Entirety of Year 2 Issues and debates

What is universality?

Anything that can be applied to all – psychologists beliefs cause bias – bias threatens universality

What is gender bias?

The tendency to treat one sex in a different way to the other – view that doesn't represent the behaviour of men and women

What is alpha bias?

Psychological theories which suggest real differences between men and women – typically undervalues females

What is an example of alpha bias?

Sociobiological theory of relationship formation – male sexual promiscuity innate but not for women

What is beta bias?

Theories that ignore and minimise differences between the sexes – when females not included in research process

What is an example of beta bias?

Fight or flight response Taylor: females have tend–and–befriend response

What is androcentrism?

When behaviour is decided as 'normal' from a male standard – female behaviour is seen as abnormal

What is an example of androcentrism?

PMS diagnosis – trivialises female experience – social construction to invalidate human emotion

What are the evaluation points of gender bias?

– implications of gender bias – sexism within the research process – reflexivity – essentialism – feminist psychology

What is the 'implications of gender bias' evaluation point of gender bias?

– creates misleading assumptions of female behaviour=validate discrimination – scientific proof to deny opportunities – damaging consequences that affect lives of real women

What is the 'sexism with the research process' evaluation point of gender bias?

– less women in senior research=fem. concerns not reflected – males researchers=published work – fem. participants w/male researcher=labelled unreasonable/irrational

What is the 'reflexivity' evaluation point of gender bias?

– embrace bias as critical aspect of research Dambrini/Lambert: study of women executives in accounting;reflection on gender experiences influencing interpretation – awareness of personal bias

What is the 'essentialism' evaluation point of gender bias?

– gender difference is 'fixed' in nature1930s: scientific research;intellectual activity shrivels ovaries – politically motivated;disguised as biological;creates double standard

What is the 'feminist psychology' evaluation point of gender bias?

Worrell: criteria to avoid gender bias in research;women studied in real context and participate in research – diversity within women examined;greater emphasis on qualitative data

What is cultural bias?

– tendency to ignore cultural differences and interpret everything from own culture perspective – 1992: 64% psychology researcher were American

How does cultural bias affect the universality of findings?

– psychology claims to find universal truths, but findings only apply to studied culture – assumes Western culture applies to the world

What is ethnocentrism?

– judging a culture by the standards of another – believing own culture is superior=discrimination of other cultures

What is an example of ethnocentrism in psychology?

– behaviour not 'typical' in Western culture=unsophisticated e.g Ainsworth's Strange Situation – only reflected Western norms/values (separation anxiety) – German parenting seen as cold than encouraging independence

What is cultural relativism?

– idea that norms/values (including ethics/moral standards) only understood in specific social/cultural contexts

How does Ainsworth's resarch show cultural relativism?

– imposed etic: imposed her own cultural understanding onto other countries

According to Berry, what is emic and etic?

Emic: identifying behaviours in a culture specific to that culture Etic: looks at behaviour outside a culture and describes these behaviours as universal – psychology uses etic approach when research is emic

What are the evaluation points for cultural bias?

– individualism and collectivism – cultural relativism versus universality – unfamiliarity with research tradition – operationalisation of variables – challenging 'implicit' assumptions

What is the 'individualism and collectivism' evaluation point of cultural bias?

Individualist: Western;value independence Collectivist: China;needs of the group – global communication=no longer distinction Takano/Osaka: 1415 studies of USvsJPN=no evidence of distinction – cultural bias less of an issue than the past

What is the 'cultural relativism versus universality' evaluation point of cultural bias?

– shouldn't assume all research culturally relative/no human behaviour is universal Ekman: basic emotional facial expressions same across humans/animals

What is the 'unfamiliarity with research tradition' evaluation point of cultural bias?

– knowledge/faith in scientific research not extended to other cultures – demand characteristics exaggerated when working with local population=adverse effect on validity

What is the 'operationalisation of variables' evaluation point of cultural bias?

– variables not experienced same by all – emotional behavioural expression different across cultures – invasion of personal space normal in China not West

What is the 'challenging implicit assumptions' evaluation point of cultural bias?

– cross–cultural research challenge Western ways of thinking – promotes sensitivity to individual difference – conclusions more valid if they recognise culture influence

What is free will?

– idea that humans choices aren't determined by biological/external forces e.g. humanistic approach

What is determinism?

– view that individual behaviour controlled by internal/external forces than free will – two types: hard and soft determinism

What is hard determinism?

– free will doesn't exist – behaviour always controlled by internal/external events beyond control

What is soft determinism?

– all events have causes, but behaviour can also be determined by conscious choice

What is biological determinism?

– behaviour is caused by biological influences we cannot control e.g. biological explanation for schizophrenia

What is environmental determinism?

– behaviour caused by features of the environment (reward systems) we can't control e.g. SLT of gender development/behaviour modification/BF Skinner

What is psychic determinism?

– the belief that behaviour is caused by unconscious conflicts we cannot control e.g. Freud's psychoanalytic theory of gender development

How are determinist approaches more scientific?

– every event has cause explained by general laws – allows scientists to predict/control events in the future – lab experiment=stimulate conditions/remove extraneous variables=control

What are the evaluation points for free will and determinism?

– case for determinism – case against determinism – case for free will – case against free will – compromise

What is the 'case for determinism' evaluation point of free will and determinism?

– consistent with established sciences – prediction/control led to treatment development e.g. psychotics for schizo – schizo=lose control=doubt of free will

What is the 'case against determinism' evaluation point of free will and determinism?

– hard determinism not consistent with legal system (offenders morally accountable)– cases of behaviour may not be found=unfalsifiable – determinist approach not entirely scientific

What is the 'case for free will' evaluation point of free will and determinism?

– everyday experience of choice gives impression=face validity – research: internal locus of control=more mentally healthy – illusion of free will has positive impact on mind/behaviour

What is the 'case against free will' evaluation point of free will and determinism?

Libet: brain activity determining simple choices occur prior to awareness of choice (ten seconds before) – basic free will determined by brain before we're aware

What is the 'compromise' evaluation point of free will and determinism?

– interactionist approach=best compromise e.g SLT adopts soft determinism – environment=learning;choose attention/performance of behaviour

What is the nature nurture debate? How did it originate?

– the extent to which behaviour is inherited or learned Descartes: human characteristics innate Locke: mind is blank/learn from environment

What is heredity?

– genetic transmission of mental/physical characteristics from generations

What is the heritability coefficient?

– 0 to 1 indicating extent of characteristic's genetic basis

Why is the nature–nurture debate nearly impossible to solve?

– environmental influence straight after birth – difficult to separate

What is the interactionist approach to the nature–nurture debate?

– attachment: child's innate behaviour influence parent response=nature creates nurture

What is the diathesis–stress model approach to the nature–nurture debate?

– mental illness caused by genetic vulnerability – expressed with environmental trigger

What are the evaluation points of the nature–nurture debate?

– implications of nativism and empircism – shared and unshared environments – constructivism – genotype–environment interaction – relationship to other debates

What is the 'implications of nativism and empiricism' evaluation point of the nature–nurture debate?

– two different schools of thought – nativists: determinist stance=controversy (link race, genetics and intelligence) – empiricism: behaviour changed by environment=practical application

What is the 'shared and unshared environments' evaluation point of the nature–nurture debate?

– siblings raised together may not have same upbringing Dunn/Plomin: individual differences=experience life events different (age/temper) – MZ twins not 100% concordance=gene/environ not separable

What is the 'constructivism' evaluation point of the nature–nurture debate?

– notion that genes and environment interact – create nurture: seek environment appropriate for nature Plomin: niche picking/building=impossible to separate influences

What is the 'genotype–environment interaction' evaluation point of the nature–nurture debate?

– passive interaction: parent genes influence child treatment – evocative interaction: child genes shape environ – active interaction: child creates environment through selected experiences – complex multi–layered relationship

What is the 'relationship to other debates' evaluation point of the nature–nurture debate?

– nativists emphasise nature – empiricists emphasise nurture – equates to biological and environmental determinism

What is holism?

– argument proposing it only makes sense to study indivisible system that has constituent parts as a whole

What is reductionism?

– belief that human behaviour is best explained by breaking it down into smaller constituent parts

What are levels of explanation in psychology?

– different ways of viewing the same psychological phenomena e.g. OCD: Socio–cultural: OCD produces repetitive behaviour Psychological: experience of obsessive thoughts Physiological: hypersensitivity of the basal ganglia

What is biological reductionism?

– attempt to explain social/psychological phenomena at lower biological level – application e.g. psychoactive drugs for schizophrenia

What is environmental reductionism?

– attempt to explain all behaviour in terms of stimulus–response links learned through experience e.g. Watson (learning behaviour)

What are the evaluation points for holism and reductionism?

– case for holism – case against holism – case for reductionism – case against reductionism – the interactionist approach

What is the 'case for holism' evaluation point for holism and reductionism?

– aspects of social behaviour only understood in group context e.g. conformity – holistic explanation provides complete understanding of behaviour

What is the 'case against holism' evaluation point for holism and reductionism?

– can't be scientifically tested;vague as more complex (humanistic psychology) – depression: accept many factors=hard to establish most influential – for practical applications, lower level explanations more appropriate

What is the 'case for reductionism' evaluation point for holism and reductionism?

– forms basis of scientific research – create operationalised variables=experiments – better credibility=equal to natural sciences

What is the 'case against reductionism' evaluation point for holism and reductionism?

– oversimplify complex phenomena=lose validity – genetic explanations don't include social contexts (behaviour meaning) – only form part of the explanation

What is the 'interactionist approach' evaluation point for holism and reductionism?

– different levels of explanation combine e.g diathesis–stress for schizophrenia – led to more holistic approach (drugs+therapy)=lower relapse rates

What is the idiographic approach?

– approach focusing on individual case to understand behaviour than aiming to form general laws of behaviour e.g. case studies/unstructured interviews (qualitative data)

What is the nomothetic approach?

– attempts to study human behaviour through developing general principles/laws

What are examples of idiographic approach in psychology?

Psychodynamic: Freud used case studies when detailing patients lives Humanistic: only documented conscious experience of individual

What are examples of nomothetic approach in psychology?

Reductionist/determinist: atavistic formbehaviourist/cognitive/biological: Skinner=laws of learning

What are the evaluation points of idiographic and nomothetic approaches?

– case for idiographic approach – case against idiographic approach – case for nomothetic approach – case against nomothetic approach – complementary rather than contradictory

What is the 'case for idiographic approach' evaluation point for idiographic and nomothetic approaches?

– complete global account of individual=complement nomothetic– generate hypothesis for further study – insight to normal functioning (HM)

What is the 'case against idiographic approach' evaluation point for the idiographic and nomothetic approaches?

– concepts developed from single case=no meaningful generalisations – methods least scientific – conclusions=subjective interpretation

What is the 'case for nomothetic approach' evaluation point for the idiographic and nomothetic approaches?

– methods more scientific (standardised conditions/statistical analysis) – establish norms of behaviour=psychology scientific credibility up

What is the 'case against nomothetic approach' evaluation point for the idiographic and nomothetic approaches?

– lose the whole person in psychology e.g. knowing about schizo doesn't tell what its like – lab=treated like scores=subjective experience ignored – overlooks richness of human experience

What is the 'complementary rather than contradictory' evaluation point for the idiographic and nomothetic approaches?

– not mutually exclusive;consider both idiographic/nomothetic– e.g. gender development:nomothetic=Bem's BSRI;idiographic=David Reimer – both involved in modern psychology

What are ethical implications?

– impact on research on rights of others (participants) = influencing how groups are regarded

According to Sieber and Stanley, what is social sensitivity?

– studies with potential consequences for individuals represented by the research – e.g. research into genetic basis of criminality

What should researchers be concerned with when conducting socially sensitive research?

Implications: wider effects of research considered;could give scientific credit to discrimination Uses/public policy: what will research be used for? Used by govt to shape policy Validity: findings shown as objective when not

What are the evaluation points of ethical implications of research studies and theory?

– benefits of socially sensitive research – framing the question – who gains – social control – costs and benefits

What is the 'benefits of socially sensitive research' evaluation point of ethical implications of research studies and theory?

– studying minor groups promotes acceptance – benefit society: research to reliability of eyewitness testimony=down miscarriages of justice

What is the 'framing the question' evaluation point of ethical implications of research studies and theory?

– phrasing influences interpretation of findings Kitzinger/Coyle: research to homo relationships judges from hetero norms – approach research with open mind

What is the 'who gains' evaluation point of ethical implications of research studies and theory?

– used by govt=shape policy despite invalid 1950s: subliminal message research used;Coke sales up;Packard: made findings up – research to manipulate=ethical implications

What is the 'social control' evaluation point of ethical implications of research studies and theories?

1920s: US;compulsory sterilisation of lower people in society (low IQ, alcohol addicts) – supported by scientific/psychological research – socially sensitive research can promote discrimination

What is the 'costs and benefits' evaluation point of ethical implications of research studies and theories?

– some social consequences of vulnerable group research hard to predict – assessments of worth subjective

Nature nurture debate

The extent to which aspects of behaviour are a product of inherited or acquired characteristics

Nature

Nativists argue that human characteristics and some aspect of knowledge are innate– result of heredity

Nurture

Empiricists argue that mind is a blank slate and learning and experience are a result of environment

Heredity

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

Heritability coefficient

A way of assessing heredity and indicates extent to which a characteristic has a genetic basis

Interactionist

Nature and nurture are linked to such an extent that it doesn't make sense to seperate the 2

Diathesis stress model

A model of mental illness that emphasises the interaction of nature and nurture Genetic vulnerability+ environmental trigger

Epigenetics

A change in our genetic acitivity without changing our genetic code chase by interaction with the environment Lifestyle and events leave marks on the DNA which may have an impact on child's genetic codes

Concordance rates

A measure of similarity between 2 individuals ona given trait

Evaluation of nature nurture debate

Shared and unshared environment– individual differences means we experience event differently Constructivism– people create their own nurture by actively selecting environments that are appropriate for nature

Holism

A theory which proposes that it's only makes sense to study an indivisible system rather than its constituent parts

Reductionism–

The belief that human behaviour is best explained by breaking it down into smaller constituent parts

Biological reductionism

Attempts to explain social and psychological behaviour in terms of biology, genetics and hormones

Environmental determinism

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

Levels of explanation

Suggests that there are different ways of reviewing the same phenomena some more reductionist than others

Case for holism...

More complete understanding of behaviour as it takes into account other factors Combination of factors

Case against holism...

Cannot be rigorously tested so explanations can become vague so reliable research can't be gained Not applied to real life situations