Issues And Debates

Question 1

What is universality?

Answer 1

Theories that can be applied to anyone, anywhere despite differences in gender, upbringing, time or culture

Question 2

What is bias?

Answer 2

Personal influences due to social and historical context a person may have

Question 3

What is gender bias?

Answer 3

Differential treatment and/or representation of males and females based on stereotypes

Question 4

What is androcentrism?

Answer 4

Theories/research is often focused on a male view of the world, often to the neglect or exclusion of women

Question 5

What is gynocentrism?

Answer 5

Theories centered on or focused on females. This is much less common in psychology

Question 6

What is Alpha bias?

Answer 6

When differences between men and women are exaggerated

Question 7

What is beta bias?

Answer 7

When the differences between men and women are minimised

Question 8

Problems with gender bias?

Answer 8

Can create misleading assumptions about female behaviour, this is a problem because gender biased research may have damaging effects on the lives and prospect of women in society

A lack of women appointed at senior level means that female concerns may not be reflected in the research questions asked. Lab experiments may further disadvantage women, female participants are placed in unequal relationships with a (usually male) researcher who has the power to label them unreasonable, irrational and unable to complete complex tasks. This is important because it suggests that psychology is guilty of being both beta biased, in its ignoring of female concerns, and of alpha bias, in the way it conducts research.

Question 9

How can we reduce gender bias?

Answer 9

• Women should be studied within meaningful real-life contexts, and genuinely participate in research rather than being ‘objects of study’

• Diversity within groups of women should be examined rather than differences between men and women

• There should be greater emphasis on qualitative data as opposed to numerical data

This is important because if this criterion is implemented androcentrism in science and society should reduce, thus increasing the validity of psychological research

Question 10

What is reverse alpha bias?

Answer 10

Emphasising the value of women to help change people’s preconceptions and false beliefs

Question 11

What are the issues with social constructs?

Answer 11

Although feminist psychology agrees that there is real biologically based set differences, it is argued some gender differences are the results of social stereotypes, learnt expectations may encourage more boys than girls to peruse careers that require specific skills

This suggests that some deeply held societal gender differences may simply be a social construction contributing to social inequalities and discrimination

Question 12

What is cultural bias?

Answer 12

The tendency to judge people in terms of one’s own culture assumptions

Question 13

What is ethnocentrism?

Answer 13

The use of our own cultural groups as a basis for judgements about other groups

Question 14

What is cultural relativism?

Answer 14

Suggests that behaviour can be properly understood only if the cultural context is taken into consideration

A problem with cultural relativism is the assumption that there is no such thing as universal human behaviour, however this is contradicted by research that finds facial expressions for emotions are the same all over the human and animal world

Question 15

Problems with culture bias?

Answer 15

Creates misleading assumptions about people from less dominant cultures, these assumptions can provide a ‘scientific justification’ to deny people from certain cultural group’s opportunities in society. This illustrates the damaging effects of culture bias on the lives and prospects of a wide range of people in the real-world

When conducting research in western cultures, it is presumed that participants are familiar with the aims/objectives of scientific testing. However the same knowledge of scientific testing may not extend to cultures that do not have the same historical experience of research. For this reason, demand characteristics may occur more often when working with members of the local population. This reduces the validity of the research findings.

Question 16

How can we reduce culture bias?

Answer 16

One way to deal with culture bias is to recognise it when it occurs and to take steps to overcome it

Awareness of the ethnocentrism that exists in psychology has led to the development of ‘indigenous psychologies’ which are theories drawing explicitly on the particular experiences of people in different cultural contexts. This is positive as it suggests there is a growing awareness about cultural norms and values that have historically been ignored.

Question 17

What is free will?

Answer 17

The idea that humans are able to choose our thoughts and behaviours. Doesn’t ignore biological/environmental factors but instead states we are able to override them

Question 18

What is determinism?

Answer 18

The idea that we do not have conscious control over our behaviour and that it is instead dictated by internal/external factors acting upon us

Question 19

What is hard determinism?

Answer 19

This type of determinism suggests all human behaviour is completely dictated by internal or external forces and they can be identified. Although extreme, this alignes with the aims of science

Question 20

What is soft determinism?

Answer 20

This version of determinism allows for some element of free will. It acknowledges that all actions have a cause but also states that we have some form of conscious mental control over behaviours

Question 21

What are the types of determinism?

Answer 21

Biological - Behaviour is caused by brain structure, biochemistry and genetics

Environmental - Behaviour is caused by environmental factors such as associations, conditioning and role models

Psychic - Freud argued that adult behaviour is shaped by a mix of innate drives and early experience

Question 22

What is scientific determinism/the causal explanation?

Answer 22

A basic principle of science is that all behaviour has a cause. This ‘scientific emphasis on casual explanations’ allows scientists to predict and control events in the future. This is why the lab experiment is seen as ideal as it allows researchers to control extraneous variables to establish cause and effect.

Question 23

A strength of determinism?

Answer 23

Practical applications - The theory that SZ is caused by the neurotransmitter dopamine, led to the development of antiseptic medication. These drugs have proven to be an effective way of reducing SZ symptoms
This suggests the deterministic emphasis on cause and effect has enabled researchers to predict and control events, to the benefit of people who suffer from a wide range of mental disorders

Question 24

Weaknesses of determinism?

Answer 24

Incomplete explanations - Studies have found MZ twins have a concordance rate of around 40% for SZ compared to only 7% for DZ. The fact that concordance rates aren’t 100% in MZ twins suggests genes alone can’t be solely responsible for behaviours. However, these studies do show genes seem to play a significant part in these behaviours and therefore, the environment can’t be the determining factor in these behaviours either.
This is a problem because it’s unlikely that complex behaviours are caused by one factor.

Incompatible with the legal system - Research into the MAOA gene in aggression argues that we may somehow be pre-programmed to be aggressive and therefore have no free will over aggressive behaviour. One implication of this argument is that it may be seen as wrong for the legal system to then hold people responsible for aggressive behaviour if it wasn’t something in their conscious control

Question 25

Strength of free will?

Answer 25

Face validity - Although not based on scientific evidence, everyday experience does give the impression that we are exercising free will through the choices we make. This means the concept of free will has face validity and so, is plausible This suggests that even If we don't have free will, thinking we do can have a positive impact on our behaviour

Question 26

Weaknesses of free will?

Answer 26

The experience of mental disorders such as SZ where sufferers experience a total loss of control over their thoughts and behaviour, casts doubts on the concept of free will. It seems unlikely that someone would choose to have SZ. This suggests that in terms of mental illness, behaviours would appear to be determined and that free will may well be an 'illusion' Free will is a subjective notion - Just because people believe that they have free will it doesn't mean that they do. Additionally, free will is inconsistent with the assumptions of science, ie that all physical events have a cause. Free will implies that behaviour is random and without cause. However very few people would want to argue this to such an extreme position

Question 27

Free Will/Determinism Conclusion?

Answer 27

An interactionist approach to explaining behaviour might provide the best compromise in the free will/determinism debate. The SLT is a good example for an approach that takes this position when explaining behaviour. For example, Bandura argued that although environmental factors in learning are key, we are free to choose who or what to attend to and when to perform certain behaviours

Question 28

What is the Nature-Nurture debate?

Answer 28

The extent to which a persons behaviour is inherited or acquired

Question 29

What is Nativism?

Answer 29

Scientists on the nature side of the debate are referred to as nativists. A key focus of research for nativists has been on genetic inheritance, this has been studied using family, twin and adoption studies Another area of interest for nativists is the evolutionary approach. Here it is argued that any behaviour or characteristic that is adaptive will be naturally selected.

Question 30

What is Empiricism?

Answer 30

Scientists on the nurture side are referred to as empiricists. This perspective suggests that humans are born without ant innate behaviour and that the mind is a blank slate on which experiences are written. This is similar to the behaviourist approach and SLT

Question 31

What is the relative importance of Nature-Nurture

Answer 31

Nature and nurture are so closely intertwined it makes little sense to try and separate them. A such, the focus of the debate has shifted, and psychologists are now more likely to ask 'the relative importance of hereditary and environment' in terms of how we think and behave

Question 32

What is the interactionist approach in Nature/Nurture?

Answer 32

The view that both nature and nurture work together to shape human behaviour e.g diathesis-stress model

Question 33

Problem with studying the effects of Nature/Nurture?

Answer 33

They are impossible to separate - It is often extremely difficult to tell whether results are due to genetics or environment.

Question 34

How does nurture affect nature?

Answer 34

McGuire et al's (2000) study of London taxi drivers showed that the region of their brains associated with spatial memory (hippocampus) was bigger than the control group. They also found that the number of years of experience they had correlated with the number of neural connections in this area. This suggests that learning from the environment can, from a very early age and throughout our lives, influence our internal biology. This further illustrates the difficulty in investigation nature and nurture in isolation

Question 35

What are the ethical implications of the nativist stance?

Answer 35

In 1917 Henry Goddard issues IQ tests to immigrants as they arrived in the USA. He concluded from these tests that the majority of Russian, Jews, Hungarians and Italians were 'feeble minded'. In 1952 William Shockley caused controversy by suggesting that there were reasons as to why black people in America scored lower on IQ tests that white people. This suggests a that taking a purely nativist stance when conducting research in socially sensitive areas such as race, can have a negative effect on peoples lives. This stance ignores the environmental factors that contribute to the behaviours being studied

Question 36

Support for interactionism in Nature/Nurture?

Answer 36

Tienari et al (2004) - Compared adopted children whose biological mothers had SZ to a control group of adoptees who had no genetic risk. They found a much higher rate of SZ amongst those who's mothers had SZ. However, it was found that a 'healthy' adoptive family could protect against those with a high genetic risk for developing SZ. This suggests influences from nature and nurture 'interact' to dictate the risk of developing SZ, with nature providing the potential and nurture acting as a necessary 'trigger' of that genetic potential

Question 37

Why is the interactionist position unclear?

Answer 37

It is unclear how nature and nurture interact. Whilst there is clearly evidence to suggest that some sort of underlying vulnerability coupled with stress can increase the chances of certain behaviours developing, we do not yet fully understand the mechanisms by which these factors interact to produce these effects. This suggests the interactionist approach is limited in its ability to explain human behaviour

Question 38

What is Holism?

Answer 38

The idea that any attempt to break up behaviour or experience is inappropriate as these can only be understood by analysing the person as a whole

Question 39

What is reductionism?

Answer 39

Breaking down behaviour into simpler components.

Question 40

What are the levels of explanation in psychology?

Answer 40

Highest level, social and cultural - considered the most broad, general, and holistic explanations Middle level, psychological explanations - behaviour is explained in terms of psychological processes such as cognitive processes Lowest level, biological explanations - considered the most precise, simplest and reductionist explanations, at this level behaviour is explained in terms of brain structure, neurochemistry and hormones

Question 41

How can behaviour be explained by levels of explanations?

Answer 41

Any behaviour can be explai