Issues and Debates Flashcards
Gender Bias Overview
Not accurately representing the behaviour of men and women
Gender Bias Strengths
Reflexivity - recognising the effects and embracing bias
Avoid Gender Bias - to study more diversity groups
Gender Bias Limitations
Problems in Research - creates misleading assumptions about female behaviour
Promotes Sexism - women are not reflected
Essentialist Argument - difference is inevitable
Cultural Bias Overview
Assuming that studies in the West apply to all over the world. Cultural differences are abnormal
Cultural Bias Strengths
Cultural Relativism - shouldn’t presume that everything is relative
Challenges Assumptions - cross culture challenges Western thinking
Cultural Bias Limitations
Individualist v Collectivist - individuals valuing themselves, collectivists value the group
Demand Characteristics - familiar aims and objectives
Interpretations of Variables - may not be experienced the same by all cultures
Free Will vs Determinism Overview
Free will suggesting that human beings are free to choose our own actions.
Determinism suggesting that there are external factors determining behaviours
Free Will vs Determinism Strengths
Consistent with Science
Free will in everyday life- face validity
Compromise - varying degrees of determinism
Free Will vs Determinism Limitations
Legal System - Offenders can say it was determined
Neurological Evidence - Brain scans suggest decisions are evident 10 secs before awareness
Hard Determinism
All human actions have a cause
Soft Determinism
All actions have a cause but we can control behaviour mentally
Biological Determinism
Physiological processes are not under conscious control - hormones and genetics
Environmental Determinism
Behaviour is determined by our environment and free will is an illusion shaped by it
Psychic Determinism
Directed by unconscious conflicts ( Freudian Slips )
Nature vs Nurture Overview
Innate characteristics opposing environmental factors
Nature vs Nurture Strengths
Implications - extreme beliefs in either can have negative effects
Gene-environment interaction - actively select appropriate environment for nature
Evidence of both
Nature vs Nurture Limitations
Unshared environments - even siblings do not have identical upbringings
Neurological Evidence - Brain scans
Holism vs Reductionism Overview
Holism = study as a whole
Reductionism = breaking down into components
Holism vs Reductionism Strengths
Holism can explain behaviours within a group context
Reductionism is scientific
Interactionist approach combines the two
Holism vs Reductionism Limitations
Holism is impractical as it becomes vague and speculative
Reductionism lacks validity
Types of explanations
Sociocultural
Psychological
Physical
Physiological
Neurochemical
Idiographic vs Nomothetic
Study of unique experiences, values subject to experience.
Idiographic vs Nomothetic Strengths
Idiographic = rich data, complete account of the individual
Nomothetic = scientific with standardised procedures
Compromise - they compliment each other
Idiographic vs Nomothetic Limitations
Idiographic lacks science - subject to nature, meaningful generalisations cannot be made
Nomothetic loses the person as a whole
