issues and debates AO1

Question 1

what is gender bias?

Answer 1

when psychological theories give a view that isnt representative of men or womens experiences and behaviours

Question 2

what is universality?

Answer 2

the aim to create theories that apply to all people regardless of gender or experience differences

Question 3

what is bias?

Answer 3

tendancy to treat a group differently to another

Question 4

what is alpha bias?

Answer 4

research that exaggerates differences between males and females usually fixed

Question 5

what research links to alpha bias?

Answer 5

freuds theory of psychosexual development
- during phallic stage of development both boys and girls develop desire for opposite gender parent
- boys form castration anxiety, anxiety resolved when boy identifies with father
- girls eventual identification with mum is weaker so superego weaker
- girls seen to be morally inferior to men

Question 6

what is beta bias?

Answer 6

research which ignores or minimises sex differences.

Question 7

what research links with beta bias?

Answer 7

research into flight or fight biology research generally favoured using male animals
- assumed both woman and men respond the same in flight or flight
- research said the women do tend and befriend instead (release of love hormone)
- reduces fight or flight and enhances preference

Question 8

what is androcentrism?

Answer 8

research conducted on males and behaviour being judged to the male standard and see females as abnormal links to aschs research

Question 9

what is culture bias?

Answer 9

report all phenomena through the lens of ones own culture ignoring the effects that cultural differences might have on behaviour

Question 10

what is ethnocentrism?

Answer 10

seeing the world only from ones own cultural perspectuve and believing that this perspective is normal and correct

Question 11

what research does ethnocentrism linked to?

Answer 11

ainsworth the strange situation
- conducted research on attachment types
- led to misinterpretation of childrearing practices in other countries which deviated from american norm

Question 12

what is cultural relativism?

Answer 12

behaviour can be properly understood only if cultural context is taken into consideration links to ainsworth strange situation

Question 13

what is etic approach?

Answer 13

looks at behaviour from outside a given culture and attempts to describe it as universal

Question 14

what is emic approach?

Answer 14

functions from inside a culture and attempts to describe those behaviours as universal

Question 15

what is free will?

Answer 15

notion that humans can make choices and their behaviour isnt determined by external/biological factors

Question 16

what is determinism?

Answer 16

view that individuals behaviour is shaped or controlled by internal or external forces

Question 17

what is hard determinism?

Answer 17

idea that internal/external forces shape our behaviour - like biological approach

Question 18

what is soft determinism?

Answer 18

idea our behaviour may be predictable but there is room for personal choice from limited range of possibilities - like cognitive approach

Question 19

what is nature in psychology?

Answer 19

view that behaviour is the product of innate biological or genetic factors. early nativists believe all human characteristics are innate

Question 20

what is environmental determinism?

Answer 20

type of hard determinism that believes that behaviour is caused by environmental factors - skinner argues that free will is an illusion and behaviour is result of conditioning

Question 21

what is psychic determinism?

Answer 21

type of soft determinism and that behaviour is caused by unconscious conflicts that we cant control - freud believed that free will is an illusion but emphasises influence of of biological drives and instincts

Question 22

what is nature in psychology?

Answer 22

the view that behaviour is the product of innate biological and genetic factors. early nativists argued that all human characteristics are innate

Question 24

what research links to nature in psychology?

Answer 24

• bowlby proposed that children come into the world are biologically programmed to form attachments to help them survive so attachments behaviours are naturally selected
• many psychological disorders said to have genetic components

Question 25

what is nuture in psychology?

Answer 25

refers to the influence of experience and environments empiricists argued that the mind is a blank state at birth which is shaped by environment - later became an important feature of behavioural approach

Question 26

what research links to nuture in psychology?

Answer 26

behavioural psychologists explain attachment in terms of classical conditioning and through many repeated pairings

Question 27

what is the nature nuture debate?

Answer 27

tries to find answer to question on whether our behaviour is influenced more by nature or nuture

Question 28

what is the research links to nature nuture debate?

Answer 28

researcher suggests that babys attachment type is determined by warmth and continuity of parental love but other researchers suggest babys innate personality affects baby attachment type so environment and genetics interact

Question 29

what is diathesis stress model?

Answer 29

model suggests that behaviour is caused by biological/environmental vulnerability which is expressed when coupled with a biological/environmental stressor/trigger

Question 30

what is epigenetics?

Answer 30

change in our genetic activity without genes changing themselves. lifestyle etc makr our DNA genes which switch genes on or off. epigenetic factors go on to influence the genetic code of our children

Question 31

what is reductionism?

Answer 31

belief that human behaviour can be explained by breaking it into small parts

Question 32

what is holism?

Answer 32

idea human behaviour is viewed as a whole integrated experience

Question 33

what is holism reductionism debate?

Answer 33

whether holism or reductionism is a better approach to understand human behaviour

Question 34

what are levels of explanations?

Answer 34

suggests there are different ways of vieweing the same phenomena in psychology

Question 35

name some examples of levels of explanations

Answer 35

socio cultural level physical level neurochemical level etc

Question 36

what is biological reductionism?

Answer 36

when biological psychologists try reduce behaviour to physical level and explain in terms of neurones hormones brain structure etc

Question 37

what research links to biological reductionism?

Answer 37

drugs that increase serotonin have been found to be effective in treating OCD - biological explanations of OCD

Question 38

what is environmental reductionism?

Answer 38

behaviourists assume that all behaviour is learnt through experience this learning can be reduced to simple blocks like S - R (stimulus response)

Question 39

what research links with environmental reductionism?

Answer 39

learning theory of attacgment reduces idea of love to learned association between food and the person feeding resulting in pleasure

Question 40

what is the holistic approach in psychology?

Answer 40

looks at system as a whole and arguing the whole is better than small parts of system

Question 41

what research links to holistic approach?

Answer 41

humanistic psychology focuses on individuals experience which is something cant be reduced to biological units use qualitative methods to investigate

Question 42

what is idiographic approach?

Answer 42

psychologists focus on the individual and emphasise unique personal experience of human nature. it doesnt formulate general laws

Question 43

what are idiographic methods?

Answer 43

use qualitative research through interviews and data will be used to find themes and conclusions are made subjective research psychologists working with idiographic approach dont believe objectivity in psych is possible

Question 44

what research links to idiographic approach?

Answer 44

humanistic and psychodynamic approaches case studies like little hans etc

Question 45

what is nomothetic approach?

Answer 45

psychologists are concerned with establishing general laws based on studies of large groups of people

Question 46

what are nomothetic methods?

Answer 46

- quantitative research looks at traditional models of scientific research hypotheses are formulated sample of people assessed numerical data produced for stats - objective research laws of behaviour are only possible if assessment are delivered in standardised objective way

Question 47

what research links to nomothetic approach?

Answer 47

aschs research into conformity used large sample of participants which led to conclusions about effects of group size etc on conformity

Question 48

what are ethical implications?

Answer 48

consquences of any research into terms of the effects om individual participants or on the way in certain groups regarded

Question 49

what is social sensitivity?

Answer 49

studies which have potential consequences or implications for participants of research or individuals represented by research

Question 50

what are implications for the research process?

Answer 50

- research question (qeuestion may influence how data interpreted) - dealing with participants ethical issues really important in socially sensitive research - the way findings are used (researched have to know in advance how theyll use data and be careful so dont reinforce stereotypes etc)

Question 51

does social sensitivity and ethical implications affect all research?

Answer 51

yes but some more than others like memory may have less social sensitivity than research into depression