Issues & Debates Flashcards
Universalism
A trait is an underlying human characteristic so conclusions can be applied to everyone
Essentialism
Differences are inevitable because of the ‘fixed’ nature of a group
Types of gender bias
Alpha bias, beta bias, androcentrism
Gender bias: alpha bias
Differences between men & women are exaggerated (M+F characteristics emphasized)
Gender bias: alpha bias (strengths)
Led to Gilligan to assert worth + valuation of ‘feminine qualities’
Led to healthy criticism of cultural values that praise certain ‘male’ qualities (aggression, individualism) as desirable, adaptive and universal
Gender bias: alpha bias (limitations)
Focus on differences between genders so ignores many ways women differ from each other
Sustain prejudices + stereotypes
Gender Bias: beta bias
Differences between men and women are minimised
When findings obtained from men are applied to women without additional validation
Gender Bias: Beta bias (strengths)
Makes people see men and women same led to equal treatment in legal terms + equal access to education/employment
Gender Bias: Beta bias (limitations)
Draws attention from differences in power
Egalitarian approach results in major misrepresentation of both genders
Gender Bias: Androcentrism
Taking male thinking/ behaviour as normal, regarding female thinking/ behaviour as deriant, inferior, abnormal
Gender example: alpha bias
Freudian Psychosexual Development
- males develop castration anxiety in phallic stage resolved by identifying with father developing super ego
- females cannot experience + Freud argued this resuls in females developing weaker morality + being inferior
- feminity is failed masculinity + girls experience penis envy
Gender example: Beta bias
Moral Development (Kohlberg)
- value of justice + everyone goes through set stages of moral reasoning HOWEVER based on male sample
- opponents (Gilligan) argued female morality centred on care - according to K’s theory females be at lower level of moral reasoning thus devaluing them
Gender Bias in research processes
Use of standardised procedures in research studies (most methodologies based on standardised treatment of PPs - assumes men ad women respond same way)
Institutional sexism (although female psychology students outnumber male, at senior teaching/ research level in university men dominate) (research agenda follows male conerns)
Reducing gender bias in psychology
Drawing attention to sources of bias and under-researched areas in psychology like childcare, sexual abuse, prostitution
Feminist psychology performed valuable functions of reducing institutionised gender bias
Equal opportunity legislation
Gender bias: the feminist perspective
View women as normal humans, not deficient to men
Skepticism towards biological determinism
Research agenda focusing on women’s concerns
A psychology for women rather than of women
culture bias: key words
cultural relativism (appreciating behaviour varies between cultures)
ethnocentrism (emphasising importance of one’s own culture’s values over others)
culture bias: Pike
proposed 2 ways of doing research
1. etic approach (look at group from ‘outside’ using standard of our culture)
2. emic approach (looking at group from inside)
culture bias: Berry
argues psychology guilty of imposing etics: pushing values onto other cultures assuming they are universal norms
overview of culture bias
psychology predominantly white Euro-American enterprise (64% researchers from US) (90% studies have US participants) (samples predominantly white middle-class)
incorporated particular worldview (Western) into ways it tries to understand people
Alpha Bias: culture example
individualist-collectivist divide (western more indiv + eastern group-focused)
leads to theories being adapted for other cultures based on assumption they behaviour differently
Culturally Biased Research: Ainsworth
Strange Situation ethnocentrism: based on American-British views of child-parent relationships
separation anxiety varies cross-culturally (Germany avoidant (parents focused independence) / Japan resistant (parenting focusers interdependent))
etic approach, using US/UK values as reference point
Culture Bias example: US Army Intelligence Testing
before WW1, US army used IQ test which contained questions about culture & sports that only white majority understanding meaning AA low scores strengthening damaging stereotype + impacted majority’s view on this group
Culture Bias example: IQ testing (Eysenck)
designed to measure European person’s understanding of what intelligence is, not valid measurement of intelligence of other continents
non-westerners disadvantages and viewed as inferior
Culture Bias: Alpha Bias negative and positive consequences
- devaluing 1 culture; overlooking what makes us similar
+ research finds culture differences improve understanding
Culture Bias: beta bias negative and positive consequences
- overlooking difference where they can exist can make it harder for 1 culture
+ minimising differences can improve equality + access if everyone treated same
Culture Bias: Reducing & Modern Approaches
equal opportunity (legislation aim to rid psychology of culture bias/racism)
reflexivity (ability to reflect own potential bias/subjectivity and effect on research)
indigenous psychology (movement associated with ‘native’ psychologists developing theories for own culture)
Gender Bias: Worrell & Remer
following should be considered:
1. women not ‘subjects’ but genuinely ‘participate’ e.g. self-report & qualitative data
2. within-group differences thus recognising not all females same and different from males
3. recognition behaviour result of dispositional-environmental interaction: gender only 1 factor involved + shouldn’t assign to much value to it
free will
notion human can make choices
may be biological/environmental forces that exert some influence on behaviour but able to reject these forces as masters of our destiny
HUMANISTIC
COGNITIVE - although we have free will, its’s constrained by our circumstances + others
determinism
individuals behaviour shaped/controlled by internal/external forces
hard determinism
implies free will isn’t possible as our behaviour always caused by internal/external events beyond our control
cause is identifiable
compatible with aims of science (to uncover causal laws that govern thoughts & action)
