issues and dbates Flashcards
what are the 6 issues and debates
gender bias
culture bias
free will vs determinism
holism vs reductionism
nature vs nurture
idiographic vs nomothetic
what is an alpha bias
exaggerating the differences between gender/ cultures and favouring one over another
what is an example of alpha bias
gender = Grossman and Freud
culture = Van Ijzendoorn
what is beta bias
ignoring the differences between genders/ cultures and assuming that both are the same
what are examples of beta bias
gender = Zimbardo (androcentric) and Ainsworth (gynocentric)
culture = most studies e,g Zimbardo
what is androcentrism vs gynocentrism
male-centred, seeing males as the norm vs female-centred, seeing females as the norm
what are causes of gender bias
Social inequality – most influential studies were carried out 50 or more years ago, when most researchers and university students were men
Inequality in research – Rosenthal found that male researchers treated female participants differently to male participants
what are consequences of gender bias
Prejudice (alpha) – assuming there are significant gender differences could lead to discrimination (e.g. towards men for childcare roles)
Wrongly applied findings – if your sample only includes men but you apply the findings to women, it may be damaging
what are solutions to gender bias
Feminist Psychology:
• Include representation for each
gender in the sample and in the
research team, where appropriate
• Aim for – universality acknowledge differences between genders but see them as equal (different but equal).
what is ethnocentrism
viewing other cultures from the perspective of your own and seeing them as ‘other’
what is imposed etic
using a culturally-specific method in another culture
what is cultural relativism
the opposite of ethnocentrism, seeing each culture as separate and judging it on its own norms and values
causes of culture bias
Ethnocentrism in Education – most studies that you learn about in school are US or UK- based research and written in English
Social inequality – most of the funding for research goes to affluent, middle class
consequences of culture bias
Prejudice (alpha) – assuming there are significant cultural differences could lead to discrimination
Wrongly applied findings – if your sample only includes White British people but you apply the findings to another culture/ethnicity, it may be damaging
solutions of culture bias
Indigenous psychologies – employ psychologists who are from each culture to translate the method into something that it more relevant to that culture
Globalisation – the development of technology and transport means that we know more about other cultures than before
what does determinism suggest
free will does not exist and all of our actions are caused by external and internal influences
what are the 5 types of determinisms
Hard – free will does not exist at all
Soft – we are influenced by external/internal influences but ultimately we get to choose
Biological – our behaviour is caused by physical influences
Environmental – our behaviour is caused by our learning
Psychic – our behaviour is caused by a mixture of our innate mechanisms and childhood experiences (caused by unconscious forces)
what does free will suggest
We are in control of our actions and behaviours regardless of external or internal influences
discussion for determinism
- Scientific emphasis on causal explanations
science works by assuming that everything has a cause, so therefore assumes we live in a deterministic universe. - More scientific – sciences emphasises casual explanations, so determinism is more scientific. Free will suggests there are actions without causes
- More useful – because determinism can explain behaviour, this is more useful for predicting or treating/improving behaviour than free will
- Research support – supported by studies including Libet, who found there was brain activity fractions of a second before participants felt the conscious urge to press a button.
discussion for free will
Importance for moral responsibility – as a society we need to believe in free will as it is the paradigm shared by the justice system (we need to hold people accountable for their actions)
Anecdotal evidence – it feels like we have free will, and this is compelling evidence for most people
what does nature suggest
The belief that our characteristics are given to us innately, through genetic inheritance.
what does nurture suggest
The idea that we are born as blank slates and our characteristics are the product of our upbringing and experiences
discussion for nature
- Family studies – researchers have found a link between genetic similarity and concordance rates. Siblings have higher concordance rates (they are more similar) than cousins, who share fewer genes.
- Twin studies – identical twin (MZ) concordance is higher than non-identical (DZ), and the only difference between groups is genetic similarity.
- Adoption studies – adoptees whose biological parents have a characteristic are more likely to develop that characteristic than adoptee controls.
- Candidate gene research – researchers can identify specific genes that are associated with characteristics, demonstrating nature.
discussion for nurture
- Family studies – however, siblings also have greater similarities in the way they are raised. We cannot know if their greater concordance is nature or nurture.
- Twin studies – however, concordance for MZ is never 100% even though they share 100% genes. Also, MZ twins are likely to be treated more equally than DZ twins.
- Adoption studies – it is hard to control all variables in adoption studies, including time spent with biological parents, quality of adoptive family etc.
- Candidate gene research – most characteristics require multiple candidate genes, and life events can ‘switch’ genes on/off (known as epigenetics)
