Paper 3: Issues and Debates Flashcards
what are the 2 types of gender bias?
Gender bias can occur in two ways:
Alpha bias - when differences between males and females are exaggerated/overemphasised. Eg evolutionary exp suggesting males are highly aggressive and women aren’t
Beta bias - where the differences between males/females are minimised/ignored. Any potential differences between genders is not considered
what is androcentrism?
Androcentrism - a make-centred standpoint. Eg research conducted by males using male ppts. This means that the male experience is set as the normal standard of behaviour, ad if females experience different behaviours, they might be judged as abnormal.
why is gender bias an issue?
Evaluation - It could be used to justify unfair treatment of the sexes, eg that women should be in a more domestic role. There are more male than female researchers at a senior level, so concerns for women are less likely to be addressed.
what is cultural bias?
Cultural bias - when research and theories developed in one culture are applied inappropriately to another culture.
what is ethnocentrism?
Ethnocentrism - the idea that one culture is inherently superior to others, and behaviours that do not match the western norm are deviant/inferior. Eg in the strange situation, infants that were securely attached were seen as the most healthy/best attachment type.does not take into account how childcare practices differ between cultures
what is cultural relativism?
Cultural relativism - the idea that research cannot necessarily be applied from one culture to another.
what are the etic and emic appraoches to studying culture?
Etic approach - looks at behaviour from outside the culture.
Emic approach - looks at behaviour from within, looking at behaviours specific to individual cultures.
what is the significance of culture in research? (evaluation)
Evaluation:
-some psychological research has found examples of universal behaviours. Eg facial expressions (interactional synchrony) - the findings of this research are not culturally relative as a result.
-ethnocentrism can cause misdiagnosis of disorders - afro-carribbean people in the UK are 7x more likely to be diagnosed with SZ, compared to other groups. This may lead to treatment of a disorder that the person does not have.
what are the details of the freewill vs determinism debate?
Freewill vs determinism
Freewill argues that we ourselves direct our behaviour though our own will. As we make choices and our behaviour is voluntary. Humanistic psychologists support the freewill side.
Determinism is the belief that our behaviour is predetermined, and we don’t choose our actions. Behaviour can be determined by previous experience, genetics and the environment. The extent to which behaviour is determined can be expressed in either hard determinism or soft determinism.
Hard determinism is the theory that human behaviour and actions are wholly determined by internal or external factors. Therefore humans do not have genuine free will, or ethical accountability. Behaviourists support this idea.
Soft determinism is the idea that there are constraints on our behaviour that can determine it, but within these limitations we are free to make some choices. Cognitive psychologists support this viewpoint.
Biological determinism is the idea that behaviour is dictated by genetics, brain makeup etc.
Psychic determinism is the idea that behaviour is controlled by the unconscious (psychodynamic)
Environmental determinism is the idea that behaviour is controlled by the learning from the environment (classical/operant conditioning)
evaluation of the freewill vs determinism debate?
Evaluation
-Determinism lends itself to using the scientific method. This allows predictions to be tested and has resulted in successful treatments being developed.
-determinism has implications for criminal responsibility. It suggests offenders cannot be blamed for their actions, which is unacceptable for most people, and does not reflect how the legal system operates.
-freewill has face validity - this is the idea that it is plausible to most people. On the face of it, it seems like a plausible concept, and likely has positive implications for behaviour.
-freewill is a positive concept which has led to client-centred therapy - this has helped people to self-actualise and get more out of life.
-contradictory evidence - Soon et al found that the brain is active before consciously aware of making a decision; suggests freewill may not exist at all.
what are the details of the nature vs nurture debate?
Nature vs nurture
The nature idea is that behaviour is shaped by innate characteristics present at birth. Innate characteristics are often due to genetics, and the biological approach supports the role of nature in affecting behaviour.
Nurture is the idea that behaviour is shaped by the environment - eg circumstances of upbringing and learning are responsible for behaviour. Behaviourists support the role of nurture, believing that people are born as “blank slates”.
The diathesis stress model suggests that a vulnerability to a behaviour can be combined with a trigger to cause it to develop.
evaluation for the nature vs nurture debate?
Evaluation:
-Support for the diathesis stress model - SZ patients have been shown to have a predisposition that requires an environmental trigger - concordance rates of MZ twins is under 100%, meaning there has to be an environmental factor.
-it is too difficult to investigate the effects of nature and nurture separately, given that they are highly linked. Eg twins are highly likely to share the same environment.
-taking one side or the other can have negative consequences. Could lead to mistreatment of certain groups, eg if people have poor upbringing or dispositional issues, they could be stigmatised.
what are the details of the holism vs reductionism debate?
Holism vs reductionism
Holism suggests that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The argument is that it only makes sense to study all the possible influences on a person in psychology.
Reductionism is the idea that it is possible to understand behaviour by breaking it down into its constituent components, using the lowest possible level of explanation.
Biological reductionism
Environmental reductionism
Machine reductionism
evaluation for the holism vs reductionism debate?
Holistic explanations are hard to test scientifically, therefore it is difficult to know how accurate they are. Creating treatments for disorders becomes more difficult bc finding one cause of the disorder is difficult to identify.
-holism provides a more realistic account of human behaviour. For example in social situations such as conformity to roles.
-reductionism lends itself to being tested scientifically, which leads to theories and predictions which can be falsified.
-reductionism oversimplifies complex behaviours and disorders, and means that someone may overlook environmental/external causes of a trait or disorder.
what are the details of the idiographic vs nomothetic debate?
Idiographic vs nomothetic
Idiographic involves focusing more on an individual case as a means of understanding behaviour, rather than attempting to formulate general laws of behaviour. Case studies and unstructured interviews with open questions are often used with this approach. Humanistic psychologists support this method.
Nomothetic involves formulating general laws of behaviour, rather than focusing on individual cases. Experiments, structured observations, closed questions will often be used to establish theories that can be applied to everyone. The biological and behavioural approaches favour this method.
