Paper 3 Issues and Debates

Question 1

What is gender bias?

Answer 1

The differential treatment and/or representation of males and females, based on stereotypes and not on real differences

Question 2

What is alpha bias?

Answer 2

An alpha bias refers to theories that exaggerate the differences between males and females

Question 3

What is beta bias?

Answer 3

A beta bias refers to theories that ignore or minimise sex differences. These theories often assume that the findings from studies using males can be applied as equally to females.

Question 4

What is androcentrism?

Answer 4

Theories that are centred on, or focused on males

Question 5

What is culture?

Answer 5

Culture can be defined as the values believes in patterns of behaviour shared by a group of people

Question 6

What is culture bias?

Answer 6

Cultural bias is the tendency to judge people in terms of one’s own cultural assumptions

Question 7

What is ethnocentrism?

Answer 7

Seeing the world only from one’s own cultural perspective, and believing that this one perspective, this both Normal and correct

Question 8

What is culture relativism?

Answer 8

Insist that behaviour can be a properly understood only if the cultural context is taken into consideration

Question 9

What is universality?

Answer 9

When is Fury is described as universal it means that it can be applied to all people, irrespective of gender and culture

Question 10

What is biological determinism?

Answer 10

Biological determinism refers to the idea that all human behaviour is innate and determined by genes

Question 11

What is determinism?

Answer 11

Determinism is the view that free will is an illusion and that our behaviour is governed by internal or external factors over which we have no control

Question 12

What is environmental determinism?

Answer 12

the view that behaviour is determined or caused by forces outside the individual. Environmental determinism posits that our behaviour is caused by previous experience learned through classical and operant conditioning

Question 13

What is free will?

Answer 13

the idea that we complete an active role and have choice in how we behave. The assumption is that individuals are free to choose their behaviour and are self determined.

Question 14

What is psychic determinism?

Answer 14

human behaviour is the result of childhood experiences, and innate drives

Question 15

What is hard determinism? ‘Fatalism’

Answer 15

the view that forces outside of our control, shape or behaviour

Question 16

What is soft determinism?

Answer 16

behaviour is constrained by the environment or biological make up, but only to a certain extent.

Question 17

Robert et al? 2000

Answer 17

+ Practical value
- teenagers with a strong sense of fatalism were at greater risk to developing depression
- whereas individuals with an internal locus of control are more likely to be optimistic
- displays how freewill has a positive impact on the mind and behaviour.

Question 18

freewill?

Answer 18

the notion of this suggests humans are free to make choices and these actions are therefore, ‘self-determining’.

Question 19

Etic approach?

Answer 19

when research based on one culture is generalised and applied to all cultures.

Question 20

Emic approach?

Answer 20

When a specific culture is studied and focus is placed on understanding the culture, perceptions and belief system.
‘Insider approach’

Question 21

WEIRD?

Answer 21

Western
Educated
Industrialised
Rich
Democratic
Sample size

Question 22

How can we deal with cultural bias?

Answer 22

• use empirical data to support universality
• have greater diversity and equal representation
• use of indigenous psychology and cross cultural research

Question 23

Gould? 1981

Answer 23

Ethnic stereotyping
- first IQ tests were conducted in WW1 and army recruits from ethnic backgrounds scored low.
- tests were ethnocentric
E.g who were the first 4 presidents
So? Led to eugenic policies and used was used to justify prejudice

Question 24

Outline nature

Answer 24

Who? Nativists
What? Biological factors such as genes influence behaviour
- inherited and innate

Question 25

Outline nurture

Answer 25

Who? Empirists What? Environmental factors such as upbringing influence behaviour - 'blank state' - pre-natal terms and post natal experiences

Question 26

Epigenetics?

Answer 26

What? the change in genetic activity without the genetic code (DNA base sequences) e.g. 1944, dutch starvation under nazi regime caused women who were pregnant to birth low weight babies who were twice as likely to develop sz So? life experiences of previous generation can leave epigentic markers that influence offspring

Question 27

Holism?

Answer 27

What? holistic view of studying behaviour e.g. Humanistic approach need to subjective data collection and experience

Question 28

Reductionism?

Answer 28

explaining behaviour in terms of it's simplist level using scientific principles e.g. environmental or biological

Question 29

Hierarchy of reductionism?

Answer 29

socio-cultural psychological biology chemistry physics

Question 30

Idiographic approach?

Answer 30

What? detailed study of individual or group to provide in dept understanding How? through case studies, small samples, qualitative data e.g. Little hans

Question 31

Nomothetic approach?

Answer 31

What? study of larger groups/populations with the aim to discover norms/laws of behaviour (genral principles) How? experiements, quantitative data, analysis e.g. Skinner's box

Question 32

Evaluate both the idiographic and nomothetic approaches

Answer 32

+ can be combined in cases such as HM to look as unusual behaviour & draw conclusions to normal functioning So? forms scientific laws of behaviour such as the MSM + both objective as triangulation vs standardisation So? credible - lose of individual experience - lack of generalisability

Question 33

Evaluate holism and reductionism

Answer 33

holism: - difficult to use practically when looking at complex behaviours such as depression SO? reduced practical value as difficulty priotising treament reductionism may be a better alternative (anti-depressants) reductionism: - need for higher exlanations when discussing group context situations such as zimbardo's PE So? will provide a more valid account as social situational explanations are required. + highly objective and scientific So? credible

Question 34

How to deal with possible ethical implications and social sensitivity?

Answer 34

1. reflect on biases, beliefs and values being ethical within research 2. be careful forming research Qs to they aren't misrepresented 3. consider ethical issues via ethics commitee 4. peer review so media doesn't use research in a flawed way

Question 35

Ethical implications?

Answer 35

consequences of socially sensitive research on individuals/groups represented by the sample e.g. via lack of protecton from harm

Question 36

Effects of socially insensitive research?

Answer 36

- negative stereotypes about minorities - government may develop policies and legislation against interests of researcher's sample group e.g. cutting funding to programs that help minorities

Question 37

Evaluate ethical implications

Answer 37

+ RS in homosexuality removed as mental disorder in 1973 after interviews with 5000 men concluded homosexuality is normal variant of sexual behaviour + policies made rely on SSR e.g. childcare (link to attachment and institutionalisation) provides high quality RS on sensitive topics (rutter et al)