Paper 3 - Issues And Debates Flashcards
What are the seven issues and debates
Gender bias Culture bias Free will and determinism Nature-nurture debate Holism and reductionism Idiographic and nomothetic approaches Ethical implications
Why may bias be an inevitable part of the research process
Psychologists are normal people who possess beliefs and values that are influenced by the social and historical context within which they live. This may undermine psychologists claims to have discovered facts about human behaviour that are objective, value-free and universal
What is gender bias
When considering human behaviour, bias is a tendency to treat one individual or group in a different way from others. In the context of gender bias, psychological research or theory may offer a view that does not justifiably represent the experience and behaviour of men or women (usually women)
What is alpha bias within psychological research
That which exaggerates or overestimates differences between the sexes. Such differences are usually presented as real and enduring; fixed and inevitable. Although these differences may occasionally heighten the value of women, they are more likely to devalue females in relation to males
What is an example of alpha bias
The sociobiological theory of relationship formation - suggests that sexual promiscuity in males is naturally selected and thus genetically determined whilst females who engage in the same behaviour are seen as going against their ‘nature’ - an exaggeration of the differences between the sexes
What is the sociobiological theory of relationship formation
WIlSON explains human sexual attraction and behaviour through the principle of ‘survival efficiency’. It is in the males best interest to impregnate as many females as possible to increase the chance of his genes being passed to the next generation. For the female, her best chance at preserving her genes is to ensure the survival of her offspring.
What is natural selection
The major process that explains evolution whereby inherited traits that enhance an animals reproductive success are passed on to the next generation and thus ‘selected’, whereas animals without such traits are less successful at reproduction and their traits are not selected
What is beta bias
Bias that ignores, minimises or underestimates differences between men and women. This often occurs when female participants are not included as part of the research process and then it is assumed that the research findings apply equally to both sexes
Example of beta bias
The fight or flight response - early research was based exclusively on Male animals (preferred for research because female hormones fluctuate). The fight or flight response was assumed to be a universal response to a threatening situation
What did TAYLOR suggest about the fight or flight response
Suggested that female biology has evolved to inhibit the fight or flight response, shifting attention towards caring for offspring (tending) and forming defensive networks with other females (befriending). Females exhibits a tend and befriend response governed by the hormone oxytocin
What is a consequence of beta bias
Androcentrism.
If our understanding of what counts as ‘normal’ behaviour is being drawn from all Male research, then any behaviour that deviates from this standard is likely to be judged as abnormal, inferior or deficient in comparison. This leads to female behaviour being misunderstood and, at worst, pathologised (taken as a sign of illness)
Why do many feminists object to the category of pre-menstruated syndrome (PNS)
It stereotypes and trivialises female experience. It is argued that PMS medicalises female emotions, such as anger, by explaining these in hormonal terms. Male anger, on the other hand, is often seen as a rational response to external pressures (BRESCOLL AND UHLMAN)
What is PMS
Involved a variety of physical, mental and behavioural symptoms tied to a women’s menstrual cycle and is the diagnosable form of PMT
2 Strengths of gender bias
Feminist psychologists have suggested how gender bias may be avoided. There’s a number of criteria that should be adhered to in order to avoid gender bias: women should be studied within meaningful real life context, and genuinely participant in research rather than being the object of study. Diversity within groups of women should be examined, rather than comparisons made between women and men. Finally, there should be a greater emphasis placed on collaborative research methods that collect qualitative data. This way of doing research may be preferable, less gender biased, than lab research.
Understanding of gender bias leads to reflexivity. Rather than seeing bias as a problem that may threaten the objective status of their work, many researchers embrace it as an important aspect of the research process in general. For instance, in their study of the lack of women in executive positions in accountancy firms, LAMBERT include reflection on how their gender-related experiences influence their understanding of events. Such reflexivity is an important development in psychology and many lead to greater awareness of the role of personal bias in shaping research in the future.
What is reflexivity
In qualitative research, a research reflects or thinks critically during the research process about the factors that affect the behaviour of both researchers and participants. This reflective process recognises the social dynamics of the research process and how this affects data collected
3 limitations of gender bias
Negative implications. It may create misleading assumptions about female behaviour; fail to challenge negative stereotypes and validate discriminatory practices. It may provide a scientific justification to deny women opportunities within the workplace or in wider society, such as the example of PMS. In any domanin where men set the standards of normal behaviour, ‘it becomes normal for women to feel abnormal’ (TARVIS). Gender bias in research is not just a methodological problem but may have damaging consequences which affect the lives and prospects of real women.
Promotes sexism in the research process. A lack of women appointed at senior research level means that female concerns may not be reflected in the research questions asked. Lab experiments may further disadvantage women, female participants are placed in an inequitable relationship (usually with a male) researcher who has the power to label them as unreasonable, irrational and unable to complete complex tasks. This means that psychology may be Guilty of supporting a form of institutional sexism that creates gender bias in theory and research.
Essentialist arguments are common in gender-biased research. Many of the gender differences reported by psychologists are based on an essentialist perspective: that the gender difference in question is inevitable (essential) and fixed in nature. WALKERDINE reports how, in the 1930s, ‘scientific’ research revealed how intellectual activity - such as attending university - would shrivel a woman’s ovaries and harm her chances at pregnancy! Such essentialist accounts in psychology are often politically motivated arguments disguised as biological facts. THis often creates a ‘double standard’ in the way that the same behaviour is viewed from a female and female perspective.
What is an essentialist argument
The view that a difference in behaviour, such as gender difference, is fixed in nature, inevitable and not the result of social processes
To what extent do theories, models and concepts in psychology represent universal behaviour
Many critics argue that although psychology may claim to have unearthed trust that say something about people all over the world, in reality findings from studies only apply to the particular group of people who were studied
What does universality mean
Any underlying characteristic of human beings that is capable of being applied to all, despite differences of experience and upbringing. Gender bias and culture bias threaten the universality of findings in psychology
What have researchers mistakenly assumed of findings on studies in western cultures
They can easily be applied all over the world
What is cultural bias
Refers to the tendency to ignore cultural differences and interpret all phenomena through the ‘lens’ of ones own culture. Likely to occur when researchers have studied samples of people from one particular culture only - usually their own
Example of cultural bias
Classic social influence studies of conformity and obedience, originally conducted with US participants, revealed very different results when they were replicated in other parts of the world
What happens if the norms or standards for a particular behaviour is judged only from the standpoint of one particular culture
Any cultural differences in behaviour will be seen as abnormal, inferior or unusual
What is ethnocentrism
Judging other cultures by the standards and values of ones own culture. In its extreme form it is the belief in the superiority of ones own culture group. In psychological research this may be communicated through a view that any behaviours which do not conform to the model are somehow deficient or underdeveloped
Notable example of ethnocentric research
AINSWORTHs Strange situation
How was The strange situation ethnocentric
It reflects only the norms and values of America culture in attachment research.
She identified the key defining variable of attachment type as the child’s experience of anxiety on separation. She suggested that ideal (or secure) attachment was the infant showing moderate amounts of distress when left alone by mother figure.
However, this led to misinterpretion of child-reading practices in other countries which deviated from the American norm. For example, German mothers were seen as cold and rejecting rather than encouraging independence in their children.
Thus the strange situation was revealed an inappropriate measure of attachment type for non US children.
What is independence
Behaving in a way that is not guided by the thought and behaviours of others. It is not simply being disobedient or anti-conformist, both of which are a response to the behaviour of others, but being guided by ones own principles
What helps to avoid cultural bias
Being able to recognise cultural relativism in research
What is 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
Who drew a distinctions between etic and emic approaches
BERRY
What did berry say an etic approach is
Looking at behaviour from outside a given culture and trying to describe those behaviours that are universal
What did berry say an emic approach is
Functions from within or inside a certain culture and identifies behaviours that are specific to that culture
What is imposed etic
A technique or theory developed in one culture and then used to study the behaviour of people in a different culture with different norms, values, experiences etc
How is the strange situation an example of imposed etic
Studied behaviours within a single culture and then assumed her ideal attachment type could be applied universally
2 strengths of cultural bias
Cross-cultural research challenges western assumptions and typical ways of thinking and viewing the world. Being able to see that some knowledge and concepts we take for granted are not shared by other people may promote a greater sensitivity to individual differences and cultural relativism in the future. This means that the conclusions psychologists draw are likely to have more validity if they recognise the role of culture in bringing them about.
Recognition of both cultural Relavistim and universals. BERRYs concept of imposed etic is a useful reminder to psychologists of the culturally specific nature of their work. However, it should not be assumed that all psychology is culturally relative and there is no such thing as universal human behaviour. Basic facial expressions for emotions, such as happiness or disgust, are the same all over the human and animal world. Critiques of AINSWORTHs should not obscure the fact that Some features of human attachment, such as imitation and interactional synchrony, are universal. A full understanding of human behaviour requires the study of both universality and variation among individuals and groups.
2 limitations of cultural bias
Conducting research in different cultures means that variables under review may not be experienced in the same way by all participants. For instance, the behavioural expression of emotions (like aggression) may give rise to quite different behaviours within an indigenous population than they would in the West. in China, the invasion of personal space is seen as normal, whereas in the West this may be seen as threatening or confrontational. Issues like these may affect interactions between the researcher and participants in cross-cultural studies and this may reduce the validity of the findings.
Distinction between individualism and collectivism. Often in the past, when psychologists have made reference to culture, they have done so within the context of individualist and collectivist. Individualist cultures value personal freedom and independence whereas collectivist cultures place emphasis on interdependence and the needs of the group. However, critics have suggested that such a lazy and simplistic definition between cultures no longer applies. TAKANO and OSAKA found that 14 out of 15 studies comparing US and JApan found no evidence of the traditional distinction between individualism and collectivism. This could perhaps suggest that cultural bias in research is less of an issue than it once was.
What is free will
The notion that humans can make choices and are not determined by biological or external forces. It does not deny that there may be biological and environmental forces exerting influence on our behaviour, but nevertheless implies that we are able to reject these forces.
Which approach advocates free will
Humanistic approach
What is hard determinism
Implies that free will is not possible as our behaviour is always caused by internal or external events beyond our control. It suggests that all human behaviour has a cause and, in principle, it should be possible to identity and describe these causes
What is hard determinism sometimes referred to as
Fatalism
How is hard determinism compatible with the aims of science
As it assumes that what we do is dictated by internal or external forces that we cannot control
What is soft determinism
All events, including human behaviour, have causes, but behaviour can also be determined by our conscious choices in the absence of coercion.
What did JAMES believe
That whilst it was the job of scientists to explain the many determining forces that act upon us, this does not detract from the freedom we have to make rational conscious choices in everyday situations
What are the 3 types of determinism
Biological
Environmental
Psychic
What is biological determinism
The belief that behaviour is caused by biological (genetic, hormonal, evolutionary) influences that we cannot control
Examples of biological determinism
Psychological processes are not under our conscious control - such as the influence of the autonomic nervous system during periods of stress and anxiety.
Genetic factors may determine many behaviours and characteristics, such as mental disorders.
Hormone may affect behaviour, for example the role of testosterone in aggressive behaviour.
What is environmental determinism
The belief that behaviour is caused by features of the environment (such as systems of rewards and punishment) that we cannot control
What did skinner say of free will
It is an illusion and he argued all behaviour is the result of conditioning
Examples of environmental determinism
Our experience of ‘choice’ is merely the sum total of reinforcement contingencies that have acted upon us throughout our lives. Although we might think we are acting independently, our behaviour has been shaped by environmental events, as well as agents of socialisation - parents, teachers etc
What is psychic determinism
The belief that behaviour is caused by unconscious conflicts, repressed in childhood that we cannot control
What did Freud say of free will
It’s an illusion but placed much more importance in the influence of biological drives and instincts which underpin psychological responses. He did not believe there was such a thing as an accident and even something as random as a ‘slip of the tongue’ is determined by the unconscious
What is a basic principle of science
That every event in the universe has a cause and that causes can be explained using general laws
Why is knowledge of causes and the formulation of laws important
They allow scientists to predict and control events in the future. In psychology, the lab experiment enables researchers to stimulate the conditions of the test tube and remove all other extraneous variables in order to demonstrate a causal effect
Strength and limitation of determinism
Strength: consistent with the aim of science. The notion that human behaviour is orderly and obeys laws places psychology in equal footing with other more established sciences, increasing its credibility. The prediction and control of human behaviour has led to the development of treatments and therapies - for instance, drug treatments that manage and control SZ. The experience of mental disorders suggests that at least some behaviours are determined as no one would choose to have SZ.
Weakness: not consider with the way or legal system operates. In a court of law, offenders are held morally accountable for their actions. Only in extreme circumstance are juries instructed to act with greater leniency - for instance when the Law of Diminished Responsibility is applied (mental illnesses).
Strength and weakness of free will
Strength: we often make choices in everyday life. Everyday experiences ‘gives the impression’ that we are constantly making choices on any given day. This gives face validity to the idea of free will. Another strength is that, even if we do not have free will, the fact we believe we do may have a positive impact on mind and behaviour. Research suggests that people who have an internal locus of control, believing that they have a high degree of influence over events and their own behaviour, tend to be more healthy.
weakness: free will isn’t supported by neurological evidence. Brain studies of decision making have revealed evidence against free will. LIBET has shown that the brain active that determines the outcome of simple choice may predate our knowledge of having made such a choice. Found that activity related to whether to press a button with the left or right hand occurs in the brain up to 10 seconds before participants report being consciously aware of making such a decision. Shows that even our most basic experiences of free will are decided and determined before we become aware of them.
Strength of the free will and determinism debate
A middle group may provide the best comprise in the debate. Those approaches in psych that have a cognitive element such as SLT, are those which adopt soft determinism. BANDURA argues that although environmental factors in learning are key, we are free to choose who or what to attend to and when to perform certain behaviours. Middle group approach may be helpful in understanding different aspects of human behaviour which appear not to be a straightforward choice between free will and determinism.
Example of an early nativist
Descartes
