Issues And Debates

Question 1

Universality

Answer 1

any underlying characteristic of human beings that is capable of being applied to all, despite differences of experience and upbringing

Question 2

Gender bias

Answer 2

Psychological research or theory may offer a view that does not justifiably represent the experience and behaviour of men or women

Question 3

Androcentrism

Answer 3

Male centred, when normal behaviour is judged according to a male standard

Question 4

Alpha bias

Answer 4

Research that focuses on differences between men and women, present a view that exaggerates these differences

Question 5

Beta bias

Answer 5

Research that focuses on similarities between men and women, tends to present a view that ignores or minimises differences

Question 6

Cultural bias

Answer 6

A tendency to interpret all phenomena through the lens of ones own culture, ignoring the effects that cultural differences might have on behaviours

Question 7

Ethnocentrism

Answer 7

Judging other cultures by the standards and values of one’s own cultures. In its extreme form, it is the belief in the superiority of one’s own culture which may lead to prejudice and discrimination towards other cultures

Question 8

Cultural relativism

Answer 8

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

Question 9

Free will

Answer 9

The notion that humans can make choices and their behaviour/thoughts are not determined by biological or external forces

Question 10

Determinism

Answer 10

View that an individual’s behaviour is shaped or controlled by internal or external forces rather than an individuals will to do something

Question 11

Hard determinism

Answer 11

The view that all behaviour is caused by something, so free will is an illusion

Question 12

Soft determinism

Answer 12

The view that behaviour may be predictable but there is also room for personal choice from a limited range of possibilities

Question 13

Biological determinism

Answer 13

The belief that behaviour is caused by biological influences that we cannot control

Question 14

Environmental determinism

Answer 14

The belief that behaviour is caused by features of the environment that we cannot control

Question 15

Psychic determinism

Answer 15

The belief that behaviour is caused by conscious psychodynamic conflicts that we cannot control

Question 16

Nature-nurture debate

Answer 16

Concerned with the extent to which aspects of behaviour are a product of inherited or acquired characteristics

Question 17

Heredity

Answer 17

Genetic transmission of both mental and physical characteristics from one generation to another

Question 18

Environment

Answer 18

Any influence on human behaviour that is non-genetic

Question 19

Interactionist approach

Answer 19

A way to explain the development of behaviour in terms of a range of factors, including both biological and psychological ones. Such factors don’t simply add together but combine in a way that can’t be predicted by each one separately

Question 20

Holism

Answer 20

An argument or theory which proposes that it only makes sense to study an indivisible system rather than its constituent parts

Question 21

Reductionism

Answer 21

The belief that human behaviour is best understood by studying the smaller constituent parts

Question 22

Levels of explanation

Answer 22

The idea that there are several ways that can be used to explain behaviour. The lowest considers biological explanations, the middle level considers psychological explanations and the highest level considers social and cultural explanations

Question 23

Biological reductionism

Answer 23

A form of reductionism which attempts to explain behaviour at the lowest biological form

Question 24

Environmental reductionism

Answer 24

The attempt to explain all behaviour in terms of stimulus-response links that have been learned through experience

Question 25

Idiographic approach

Answer 25

An approach to research that focuses more on the individual case as a means of understanding behaviour, rather than aiming to formulate general laws of behaviour

Question 26

Nomothetic approach

Answer 26

Aims to study human behaviour through the development of general principles and universal laws

Question 27

Ethical implications

Answer 27

The consequences of any research in terms of the effects on individual participants or on the way in which certain groups of people are subsequently regarded. There may also be consequences on a wider societal level