Psychology = Issues and debates

What is the definition of androcentrism

When ‘normal’ behaviour is judged according to a male standard

What is the definition of alpha bias with gender

Research that focuses on differences between men and women, and therefore tends to present a view that exaggerates these differences

what is the definition of beta bias with gender

Research that focuses on the similarities between men and women, and therefore tends to present a view that ignores or minimises differences

What is the definition of gender bias

When a psychological theory or research does not justifiably represent the experience and behaviour of men or women

What is the definition of universality

Any underlying characteristic of human beings that is capable of being applied to all, despite differences of experience and upbringing

What are the two main types of gender bias

alpha

beta

What are the evaluation points for gender bias

Biological versus social explanations (with counterpoint)

Sexism in research

Gender biased research

Write the evaluation point ‘Biological versus social explanations’ for gender bias

One limitation is that gender differences are often presented as fixed and enduring when they are not.

Maccoby and Jacklin presented the findings of several gender studies which concluded that girls have superior verbal ability whereas boys have better spatial ability. They suggested that these abilities are ‘hardwired’ into the brain before birth. These findings become widely reported and seen as facts. Joel et al used brain scanning and found no sex differences in brain structure or processing. It is possible that the incorrect data was popularised as it fitted existing stereotypes for boys and girls.

This suggests that we should be wary of accepting research findings as biological facts when they might better be explained as social stereotypes.

write the counterpoint to the evaluation point ‘Biological versus social explanations’ for gender bias

Psychologists should not avoid studying possible gender differences in the brain.

Research by Ingalhalikar et al suggests that the stereotype that women are better at multitasking may have some biological truth to it. It seems that a woman’s brain may benefit from better connections between the right and left hemisphere than in a man’s brain.

This suggests that there may be biological differences but we should still be wary of exaggerating the effect they may have on behaviour.

Write the evaluation point ‘sexism in research’ for gender bias

One limitation is that gender bias promotes sexism in the research process.

Women remain underrepresented in university departments, particularly in science. Although psychology’s undergraduate intake is mainly of women, lecturers in psychology departments are more likely to be men. This means that research is more likely to be conducted by men which may disadvantage participants who are women. e.g. male researchers may expect women to be irrational and unable to complete complex tasks and such expectations are likely to mean that women underperform in research studies.

This means that the institutional structures and methods of psychology may produce findings that are gender biased.

Write the evaluation point ‘gender biased research’ for gender bias

One limitation is that research challenging gender bias may not be published.

Formanowicz et al analysed more than 1000 articles relating to gender bias, published over 8 years. They found that research on gender bias is funded less often and published in less prestigious journals. This means that less scholars become aware of it or apply it in their own work. The researchers argued that this still held true when gender bias was compared with other forms of bias, such as ethnic bias, and when other factors were controlled, such as the gender of the authors and the methodology used.

This suggests that gender bias in psychological research may not be taken as seriously as other forms of bias.

What is the definition of cultural bias

A tendency to interpret all phenomena through the ‘lens’ of your own culture, ignoring the effects that cultural differences might have on behaviour.

What is the definition of ethnocentrism

Judging other cultures by the standards and values of your own culture

What is the definition of 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

What are the evaluation points for cultural bias

Classic studies (with counterpoint)

Cultural psychology

Ethnic stereotyping

Write the evaluation point ‘classic studies’ for cultural bias

One limitation is that influential studies in psychology are culturally biased.

For example, both Asch’s and Milgram’s original studies were conducted exclusively with US participants. Replications of these studies in different countries produced different results. For example, Asch-type studies in collectivist cultures found significantly higher rates of conformity than the original studies in the US, which is an individualist culture.

This suggests our understanding of topics such as social influence should only be applied to individualist cultures.

Write the counterpoint for the evaluation point ‘Classic studies’ for culture bias

In an age of increased media globalisation, it is argued that the individualist-collectivist distinction no longer applies.

The traditional argument is that individualist countries value indivituals and independence, whilst collectivist cultures value society and the needs of the group. Takano and Osaka found that 14 our of 15 studies that compared the US and Japan found no evidence of individualism or collectivism - describing the distinction as lazy and simplistic.

This suggests that cultural bias in research may be less of an issue in more recent psychological research.

Write the evaluation point ‘Cultural psychology’ for culture bias

One strength is the emergence of cultural psychology.

According to Cohen, this is the study of how people shape and are shaped by their cultural experience. It is an emerging field and incorporates work from researchers in other disciplines. Cultural psychologists strive to avoid ethnocentric assumptions by taking an emic approach and conducting research from inside a culture. Cross-cultural research tends to focus on two cultures rather than larger scale studies.

This suggests that modern psychologists are mindful of the dangers of cultural bias and are taking steps to avoid it.

Write the evaluation point ‘Ethnic stereotyping’ for culture bias

One limitation of culture bias in psychology is that it has led to prejudice against groups of people.

Gould explained how the first intelligence tests led to eugenic social policies in the US. Psychologists used the opportunity of WW1 to pilot their first IQ tests on 1.75 million army recruits. Many of the items on the test were ethnocentric. The result was that recruits from south-eastern Europe and African Americans received the lowest scores. The poor performances were not taken as a sign of the tests inadequacy but was instead used to inform racist discourse about the genetic inferiority of particular cultural and ethnic groups.

This illustrates how cultural bias can be used to justify prejudice and discrimination towards certain cultural and ethnic groups.

What is the definition of free will

The notion that humans can make choices and that their behaviour/thoughts are not determined by biological or external forces

what is the definition of determinism

The view that an individual’s behaviour is shaped or controlled by internal or external forces rather than an individual’s will to do something

What is the definition of hard determinism

The view that all behaviour is caused by something so free will is an illusion

what is the definition of soft determinism

the view that behaviour may be predictable but there is also room for personal choice from a limited range of possibilities

What is the definition of biological determinism

The belief that behaviour is caused by biological influences that we cannot control

What is the definition of environmental determinism

The belief that behaviour is caused by features of the environment that we cannot control

What is the definition of psychic determinism

The belief that behaviour is caused by unconscious psychodynamic conflicts that we cannot control

What are the types of determinism

Soft determinism

Hard determinism

Biological determinism

Environmental determinism

Psychic determinism

What are the evaluation points for the free will-determinism debate

Practical value

Research evidence (with counterpoint)

The law

Write the evaluation point ‘Practical value’ for the free will-determinism debate

One strength of free will is its practical value

The common-sense view is that we exercise free choice on a daily basis. However, even if this is not the case, thinking that we do can improve our mental health. Roberts et al carried out a study looking at adolescents who had a strong belief in fatalism. The study found that they were at significantly greater risk of developing depression.

This suggests that, even if we don’t have free will, the belief that we do may have a positive impact on our mind and behaviour.

Write the evaluation point ‘Research evidence’ for the free-will and determinism debate

One limitation of free will is that brain scan evidence does not support it but does support determinism.

Libet et al instructed participants to choose a random moment to flick their wrist while he measured activity in their brain, Participants had to say when they felt the conscious will to move. Libet found that the unconscious brain activity leading up to the conscious decision came around half a second before they consciously felt they had decided to move.

This may be interpreted as meaning that even our most basic experiences of free will are actually determined by our brain before we are aware of them.

Write the counterpoint for the evaluation point ‘Research evidence’ for the free will-determinism debate

Libet’s findings showing that the brain is involved in decision making is just as we would expect. Just because the action comes before the conscious awareness of the decision to act, doesn’t mean that there was no decision to act, just that it took time to reach consciousness. Our conscious awareness of the decision is simply a ‘read-out’ of our unconscious decision-making.

This suggests that this evidence is not appropriate as a challenge to free will.

Write the evaluation point ‘The law’ for the free will-determinism debate

One limitation of determinism is the position of the legal system on responsibility.

The hard determinist stance is that individual choice is not the cause of behaviour. This is not consistent with the way in which our legal system operates. In a court of law, offenders are held responsible for their actions. The main principle of our legal system is that a defendant exercised their free will in committing the crime.

This suggests that, in the real world, determinist arguments do not work.

What is the definition of heredity

The genetic transmission of both mental and physical characteristics from one generation to another

Write a summary of the interactionist approach for the nature nurture debate

It is a way to explain the development of behaviour in terms of a range of factors, including both biological and psychological ones. It is about discussing how nature and nurture interact.

What does the diathesis-stress model suggest for the nature nurture debate

It suggests that behaviour is caused by a biological or environmental vulnerability which is only expressed when coupled with a biological or environmental trigger.

Apply the diathesis stress model to OCD

A person who inherits a genetic vulnerability for OCD may not develop the disorder. If this genetic vulnerability is then combined with a psychological trigger, it may result in the disorder appearing.

What does epigenetics refer to

A change in our genetic activity without changing the genes themselves. It is a process that happens throughout life and is caused by interaction with the environment.

Which psychologist argued that the mind is a blank slate at birth, which is then shaped by the environment. And which side of the nature nurture debate are they on

John Locke

Nurture

Which psychologist argued that all human characteristics, and some aspects of knowledge, are innate. And which side of the nature nurture debate are they on

Descartes

Nature

What is the concordance rate

a measure of similarity between two individuals or sets of individuals on a given trait

What is the definition of heritability

The ratio between genetic variability of the particular trait and total variability in the whole population

What are the evaluation points for the nature nurture debate

Adoption studies (with counterpoint)

Epigenetics

Real-world application

Write the evaluation point ‘Adoption studies’ for the nature nurture debate

One strength of research into the debate is the use of adoption studies.

These are useful because they separate the competing influences of nature and nurture. A meta-analysis of adoption studies by Rhee and Waldman found that genetic influences accounted for 41% of the variance in aggression.

This shows how research can separate the influences of nature and nurture.

Write the counterpoint for the evaluation point ‘Adoption studies’ for the nature nurture debate

Research suggests that this approach may be misguided, that nature and nurture are not two entities that can simply be pulled apart.

According to Plomin people create their own nurture by actively selecting environments that are appropriate for their nature. For example, a naturally aggressive child is likely to feel more comfortable with children who show similar behaviour and will choose their environment accordingly. Then, their chosen companions further influence their development. Plomin refers to this as niche picking.

This suggests that it does not make sense to look at evidence of either nature or nurture.

Write the evaluation point ‘Epigenetics’ for the nature nurture debate

One strength of the debate is the support for epigenetics.

One example of how environmental effects can span generations presumably through epigenetic effects comes from WW2. In 1944 the Nazis blocked the distribution of food to the Dutch people. Susser and Lin reported that women who became pregnant during this famine went on to have low birth weight babies. These babies were twice as likely to develop schizophrenia when they grew up compared to more typical population rates.

This supports the view that the life experiences of previous generations can leave epigenetic markers that influence the health of their offspring

Write the evaluation point ‘Real-world application’ for the nature nurture debate

A strength of the debate is that it has real world application.

Research suggests that OCD is a highly heritable mental disorder. For example, Nestadt et al put the heritability rate at .76. Such understanding can cause genetic counselling because it is important to understand that high heritability does not mean it is inevitable that the individual will go on to develop the disorder. This means that people who have a high genetic risk of OCD because of their family background can receive advice about the likelihood of developing the disorder and how they might prevent this.

This shows that the debate is not just a theoretical one but that it is important, at a practical level, to understand the interaction between nature and nurture.

What is the definition of holism

An argument or theory which proposes that it only makes sense to study an indivisible system rather than its constituent parts

What is the definition of reductionism

The belief that human behaviour is best understood by studying the smaller constituent parts

What is biological reductionism

A form of reductionism which attempts to explain behaviour at the lowest biological level

What is environmental reductionism

The attempt to explain all behaviour in terms of stimulus-response links that have been learned through experience

What are the levels of explanation in reductionism

The idea that there are several levels that can be used to explain behaviour. The lowest level considers physiological/biological explanation, the middle level considers psychological explanations and the highest level considers social and cultural explanations.

What are the evaluation points for the holism-reductionism debate

Practical value 

Scientific approach (with counterpoint)

Higher level

Write the evaluation point ‘practical value’ for the holism-reductionism debate

One limitation of the holism approach is that it may lack practical value.

Holistic accounts of human behaviour tend to become hard to use as they become more complex. This can present researchers with a practical dilemma. If we accept, from a humanistic perspective’ that there are many different factors that contribute to depression then it becomes difficult to know which is the most influential, It is then difficult to know which to prioritise as the basis of therapy.

This suggests that holistic accounts may lack practical value.

Write the evaluation point ‘Scientific approach’ for the holism reductionism debate

One strength of the reductionist approach is that it often forms the basis of a scientific approach.

In order to conduct well-controlled research we need to operationalise the variables to be studied - to break target behaviours down into constituent parts. This makes it possible to conduct experiments or record observations in a way that is objective and reliable.

This scientific approach gives psychology greater credibility.

Write the counterpoint for the evaluation point ‘Scientific approach’ for the holism reductionism debate

Reductionist approaches have been accused of oversimplifying complex ideas, leading to reduced validity.

This suggests that reductionist explanations can only ever form part of an explanation.

Write the evaluation point ‘higher level’ for the holism reductionism debate

One limitation of reductionism is that some behaviours can only be understood at a higher level.

Often there are aspects of social behaviour that only emerge within a group context and cannot be understood in terms of the individual group members. For example, in the Stanford prison experiment, it was the interaction between participants and the behaviour of the group that was important. There is no conformity gene that we are aware of so social processes like conformity can only be explained at the level which they occur.

This suggests that, for some behaviours, higher level explanations provide a more valid account.

What is the idiographic approach

An approach to research that focuses more on the individual case as a means of understanding behaviour, rather that aiming to formulate general laws of behaviour

What is the nomothetic approach

It aims to study human behaviour through the development of general principals and universal laws

Is idiographic research usually qualitative or quantitative

qualitative

Is nomothetic research usually qualitative or quantitative

quantitative

Which approaches in psychology are associated with the idiographic approach

humanistic and psychodynamic

which approaches in psychology are associated with the nomothetic approach

behaviourist and biological

What are the evaluation points of the idiographic nomothetic debate

Complete account (with counterpoint)

Scientific credibility

Losing the person

Write the evaluation point ‘Complete account’ for the idiographic nomothetic debate

One strength of the idiographic approach is that it contributes to the nomothetic approach.

It uses in depth qualitative methods of investigation which provides a global description of one individual. This may complement the nomothetic approach by shedding further light on general laws or by challenging such laws. For example, a single case might generate hypotheses for further study. Cases like HM may reveal important insights about normal functioning which may contribute to our overall understanding.

This suggests that even though the focus is on fewer individuals, the idiographic approach may still help form ‘scientific’ laws of behaviour.

Write the counterpoint to the evaluation point ‘Complete account’ for the idiographic nomothetic debate

Supporters of the idiographic approach should still acknowledge the narrow and restricted nature of their work. Meaningful generalisations cannot be made without further examples, as this means there is no adequate baseline with which to compare behaviour. In addition, methods associated with the idiographic approach, such as case studies, tend to be the least scientific in that conclusions often rely on the subjective interpretation of the researcher and, as such, are open to bias.

This suggests that it is difficult to build effective general theories of human behaviour in the complete absence of nomothetic research.

Write the evaluation point ‘scientific credibility’ for the idiographic nomothetic debate

One strength of both approaches is that they fit with the aims of science.

The processes involved in nomothetic research are similar to those used in the natural sciences, for example establishing objectivity through standardisation, control and statistical testing. However, researchers using the idiographic approach also seek to objectify their methods. For example, triangulation is used whereby findings from a range of studies using different qualitative methods are compared as a way of increasing their validity. Also, modern qualitative researchers are careful to reflect upon their own biases and preconceptions as part of the research process.

This suggests that both the nomothetic and idiographic approaches raise psychology’s status as a science.

Write the evaluation point ‘Losing the person’ for the idiographic nomothetic debate

One limitation of the nomothetic approach is loss of understanding of the individual.

The fact that the nomothetic approach is preoccupied with general laws, prediction and control means it has been accused of ‘losing the whole person’ within psychology. For example, knowing that there is a 1% lifetime risk of developing schizophrenia tells us little about what life is like for someone who has been diagnosed with the disorder, Understanding the subjective experience of schizophrenia might well prove useful when it comes to devising appropriate treatment options.

This means, in its search for generalities, the nomothetic approach may sometimes fail to relate to ‘experience’.