issues and debates
gender bias
The differential treatment of males and females based on stereotypes
WEIRD people
Western
Educated (highly)
Industrialised (nations)
Richer (than most)
Democratic societies
androcentrism
Dominated by male viewpoints
Male traits= Desirable
Female traits= Less desirable
Negative implications for females
alpha bias
EXAGGERATE the differences between male and female females
Devalue women in relation to men
example: psychosexual stages of development and Freud, boys: castration anxiety, girls: dont identify with their mother as strongly as boys identify with their father- weaker superego
Mitigate Alpha bias
Change in publication of results is needed
beta bias
IGNORED or MINIMISED sex differences, no significanr difference
Findings from males can apply equally to females
Example: Fight or flight response- Research supporting theory predominantly involves human male participants because female behaviour is affected by regular hormone changes
mitigate beta bias
Improve sampling
Not generalise findings
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strengths: Solutions- Developing greater understanding of gender bias, cornwell et al (2013)- females are better at learning as they are more attentive, Challenges gender stereotypes and emphasises value and positive attributes of women
Limitations: gender bias research- May not be published, Researchers analysed more than 1000 articles relating to gender bias and found that they may not be taking a seriously as other forms of bias
Sexism in research- Women remain Underrepresented in Uni departments, Lecture are more likely to be men, May disadvantage women participants
cultural bias
Tendency of interpreting and judging human behaviour based on cultural norms and one's own cultural assumptions
Can lead to skewed perceptions
Stems from ethnocentric perspective
alpha and beta bias (culture)
alpha: African education has less quality than the UK
beta: Strange situation based on UK and America
universality
E.g. laughter
Believe that certain behaviours/characteristics are the same for all humans
Shared across diverse populations
ethnocentrism (Type of cultural bias)
Seeing the world only from one's own cultural perspective and believing that this one perspective is correct
Use their culture as superior
Often an inadvertent lack of awareness
limitations of ethnocentrism
Can lead to prejudice, discrimination, negates individual differencesm devalues other cultures
cultural bias example
Ainsworth's strange situation
Assessed attachment types, developed within American context
Described as an etic- The developed in one culture, Imposed on by another
etic and emic
etic- Considered behaviour from the outside
emic- Changes depending on the country
cultural relativism
idea that behaviour can be only properly understood within the context of the specific culture where it occurs
reducing cultural bias in research
Do not attempt to extrapolate findings to cultures that are not represented
Use researchers who are native
Don't assume universal norms
cultural bias strengths
emergence of cultural psychology: Incorporates work from researchers in other disciplines, Strives to avoid an ethnocentric assumptions by taking an Emic approach and conducting research inside a culture, Modern psychologist are mindful of the dangers of cultural bias and are taking steps to avoid it
Challenge thinking: One great benefit of conducting cross cultural research is that it made challenge dominant individualistic ways of thinking and viewing the world, Being able to see that some of the knowledge and concepts we take for granted are not hardwired may provide a better understanding of human nature
cultural bias limitations
Classic studies: Many of most influential studies are culturally biased, asch + milgram studies- US participant suggest our understanding of topics such as social influence should only be applied to individualist cultures
Amplifying and validating damaging ethnic stereotyping: Led to prejudice against groups of people, Ethnic minorities deemed does mentally unfit were denied educational opportunities as a result, Illustrates how cultural bias can be used to justify prejudice and discrimination towards certain ethnic groups
free will
Our behaviour is due to our own choices
We are active agents and have autonomy over our thoughts
We act of our own volition and without restraint
determinism
Behaviour is caused by internal or external forces outside of our control
free will humanistic
Seems free will was necessary if we are able to become fully functioning human beings capable of self actualisation
To self actualise means to make reality of
hard determinism
Behaviours are entirely out of the individuals control
Incompatible with free will
soft determinism
Behaviours are to an extent governed and dictated by internal and external forces
We still have some element of control over our behaviour
soft determinism and SLT
To some extent the environment does cause our behaviour
SLT takes into account our mediating cognitive processes
We are free to decide who or what we pay attention to
types of hard determinism
Biological: Behaviours are governed by internal biological factors- Genes, neurochemistry, brain structure e.g. psychopathology and OCD focuses on role of genetics
Environmental: Skinner described free well as an illusion and all behaviour is the result of conditioning e.g. Psychopathology and phobias, Little Albert
Psychic: Behaviours are governed by unconscious instincts and drivers, Freud also believed that freewill is an illusion and behaviour is determined by unconscious conflicts repressed in childhood e.g. Psychosexual stages of development
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Strength: Practical value and mental health- Roberts et al (2000) Look at adolescents who had strong belief in fatalism (Hard determinism), Study found these adolescents were significantly greater risk of developing depression
lImitation: Research evidence- Brain scan evidence doesn't support it, Found that unconscious brain activity leading up to conscious decision came around half a second before they moved, Determined by our brain before we are aware of them
determinism ao3
strength: Scientific method- Determinism is fundamental to science because it focuses on behaviour and predicting behaviour through hypotheses
Limitation: Moral responsibility and the legal system- In a court of law offenders are held responsible for their actions, Suggest in real world determinist arguments do not work
nature
Found in nativist theory
Assumes the result of innate biological or genetic factors
More influential
Weight, life expectancy and susceptibility to disease show positive correlation with genetic relatedness
Biologically determined, Hardwired into the brain at birth
1%- Developing schizophrenia
46%- If both parents have schizophrenia
nurture
behaviour is shaped by our environment and experience
Tabula rasa (Blank slate) Shaped through experience
Behaviourist argue that psychological characteristics and behaviours developed through learning
Banduras SLT- Aggression has learned through observation imitation and vicarious reinforcement
nature nurture debate ao3
interactionist
OCD: Concordance rate rates between MZ (68%) and DZ (31%) twins, if OCD was purely genetic concordance rates for MZ twins would be 100% (Genetically identical), Results point towards the influence of environmental factors
Neuro plasticity: Brain can change and re-organise structure by forming new neural connections throughout life, London taxi drivers brains before and after knowledge test, MRI scans found hippocampus was larger in taxi drivers than non-taxi drivers, Concluded driving taxi (nurture) Had an effect on the size of hippocampus (nature)
holism
Unable to be broken down
Whole integrated experience and not separate parts
gestalt psychologists
"The whole is greater than the sum of its parts"
Perception- What we see only makes sense when we consider the whole image
humanistic psychologists
Maslow- Human motivation, not just one part of motivation, but multiple parts
Rogers- Client centered therapy, whole person
insight learning
kohler (1925)- hungry chimpanzees
Banana and stick placed outside cage
All the elements of a problem and inter relationship between them are understood as a meaningful whole
reductionism
Breaking it down into its smallest simplest parts
Occam's razor
Idea that complex phenomena should be explained in the simplest terms possible
One should not make unnecessary assumptions
types of reductionism
Biological- Premise that we are biological organisms and all behaviour is at some level biological e.g. genes and neurochemistry
Experimental- Behaviour is reduced to a single variable for the purpose of testing e.g. Multi model suggests a memory has three stores and each has its own coding capacity and duration
Environmental- all behaviour is seemed to be learned and acquired through interactions with the environment e.g. Stimulus response associations
Machine- Compare the operations of the mind to those of a computer and produce simple input process processing models of the mind
Holism and reductionism ao3
strength- To be reductionist is to be scientific: When complex behaviour reduced to isolated variables, And I was researcher to study the different factors that influence human behaviour in a controlled manner, Established caused and effect, approach is More objective
strength- Biological reductionism: Led to biological therapies, SSRIs in patient with OCD has helped to reduce the anxiety associated with OCD, Leads to greater clarity
limitation- Ignore the complexity of human behaviour: Can lead to error and understanding, Explanations are too simplistic, May ignore complex interactions of many factors
idiographic
focuses on the individual and emphasises the unique personal experience of human nature
favours Qualitative research methods e.g. case studies
In-depth insight into individual behaviour
Does not seek to formulate general laws or generalise results to others
e.g. patient KF- His forgetting of auditory was greater than his forgetting of visual- case study can highlight flaws within a theory
nomothetic
Concerned with establishing general laws of human behaviour
Uses large samples and quantitative techniques e.g. experiments
Use their findings to generate or substantiate general laws of behaviour and make inferences
E.g. Pavlov and Skinner- Animal studies to establish general rules of learning could be generalised to humans
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strength: provides a more complete understanding of the individual, qualitative Measures provide a greater insight and more meaningful information, Whereas nomothetic cannot find out rich in-depth information about a single case
limitation: subjectivity- Uses qualitative research, requires interpretation of information by researchers, Can be influenced by their own opinion and bias, Lacks objectivity
nomothetic ao3
strength: Scientific- Controlled methods, Replication and reliability
limitation: Only provides superficial understanding of human behaviour- Lose sight of the whole person due to its fixation on quantitive data and statistical analysis, Nomothetic approaches only provide a superficial understanding of human behaviour
ethical implications
Concerned with the impact and consequences
Goes beyond the participants of the study
-Effects on participants
-Effects on wider population
-Allocation of findings
-Economic implications
-Moral attitudes
socially sensitive research
Studies where there are potential social consequences for the participants or the wider groups
Research that has wider social implications beyond the research setting
ethical implications of research examples- Social influence
milgram: Participants deceived and unable to fully give informed consent
Caused significant distress
Debriefed after and follow-up interview one year later- No long-term effects
ethical implications of research examples- Attachment
bowlbys theory criticised
Could lead to children raised in daycare to be negatively stereotyped
This attachment affects future relationships
Could lead to those mothers who send their children to daycare to be looked down upon and criticised
how can psychologist deal with social sensitive research?
1. Care with formulating research questions so it doesn't misrepresent certain groups
2. misuse of findings, Present findings in a value free way
3. Avoid sensational media stores
4. Cost versus benefits, Wake up and only proceed when benefits outweigh the costs
dealing with issues related to social sensitivity research
-submit research proposals to ethic committees and divide by any recommendations
-Weigh up costs and benefits
-take care when formulating the aim/Framing the question
-Be alert to the possibility of misuse of findings
-Consider wider effects of publication
-Avoid prejudicial/Biased/Sensational media
-Consider possible reactions of participants and take account of ethical issues