than original studies in US
- understanding of social influence should only be applied to individualist cultures.
One strength is emergence of cultural psychology
It’s the study of how people shape and are shaped by their cultural experience. This is an emerging field and incorporates work from researchers in other discipline including sociology and political science. Cultural psychologists avoid ethnocentric assumptions by taking emic approach and conducting research from inside a culture.
- Modern psychologists are mindful of diners of cultural bias and take steps to avoid it.
Free will
the notion that humans can make choices and their behaviour/thoughts aren’t determined by biological or external forces.
Determinism
The view that an individual’s behaviour is shaped and controlled by internal or external forces rather than an individual’s will to do something.
