Topic 8: Issues and Debates in Psychology Flashcards
define gender bias
where psychological theory and research may not accurately represent the experience and behaviour of men and women.
define alpha bias
the exaggeration or overestimation of differences between the sexes. these differences are represented as real, enduring, fixed and inevitable.
these differences are more likely to devalue females in relation to males.
explain an example of alpha bias
an example is the sociobiological theory of relationship formation.
wilson (1975) explained human sexual attraction through ‘survival efficiency’ where it is in a male’s interest to try and impregnate as many females as possible to increase the chances of his genes being passed on to the next generation.
the female’s best chance to preserve her genes is to ensure the survival of the relatively few offspring she may produce.
sexual promiscuity in males is naturally selected and genetically determined but females who engage in the same behaviour are seen as going against their ‘nature’; an exaggeration of the difference between sexes.
define beta bias.
ignoring or underestimating differences between men and women.
this often occurs when female participants are not included in the research process and it is assumed that research findings apply equally to both sexes.
explain an example of beta bias.
an example is the fight of flight response.
early research into ‘fight of flight’ 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.
taylor et al. (2000) suggested female biology has evolved to inhibit the flight or fight response, shifting attention towards caring for offspring (tending) and forming defensive networks with other females (befriending). females exhibit a ‘tend and befriend’ response governed by the hormone oxytocin.
what is a consequence of beta bias?
the consequence is androcentrism.
if our understanding of ‘normal’ behaviour comes from research involving all-male samples, then any behaviour that deviates from this standard is judged as ‘abnormal’ or ‘inferior’.
this leads to female behaviour being misunderstood and even pathologised (taken as a sign of illness).
define cultural bias
if the ‘norm’ or ‘standard’ for a particular behaviour is judged only from the standpoint of one particular culture, then any cultural differences in behaviour that depart or deviate from this standard will inevitably be seen as ‘abnormal’, ‘inferior’ or ‘unusual’.
define ethnocentrism
refers to a particular form of cultural bias and is a belief in the superiority of one’s own cultural group.
give an example of ethnocentrism in a study
mary ainsworth’s strange situation. she created norms based on the values of american culture
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.
what is an etic approach?
an etic approach looks at behaviour from outside of a given culture and attempts to describe those behaviours that are universal.
what is an emic approach?
an emic approach function from within or inside certain cultures and identifies behaviours that are specific to that culture.
what does john berry argue about regarding etic and emic approaches?
john berry has drawn a distinction between etic and emic approaches in the study of human behaviour. he argues that psychology has often been guilty of imposing an etic approach; arguing that theories, models, concepts, etc. are universal, when they actually came about through emic research within a single culture.
define and explain free will
free will is the notion that humans can make choices and are not determined by biological or external forces.
a belief in free will does not deny that there may be biological and environmental forces as masters of our own destiny.
free will is a view of human behaviour that is advocated by the humanistic approach.
define determinism
determinism is the belief that all events, including human actions and decisions, are ultimately determined by pre-existing causes or conditions.
what does determinism propose?
determinism proposes that free will has no place in explaining behaviour.
what are the five types of determinism?
hard determinism
soft determinism
biological determinism
environmental determinism
psychic determinism
what is hard determinism?
hard determinism suggests that all human behaviour has a cause, and in principle, it should be possible to identify and describe these causes.
what is soft determinism?
whilst acknowledging that all human action has a cause, soft determinism also suggests some room for manoeuvre, in that people have conscious mental control over the way they behave.
what is biological determinism?
the belief that behaviour is caused by biological influences that we cannot control e.g the autonomic nervous system, nature-nurture debate, hormones and mental disorders.
what is environmental determinism?
the belief that behaviour is caused by features of the environment that we cannot control.
skinner famously described free will as ‘an illusion’ and argued that all behaviour is the result of conditioning. 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 and agents of socialisation.
what is psychic determinism?
the belief that behaviour is caused by unconscious conflicts that we cannot control. freud agreed that free will is ‘an illusion’ but placed much more emphasis on the influence of biological drives and instincts than the behaviourists. his particular brand of determinism sees human behaviour as determined and directed by conscious conflicts repressed in childhood.
according to freud, there is no such thing as accident and even something random as ‘slip of the tongue’ can be explained by the undenied authority of the unconscious.
explain the scientific emphasis on causal explanations
a basic principle of science is that every event has a cause and these can be explained with general laws. knowledge of these allows scientists to predict and control events.
science seeks to find causal explanations where one thing is determined by another.
for example, in chemistry adding a chemical X to a chemical Y results in a reaction Z within the controlled environment of the test tube. in other words, the behaviour of Z is determined by X and Y.
in psychology, the lab experiment lets researchers replicate the conditions of the test tube and remove all other extraneous variables to demonstrate a causal effect.
what is the nature debate on nature vs nurture?
early nativists argued that human characteristics – and even some aspects of knowledge – are innate: the result of heredity.
define heredity
the genetic transmission of mental and physical characteristics from one generation to another.
what is the heritability coefficient?
it is used to assess heredity.
it is a numerical figure ranging from 0 to 1 which indicates the extent to which a characteristic has a genetic basis.
a value of 1 means it is entirely genetically determined.
what is the nurture debate on nature vs nurture?
empiricists argued the mind is a blank slate at birth upon which experience writes – the behaviourist approach.
