Issues and Debates AO3

Discuss gender bias in psychological research. 

Usually presented as fixed and enduring > Maccoby and Jacklin > Girls = superior verbal ability, Boys = better spatial ability > Joel brain scans found no sex difference in brain processing or structure > Perhaps to fit social stereotypes of ‘speakers’ and ‘doers’ > May carry some truth > Ingalhalikar found that women have better connected hemispheres 

Promotes sexism in the research process > Uni lecturers = male-dominated (Murphy) > Research more likely conducted by men, may disadvantage women > Male researcher expects women to perform worse in complex tasks and be irrational (Nicolson) so underperform > Methods produce gender-biased findings 

Research challenging gender biases may not be published > Formanowicz > Analysed 1000 articles on gender bias > Funded less often and published in less prestigious journals > Fewer scholars aware so less applied to own work > Still held true when compared to other bias types and when other facts like gender of author controlled > Not taken as seriously as other forms of bias 

Misleading assumptions about women > Negative stereotypes > ‘Normal for women to feel abnormal’ (Carol Tavris) > Some behaviour pathologised > PMS medicalises women's emotions whereas men’s anger seen as rational (Brescoll and Uhlmann) > Gender bias isn’t just a methodological problem but may affect women IRL 

Discuss cultural bias in psychology. Refer to examples in your answer. 

Leads to ethnic stereotyping > Gould > First intelligence tests led to eugenic social policies in America > WWI, millions of army recruits made to take intelligence test > Qs were ethnocentric > Minority groups performed worse and deemed genetically inferior > GB leads to justification of prejudices and discrimination 

Many classic studies are culturally biased > Asch and Milgram > Both conducted with white, middle-class, US PPTs > Conformity rate higher in Asch-like studies > Japan is a collectivist culture, USA is Individualist > Greater focus on others in social settings in collectivist > Findings from individualist should only apply to individualist > Takano and Osaka found little C vs I differences > Suggests that culture bias in research is less of an issue in recent research due to growing media exposure 

Imposed etic view is inaccurate > Ainsworth and Bell > Strange situation claims securely attached babies characterised by moderate SA / SA > Not the same in collectivist cultures like Japan (Takahashi) due to difference in child-rearing > Different norms mean secure attachment may look different > Imposed etic leads to cultural relativism 

Emergence of cultural psychology > Cohen > Study of how people shape and are shaped by their cultural experience > Cultural psychologists use an emic approach > Researchers come from country studied > Focus on less countries rather than many > Modern psychologists aware of dangers and avoid 

Discuss the free will and determinism debate. Refer to two topics you have studied in psychology in your answer. 

Practical value > Rebecca Roberts > Found that teens who had a fatalistic view = significantly greater risk of depression > Those with external LOC are less optimistic, more prone to mental health issues > Believing in free will has good impact on mind / behaviour 

Research evidence against free will > Libet > Asked PPTs to randomly flick wrists and say when they decided to while measuring readiness potential in brains > Unconscious brain activity emerged half a second before conscious choice > Choices determined by our brain > Decision could have taken time to come into consciousness  

Determinism can be exploited > Hard determinist stance states our behaviour is not by choice > Does not align how legal system operates > Main principle of legal system is that defendant exercised free will when committing crime > Determinists arguments invalid IRL 

Free will has intuitive appeal > Most people like the idea of being in control > Liberating for people who do not want to accept their fate like being from a criminal family > However determinist stance has helped to establish psychology as a science and has led to real life applications like therapies > Free will has appeal, determinist is more practical 

Discuss the nature-nurture debate. Refer to at least one topic you have studied in psychology in your answer. 

Discuss holism and reductionism in psychology. In your answer, refer to at least one topic area that you have studied in psychology. 

Discuss idiographic and nomothetic approaches to psychological investigation. 

Discuss ethical implications of research studies and theory, including reference to social sensitivity. 

Benefits for groups > Homosexuality used to be classified in DSM as a personality disorder > Due to Kinsey > 5000 men studied via interviews, found typical expression of human sexual behaviours > Also included 6000 women > Highlights importance of researching sensitive topics 

Real-world application > Loftus and Palmer > Research into LQ on EWT recall > Police more aware, less wrongful convictions > Some socially sensitive research has a positive impact on society 

Scientific racism > Goddard > Concluded IQ is genetic > Concluded from research that IQ is genetic > Those with low IQ were sterilised in 1920s America > Suggests research has been used research to justify immoral practices  

Poor research design > May lead to erroneous findings > Long-lasting > Burt 11+ > Many schools still use it for selection > Based on Burt’s ‘genetic potential revealed’ theory > Emphasises importance of accurate research as effects can be enduring