Issues And Debates

Question 1

What is gender bias

Answer 1

Gender bias is the preference towards one gender
It can either exaggerate or minimise differences between males and females

Question 2

What is alpha bias (gender bias)

Answer 2

Alpha bias is when differences between males and females are exaggerated

Question 3

What can alpha bias be used to do

Answer 3

Can be used to undervalue one of the sexes
Differences are sometimes attributed to difference in biology (genetics or hormones)

Question 4

What is beta bias

Answer 4

Where differences between males and females are ignored or minimised

Question 5

When can beta bias happen

Answer 5

This can happen when studies just include participants of one gender but then the conclusions are applied to the while population

Question 6

What is Androcentrism

Answer 6

Where males are viewed as being at the centre of culture
In psychological terms, male behaviour is seen as the norm applied to women, or it can mean that any differences woe,m display are seen as exceptions to the rule

Question 7

What is estrocentrism

Answer 7

Where female behaviour is seen as the norm
This is much rarer phenomenon than androcentrism

Question 8

What can make gender bias more likely

Answer 8

Research designs

Question 9

Why are research designs important in gender bias

Answer 9

Because the research methods that psychologists use can cause the results and conclusions to be gender biases and different research designs can unintentionally cause alpha/beta bias

Question 10

What is publication bias?

Answer 10

Gender bias can be created as a result of publication bias, as not all studies are published
it has been reported that any studies that produces positive findings are more likely to be published than studies that don’t
This can exaggerate differences between males and females and so produce an alpha bias

Question 11

Name 3 theories that show gender bias

Answer 11

Freud, Asch’s and Bem’s

Question 12

How does Freud’s theory show gender bias

Answer 12

Freud’s theories usually described male behaviour as the norm, explaining female behaviour as anything which differed from the norm
For examples, Freud proposed that when girls find out that they don’t have a penis, they suffer from what he termed ‘penis envy’

Question 13

How does Ash’s theory show gender bias

Answer 13

Study into conformity was androcentric he used a male-only sample meaning that his results couldn’t be generalised to women

Question 14

What does culture refer to

Answer 14

Culture refers to the set of customs, social roles, behavioural norms and moral values that are shared by a group of people.

Question 15

Historically there hasn’t been much research to compare people of different cultures what are 3 reasons for this?

Answer 15

1) research assumed that people from western cultures are essentially the same as the people in other cultures so whatever was found about one was applied to others
2) It may have been assumes that non-western cultures were more ‘primitive’ and less worthy
3)research’s who wanted to do cross-cultural research couldn’t because they lacked time and resources

Question 16

What is culture bias and what can cause cultural bias?

Answer 16

refers to interpreting and judging human behaviour based on cultural norms and experiences
often stems from ethnocentric perspective
caused by Research methods

Question 17

What can cultural bias be the result of

Answer 17

A researchers assumption and research time

Question 18

What did Berry (1969) identify about cultural bias

Answer 18

2 main approaches that might lead to cultural bias
Etic and emic research

Question 19

What is Etic research?

Answer 19

Research from a specific culture which is then applies to other cultures to find universal laws, giving the studies universality
It’s possible that there are lots of these, all humans have basically the same physiology and many behaviours are found in all cultures
How we, because studies have to take samples of the population it’s difficult to generalise the findings to all cultures of researchers do this they could be guilty of bias in the form of an imposed Etic

Question 20

What is meant by emic research

Answer 20

Researched bases on specific culture that is used to understand that culture from within
It isn’t generalised to other cultures, instead it studies variations in behaviour between groups of people
This avoids the problem of cultural bias through an imposed Etic
However bias may still occur by exaggerating differences between different cultural groups,and neglecting to look at the differences within the cultural groups

Question 21

What is the issue of sub-culture bias

Answer 21

Etic or emic bias for sub-groups within larger groups

Question 22

What is ethnocentrism (cultural bias)

Answer 22

Where our own culture is taken as the norm that we judges other cultures against ethnocentric research is centered around the one culture it’s based in
So as most studies have people form western cultures a lot of them are endocentric

Question 23

Give 2 examples of studies that are ethnocentric

Answer 23

Asch’s
Milgram

Question 24

What social implications does cultural bias

Answer 24

Culturally biased studies will produce culturally based theories, this has important implications for society because psychologists might be making claims that aren’t true
It’s especially problematic when biased views influence psychological practice

Question 25

What can cross cultural research help reduce

Answer 25

The effects of cultural bias

Question 26

What’s are the 2 problems with cross cultural research

Answer 26

1) Even with translator it can be difficult to interpret what participants say and do, some beliefs and customs may be difficult for people from other cultures to understand 2) cross cultural replications of studies are difficult to do smith and bond said that prefect cross cultural relationships are impossible because procedures will have different meaning in different culture

Question 27

There are ways to reduce cultural bias what are they?

Answer 27

Cultural bias usually isn’t intentional so it can be difficult to prevent 1) research should recognizes cultural relativism this is accepting that there are no universal standards for behaviour and that any research done must take into account the culture 2) samples should be representative if the groups you want to generalize the results to they should include all relevant sub-groups 3) Berry (1969) recommended conducting research in meaningful contexts and using local research who are part of the culture being studies avoiding problems of an imposed etic

Question 28

What is free will

Answer 28

People are able to choose how to behave their behaviors isn’t a repair e to external or biological factors and isn’t influenced by past behavior

Question 29

What are some comments about free will

Answer 29

People can explain behaviors in terms of decisions and interactions However, free will is subjective so some might think they’re choosing how to behave but actually be influenced by other forces Some people with psychological disorders don’t appear to have free will

Question 30

What is determinism

Answer 30

All of the physical events in the universe occur in cause and effect relationships So out thoughts and beliefs and behaviors are determined by past events and causes This is a scientific view that implies that complete knowledge of a cause and effect relationship with mean you can predict future behaviors in the same situation

Question 31

What are some of the comments on determinism

Answer 31

the determinist approach is very scientific, other scientific subjects have shown that events in the physical universe operate according to cause and effect relationships that follow certain laws however, determinism is unfalsifiable, it cant be proved wrong because it assumes that events can be a result of forces that haven't been discovered yet

Question 32

opposed to hard determinism which completely rules out the idea of free will what is soft determinism

Answer 32

is the viewpoint that we choose our behaviour but the choices that we make are a result of our own personality traits and intentions most psychological approaches hold this view just to different degrees

Question 33

how does the psychodynamic approach show determinism/free will

Answer 33

freud argued that behaviour is determined by unconscious forces, this is know as psychic determinism freud claims that forgetting an appointment for an example is actually determined by unconscious influences (e.g didn't actually want to go) acknowledging that these behaviours have many causes including conscious intentions

Question 34

how does the biological approach show determinism/free will

Answer 34

Behaviours are determined by biological influences the idea that this is the sole cause of behaviour is known as biological determinism

Question 35

how does the cognitive approach show determinism/ freewill

Answer 35

behaviour is the result of both free will and determinism this approach looks for patterns in how the brain processes external information and what behaviours this leads to but acknowledges that people use cognitive processes like language to reason and make decisions

Question 36

how does the behaviourist approach show determinism/ free will

Answer 36

skinner claimed that behaviour is determined by the environment and is the result of punishment and reinforcement this is known as environmental determinism everyone has a different history of reinforcement so knowing this about someone can allow you to predict their behaviour if the environment conditioning changes then their behaviour will also change

Question 37

how does the humanistic approach show determinism/freewill

Answer 37

this approach falls on the free will side of the debate humanistic psychologists believe that individuals are in control of their behaviour and are trying to achieve personal growth

Question 38

what is reductionism

Answer 38

the scientific view that it should be possible to explain complex things by reducing them to their most simple structures or processes in psychology this means explaining behaviour by boiling theories down to some basic principles to establish cause and effect

Question 39

what is holism

Answer 39

the argument that human behaviour is more complex than the processes that other sciences study this means it should be views as the product of different influences which all interact trying to separate these influences by just studying one of them means that complex behaviours can be misunderstood

Question 40

what did Rose (1976) talk about in psychology

Answer 40

levels of explanation in psychology put forward a range of explanations used in psychology from the most reductionist to the most holistic

Question 41

what are the levels of explanation in psychology outlined by rose

Answer 41

molecular level (physics) -> cellular level (biochem) -> parts of individuals (bio) -> behaviour of individuals (psych) -> behaviour of groups (sociology)

Question 42

how does psychodynamic approach show holism and reductionism

Answer 42

by considering unconscious forces and childhood experiences, psychodynamic approach is relatively holistic approach freud emphasised that personality is the result of interactions between different components like id/ego which is more holistic view

Question 43

how does biological approach show holism and reductionism

Answer 43

all behaviours can be explained as the product of bio influences like genetics and brain structure, this is biological reductionism and it aims to establish cause and effect but it focuses less on other influences on behaviour

Question 44

how does cognitive approach show holism and reductionism

Answer 44

the brains cog processes are compared to the working of a computer (machine reductionism) there is input, various stages of processing and then an output this is reductionism as it doesn't explain why humans function differently to computers

Question 45

how does behaviourist approach show holism and reductionism

Answer 45

all human behaviour is shaped by the environment through process of classical and operant conditioning this is known as environmental reductionism other influences are focused on less

Question 46

how does humanistic approach show holism and reductionism

Answer 46

this approach is holistic as it studies the individual in context and tries to understand their subjective experiences it used self-report techniques rather than breaking down behaviour into its component parts humanistic psychologists disagree with reducing behaviour to cause and effect relationships

Question 47

in terms of the nature nurture debate what is nature

Answer 47

genotype, the innate characteristics determined by physiological and genetic factors

Question 48

in terms of the nature nurture debate what is nuture

Answer 48

the influence of the environment and learning experiences

Question 49

what did empiricists claim

Answer 49

that everyone is a 'blank state' when they're born and the environment 'writes' unique characteristics onto us

Question 50

what do psychologists now believe about the nature-nurture debate

Answer 50

that they must interact because personality and behaviour seem to be influenced by both this is known as interactionist approach

Question 51

what did gottesman (1963) suggest about the interactionalist approach

Answer 51

suggested that people have a reaction range this means everyone has a certain genetic potential for things like intelligence and height- the genotype the environment determines how much this potential is fulfilled (phenotype)

Question 52

what does the diathes-stress model suggest

Answer 52

suggests that people have a genetic predispositions for disorders like sz a person with a higher diathesis (vulnerability) is more likely to develop the trait, but whether they do depends on the amount of stress they experience (environment)

Question 53

determining how far nature or nurture control characteristics can be complicated by what

Answer 53

genotype-environment correlation, correlations between a persons genes and their environment

Question 54

what are the 3 types of genotype-environment correlations identified by plomin et al (1977)

Answer 54

1) passive: people with similar genes are likely to experience similar environments 2) reactive: genetically determined characteristics may shape a persons experiences (some react more positively towards attractive people so kind of environment party depends of inherited characteristics) 3) active: people with particular inherited tendencies might seek out certain environments which shape their behaviour just as their genetic background does (Bandura called this reciprocal determinism environment determines behaviour and behaviour determines environments)

Question 55

name the 3 ways nature-nurture influences can be studies using different methods

Answer 55

family studies, adoption studies and twin studies

Question 56

how can nature-nurture influences can be studies using family studies

Answer 56

family members share a trait more frequently than unrelated people do, this could imply a genetic influence for that behaviour however similarities between family members may actually be the result of their shared environment relatives might learn the behaviour from each other through observations learning

Question 57

how can nature-nurture influences can be studies using adoption studies

Answer 57

these compare an adopted child with its bio and adoptive parents if the child has more similarity with its adoptive parents then this wold imply that nurture is important because they share the same environment similarity with the bio parents suggest that nature is more important plomin et al (1988) showed a stronger correlation of IQ within biological families than adoptive parents

Question 58

how can nature-nurture influences can be studies using twin studies

Answer 58

identical twins share 100% of their genes, non-identical share 50% of their genes so if MZ twins are more likely to share a characteristics than DZ twins it implies a genetic influence this is shown by concordance rates, however, if a trait was completely genetic then MZ concordance would be 100% so their behaviour must also be influenced by environment

Question 59

what side of nature-nurture debate does the psychodynamic approach fall on

Answer 59

freud argued that personalities are the result of an interaction of nature and nurture he emphasised the importance of inborn instincts and drives however he also said that experiences can resulting fixations in the stages of development

Question 60

what side of nature-nurture debate does the biological approach fall on

Answer 60

emphasises genetically determined brain structures and processes evolutionary psychology states that many behaviours (survival value) however the environment influences brain development

Question 61

what side of nature-nurture debate does the cognitive approach fall on

Answer 61

studies genetically determine mental processes but accepts that the environment influences their development and functioning Piagets theory of cognitive development argues that environmental stimulation is needed for the genetically determined process of development to unfold

Question 62

what side of nature-nurture debate does the behaviourist approach fall on

Answer 62

all behaviours are learnt through conditioning apart from inborn relaxes and instincts this approach falls most heavily on the nurture side of the debate

Question 63

what side of nature-nurture debate does the humanistic approach fall on

Answer 63

behaviour is part of a natural need to reach your full potential however whether you reach it depends on your experiences in the world, and so the humanistic approach falls more towards the nurture side of the debate

Question 64

whats a nomothetic approach

Answer 64

nomothetic approach applies general laws and theories to explain behaviour across a whole pop uses RM such as la experiments and correlational research involves groups of reps to draw general conclusions

Question 65

what type of methods does nomothetic approach gives to analyse findings

Answer 65

quantitative methods

Question 66

whats a idiographic approach

Answer 66

focuses own the individual in detail look at what makes each person different and avoids making general laws and theories idiot research uses RM such as case studies interviews and observations that focuses on the individual

Question 67

what type of methods does idiographic approach gives to analyse findings

Answer 67

qualitative

Question 68

give 3 evaluations of the nomothetic approach

Answer 68

1) research methods frequently used in the nomothetic approach mean that its a controlled, objective and scientific approach (scientifically tested) 2) lacks ecological validity cant be generalised to real life 3) individual differences are ignored so its less useful doesn't fit in

Question 69

give 3 evaluations of the idiographic approach

Answer 69

1) Idiographic approach focuses on the individual so it can give a more complete explanations of behaviour than nomothetic 2) fewer people are studied so tricky to generalise less scientific 3) detailed studies of individual cases can develop nomothetic laws

Question 70

what side of idiographic and nomothetic debate does the psychodynamic approach fall on

Answer 70

can be seen as having both nomothetic and idiographic components (psychosexual development nomothetic and idiographic as considers individual experiences

Question 71

what side of idiographic and nomothetic debate does the biological approach fall on

Answer 71

aims to find cause of behaviour in bio structure and processes assumes these are the same across the pop so nomothetic

Question 72

what side of idiographic and nomothetic debate does the cognitive approach fall on

Answer 72

assumes the same mental processes apply across the pop and so falls more towards nomothetic

Question 73

what side of idiographic and nomothetic debate does the behaviourist approach fall on

Answer 73

psychologists from behaviourist approach apply cause and effect laws to explain behaviour in general which is thought to be a result of classical and operant conditioning so is nomothetic

Question 74

what side of idiographic and nomothetic debate does the humanistic approach fall on

Answer 74

heavily focused on individual and their drive for self-actualisation therefore completely on idiographic

Question 75

what is socially sensitive research

Answer 75

defined as research that may have implications for the individuals in the research, or for groups in society such as the participants families or particular cultural groups

Question 76

what issues can research into genetic influences raise

Answer 76

research into whether there are genetic influences on criminal behaviour could have important consequences also there's the possibility of compulsory genetic testing to identify people with particular gene such as screening cold also identify genes linked to psychological disorders such as sz

Question 77

explain race as an IV in being very sensitive issue

Answer 77

some studies using IQ have shown possible racial differences in intelligence the issue is whether this is an appropriate topic for research because of social tempos that the results and conclusions may produce

Question 78

what is meant by universality

Answer 78

argument that certain observed behaviours apply to all humans regardless of differences

Question 79

what is meant by WEIRD in terms of psychological bias

Answer 79

that most people studies are: Western Educated Industrialised Rich Democratic

Question 80

what did Henrich find based on WEIRD rps?

Answer 80

found majority of ops were from America (68%) and 96% were from western industrialised nations 67% of the American rps were undergrad psych students

Question 81

what is meant by cultural relativism

Answer 81

principle that human behaviour should be understood within the context of the specific cultures where it occurs, taking cultural norms, values and beliefs into account

Question 82

how can u deal with bias in psychology

Answer 82

only base claims of universality on empirical data use indigenous psychology, where research s conducted by individual who is native or deeply understands the culture being studied take a reflective approach involves actively reflecting on their beliefs values and experiences recognising how personal factors might influence research

Question 83

whats hard determinism

Answer 83

personality traits and behaviour are set by forces outside of out control with no role for free will

Question 84

whats soft determinism

Answer 84

traits and behaviours are to a extent dictated by internal and external forces however we do have some level of control over our behaviour thought conscious thought processes

Question 85

who was Rene Descartes and what did he say

Answer 85

the nativist believed in the concept of the mind possessing innate ideas at birth argued that these ideas form the basis of all knowledge and understanding although unfamiliar with the role of Dna he argue that this innate knowledge is transmitted biologically through heredity

Question 86

evaluate free will and determinism

Answer 86

free will has face validity but determinists would argue this feeling is an illusion determinism allows for cause and effect relationships to be formed

Question 87

what are some discussion points to do with nature nurture debate

Answer 87

psychodynamic is a clear example of interactionism concordance rates in twin studies help show if conditions are due to genetics but no 100% concordance taking nature approach could lead to reduction to the prison sentences of come criminals nature and nurture interact through epigenetic modification

Question 87

who is John Locke

Answer 87

the empiricist, argues that knowledge comes from experience and observation rather than being inborn locke famously described the mins at birth as a blank slate claiming knowledge and understanding are gained through the environment