issues and debates section A

Question 1

what is bias?

Answer 1

bias refers to any factors that interferes with the validity of the research process- may lead to researchers forming conclusions which favour universality

Question 2

example of bias in a study?

Answer 2

e.g Milgram obedience study used only male participants which limits extent of generalisability and its usefulness

Question 3

what can research adopting a universal approach result in?

Answer 3

research that is subjective and laden with value judgement e.g X behaviour is abnormal because it does not align with the behaviour I am familiar with

Question 4

when does gender bias occur?

Answer 4

occurs when one gender is either favoured over another or one gender is discriminated against via prejudicial attitudes

Question 5

define alpha bias

Answer 5

alpha bias occurs when researchers over-emphasise the differences between male and females for example males are competitive and females are caring

Question 6

who does alpha bias normally favour?

Answer 6

normales favours males and devalues females

Question 7

in what sense does alpha bias provide no flexibility?

Answer 7

male/female traits, behaviours and characteristics are presented as fixed, stable and inevitable for example freud psychodynamic approach with its insistence that women are inferior to men

Question 8

define beta bias

Answer 8

beta bias occurs when researchers ignore or downplay differences between males and females for example absence of females in a sample means that conclusions are applied to both males and females with no acknowledgement that females may respond differently to males

Question 9

define androcentrism

Answer 9

androcentrism means male centred, it results from and perpetuates a worldview that is persistently male

Question 10

what is a strength of gender bias?

Answer 10

researches who are aware of gender bias may practise reflexivity (increased awareness can be turned into a strength)

Question 11

what is a study that supports gender bias?

Answer 11

cornwell et al showed that women are successful when it comes to learning because they are more attentive, flexible, stereotypes that the male model of behaviour is superior are therefore challenged this is an example of reverse alpha bias which can help to readdress inequalitites

Question 12

what is a limitation of gender bias?

Answer 12

ignores female experience in psychology e.g female researchers may receive less funding than male colleagues as their role as a serious psychologist may be questioned- prejudice and discrimination

Question 13

define free will

Answer 13

means being actively in charge of ones behaviour and outcomes

Question 14

define determinism

Answer 14

means that ‘fate’/ external forces decide ones destiny

Question 15

what does a free will approach involve?

Answer 15

assuming autonomy for ones actions even in the face of strong external influences e.g X situation does not necessarily have to result in this behaviour

Question 16

what does the deterministic approach involve?

Answer 16

surrendering any autonomy for ones actions or the actions of others e.g people in X situation will always behave like this

Question 17

what is the idea of free will?

Answer 17

free will is the idea that humans are self-determining and make their own luck, humans can exercise control over their behaviour

Question 18

what is the one approach that truly encompasses free will?

Answer 18

the humanist approach

Question 19

what are the components of the humanistic approach that exemplify free will?

Answer 19

• maslows hierarchy of needs
• rogers client-centre therapy
  -unconditional positive regard
• self actualisation

Question 20

what is a strength of free will?

Answer 20

could be argued to be one of the most valuable assets an individual can have, meaning it is an essential component for what it means to be human

Question 21

what is a strength of the humanistic approach?

Answer 21

humanistic approach is the only approach that is holistic and idiographic- considers the whole person as an individual within real contexts. therefore high validity

Question 22

what is limitation of free will?

Answer 22

little vague and difficult to test resulting I problems operationalising the concepts meaning it could lack reliability

Question 22

why may the concept of free will be incompatible with certain cultures?

Answer 22

cultures that place an emphasis on value on community and duty rather than on individualism meaning the their may be ethnocentric and lacking in cultural relativism

Question 23

what are the 5 types of determinism?

Answer 23

hard, soft, biological, environmental and psychic

Question 24

define hard determinism

Answer 24

based on cause-effect explanation as it assumes that all types of behaviour can be explained using general, causal laws of behaviour (fatalism)

Question 25

define soft determinism

Answer 25

based on hard determinism but it includes the mediating effects of cognitive factors such as thoughts, emotions and reflection which means that human beings can exercise some control over outcomes

Question 26

define biological determinism

Answer 26

assumes biological processes control behaviour e.g neurotransmission and hormones

Question 27

define environmental determinism

Answer 27

based on ideas behind conditioning i.e human beings are controlled b y external forces such as agents of socialisation e.g parents

Question 28

define psychic determinism

Answer 28

based on the idea that human beings are controlled by internal, unconscious drives which are derived from repressed conflicts

Question 29

what type of determinism is the behaviourist approach?

Answer 29

both hard and environmental determinism with its emphasis on a simple cause-effect explanation of behaviour based on environmental stimuli and learned responses e.g skinner

Question 30

what determinism is the cognitive approach?

Answer 30

soft determinism as it follows the assumption made by hard determinism but makes allowance for individual choice and thought e.g concept of schema

Question 31

what determinism is the biological approach?

Answer 31

biological determinism as it assumes that biological processes determine behaviour and outcomes e.g localisation of function

Question 32

what type of determinism is the psychodynamic approach?

Answer 32

psychic determinism with its emphasis on the idea that people unconsciously repress their true desires due to conflicts developed in early childhood e.g Freuds little Hans

Question 33

what is a strength of determinism?

Answer 33

principles of determinism are in line with the features of science e.g behaviour has cause and measured objectively using lab experiments. high in reliability

Question 34

what is a limitation of determinism?

Answer 34

if determinism is a 100% valid theory it would mean that everyone born under the same circumstances would end with same experiences or outcomes which is untrue e.g those born into criminal family who choose different path

Question 35

what makes determinism unfalsifiable?

Answer 35

cannot pinpoint or explain exactly the causes of behaviour e.g rich woman steals a bottle of wine

Question 36

what is the nature-nurture debate?

Answer 36

based on the argument that either genes or environment determine behaviour

Question 37

what is the nature side of the debate?

Answer 37

based on the idea that heredity is key to human behaviour

Question 38

what is the nurture side of the debate?

Answer 38

based on the idea that environmental influences such as family life, peers, education and culture are key to understanding human behaviour

Question 39

example of a nativist and what they argue

Answer 39

descartes is a nativist he argued that all behaviour stems from innate, genetic sources

Question 40

example of an empiricist and what they argue

Answer 40

lock is an empiricist and argued that humans are born as 'blank slates', life in effect 'writes on people to form behaviour based on external influences

Question 41

what are the key assumptions of the nature debate?

Answer 41

- behvaviour is innate i.e people are born with a set of characteristics which are 'stamped' into them -behaviour is product of genetic inheritance -behaviour can be understood by studying biological processes such as hormone, neurotransmitters and regions of the brain

Question 42

what method would taking a 'nature' approach usually include?

Answer 42

- brain scanning e.g fMRI, EEG - concordance rates as used in twin studies - DNA analysis via urine or saliva samples

Question 43

what is the heritability coefficient?

Answer 43

can be used to determine the extent to which phenotype is determined purely by genotype or other external factors. calculated as a figure ranging from 0-1

Question 44

if a heritability coefficient was a value of 1 what does this mean?

Answer 44

behaviour/trait is purely genetic

Question 45

if a heritability coefficient was a value of 0.5 what does this mean?

Answer 45

0.5 means that half of the behaviour/trait is genetic and Half is determined by the environment

Question 46

if a heritability coefficient was a value of 0.1 what does this mean?

Answer 46

means behaviour/trait is not genetic and is determined by environment

Question 47

what is an example if a pro-nature argument?

Answer 47

bowblys theory of attachment is an example of a pro-nature argument as he based his ideas on ethologists such as Lorenz, concluding that attachment is an essential evolutionary mechanism needed for the survival of species

Question 48

what is a strength of the nature side of the debate?

Answer 48

understanding genetic inheritance has helped to identify atypical chromosome patterns as seen in conditions such as klinefelters syndrome- clear indication of a biological basis to behaviour therefore nature side can be evidenced using clinical data

Question 49

what is a limitation of the nature side of the debate?

Answer 49

using purely nature-based approach can result in prejudiced, overly determinists and possibly dangerous assumptions being made about people based on their gender, ethnicity and sexuality e.g 'the bell curve' by herrnstein and Murray sets out overly biased- highly offensive and have no basis in empirical evidence e

Question 50

what is another limitation of the nature debate around twin studies?

Answer 50

twin studies have failed to show 100% concordance between MZ twins across a range of studies e.g McMuffin found MZ twins had 46% concordance rate for depression compared to 20% in DZ as MZ twins share exactly same DNA then the concordance rate should reflect this, as it does not environment must play role

Question 51

what are the key assumptions of the nurture debate?

Answer 51

- behaviour is learned - behaviour is a product of environmental factors such as : uprbringing, relationships, schooling and experience -learing occurs via condizionino based on environmental forces/ stimuli

Question 52

what research is relevant to the nurture debate?

Answer 52

- classical conditioning and operant conditioning as a part of behaviourism - conformity to social roles as in the Stanford prison experiment -field studies such as Schaffer and emmerson

Question 53

what is the extreme nurture view?

Answer 53

suggest humans are born as Lockes 'blank slate' (the basis of hard determinism) reads to be 'written on' by life experiences

Question 54

what is an example of a pro-nurture argument?

Answer 54

the learning theory of gambling addiction, based on the idea that the gambler is positively reinforced in their gambling behaviour. this is strengthened every time they gamble even if they lose money the learning theory of attachment is know as 'cupboard love' theory assuming that babies attach to whoever feeds them. person who feeds them changes from the neutral stimulus to the conditioned stimulus as they become associated with food which is the unconditioned stimulus

Question 55

what is a strength of the nurture debate?

Answer 55

nurture is a key influence on behaviour evident in the two-process model of phobias, demonstrates phobias as learnt by classical conditioning and reinforced via operant conditioning

Question 56

what is a limitation of the nurture debate?

Answer 56

although twin studies do no show a 100% concordance rate there are still strong indicators that one behaviours may have a genetic basis e.g nan et al found a 61%-80% concordance rate for obesity in a sample of 8000 MZ twins

Question 57

what is another limitation of nurture surrounding the idea of individual differences.

Answer 57

nurture debate cannot account for individual differences within children raised in the same family environment -one child may turn to crime while the other never breaks the law

Question 58

what is the interactionist approach?

Answer 58

used by most psychologists today when considering the impact of nature-nurture on an individual - nature does not trump nurture (vice-versa_ - nature and nurture interact with each other

Question 59

what is a genetic predisposition?

Answer 59

something moderated or even 'switched on' by the environment as seen in the diathesis stress model - someone who is born with a predisposition to depression is more likely to have their depression switched on by environmental factors such as a relationship breakdown

Question 60

how can genetic predisposition be moderated or switched on by environment as seen in the theory of epigenetic?

Answer 60

environmental factors can change gene expression. epigenetic do not alter DNA sequence but they can encourage or suppress specific genes from being expressed e.g a pregnant woman who undergoes starvation during wartime finds that the baby goes on to be an obese adult compared to her other children