Issues and Debates AQA A Level Psychology

• Gender bias


  Treating one gender differently from others in psychology
• Universality


  Underlying characteristic applicable to all human beings in psychology. Threatened by gender and culture bias
• Alpha bias


  Exaggeration of differences between sexes in psychology. Women are usually devalued in relation to males.
• Alpha bias example


  • Sociobiological theory of sexual behaviour - male sexual promiscuity is a product of evolution. Men can impregnate as many females as they wish with very little restriction - there is the argument that men are biologically more likely to be promiscuous
  • Women can be equally as promiscuous as men! Contraception allows for this!
• Beta bias


  Minimization of differences between sexes in psychology. Usually occurs when females are not part of the sample and the findings are assumed to generalise to both sexes.
• Beta bias example


  • A lot of the psychological research for autism is predominantly based on males
  • Meaning autism in females is significantly under diagnosed so that is why the statistics are lower! As many women may have autism but are not being diagnosed because their symptoms are different!
• Androcentrism


  Judging normal behaviors based on male standard in psychology. A consequence of the beta bias. means that behaviours that deviate from this norm may be classified as abnormal
• Androcentrism example


  • In the DSM-V (google what this is!) there is the diagnostic category in within depression "pre-menstrual syndrome".
  • Feminists have objected to the diagnostic category in depression "pre-menstrual syndrome" - it is argued that it stereotypes female experience and considers it abnormal compared to normal male behaviour - women are simply responding to their biology and biological rhythms!
• Reflexivity


  Acknowledging gender bias can encourage reflexivity in researchers. Reflexivity is when researchers are recognising how the effect of their own values and assumptions about gender can impact their work.
• Reflexivity example


  • Female psychologist studying the cognitive effects of gender pay gap - female psychologists would need to be careful with how their behaviour may differ around male and female participants and how their own gender could influence how they determine participant responses - they may show more empathy for women being underpaid than men?
• Essentialist views


  Psychologists argue that gender bias is actually inevitable and cannot be avoided and these views usually disguise political arguments in biological "facts" - usually in an attempt to control women
• Essentialist views example


  • Walkerdine (1990) reported that scientific research demonstrates clear gender differences, specifically that in the 1930's it was "proven" that intellectual activity in women, like attending university, shrivels their ovaries and reduced their chance of reproducing - this was used as a way of "scientifically proving" to women in this time period that they were better off as house wives.
• Essentialist views


  Can be used to create a double standard and can be used to dominate and manipulate female behaviour
• Gender biased research


  May create misleading assumptions about female behaviour and validate discriminatory practices
• Discriminatory practices example


  • Women are diagnosed as "abnormal" for being hormonal - in the DSM there is the mental illness "pre menstrual syndrome", women are simply responding to their biology but are characterised as abnormal because men do not demonstrate these behaviours.
• The gender bias's in psychological research can affect the lives and prospects of real women
• Culture bias


  Tendency to ignore cultural differences and interpret all phenomena through the lens of one culture
• Individualistic culture


  Cultural norm of independence, individual success, and choice in Western countries
• Collectivistic culture


  Cultural norm of interdependence and group/community success in Eastern cultures
• Ethnocentrism


  Belief in the superiority of one's own cultural group, leading to the view that non-conforming behavior is deficient
• Cultural relativism


  Phenomena in psychology only make sense from the perspective of the culture in which they were discovered
• Emic approach


  Understanding phenomena in psychology from the perspective of the culture within which they were discovered
• Imposed etic


  Researchers outside of a culture attempting to describe behaviors within the culture and apply the findings universally
• Attachment types in children

  Understanding child development through attachment categories, which may be biased towards American cultural norms
• Insecure attachments


  Attachment categories based on American cultural norms that may falsely label children from other cultures as insecure
• Pathological behaviors


  Abnormal behaviors that may be understood and explained based on Western psychiatry and behavioral norms
• DSM-V


  Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders used by medical professionals to diagnose abnormal behaviors
• Deviation from ideal mental health

  Definition of abnormality based on Western behavioral norms, which may not be applicable to other cultures
• Ethnocentric measures


  Measures in Western Psychology that may categorize individuals from collectivist cultures as having abnormal traits
• Global communication and interconnectedness


  Increased connectivity between cultures, leading to the argument that culture bias is becoming less of an issue in psychology
• Westernization


  The influence of Western culture on other countries, potentially affecting human behavior
• Takano and Osaka (1999) study found no evidence of traditional cultural distinctions between the USA and Japan in multiple comparisons
• Ethical implications of psychological research

  • Impact of psychological research on rights of others
  • Social sensitivity of studies with potential consequences for participants or target population
  • Research control - researchers have control over research process but not representation or impact
  • Media representation - researchers have little say in how research findings are represented in the media
  • Public policy impact - researchers have little say in how research findings impact public policy
  • Representation of specific groups - researchers have little say in how their work represents a specific group of people
• Sieber and Stanley (1988)


  Identified a number of concerns that researchers should be mindful of when conducting socially sensitive research
• Importance of socially sensitive research

  • Importance of conducting socially sensitive research to tackle social issues
  • Consideration of wider effects of research findings
  • Awareness of how research findings may be used in political and social policies
  • Researchers need to be critical and open with their research and the biases/preconceptions that could influence the findings - they need to be reflexive!
• Socially sensitive research can be beneficial for society: Research into controversial and "taboo" topics is needed to promote a greater understanding and sensitivity of underrepresented groups and key social issues. Such research can actually reduce prejudice and encourage acceptance. E.g. Homosexuality is now no longer classified as an abnormal behaviour
• Negative effect: social control


  Use of psychological research to aid social control of minority groups. Example - 1920's American sterilisation
• Negative effect: manipulation of psychiatry


  Use of psychological research to manipulate psychiatry and the treatment of disordered and "dysfunctional" patients. Sergant - focus in the 70's was mind mapping and modifying abnormal behaviours - the argument was that psychiatrists were using "all tools available to wipe the slate clean" - they were using drug therapy to induce narcosis and also ECT - these had serious and detrimental effects on patients. Further discussion - research findings can be used as "proof" and used to aid dangerous practice in psychiatry.
• Determinism


  All events and behaviors are determined by previous causes
• Hard determinism


  • Fatalism. The belief that all behavior has a cause and can be identified
  • Everything that we think and do is due to internal or external forces that we cannot control