Issues and debates

Question 1

What is the first issue and debate

Answer 1

Gender and culture

Question 2

What is universality?

Answer 2

to develop theories that apply to all peopple

Question 3

what is alpha bias?

Answer 3

research that exaggerates differences between men and women

Question 4

what is beta bias?

Answer 4

researh that ignores differences between men and women.

Question 5

what is androcentrism?

Answer 5

centred on men

Question 6

what is ethnocentrism?

Answer 6

judging others by the standards of your own culture.

Question 7

what is cutural relativism?

Answer 7

behaviour cannot be properly judged unless it is viewed in the context of the culture in which it orignates.

Question 8

Evaluation of gender bias

Misleading assumptions

Answer 8

As science leads to real world applications, it may provide scientific justification for denying women opportunites.

Question 9

Evalution of gender bias

Sexism in research process

Answer 9

male researchers are more likely to have their work published than females.

Question 10

Evaluation of gender bias

Feminist commentator views

Answer 10

women should be studied in meaningful, real life contexts.
diversity within groups of women should also be examined.
Collaborative research methods that collect qualitative data.

Question 11

Evaluation of culture bias

Individualism-Collectivism

Answer 11

Western cultures place emphasis on independence, whereas collective cultures emphasise interconnectedness.

Research has suggested that culture bias is less of an issue than it once was, 14/15 studies that compared the USA and Japan found no evidence of traditional distinction.

Question 12

Evaluation of culture bias

Cultrual relativism vs universality

Answer 12

it should not be assumed that all psychology is culturally relative and that there is no such thing as universal behaviour.

basic facial expressions are the same all around the world.

Question 13

Evalution of culture bias

Unfamiliarity with research tradition

Answer 13

In western culture, aims and objectives of scientific enquiry is assumed, however, may not extend to cultures without a history of research.

Question 14

What is the second issue and debate?

Answer 14

Free will and determinism

Question 15

What is determinism?

Answer 15

behaviour is controlled by either internal or external forces acting upon the individual.

Question 16

what is hard determinism?

Answer 16

all human behaviour has a cause and in principle it should be possible to identify all these cuases.

Question 17

What is soft determinism?

Answer 17

there is some room for manoeuvre, in that peole have some conscious control over the way they behave.

Question 18

What is biological determinism?

Answer 18

behaviour is determined by biological factors outside of out control.

Question 19

What is environmental determinism?

Answer 19

Behaviour is determined by environmental factors outside of our control.

Question 20

What is psychic determinism?

Answer 20

Behaviour is determined by unconscious conflicts outside of our control.

Question 21

For determinism

Answer 21

consistent with the aims of science.

notion that human behaviour follows laws places psychology on an equal footing to other sciences.

the prediction and control of behaviour has led to the development of therapies and treatments.

Question 22

Against determinism

Answer 22

not consistent with the way our legal system operates- offenders held morally acountable.

unfalsifiable.

Question 23

For free will

Answer 23

face valisity as everyday expereicne gives the impression we are constantly exercising free will.

research suggests peopple with an internal locus of control tend to be more mentally healthy.

the fact we think we have free will may have a positive impact on mind and behaviour.

Question 24

Against free will

Answer 24

our most basic experiences of free will are decided by our brain before we are aware of them.

Question 25

What is the third issue and debate?

Answer 25

nature vs nurture

Question 26

what is nature

Answer 26

when behaviour is seen to be a product of innate genetic factors

Question 27

what is nurture

Answer 27

when behaviour is seen to be a product of environmental factors

Question 28

what is the contribution of nature and nurture called?

Answer 28

the relative importance of heredity and environment in determining behaviour

Question 29

what is the interactionist approach ?

Answer 29

behaviour is a product of genetic and environmental influences working together

Question 30

what is the diathesis- stress model?

Answer 30

when behaviour is a product of genetic and environmental influences working together

Question 31

implications of taking a nature/ nurture stance

Answer 31

led to controversy such as that which attempted to link race, genetics and intelligence - socially sensitive the nurture perspective would suggest that any behaviour can be changed by altering environmental conditions

Question 32

difficult to test (nature nurture)

Answer 32

research such as twin studies is complicated by the fact that even siblings raised in the same family may not have experienced the exact same environment

Question 33

constructivism (nature nurture)

Answer 33

the notion that genes and environment interact is elaborated people actively seek environments that are appropriate for their nature

Question 34

issue and debate 4

Answer 34

holism and reductionism

Question 35

what is holism?

Answer 35

analysis of the person or behaviour as a whole and breaking down behaviour is inappropriate

Question 36

what is reductionism

Answer 36

analysing behaviour by breaking down into its constituent parts and explaining it at the simplest level

Question 37

what are levels of explanation

Answer 37

there are different ways of explaining the same phenomenon in psychology

Question 38

what is biological reductionism

Answer 38

analysis of behaviour by breaking it down into its constituent parts and explaining it at the simplest physiological level

Question 39

what is environmental reductionism

Answer 39

breaking complex learning down into simple stimulus- response links

Question 40

the case for holism

Answer 40

often there are aspects of social behaviour that only emerge in a group context and cannot be understood at the level of the individual group members provides a more complete abs global understanding of behaviour

Question 41

against holism

Answer 41

no scientific testing vague and speculative

Question 42

for reductionism

Answer 42

forms the basis of scientific research makes it possible to conduct experiments in a way that is meaningful and reliable greater credibility

Question 43

against reductionism

Answer 43

oversimplification of complex phenomena leading to loss of validity do not include analysis of the social context of behaviours

Question 44

What is the fifth issue and debate?

Answer 44

idiographic and nomothetic

Question 45

what is idiographic

Answer 45

focuses on an individual case as a means of understanding behaviour rather than aiming to formulate general laws

Question 46

what is the nomothetic approach?

Answer 46

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

Question 47

what are examples of the idiographic approach

Answer 47

humanistic psychology- investigating unique experiences psychodynamic approach- freud’s reliance on case studies

Question 48

what are examples of the nomothetic approach?

Answer 48

research conducted by cognitive. behaviourist and biological psychologists

Question 49

what are idiographic examples in memory topic?

Answer 49

clive wearing HM KF EVR

Question 50

what are nomothetic examples for memory?

Answer 50

peterson and peterson baddley godden and baddley bahrik

Question 51

FOR the idiographic approach

Answer 51

in depth qualitative- provides a global account of the individual a single case may generate a hypothesis for further study

Question 52

AGAINST idiographic approach

Answer 52

restricted nature meaningful generalisations cannot be made from a single case not scientific and subjective

Question 53

FOR nomothetic approach

Answer 53

more scientific standardised conditions , control aim to establish norms of typical behaviour

Question 54

AGAINST nomothetic approach

Answer 54

losing the whole person subjective experience of participants is ignored

Question 55

What is the sixth issue and debate

Answer 55

ethical implications

Question 56

what does ethical implications mean?

Answer 56

the way that research impacts on those who take part and also the way findings are communicated to the public and how they are used

Question 57

what does socially sensitive mean?

Answer 57

studies in which there are potential consequences or implications either directly from the participants or the class of individual representatives by research