issues and debates

Question 1

alpha bias

Answer 1

when differences between males and females are overstated

for example, Fred’s theory of psychoanalysis which viewed femininity as a form of failed masculinity. Freuds theory exaggerated the differences between males and females, an example of alpha bias

Question 2

androcentrism

Answer 2

a bias towards a male-centred point of view.

In psychology, many subjects of important studies were male, resulting in general psychology paradigms being more male-centred

Question 3

beta bias

Answer 3

when differences between males and females are understated

For example the general consensus that the fight or flight response was equally by male and female animals, whereas under scrutiny it was discovered females could also adopt the ‘tend and befriend’ response

Question 4

biological determinism

Answer 4

the idea that all human behaviour is determined by biological processes (genetics, hormones and physiological processes). biology is destiny

Question 5

biological reductionism

Answer 5

the idea that behaviour can be reduced to simple physical components such as nerves and ions

Question 6

cultural relativism

Answer 6

behaviour can only be properly understood if the cultural context is considered so any study drawing its sample from one cultural context and attempting to apply to another culture is suspect

Question 7

determinism

Answer 7

the rejection of free will, human behaviours are caused by physical processes (predetermined) and that these physical processes can’t be overruled

Question 8

environmental determinism

Answer 8

the view that behaviours are determined by conditioning (e.g. reinforcement and punishment) from our environment i.e. upbringing and school

Question 9

environmental reductionism

Answer 9

the idea that behaviour can be reduced to simple responses to stimuli

Question 10

ethnocentrism

Answer 10

a bias towards your own culture, and judging other cultured by that subjective standard

Question 11

hard determinism

Answer 11

the idea that free will is non existent, behaviour is entirely caused by physical processes that are beyond our control

Question 12

holism

Answer 12

an approach that suggests to understand human behaviour we must look at the human as a whole.

Advocates believe that human behaviour is too complex to be explained from one level of explanation and that ‘the whole is greater than the sum of its parts’

Question 13

idiographic approach

Answer 13

a type of learning that suggests we should focus on the unique experiences of each individual to understand human behaviour and (contra to the nomothetic approach) it is impossible to identify general laws that apply across populations

emphasis on qualitative data, prefers individual case studies and self report methods over large scale experiments, associated with humanistic approach, more subjective

Question 14

interactionist approach

Answer 14

our genetic nature predisposes us towards some behaviours more than others but how these genes are expressed is dependent on the environment

e.g. OCD has a strong genetic component (around 67%) but not everyone with these genes go onto develop OCD i.e. drugs, CBT or never experience events that trigger OCD

Question 15

nomothetic approach

Answer 15

a type of learning approach that suggests we should establish general laws of behaviour that can be applied to all people to understand similarities of human behaviour

emphasis on qualitative, prefers large sample sizes rather than individual case studies, behaviourist, cognitive and biological approach, more objective

Question 16

psychic determinism

Answer 16

the idea that all human behaviour is governed by unresolved and unconscious mental processes (desires and conflicts)

e.g. unresolved oedipus complex in childhood can cause aggressive behaviour as an adult

Question 17

reductionism

Answer 17

an approach that suggests that to understand human behaviour we must reduce it to its simplest parts
e.g depression is caused by low serotonin
e.g. biological reductionism that argues behaviour can be explained entirely in physical causes without reference to higher levels of explanation such as a person’s upbringing or cognitions

Question 18

social sensitivity

Answer 18

research that has ethical implications for people beyond the researchers and ppts directly involved
e.g. social groups, friends and family, research institutions

Question 19

soft determinism

Answer 19

human behaviour is largely determined by physical processes (e.g. biology and upbringing) but humans are able to overrule these processes and exert their free will in some circumstances

Question 20

nurture

Answer 20

empricits believe that we are born blank slates with no innate nature so any behaviour must be learned from the environment

e.g. the learning approach explains behaviours as a result of operant conditioning

Question 21

nature

Answer 21

nativists believe that our behaviour is predetermined by nature and can be explained by heredity (inherited biological characteristics such as genetics)

Question 22

the heritability coefficient

Answer 22

a way to quantify the extent to which a characteristic is determined by genetics
(1 means the characteristic is completely genetic whereas 0 means the characteristic has nothing to do with genetics)

Question 23

emic research

Answer 23

Berry
researching a culture from within to understand that culture specifically (and not applying the findings to other cultures)

Question 24

etic research

Answer 24

Berry
Conducting research from an outside perspective to discover universal truths about human psychology (applying the findings to people in all culture)

can lead to ethnocentrism