Unit 3: Issues and debates in psychology Flashcards
(35 cards)
What is universality:
any characteristic of humans that is capable of being applied to all, despite differences in experience or upbringing. Gender and cultural bias threatens universality
What is gender bias?
a tendency to treat one individual or group in a different way from others. In the context of gender bias psychological research may offer a view that doesn’t justifiably represent the experience of both sexes.
What is androcentrism?
where ‘normal’ behaviour is centred to the male standard
What is alpha bias?
psychological theories that suggest there are real and enduring differences between men and women. These may enhance or undervalue members of either sex, typically females
What is beta bias?
theories that ignore or minimise differences between the sexes
Evaluations of gender bias:
- essentialism
most gender differences are based on an essentialist perspective, that gender differences is inevitable and fixed in nature. Walkerdine (1990) reports how in the 1930s ‘scientific’ research revealed how intellectual activity would shrivel a women’s ovaries. Such accounts are politically motivated. Creating a double standard in the way that the same behaviour is viewed from a male and female perspective.
+ feminist psychology
Worrell and Remer (1992) put forward a criteria that should be followed to avoid gender bias. Women should be studied in real life contexts and participating in research. Diversity within women should be examined rather than just comparing between men and women. Also greater emphasis should be placed on collaborative research that collects qualitative data.
- implications of gender bias
may create misleading assumptions about female behaviour, fails to challenge negative stereotypes and validate discriminatory practises. It may create ‘scientific justification’ to deny women opportunities. Carol Tavris (1993) ‘it becomes normal for women to feel abnormal’ not just a methodological problem but may effect lives ( women twice as likely to be diagnosed with depression)
What is ethnocentrism?
judging other cultures by the standard of one’s own. May led to the belief of superiority which can lead to prejudice and discrimination.
What is cultural relativism?
The idea that norms and values, as well as ethics and moral standards, can only be meaningful and understood within specific social and cultural contexts.
Evaluations of cultural bias:
- unfamiliarity with research tradition
when conducting research in Western culture the participants’ familiarity with the general aims and objectives of scientific enquiry is assumed. However the same knowledge and trust in scientific testing may not extend to other cultures that don’t have the same historical experience of research. So demand characteristics may be exaggerated when working with members of the local pop (Bond and Smith 1996). This may have an effect on validity.
- operationalisation of variables
variables under review may not be experienced in the same way by all participants. E.G in China the invasion of personal space is seen as normal whereas in the west this may be seen as threatening or confrontational. These issues may affect our interactions between researchers and participants or between western and non-western in cross-cultural studies.
+ individualism + collectivism
critics argue in this age of global communication and increased interconnectedness the divide between the two no longer applies. Takano + Osaka (1999) 14 out of 15 studies comparing the USA + Japan found no evidence of a distinguish between individualism and collectivism. Less of an issue than once was?
What is hard determinism?
implies freewill is not possible as our behaviour will always be caused by internal / external forces beyond our control
What is soft determinism?
all events have causes, but behaviour can also be determined by our conscious choices in the absence of coersion. Contrasts with hard determinism
What is biological determinism?
the belief that behaviour is caused by biological influences that we can’t control
What is environmental determinism?
the belief that behaviour is caused by features of the environment ( such as systems of rewards and punishment ) that we can’t control.
What is psychic determinism?
behaviour is caused by unconscious conflicts that we can’t control.
Evaluation for determinism:
+ Consistent with aims of science + places psychology on equal footing with other more established sciences
led to the development of treatments, therapies, and behavioural interventions that have benefitted many ( psychotherapeutic drug treatment in managing schizophrenia ). In terms of mental illness, behaviours would appear to be determined.
- not consistent with the way our legal system operates
unfalsifiable: suggests it may not be as scientific as it first appears
Evaluations for free will:
+ everyday experience ‘gives impression’ that we exercise free will, giving it face validity, it makes cognitive sense. Robert et al (2000) demonstrated adolescents with a strong belief in fatalism, our lives are out of our control, were at a greater risk of developing depression. Suggesting even if we don’t have free will thinking that we do may have a positive effect on our mind and behaviour.
- neurological studies of decision making have revealed evidence against free will
Benjamin Libet (1985) and Chun Siong Soon et al (2008) have demonstrated that the brain activity that determines the outcome of simple choices. Even our most basic experiences of free will are decided and determines by our brain before we become aware of them.
we can see a compromise in the interactionist and position which says they both play a role.
What is the interactionist approach?
the idea that nature and nurture are linked to such an extent that it doesn’t make sense to separate the two, so researchers instead study how they interact and influence each other
What are diathesis-stress models?
models of mental illness which emphasis the interaction of nature and nurture. Model suggests that psychopathology is caused by a biological/genetic vunrability (the diathesis) which is only expressed when paired with a biological or environmental ‘trigger’ (the stressor)
What are epigenetics?
refers to a change in our genetic activity without changing our genetic code. It is a process that happens as a result of interactions with the environment ( lifestyle or events ) leaving epigentic ‘marks’ on our DNA. These ‘marks’ tell our bodies which genes to ignore and which to use and in turn may influence the genetic codes of generations after.
epigenetics therefore introduce a third element to the debate, the life experience of previous generations
What is an study supporting epigenetics?
Dias and Ressler (2014) gave male mice electric shocks when exposed to the smell of acetophenone (perfume) - children and grandchildren also feared the smell - behaviourists expectation
Evaluations of the nature nurture debate:
+ genotype - environmental interaction
Scarr and McCartney (1983) theory of gene-environmental interaction. 3 types: passive interaction ( parents’ genes influence the way they treat their children), evocative interaction ( the child’s genes influence and shape the environment which they grow up in), active interaction ( the child creates its own environment through people and experiences they select) .Points to a complex relationship between nature and nurture.
- Constructivism
genes and environment interact. People create their own ‘nurture’ by seeking out an environment that is appropriate for their ‘nature’. This environment then effects their development. Plomin (1994) refers to this as niche-picking - further evidence that it is illogical to separate nature and nurture influences on a childs behaviour.
What is biological reductionism?
a form of reductionism which attempts to explain social and psychological phenomena at a lower biological level.
What is environmental reductionism?
the attempt to explain all behaviour in terms of stimulus-response links that have been learnt through experience
Evaluations for holism in the holism and reductionist debate:
+ for holism
there are aspects of social behaviour that only emerge within a group context. Effects of conformity to social roles and the de-individualisation of prisoners and guards in stanford prison experiment couldn’t be understood studying the participants as individuals - its the interaction that is important. Showing holistic explanations provide a more complex and global understanding of behaviour than reductionist approaches.
- against holism
doesn’t lend themselves to scientific testing and can become vague. For example humanism tends to be criticised for its lack of empiricial evidence and loose set of concepts. Practical dilemma - whats the most influential aspect to use in say therapy.
