ISSUES AND DEBATES

• Gender bias


  Differential treatment and/or representation of males and females, based on stereotypes and not real differences
• Androcentrism


  Research which is male centred or provides a male-biased view of the world
• Alpha bias


  Tendency to exaggerate or overestimate differences between men and women
• Beta bias


  Tendency to minimise or ignore the differences between men and women
• Gender bias often goes unopposed - Assumptions need to be examined and challenged
• Contemporary psychologists have looked for ways to reduce gender bias
• There are a number of negative implications of gender-biased research
• Sexism and bias within the research process can create gender bias
• Universality (in psychology)


  Belief that all humans are alike, so what is true for one person is true for everyone
• Cultural bias


  Tendency to judge all people in terms of your own cultural assumptions
• Ethnocentrism


  Seeing the world only from one's own cultural perspective and believing this perspective is both normal and correct
• Cultural relativism


  Idea that it is essential to consider the cultural context when examining behaviour in that culture
• Emic approach


  Investigates behaviour from within a culture and identifies behaviours that are specific to that culture
• Etic approach


  Investigates behaviour from outside of a culture and attempts to describe those behaviours that are universal
• Imposed etic occurs when theories and concepts are assumed to be universal, despite coming from emic research within a single culture
• Culturally biased research can result in the formation of damaging stereotypes
• Developing 'indigenous psychologies' can help counter ethnocentrism in psychology
• Researchers are more culturally aware today, which reduces cultural bias over time
• Identifying and addressing cultural bias has had major benefits for psychology and beyond
• Free will


  Idea that humans are free to choose their own thoughts and actions, therefore having an active role in controlling their behaviour
• Determinism


  Idea that human behaviours are controlled by internal or external factors, not by free choice
• Cultural relativism


  The idea that the beliefs, values, and practices of a culture can only be understood within the context of that culture
• Free will


  The idea that humans are free to choose their own thoughts and actions therefore having an active role in controlling their behaviour
• Determinism


  The idea that human behaviours are controlled. They are the result of causal factors therefore, we have no choice in our behaviour
• Hard determinism


  The traditional view of determinism in saying that behaviour is the result of forces which are entirely out of the control of the individual and therefore free will is not possible
• Soft determinism


  Acknowledges all human action has a cause, but suggests humans have the opportunity to exercise free will. Traits and behaviours are still governed by external and internal forces but an individual can exert some conscious mental control over the way they behave in some circumstances
• Biological determinism


  A type of (hard) determinism which suggests all human behaviour is controlled by internal forces and has its origins in aspects of our biology, e.g. genes, biochemistry and brain structure and function
• Environmental determinism


  A type of (hard) determinism which suggests all human behaviour is controlled by external influences, e.g. experiences, upbringing and society, and has its origins in stimulus-response learning
• Psychic determinism


  The idea that human behaviour is governed by unconscious mental processes, instincts and drives and is rooted in childhood experiences
• The basic principles of science are that all events have a cause and can be explained through general laws
• Attempts to isolate the cause of particular human behaviours enables cause and effect to be established
• Knowledge of the causes, and understanding of the laws, allow scientists to predict outcomes
• Determinism is all about causation. A determinist argument must be able to show that behaviour has been caused by something that is not within the individual's control
• Evidence is more persuasive if it is the result of scientific experimentation. Laboratory experiments, which adopt the features of the scientific approach (objectivity, replicability) allows research to observe the effect of the IV whilst eliminating and controlling extraneous variables
• Evidence from countless studies of Psychopathology have suggested mental illness and its associated behaviour is determined and thus is out of the control of the individual
• Schizophrenia is a disorder characterised by the individuals' loss of control over their own thoughts and behaviours
• Empirical evidence from research into OCD shows that the symptoms may be determined by the function of the orbitofrontal cortex
• Determinism is incompatible with the notion of legal responsibility
• Taking a free will perspective can be beneficial because it can lead to better mental health
• People with an internal locus of control believe they have choice in their actions and have a high degree of influence over their own behaviour and events in their lives