Issues and Debates

Question 1

Define Gender Bias

Answer 1

The differential treatment or representation of men and women based on stereotypes rather than real differences.

Question 2

Define Alpha bias

Give an example

Answer 2

A tendency to exaggerate differences between men and women, causing theories that devalue one gender in comparison to another. E.g. Freud’s psychoanalytic theory viewed femininity as failed masculinity; women had penis envy and were morally inferior.

Question 3

Define Androcentrism

Answer 3

Centred or focused on men, often to the neglect or exclusion of women.

Question 4

Define Beta bias

Give an example

Answer 4

A tendency to ignore or minimise differences between men and women. Such theories tend either to ignore questions about the lives of women, or assume that insights derived from studies of men will apply equally as well to women. E.g. Stress research based on male responses and assumed women responded in the same way- Taylor et al. argued for a different tend-and-befriend.

Question 5

Define universality

Answer 5

The aim to develop theories that will apply to all people, which may include real differences.

Question 6

Evaluate Gender bias

Answer 6

• Feminist Psychology- agrees there are real biological differences but socially determined stereotypes make a far greater contribution to perceived differences-redress the balance by using evidence that women may be inferior to provide women with greater support.
• Bias in research methods- poor methodology (single-sex samples, male-only experimenters) may disadvantage one gender.
• Reverse alpha bias- develop theories which show the differences between men and women but emphasise the value of women-change perceptions with research that shows instances where women are better.
• Avoiding beta bias- Hare-Mustin and Maracek=equal rights may disadvantage women because they do have different needs, e.g. equal parental leave ignores special biological demands on women.

Question 7

Define cultural bias

Refer to alpha & beta bias

Answer 7

• The tendency to judge all people in terms of your own cultural assumptions. Distorts or biases your judgement.
• Alpha bias refers to theories that assume there are real and enduring differences between cultural groups e.g. the distinction often made between individualist and collectivist cultures (difference not found in meta-analysis of conformist behaviour-Takano & Osaka).
• Beta bias refers to theories that ignore or minimise cultural differences-assume that all people are the same-reasonable to use same theories/methods with all cultural groups- e.g. psychologists assume that their view of intelligence applies to all cultures equally- western-based IQ tests used to measure other cultural groups who then appear less intelligent (imposed etic)-western cultures see intelligence as something within the individual whereas collectivist cultures like Ugandan society sees intelligence as a functional relationship depending on shared knowledge between the individual society (Wober, 1974)

Question 8

Define cultural relativism

Refer to alpha & beta bias

Answer 8

The view that behaviour cannot be judged properly unless it is viewed in the context of the culture in which it originates.

• Alpha bias: where the assumption of real differences leads psychologists to overlook universals e.g. Margaret Mead’s research in Papua New Guinea-initially concluded there were significant gender differences due to culture-later recognised there were universals (probably related to biology)-that the men in all cultures were more aggressive than the women.
• Beta bias: may mistakenly assume symptoms of mental disorder are universal (e.g. hearing voices); results in misdiagnosis of Sz.

Question 9

Define ethnocentrism

Refer to alpha & beta bias

Answer 9

The use of our own ethnic or cultural group as a basis for judgments about other groups-tendency to view beliefs, customs and behaviours of our own group as ‘normal’ and even superior-others are ‘strange’ or deviant.
Alpha bias: ones own culture is considered different and better-other cultures and their practices are devalued e.g. individualist attitudes towards attachment where independence is valued and dependence is undesirable- dependence in other cultures is more desirable.
Beta bias: If psychologists believe there world view is the only view- e.g. IQ tests- assumed it was applicable to use American IQ tests all over the world due to an assumption that the American standard was universal.

Question 10

Evaluate cultural bias

Answer 10

• Indigenous psychologies: counter ethnocentrism by encouraging the development of different groups of theories in different countries (indigenous)-e.g. Afrocentrism seeks to understand the culture of Africans
• Bias in research methods: dealt with by using studies with samples from different cultural groups.
• Consequences of cultural bias: results of American IQ test showed that European immigrants fell slightly below white Americans in terms of IQ, and African Americans at the bottom of scale with lowest mental age- caused profound effects on attitudes held by Americans towards certain groups (black people and south eastern Europeans)-enduring stereotypes of certain ethnic groups and their IQ (Gould, 1981).
• The worldwide psychology community: Increased travel of researchers=increased understanding of other cultures-academics hold international conferences where researchers from many different counties and cultures meet and discuss ideas=greater exchange of ideas=reduce ethnocentrism, enable an understanding of cultural relativism and mean that real differences are identified an valued.

Question 11

Outline the nature argument

Refer to Genetic and evolutionary explanations

Answer 11

• Nature= innate influences which may appear at any stage of life.
• Genetic= Family, twin and adoption studies show that the closer two individuals are genetically, more likely that both of them will develop same behaviours- concordance rate for SZ=40% (MZ), 7% (DZ)- Therefore nature has a major contribution in the disorder.
• Evolutionary= a behaviour or characteristic that promotes survival and reproduction will be naturally selected-they are adaptive, genes for that behaviour/characteristic passed on. e.g. Bowlby proposed attachments were adaptive as they ensured infant protection-survival .

Question 12

Outline the nurture argument

Refer to behaviourism, social learning theory and other explanations

Answer 12

• Nurture= behaviour is a product of environmental influences.
• Behaviourism= classical and operant conditioning can explain formation of attachments (CC=food is the mother who feeds the baby, OC=food reduces discomfort of hunger and is therefore rewarding).
• Social learning theory= also proposed behaviour acquired through learning, adding indirect (vicarious)reinforcement- Bandura also allowed that biology had a role to play e.g. urge to behave aggressively might be biological, but important point was the way person learns to express anger is required through environmental influences (direct and indirect reinforcement).
• Other= Bateson’s double blind theory-Sz develops in children who receive contradictory messages from parents e.g. mother tells son she loves him but at same time turns away in disgust- prevent child developing an internally consistent construction of reality-may lead to symptoms of Sz.

Question 13

Discuss the interactionist approach of nature-nurture debate

Answer 13

-Nature and Nurture can be separated= like the length and width of a rectangle are both important in calculating its area (Hebb)- or phenylketonuria which is genetic but not expressed if given right diet.
-Diathesis-stress= a person’s nature only expressed under certain conditions of nurture (stressor)- diathesis=biological vulnerability-expression of these genes depends on experience (stressor)-condition only expressed under certain conditions of nurture.
-Nature affects nurture= Indirect genetic influences- Genetic factors create an infants microenvironment- e.g. a child who is genetically more aggressive might provoke an aggressive response in others-becomes part of child’s environment and affects development.
Nurture affects nature= Neural plasticity-life experiences shape biology- e.g. London taxi drivers- hippocampus (spatial memory) bigger than in controls- responded to increased use not genetic influence.
Epigenetics= ‘switches’ that turn genes on or off- life experiences such as nutrition or stress, control these switches- also passed on to subsequent generations.

Question 14

Define determinism and refer to all 6 types

Answer 14

-Determinism= view that an individual’s behaviour is controlled by either internal or external forces-therefore behaviour should be predictable.
-Hard= all behaviour is determined, there is no free will.
Soft= biological factors and past experience present a range of choices; we feel more free in situations with little constraint.
-Biological= behaviour determined by genetics- research on intelligence identified particular genes (IGF2R) found in people with high intelligence (Hill et al, 1999). - Genes influence brain structure ad neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine often implicated in behaviour.
-Environmental= Behaviourists believe all behaviour is caused by previous experience, through process of classical and operant conditioning.
-Psychic= Freud’s psychoanalytic theory of personality- adult behaviour determined by a mix of innate drives and early experience, both internal and external forces.
-Scientific= all events have a cause- independent variable manipulated to observe causal effect on a dependent variable- e.g. Harlow’s attachment research- independent variable (wire mother with milk or cloth covered) and a dependent variable (attachment formed). -demonstrated that contact comfort, not food, determined formation of an attachment.

Question 15

Define free will and refer to both the humanistic approach and moral responsibility

Answer 15

• Free will= Each individual has the power to make choices about their behaviour.
• Humanistic= Maslow and Rogers- self determination was a necessary part of human behaviour- without it healthy self-development and self-actualisation are not possible.
• Moral responsibility= an individual is charge of their own actions- law states that children and mentally ill do not have this responsibility, but otherwise there is this assumption, that ‘normal’ adult behaviour is self determined- humans are accountable for their actions, regardless of innate factors or the influence of early experience.

Question 16

Evaluate determinism

Answer 16

-Genetic determinism= doubtful that 100% genetic determination will be found for e.g. MZ twins find about 80% similarity on intelligence or about 40% for depression. Therefore genes do not entirely determine behaviour.
-Environmental determinism= concordance rates above equally show that environment cannot be the sole determining factor in behaviour; at least some genetic input.
Scientific determinism= Dennet (2003)- in the physical sciences there is no such thing as total determinism- chaos theory: very small changes in initial conditions can result in major changes- sometimes called the ‘butterfly effect’- therefore causal relationships are probabilistic rather than deterministic-increase probability of something occurring rather than being the sole determinant- Deterministic explanations oversimplify human behaviour-cognitive factors such as thinking about what you intend to do, can override biological impulses– therefore the idea of finding a simple determinist formula from psychological research is unrealistic.
-Does it matter? A determinist position suggests criminals might excise their behaviour on genetic grounds or that mental disorder must be treated using drugs or conditioning.

Question 17

Evaluate Free will

Answer 17

• Illusion of free will= Being able to decide between different courses of action is not free will- gives us illusion of having free will- put forward by Skinner- a person might ‘choose’ to buy a particular car or see a particular film, but in fact these choices are determined by previous reinforcement experiences.
• Culturally relative= Self determinism may be a culturally relative concept, appropriate for individualist societies only- collectivist cultures place greater value on behaviour determined by group needs.
• Research challenge to free will= Benjamin Libet et al. (1983)- recorded activity in motor areas of the brain before person had a conscious awareness of decision to move finger-decision to move finger= simply a ‘read out’ of a pre-determined action-findings confirmed by follow up research by Chun Siong Soon et al. (2008)- found activity in prefrontal cortex-up to 10 seconds before a person was aware of their decision to act-However other researchers found different results= Trevena and Miller (2009)-brain activity simply a ‘readiness to act’ rather than an intention to move- neuroscience supports free will for the moment.

Question 18

Define reductionism and refer to the levels of explanation

Answer 18

Reductionism= breaks complex phenomena into more simple components.
Levels of explanation= explanations begin at highest level and progressively look at component elements
-Highest level= cultural and social explanations of how our social groups affect our behaviour.
-Middle level= psychological explanations of behaviour.
-Lower level= biological explanations of how hormones and genes etc. affect our behaviour.

Question 19

Define biological reductionism

Answer 19

Human behaviour can be reduced to a physical level -reduce behaviour to the action of neurons, neurotransmitters hormones etc. e.g. It is suggested that Sz is caused by excessive activity of neurotransmitter dopamine because drugs that block this reduce symptoms of disorder.

Question 20

Define environmental (stimulus-response) reductionism

Answer 20

Behaviour can be reduced to a simple stimulus-response link- e.g. behaviourist explanation offered for attachment- complex emotion of attachment is reduced to a set of probabilities: mother is likely to provide food which is reinforcing (reduces discomfort). She is rewarding individual and so becomes a ‘loved one’.

Question 21

Define experimental reductionism

Answer 21

Behaviours are reduced to operationalised variables that can be manipulated and measured to determine causal relationships.

Question 22

Define Holism

Answer 22

Focuses on systems as a whole rather than on the constituent parts, and suggests that we cannot predict how the whole system will behave just from a knowledge of the individual components.
Therefore reductionist explanations would only play a role in understanding.

Question 23

Outline gestalt psychology with reference to holism

Answer 23

• The word ‘Gestalten’ means ‘the whole in German.
• Focused on perception arguing that explanations for what we see only make sense through consideration of the whole rather than the individual elements.

Question 24

Outline humanistic psychology with reference to holism

Answer 24

-Individuals react as an organised whole, rather than a set of stimulus-response (S-R) links- what matter most is a person’s sense of a unified identity; a lack of identity or a sense of ‘wholeness’ leads to mental disorder.

Question 25

Outline cognitive psychology with reference to holism

Answer 25

Memory can be understood in terms of connectionist networks- idea of a network is that each unit (neuron) linked to many other units (other neurons)- links develop through experience and, with each new experience they are strengthened or weakened
-Connectionist networks described as holist because network as a whole behave differently than the individual parts.

Question 26

Evaluate Holism and Reductionism

Answer 26

-The danger of lower levels of explanation= If lower levels (biological or behavioural exp) are taken in isolation, meaning of behaviour may be overlooked=fundamental errors of understanding- e.g. prescribing drugs for hyperactivity which might be due to family problems.
-Biological reductionism= aided development of drug therapies- strength of such treatments led to considerable reduction in institutionalisation since 1950s- far more humane as it doesn’t blame patient-however success rates are variable and they treat symptoms not causes-may have limited effects- Ignores context and function of behaviour- psychological explanations take more account of these and have produced many successful therapies.
-Environmental reductionism= behavioural approach used non-human animals-may not be suitable to explain complex human behaviour-humans not scaled up versions of other animals-behaviour influenced by social context, intentions etc.
Experimental reductionism= produced huge array of findings about behaviour, but questionable how much findings actually tell us about everyday life- e.g. research on eyewitness testimony by Loftus and Palmer have not always been confirmed by real-life eyewitnesses where memories have been highly accurate (e.g. Yuille and Cutshall).
-Interactionist approach= Mind body problem- materialism assumes that physical states (e.g. REM electrical activity) cause mental events (dreams); alternatively dualists suggest mind and body ‘interact’ in both directions; the mind can cause physical changes.

Question 27

Outline the Idiographic approach

Give examples

Answer 27

• The study of individuals and the unique insights each individual gives us about human behaviour.
• Private, subjective and conscious experiences.
• uses qualitative methods of investigation investigating individuals in a personal and detailed way- e.g. case studies, unstructured interviews, self-reports etc.
• Humanistic= concerned with studying whole person, seeing world from their perspective
• Persons subjective experience matters (unique to them)-not focused on producing general laws about behaviour.

Psychodynamic= Freud used case studies e.g. Little Hans. His case consists of 150 pages of quotes and descriptions of events recorded by Hans’ father- produced generalisations but still idiographic as drawn from unique individuals.

Question 28

Evaluate the Idiographic approach

Answer 28

Strengths=

• Provides a more complete or global understanding of the individual.
• Satisfies key aim of science- description and understanding of behaviour.
• Findings can serve as a source of ideas or hypotheses for later study.
• Focuses mean individual feels valued and unique.

Weaknesses=

• Difficult to generalise from detailed and subjective knowledge about one person.
• Often regarded as non-scientific as subjective experience cannot be empirically tested.
• Can’t produce general predictions about behaviour that can be useful for e.g. drug treatment for mental illness.
• Time consuming.

Question 29

Outline the Nomothetic approach

Give examples

Answer 29

• Involves the study of a large number of people and then seeks to make generalisations or develop laws/theories about their behaviour.
• Uses scientific and quantitative data.
• Usually uses experiments and observations.
• Group averages are statistically analysed to create predictions about people in general.

-Biological approach=
Seeks to portray basic principles of how the body and brain work.
E.g. have done countless brain scans in order to make generalisations about localisations of function.
-Behaviourism=
Skinner and the behaviourists studied the responses of hundreds of rats, pigeons etc in order to develop general laws of learning (CC and OC).
-Cognitive psychology=
Have been able to make inferences about the structure and processes of human memory by measuring the performance of large samples of people in lab test.

Question 30

Evaluate the Nomothetic Approach

Answer 30

Strengths=
-Regarded as scientific as it is: precise measurement; prediction and control of behaviour; investigations of large groups; objective and controlled methods allowing replication and generalisation.
-Has helped psychology as a whole become scientific by developing laws and theories which can be empirically tested.
Weaknesses=
-Predictions can be made about groups but these may not apply to individuals.
-Approach has been accused of losing sight of the ‘whole person’.
-Gives a superficial understanding – people may act the same but for different reasons.
-Extensive use of controlled laboratory experiments creates a lack of generalisation to everyday life.

Combined methods=
-Both have a role but relative value of each depends on the purpose of the research.
-Two approaches should not be seen as conflicting. It’s more helpful to see them as complementary – idiographic can further develop or challenge a nomothetic law.
-Both can contribute to scientific approach – idiographic suited to description; nomothetic to predictions.
e.g.
using a nomothetic approach, Miller established the capacity of STM.
However a case study (idiographic) of HM revealed he had an intact STM but had problems with his semantic but not procedural memory.
-This proved invaluable as it revealed how different forms of LTM are more resistant to forgetting.

Both approaches should therefore be used together for a full understanding of human behaviour.

Question 31

Outline socially sensitive research with reference to ethical implications of research.
-Seiber & Stanley

Answer 31

Seiber & Stanley
Produced a landmark paper on the issues related to socially sensitive research
-Identified four aspects of research where important ethical concerns can arise:
1. The research question- may be damaging to certain racial group or sexual orientation - can add scientific credibility to prejudices- cause concerns to relatives of criminals (e.g. are there racial differences in IQ? are there genetic factors in criminality?)
2. Conduct of research and treatment of pps- confidentiality of the information collected e.g. if a pps confesses to a crime, should confidentiality be maintained?
3. The institutional context- can make pps feel powerless-affecting their behaviour e.g. Milgram study/ Yale Uni/ very prestigious- research may be funded or managed by private institutions who may misuse or misunderstand the data.
4. Interpretation and application of findings- Research findings may be used for purposes other than originally intended- IQ tests (psychologists’ development led to Racial prejudice & sterilisation of ‘feeble minded’. Bowlby’s research into attachment and maternal deprivation- resulted in policies such as encouraging mothers to stay at home rather than going out to work-influenced UK governments decision not to offer free child care places for the under 5s (despite fact that this is typical in other European countries).

Question 32

Evaluate social sensitivity as an ethical implication

Answer 32

-Wider impact of research= there are always some social consequences to participation in research, but with socially sensitive research there is also the potential for a more indirect impact on the pps’ family, their co-workers and the group they represent e.g. the elderly, women, addicts.
It is therefore important to also consider the impact on the larger group of which the pps is a member.
-The inadequacy of current ethical guidelines= could be argued that ethical guidelines focus only on the protection of pps.
They may not deal with all the possible ways in which research may inflict harm on a group of people.
For example, at present ethical guidelines don’t ask researchers to consider how their research might be used by others, as recommended by Sieber and Stanley.
Therefore, the considerations outlined some time ago have not yet been put into professional practice.
-Sandra Scarr argues that studies of underrepresented groups and issues may promote a greater understanding of these. This can help reduce prejudice and encourage acceptance.
Similarly socially sensitive research has benefitted society e.g. research into the (un)reliability of EWT has reduced the risk of miscarriages of justice within the legal system. It is now longer possible to be found guilty on the basis of EWT alone.
This suggests that socially sensitive research may play a valuable role in society.
-Should socially sensitive research be avoided?
Researchers could avoid researching sensitive areas like homosexuality, race, gender and addiction because the findings may have negative consequences for the participants.
However, this would probably leave psychologists with nothing to research but unimportant issues.
Sieber and Stanley argued this is an avoidance of responsibility by psychologists who have a duty to conduct socially sensitive research.
-Another solution to the issue of conducting socially sensitive research is to engage with the media and policy makers.
In order to reduce the likelihood of misuse of data, psychologists should take responsibility for what happens to their findings. They should be aware of the possibility that the results of their research might lead to abuse and discrimination.
The British Psychological Society (BPS) has a press centre which aims to promote evidence-based psychological research to the media.
But it is really a matter for individual researchers to see it as part of the research process to promote their research in a socially sensitive way, as opposed to the neutral position that some scientists wish to take.

Question 33

What are the 10 types of ethical issue that relate especially to socially sensitive research?

Answer 33

1. Privacy- pps may reveal more than they intended.
2. Confidentiality- pps may be less willing to divulge info in the future if confidentiality is breached.
3. Valid methodology- poor methods omitted from media reports.
4. Deception- includes self deception whereby research may lead people to form untrue stereotypes (e.g. believing that women are less good at maths)which then affects ones own performance.
5. Informed consent- potential pps may not always comprehend what is involved.
6. Equitable treatment- all pps should be treated in an equitable manner, and resources which are vital to pps’ well-being (e.g. educational opportunities) are not withheld from one group and not another.
7. Scientific freedom- scientist has a duty to engage in research but at the same time has an obligation not ot harm pps as well as institutions in society.
8. Ownership of data- some of the problems with determining ownership involve the sponsorship of the research (e.g. a university department or commercial organisation) and the public accessibility of the data.
9. Values- Psychologists differ in their orientation towards subjective (idiographic) approaches and more objective (scientific) approaches. Sensitive issues arise when there is a clash in such values between the scientist and recipient of the research.
10. Risk/benefit ratio- risks or costs should be minimised, but problems arise in determining risks as well as benefits.