past paper questions Flashcards
outline what is meant by cultural relativism
the idea that a behaviour can only be properly understood in the context of the norms and values of the society of culture in which it occurs
suggest two ways in which researchers might reduce cultural bias in their research
•do not attempt to extrapolate findings/ theories to cultures that are not represented in the research sample
•use researchers who are familiar with the culture being investigated
•carry out cross-cultural research rather than research with a sole culture
•do not assume universal norms/ standards across different cultures
•be sensitive to cultural norms when designing research and reporting findings
•study single culture to understand that culture (emic approach)
•take a reflexive approach ie constantly reflecting on own biases when carrying out research
use your knowledge of psychic determinism to explain why an adult chews their pen and tidies their desk when anxious (also why he struggles making friends and have never had a gf)
•psychic determinism suggests that adult behaviour (eg pen chewing/ relationship problems) is determined by childhood/ early experiences and by innate unconscious motives (he has no free will)
•experiences that occurred during the states of psychosexual development have unconsciously influenced their adult behaviour (their behaviour has been caused by early experiences- hard determinism)
•he is unaware of these early experiences as his memory has been repressed, but they manifest themselves in symbolic outward behaviours (he is a slave to his unconscious)
•pen chewing- oral fixation, tidying- anal retentive
‘psychologists sometimes adopt a reductionist approach to their investigations when they want their research to be objective and empirical’
possible content: (describe)
•reductionism- explaining complex and meaningful behaviours by breaking it down into smaller components
•levels of explanation- basic until level to more complex holistic level
•types of reductionism: biological (genes/brain/chemical), environmental (stimulus-response), experimental reductionism; machine (in terms of mechanistic models)
•objectivity, use of empirical methods- basic scientific principle that evidence should be observable and unaffected by opinions/ subjective interpretation
‘psychologists sometimes adopt a reductionist approach to their investigations when they want their research to be objective and empirical’
possible application: (draw links)
•understanding behaviour at the basic component level of biological units is objective and empirical (eg measurements of neurotransmitters)
•explaining behaviour at the basic level of stimulus-response links is objective and empirical as it involves the manipulation of stimuli and objective recording of responses
‘psychologists sometimes adopt a reductionist approach to their investigations when they want their research to be objective and empirical’
possible discussion points: evaluation
•the reductionist approach fits well with psychology’s drive for scientific status and the consequent focus on objectivity and empiricism
•reductionism has clearly defined variables which can be operationalised, establishing a cause and effect relationship
•reductionism leads to a loss of meaning, components do not add up to a whole experience, lacks holism
•social behaviours can only be studied holistically
•reductionist treatments (drugs)
what is meant by androcentrism?
•male-centred or male-biased view of the world
•male behaviour and masculine traits are judged to be the norm
•female behaviour/ feminine traits are judged to be abnormal/ less acceptable
suggest two ways in which psychologists could avoid gender bias in their research
•do not extrapolate findings from research with male participants to females (or vice versa)
•use both female and male participants in research
•do not exaggerate differences between males and females where there are no real differences- avoid alpha bias (and vice versa to avoid beta bias)
•be sensitive to male and female norms when designing research/ reporting findings
•take a reflexive approach ie constantly reflecting on own gender biases when carrying out research
what is determinism?
understanding that behaviour is controlled and we do not exercise free will over our own behaviour
what is biological determinism?
•behaviour is controlled by aspects of biology (eg. genes/ chemicals)
what is environmental determinism?
behaviour is controlled by external influences (eg. parents/ society)
what is psychic determinism?
behaviour is controlled by unconscious fears, desires ect
explain how researches could deal with the issue of social sensitivity in their research
•awareness of the issue: researchers should be aware of the (negative or positive) implications of their research, the possible self-fulfilling prophecy
•dealing with the issue: researchers should take adequate steps to counter the above
-sensitive debriefing of participants in relation to publication, disclosure of results and confidentiality/ anonymity
briefly outline a reductionist explanation in psychology?
•reductionism- explaining a phenomenon in terms of constituent parts
•studying underlying elements
•description linked to approaches (eg biopsychologists analyse brain chemicals)
possible evaluation points for a reductionist explanation in psychology
•consistent with approaches used in other sciences
•enables a more concrete understanding
•focus on elements which can be operationalised which enables greater testability and cause and effect relationships to be established
•misses the complexity of many behaviours (social ones can only be studied holistically)
•contrast with the holistic approach
outline what is meant by soft determinism
•the idea that behaviour are to an extent dictated by external forces
•despite this, we still have some element of control and some free will over our actions/ behaviour
what is a causal explanation?
a causal explanation is based on the scientific notion that behaviour is determined by internal/ external factors- there is a cause and effect relationship
what is a nomothetic approach?
•a nomothetic approach involves studying a large sample of participants
•using the findings to generate or substantiate general laws of behaviour; to make inferences/ predictions about the wider population
what two studies take a nomothetic approach?
•milgram tested a sample of participants to propose his theory of situational obedience
•ainsworth tested infants using the strange situation to propose three attachment types
what are methods typically used with the idiographic approach?
•case study
•single- case observation
•in-depth interview
what does social sensitivity mean in the context of psychology?
•research which has potential implications or consequences (eg leading to prejudice or discrimination)
•where a group of people represented in the research may be negatively affected as a result of a study (eg women affected by Bowlby’s work on attachment)
•where a study leads to changes in public policy affecting individuals/ groups (eg research into IQ in the 1950s leading to educational changes)
explain how researchers in psychology could deal with issues related to social sensitivity
•submit research proposals to ethics committees and abide by any recommendations
•weigh up the possible costs and benefits before conducting any research (only conduct if the benefits outweigh)
•take care when formulating the aim and question so as not to misrepresent certain groups
•consider the wider effects of the publication
•take steps to avoid biased media representation of findings
which term best represents the view that biology and the environment work together to determine behaviour?
interactionism
what are behavioural categories?
•a system of behavioural categories is a list of behaviour likely to occur during an observation
•these should be observable/ operationalised
name the opposite approach to the nomothetic approach. briefly outline what this opposite approach might have involved in a study of friendly behaviour.
•idiographic approach
•an idiographic approach would involve investigation of friendly behaviour in an individual child or their parents
•eg interview/ observe/ carry out a case study of one child, focusing on their friendly behaviour
•results should not be used to generalise findings/ propose general laws about friendly behaviour
what is gender bias in psychological research?
•failure to adequately consider differences between men and women can lead to gender bias
•historically in psychology there has been predominance of research based on samples of men
•researchers might have different expectations of men and women- which could affect research outcomes
•alpha bias- overemphasises differences between men and women
•beta bias- underestimates the differences between men and women
•overemphasis on the importance of biology as the driver of behaviour
what studies/ theories could have been subject to gender bias?
•evolutionary theory might suggest promiscuity in men is normal and acceptable whilst promiscuity in women is abnormal and unacceptable
•milgram and asch tended to use largely male samples
discussion points for gender bias in psychological research
•gender bias might result in androcentrism- the belief that men’s behaviour represents the norm and therefore that any behaviour typical of women might be judged as abnormal
•implications for research- creating prejudices/ stereotypes
•needed to reinforce the notion of universality
•promising the idea that not all members of a sex are the same
•ways of avoiding gender bias- studying women in a women only environment
what is an example of two statements which describes a strongly deterministic view?
•people’s behaviour always has a cause
•people have no choice about how to act
what are all the types of determinism?
•hard determinism
•soft determinism
•biological determinism
•environmental determinism
•psychic determinism
what is a problem associated with alpha and beta bias in research?
•in alpha bias there is a misrepresentation of a behaviour as researchers overestimate/ exaggerate gender differences
•in beta bias there is a misrepresentation of behaviour because researchers underestimate/ minimise gender differences
briefly outline what psychologists mean by ‘levels of explanation’
explanations vary from those at a lower or fundamental level focusing on basic components or units to those at a higher more holistic multivariable level
what is meant by the ‘nature-nurture’ debate in psychology?
the possibility that behaviour is governed by nature (genes) and by nurture (environment, experiences) and reference to the debate being about the relative contribution of each of these influences
discuss levels of explanation in psychology. refer to one or more topics in your answer. (possible content)
•extreme reductionism (lowest level of explanation)- explaining complex behaviour by breaking it down into smaller component parts
•levels of explanation- basics physiological unit level (low) to more complex holistic level
•reductionism as a hierarchy moving from extreme reductionism (low levels) to broader psychological levels (mid-level) to sociological levels (high-level)
•holism as the highest level of explanation taking account of all aspects of a persons behaviour/ experience- opposite of reductionism
discuss levels of explanation in psychology. refer to one or more topics in your answer. (possible discussion points)
•basic unit level of reductionism is more appropriate in the hard sciences because methods and traditions involve scientific analysis of discrete units
•reductionism- operationalised variables- cause and effect
•reductionism- establishment as a science, useful for drug treatments
•parsimony- the idea that the simplest level of explanation is the best
•extreme reductionism leads to loss of meaning
•humanistic psychologists prefer holistic methods
