PSYCHOLOGY A-LEVEL: issues and debates

• universality


  a human characteristic that can be applied to everyone
• alpha bias


  psychological theories that exaggerate differences between men and women
• beta bias


  theories that exaggerate the similarities between men and women
• androcentrism


  when normal behaviour is judged according to male standards
• gender bias


  when research does not represent the experience of men or women
• example of alpha bias


  Freud said women are morally inferior
• how is psychodynamic approach androcentric?

  normal morality is judged to a male standard ; women abnormal
• example of beta bias


  Asch
• universality in psychology


  psychological findings can be applied to everyone despite time or culture
• GENDER BIAS: evaluation sentence


  moral darwin gives adrenaline to puppies with schizophrenia
• GENDER BIAS: [moral] darwin gives adrenaline to puppies with schizophrenia


  implications on views of women(Freud's psychodynamic theory suggested that women are morally inferior to men and labelled the behaviour of women as abnormal compared to men's behaviour. This had serious implications on how women are viewed because it reinforced negative stereotypes of women and validated discriminatory practices. Therefore gender bias can negatively affect real life women by promoting sexist discrimination and reducing job prospects.)

  
• GENDER BIAS: moral [darwin] gives adrenaline to puppies with schizophrenia

  gender bias in old research(A limitation of psychological research is that gender bias in old research often goes unchallenged. For example, Darwin's theory of sexual selection suggests that women select appropriate mates while males compete to be selected. This has been challenged by DNA evidence which has shown that females can be equally as competitive as men when needed. This shows that it is important to continuously challenge early gender research in order to reduce stereotypes and provide a valid portrayal of genders.)

  
• GENDER BIAS: moral darwin gives [adrenaline] to puppies with schizophrenia

  gender bias in animal research(Research into the fight-or-flight response has often been carried out on male animals because their hormone levels do not vary as much as female hormones do, and it was assumed that this process was similar in female animals. However new evidence has shown that females produce a tend-and-befriend response, different from males. This shows that for a long time the stress response was poorly understood and a real difference was ignored because of gender biased research.)

  
• GENDER BIAS: moral darwin gives adrenaline to [puppies] with schizophrenia

  invalid generalisations of behaviour(An issue with beta bias is that it can cause invalid generalisations of behaviour. For example, Milgram's study on obedience included only male participants, but the findings were used to make conclusions about women too by exaggerating the similarities between men and women. However in a similar study where real shocks were given to a puppy, 54% male participants and 100% female participants delivered the fatal shock. The difference in the obedience levels between male and female participants in this study shows that beta bias can cause unreliable conclusions about behaviour to be made.)

  
• GENDER BIAS: moral darwin gives adrenaline to puppies with [schizophrenia]

  implications on well-being(For example, there is gender bias in the diagnosis of schizophrenia. Women with schizophrenia are likely to function better than men (ie have good family relationships and keep a stable job) causing women to not be diagnosed when men with the same symptoms would have been diagnosed. This can have serious effects because it means that less women are able to receive appropriate treatment, and may only receive it when their symptoms worsen. Therefore gender bias in diagnosis can cause women psychological harm when it could have been avoided.)

  
• how many men and how many women gave fatal shock to a puppy

  54% 100%
• nature-nurture debate


  extent to which behaviour is caused by biological factors or external factors in the environment
• who was involved in the nature side of the debate


  nativists like Descartes
• who was involved in the nurture side of the debate


  empiricists like Locke
• what did Locke suggest


  born as 'blank slates' on which learning and experience writes
• why is it hard to separate environment from genes

  environmental influence begins when child is born
• which approach suggest nature and nurture should not be separated

  interactionist approach
• NATURE NURTURE DEBATE: evaluation sentence


  aggressive children share pro-crime brain traumas

  
• NATURE NURTURE DEBATE: [aggressive children] share pro-crime brain traumas

  constructivism(The idea that nature and nurture interact and influence each other is elaborated by constructivism. Constructivism means that people create their 'nurture' by actively selecting environments that fit their 'nature'. For example, a naturally aggressive child is likely to feel more comfortable around more aggressive children and therefore selects environments that are more aggressive, which then affects its development. This is also referred to as niche-picking and niche-building, which is further evidence that it is impossible to separate nurture and nature since they interact so much.)

  
• NATURE NURTURE DEBATE: aggressive children [share] pro-crime brain traumas

  shared and unshared environments(hard to separate environmental influences from genetic ones because even siblings raised within the same family may experience different upbringings. The idea of shared and unshared environments suggests that individual differences mean that siblings may experience life events in different ways. For example temperament may mean that siblings are affected differently by divorce of their parents. This explains why MZ twins raised in the same environment do not show perfect concordance rates supporting the idea that nature and nurture cannot be separated.)

  
• NATURE NURTURE DEBATE: aggressive children share [pro-crime] brain traumas

  differential association theory(The nurture side of the argument proposes that offending behaviour is learnt rather than inherited. This argument is seen in the differential association theory, which suggests that individuals learn criminal behaviour from interactions with others, by first taking on pro-crime attitudes from associates, and then by learning specific criminal techniques. This is supported by Farrington et al's study, in which the most important childhood risk factors for criminal activity in 411 males were family criminality, poverty and poor parenting. These findings support nurture because as children they learned to imitate criminal behaviours and attitudes of their families which led to criminal behaviour as adults.)

  
• NATURE NURTURE DEBATE: aggressive children share pro-crime [brain] traumas

  OCD caused by biology - Nestadt et al + Lewis(The nature point of view would suggest that OCD is caused by biological factors. For example, abnormalities in levels of neurotransmitters like serotonin in the brain and a hypersensitive basal ganglia, which causes the repetitive psychomotor actions seen in OCD patients. The biological explanation of OCD is supported by Nestadt et al who found that 68% of identical twins shared OCD as opposed to 31% of non-identical twins, and by Lewis who observed that 37% of his OCD patients had parents with OCD and 21% had siblings with the condition. These findings support nature because they prove that there is a genetic component in OCD which is inherited through families.)

  
• NATURE NURTURE DEBATE: aggressive children share pro-crime brain [traumas]

  OCD caused by environment - Cromer et al(The nurture point of view would suggest that OCD is caused by a dysfunctional environment in an individual's life. It has been suggested that a psychological trauma of some kind or constant parental abuse could trigger the development of this condition. Evidence for this comes from Cromer et al, who found that over half of the OCD patients in their sample had a traumatic event in the past, and that the condition was more severe in those with more than one trauma. This supports the nurture argument because it shows that the environmental factors are also important in causing OCD.)

  
• constructivism


  people create their nurture by actively selecting environments that fit their nature
• shared and unshared environments


  siblings experience life events differently bc of individual differences
• Farrington et al


  childhood risk factors for criminal activity in 411 males ; family criminality, poverty, poor parenting
• Nestadt et al


  68% MZ shared OCD ; 31% DZ
• Cromer et al


  half of OCD patients traumatic event ; more sever if more than one trauma
• ethical implications

  impact of research on wider society ; influence on public policy ; how groups of people are seen
• socially sensitive research


  can have consequences directly for the participants or for the social group that they represent
• which concerns should researchers be mindful of when conducting research?

  implications ; uses ; validity of research
• ethical concerns in research: implications


  considering potential effects (some studies have given 'scientific' credence to prejudice and discrimination)
• ethical concerns in research: uses

  considering potential uses of research ; influence on public policy
• ethical concerns in research: validity

  objectivity ; recognise preconceptions and biases and put them to the side
• ETHICAL IMPLICATIONS: evaluation sentence


  racist mothers are imprisoned by monkeys in cars