ISSUES AND DEBATES DEFINITIONS

Question 1

Alpha bias

Answer 1

Research that exaggerates differences between males and females

Eg. Freud psychodynamic approach -> he believed identification processes were weaker for females as they don’t experience castration anxiety, so they are morally inferior.

Question 2

Beta bias

Answer 2

Research that ignores/ minimises/ underestimates differences between males and females

Eg. Asch conformity studied only males
Fight or flight- stress research

Question 3

Androcentrism

Answer 3

Male-centred research
Behaviour for men is considered the ‘norm’, thus female behaviour is ‘abnormal’ by comparison.

Eg. Asch conformity studied only males
Anger in males is often considered a rational response.
Fight or flight stress research

Question 4

Ethnocentrism

Answer 4

Judging others by the value and standards of one’s own culture

Eg. Ainsworth SS.. Japanese babies were often insecurely attached, but this was because those babies are rarely separated from mothers.

Question 5

Culture bias

Answer 5

Tendency to judge everyone in terms of your own cultural assumptions.
This distorts/ biases your judgement
Eg. IQ (Gould pointed out)
Ainsworth SS Japan insecurely attached

Question 6

Cultural relativism

Answer 6

Behaviour cannot be judged unless viewed in the context of the norms and values of the culture in which it originates

Eg. Abnormality definitions
Ainsworth SS Japan insecurely attached

Question 7

Free Will

Answer 7

People have the power to make choices about their own behaviour.
People are free to choose and control their behaviour.

Eg. Humanistic approach

Question 8

Determinism

Answer 8

Behaviour is controlled by internal or external forces acting upon the individual.

Eg. Aggression -> biological explanation

Question 9

Hard determinism

Answer 9

All human behaviour has a cause
In principle, it’s possible to identify and describe these causes.

Eg. Biological explanation - aggression
Phobias - behavioural explanation (CC, OC)

Question 10

Soft determinism

Answer 10

All human behaviour has a cause, but people have some conscious mental control over their behaviour.

Eg. Cognitive psychology
SLT - aggression Boba doll

Question 11

Environmental determinism

Answer 11

Behaviour is determined by environmental factors outside of our control.
Includes reinforcements and punishments.

Eg. Phobias - behaviour explanation (CC, OC)

Question 12

Biological determinism

Answer 12

Behaviour is determined by biological factors outside of our control.
Includes genes, neurotransmitters, and brain structure.

Eg. Biological explanation for OCD,
Aggression levels

Question 13

Psychic determinism

Answer 13

Behaviour is determined by unconscious conflicts outside of our control.
Includes the ID, ego, and superego.

Eg. Psychodynamic approach - repressed from childhood

Question 14

Nature

Answer 14

Behaviour is a product of innate (genetic) factors.

Eg. Bowlby - attachment
OCD genetic explanation

Question 15

Nurture

Answer 15

Behaviour is a product of environment factors.

Eg. Learning theory of attachment.
Behavioural explanation of phobias
SLT in aggression - Bobo doll.

Question 16

What is the relative importance of heredity and environment in determining behaviour?

Answer 16

Contribution of nature and nurture.

Eg. OCD - twin studies

Question 17

Interactionist approach

Answer 17

Behaviour is a product of both genetic and environmental influences working together.

Eg. Bowlby attachment
Diathesis- stress model underlying vulnerability ie. PKU

Question 18

Holism

Answer 18

Analysing the person/ behaviour as a whole.

Eg. Humanistic psychology

Question 19

Reductionism

Answer 19

Analysing behaviour by breaking it down into its constituent parts, and explaining it at its simplest level.

Eg. Neurotransmitters, ie. OCD serotonin underproduction

Question 20

Levels of explanation

Answer 20

Different ways of explaining the same phenomena in psychology.

Lowest level) physiological/ biological reductionist explanations
Middle level) psychological explanations
Highest level) social and cultural holistic explanations

Eg. Aggression (testosterone to SLT)

Question 21

Biological reductionism

Answer 21

Analysing behaviour by breaking it down into its constituent parts and explaining it at its simplest physiological level.

Eg. Serotonin in OCD
Genes in OCD, aggression

Question 22

Environmental reductionism

Answer 22

Breaking complex behaviour down into simple stimulus- response links.

Eg. Attachment learning theory
Phobias learning theory

Question 23

Idiographic approach

Answer 23

Focuses on the individual case as a means of understanding behaviour.

Eg. Memory case studies: HM and different LTM types
Humanistic approach

Question 24

Nomothetic approach

Answer 24

Attempts to study human behaviour through developing general laws and universal principles.

Eg. Behaviourist approach (CC, OC)
Almost all psychology though
Milgram obedience
Ainsworth SS

Question 25

Ethical implications of research

Answer 25

The way research impacts participants, the way findings are communicated to the public, and how findings are used.

Question 26

Socially sensitive research

Answer 26

Studies in which there are potential social consequences/ implications, either directly for participants or the people represented by the research. Eg. Bowlby attachment Ainsworth SS IQ testing (pointed out by Gould)