Issues Debates Flashcards
What is Gender bias
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Universality = regardless time culture
Alpha = exaggerate psychodynamic daughter mother
Beta = no zimbardo asch milgram fight flight Taylor wessing 2002 male animals
Androcentrism = male centered cause of alpha wm inferior frued penis
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- Biological vs. social explanations
Gender differences often exaggerated as biological (alpha bias). Maccoby+Jacklin (1974) found gender differences in verbal spatial skills but ignored social influences. Joel et al. (2015) found no clear male/female brain differences, suggesting behaviour is shaped by both nature and nurture. However, Ingalhalikar et al. (2014) found male brains are more lateralized, while female brains have better connections, showing some biological differences.
-Sexism in research
Psychology male-dominated, bias. Murphy et al. (2014) found male researchers more likely to get published, sidelining female perspectives. Women in research treated differently, affecting their credibility. However, Worrell (1992) argued feminist psychology has helped challenge these biases and promote fairness.
-Gender-biased research
leads to misleading conclusions. Brescoll+ Uhlmann (2008) found women’s emotions often blamed on biology, while men’s are linked to situations. This bias can make women’s experiences seem less valid in psychology. However, growing awareness means modern research is more critical of these assumptions.
What is Cultural bias
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Ethnocentrism = own culture superior aims worth Japanese babies insecure resistant takahashi leads to lack population validity external validity deviation social norms
Cultural relvatism = understood from within local reasearch era causes tolerance but hard to critsize harmful
John berry ethic Emic
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Classic studies
Many key psychological studies culturally biased. Asch’s Milgram’s studies on conformity obedience only US. However, Takano and Osaka (1999) found that 14 out of 15 studies comparing the US and Japan didn’t actually show the expected cultural differences, suggesting cultural bias may be overstated.
Cultural psychology
helped challenge ethnocentrism. Cohen (2017) argued psychological research should consider cultural context to avoid bias. shift means modern psychology is now more aware of different perspectives.
Ethnic stereotyping
Cultural bias can reinforce harmful stereotypes. For , the US Army IQ tests in WWI gave lower scores to Black Americans, fueling discrimination. However, awareness of such biases has grown, making modern psychology more critical of ethnocentric assumptions.
Relativism vs. universality
Some argue that cultural relativism is important for understanding human behaviour. However, Ekman (1989) found that facial expressions are universal, showing that some behaviours exist across all cultures. This suggests psychology needs both universal and culture-specific approaches.
What is Free will + determinism
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Have full control
Determism= no
Humanistic =
3 types of determinism =
psycho =dynamic psychic determinism behaviour caused by unconscious mind repressed childhood trauma
Behaviouist = environmental detremism all caused by our environment conditioning
Biological approach biological dtermism biological factors dont free
Cognitive = do mental process CBT some free will
SLT = some free will
Hard= no free
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Falsification but may be wrong cause
Practical value
Free will feels important in daily life gives people sense of control. Roberts et al. (2000) found adolescents with strong belief in fatalism (lack of free will) more likely to develop depression. suggests believing in free will has positive mental health benefits.
Locus control
Research evidence
Brain studies challenge free will but also support it. Libet et al. (1983) found brain activity before participants consciously decided to move their hand, show decisions are determined by the brain. However, Trevena + Miller (2009) argued brain activity just readiness to act, not a decision itself.
The law
Hard determinism suggests behaviour is caused by external forces, raising legal issues. In a famous case, Mobley argued he was biologically predisposed to violence and should not be fully responsible for his crimes. This shows how determinism challenges ideas of legal responsibility.
Do we want determinism?
Determinism helps psychology be more scientific, allowing for testable predictions. However, it also suggests we have no control over our actions, which conflicts with personal responsibility. This debate affects moral and legal decisions, making it a key issue in psychology.
Soft = some
What is Nature and nurture debate
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Extent behavior inherited or acquired
Braver chopra = not even eye colour is genes alone interactions
SLT=enviorment
Behaviourist = environment
Biological =both genotype environment
Psychodynamic =id instant gratification nature nurture environment trauma
Humanistic — Maslow hiarchy certain needs nature but get from environment
Heredity = one allel chromosomes ear wax Ripken et al scriztophina more likely pre disposed many alleles linked to enviorment
Interaction is = bowl by kagan child personality effects relation so nature nurture polman found 0.5 IQ genetics so half of it
Diathsis stress model pre siaposed to have addiction addictive alleles enviorment effect gene environment stress disorder
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Adoption studies– Rhee & Waldman (2002) found genes influence anti-social behaviour more than environment.
Counterpoint– Kendler et al. (2015) showed supportive adoptive families reduce depression risk, even with genetic vulnerability.
Epigenetics– Caspi et al. (2002) found a certain gene increases depression risk, but only if stressful events occur.
Real-world application– Nestadt et al. (2010) linked OCD to genetics, helping early diagnosis and treatment.
What is Holisism and reductionism
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To understand must look at it as a whole
Reductionism = better to break it
Levels of reductionism=
Socio-cultural level, eg. OCD interupts social relationships.
Psychological level, experience of anxiety.
Physical level movement washing hands
Environmental behavioural learning experiences.
Physiological abnormal functioning in the frontal lobes
Neurochemical level, eg, underproduction of serotonin
Most redctiosnt biological
Behvaiorist to some extent all about enviorment stimulus response
Cognitive = some break down model negative triad less than behaviorst
SLT less reductionist than behaviour
Psychodynamic = some break personality id ego superego
Go up more holistic
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🔹 Practical value – Holism struggles with real-world use as it’s too complex. Reductionism is more practical for scientific testing.
🔹 Scientific approach – Reductionism is scientific because it isolates variables (e.g., lab experiments). However, breaking behaviour down too much can lose real-world meaning.
🔹 Higher level – Some behaviours (e.g., social behaviour) only make sense when studied as a whole. This supports holism for certain areas of psychology.
Applications to treatment
- Strength application to treatment soomro et al SSI reductionist support as teats symptoms
- can be used to treat symptoms of mental disorders.
Interaction between levels
- depression different causes environment genes both caused interact
- Depression gene schema environment
- Causes interact pre disposed
- Interaction different levels
- Don’t ignore any causes – strength
- Here different then a nature nurture interaction here is between causes
- So can be used nature nurture interaction as this one is more holistic
Problems with inetrcationism
- Strength – don’t ignore any of the casues
- More holistic levels of explanation harder to test scientifically as they don’t break things down into cause effect relationships
- So is less scientific than reductionist explanations
- Principle of parsimony If we have different explanations which completely explain the same thing, we should always choose the simplest one.
- Breaks the principle as It requires us to use more than one level of explanation
What is Ideographic and nomothetic
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- Nomo - try to establish general laws for everyone
- Idogrpahic focus individual differences
- Classify research methods
Nomoethic research methods
- Lab – nomotehtic
- All types are
- Correlation to as general conclusions
- Quantaitive = nomoethic good
Ideographic reasecrh methods
- Case studies
- Qualitative
Ideographic and nomotetic approaches
- Behaviourist SLT Biological cognitie use nomothetic methods lab some case studies
- Humanistic – ideographic only use
- Psychodynamic = nomo ethic frued but used case studies tooo
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Implications for scientific approach
- Use noethetic methods to give general laws to make predictions use spellings law to say that sensory register 1-2 sec but if anyone can for longer he is wrong so are ore scientific
- But ideographic less scientific as don’t aim to put genral laws so can’t test no falsification
Allport and prediction
- It’s psycologist to argue should favour idiographic methods
- Says do allow to make prediction says allow better predictions says nomoethic is how people tend to behave on avaerge milgarm found 62.5 obeyed e.g person key be in army more likely than average
- But ideographic gives more detail info to make predictions about individuals
Feasibility
- Don’t need as many artcipanst less time less money
- May nor have opportunity to study many people so nomoethic not feasible
- But ideographic only good for small number people and other for large
Q methodology William Stephenson rate
