Issues and Debates

Question 1

What is Gender bias

Answer 1

The differential treatment or representation of men and women based on stereotypes rather than a real difference

Question 2

What is alpha bias (gender)

Answer 2

A tendency to exaggerate the differences between men and women

Question 3

Give me an example of alpha bias

Answer 3

Psychodynamic explanations, where Freud claimed that due to women not undergoing castration anxiety they didn’t develop their superego so where less moral than men

Question 4

What is androcentrism

Answer 4

The consequence of beta bias and occurs when all behaviour is compared according to a male standard, often to the neglect or exclusion of women

Question 5

What is beta bias (gender)

Answer 5

It is a tendency to ignore or minimise differences between men and women

Question 5

What does universality mean

Answer 5

It is the aim to develop theories that apply to all people, which may include real differences

Question 6

What are weaknesses to the gender bias debate

Answer 6

-low generalisability

Question 6

What are strengths to the gender bias debate

Answer 6

-Highlights differences between males and females which could lead to better treatment of each gender

Question 6

What is Culture

Answer 6

The rules, customs, morals and ways of interacting that bind together members of a society or some other collection of people

Question 7

What is culture bias

Answer 7

The tendency to judge all cultures and individuals in terms of your own cultural assumptions

Question 7

What is culture relativism

Answer 7

The view that behaviour, morals, standards and values cannot be judged properly unless they are viewed in the context of the culture of which they originate

Question 8

What is alpha bias (culture)

Answer 8

-the assumption that there are real and enduring differences between cultural groups.

Question 8

What is beta bias(culture)

Answer 8

—Refers to theories that minimise or ignore cultural differences

Question 8

What is ethnocentrism

Answer 8

Seeing the world from ones own cultural perspective and believing that it is both normal and cultural correct

Question 9

Strengths of culture bias

Answer 9

-takes emic approach to avoid endrocentrism

Question 10

Weaknesses of culture bias

Answer 10

-causes ethnic stereotyping

Question 11

What is determinism

Answer 11

-the belief that behaviour is controlled by both internal and external factors
-it is beyond their control

Question 12

What is biological determinism

Answer 12

-the view that behaviour is always caused by internal biological forces beyond our control, such as genes

Question 13

What is environmental determinism

Answer 13

-The belief that behaviour is caused by previous experiences through classical and operant conditioning e.g. phobias are a result of operant conditioning shown by Watson on Little Albert

Question 14

What is psychic determinism

Answer 14

• Freud’s theory of personality suggests that adult behaviour is
  determined by a mix of innate drives and early experience.

Question 15

What is free will

Answer 15

It is the idea that each individual has the ability to make their own choices concerning their behaviour, without being determined by internal or external forces beyond their control

Question 16

What is Hard determinism

Answer 16

the view that forces outside of our control shape our behaviour

Question 17

What is soft determinism

Answer 17

• A version of determinism that allows for some elements of free will and suggests that all elements have a cause

Question 18

What are strengths of determinism

Answer 18

-Scientific approach as it allows for predictions and more consistent with the aims of a person

Question 19

What are weaknesses of determinism

Answer 19

-Reduces responsibility -ethical issues as if someone commits a crime they may claim that its due to biology

Question 20

What are strengths of free will

Answer 20

-promotes personal responsibility and when people take ownership of themselves they are more likely to change their behaviour/ try and improve mental health

Question 21

What are weaknesses of free will

Answer 21

-Lead to blame of guilt when things go wrong so a bad mental health Overlooks biological or environmental influences

Question 22

What are the types of determinism

Answer 22

-hard -soft -psychic -biological -environmental

Question 23

What is the environment( nature vs nurture debate)

Answer 23

it is everything outside of the body including people, events and the physical world

Question 24

What is the definition of nature

Answer 24

- any influence on behaviour which is genetic

Question 25

What is heredity

Answer 25

- the process by which traits are passed down genetically from one generation to the next

Question 26

What is an interactionist approach

Answer 26

this approach argues that several levels of explanation are necessary to explain particular behaviour, ranging from lower levels to higher

Question 27

Define the nature and nurture debate

Answer 27

- it centres around the relative contribution of genetics inheritance and environmental factors to human development and behaviour

Question 28

Weaknesses to the nature vs nurture debate

Answer 28

-nature= ignores role of nurture and environmental influence -nurture= hard to establish casual explanations

Question 29

Strengths to the nature vs nurture debate

Answer 29

Nature= Scientific due to having empirical support via twin studies Nurture= offers change and personal growth, highlights importance of education and upbringing

Question 30

What is holism

Answer 30

the idea that human behaviour should be viewed as a whole integrated experience

Question 31

What is reductionism

Answer 31

is the belief that human behaviour can be explained by breaking down into simpler component parts

Question 32

What are the actual levels of explanation

Answer 32

- highest= cultural and social explanations of behaviour (influence of social groups on behaviour) -middle= psychological explanations ( cognitive, behavioural/ environmental) -lowest= biological explanations (genetic, neurochemistry, brain structure)

Question 33

How is the levels of explanation drawn

Answer 33

on an upside down triangle

Question 34

Define levels of explanation

Answer 34

- different ways of viewing the same phenomena within psychology

Question 35

What are the types of reductionism

Answer 35

- Biological -environmental -experimental

Question 36

What is biological reductionism

Answer 36

-reducing behaviour to a physical level( biology) and explain it in terms of neurons and hormones and brain structures

Question 37

what is environmental reductionism

Answer 37

Behaviourist explanations suggest that all behaviour can be explained in terms of simple stimulus response links

Question 38

What is experimental reductionism

Answer 38

-where a complex behaviour is reduced to a single variable for the process of testing

Question 39

what are the strengths of holism

Answer 39

-gives a complete understanding of a person so they can have more personalised treatment -Encourages empathy by recognising each experience is unique

Question 40

what are the weaknesses of holism

Answer 40

-Takes into account everything so cannot establish a cause and effect relationship which reduces validity and makes it unscientific

Question 41

What are the strengths of reductionism

Answer 41

Able to establish a cause and effect relationship so its scientific

Question 42

What are the weaknesses of reductionism

Answer 42

-Oversimplifies complex human behaviour especially with the behavioural approach often forgetting thoughts and feelings so it fails to explain full complexities of human behaviour

Question 43

What is a nomothetic approach

Answer 43

Its an approach that focuses on studying a sample of people in order to formulate a sample of laws