Issues and Debates

• Alpha bias


  When differences between males and females are overstated
• Androcentrism


  A bias towards a male-centred view. In psychology, many subjects of important studies were male, resulting in general psychology paradigms being more male-centred
• Beta bias


  When differences between males and females are understated
• Biological determinism


  The idea that all human behaviour stems from your genetic code in some way
• Biological reductionism


  The idea that behaviour can be reduced to simple physical components such as nerves and ions
• Cultural relativism


  To view a person's culture from the perspective of someone within that culture, rather than your own
• Determinism


  The idea that things are predetermined and everything has a cause
• Environmental determinism


  The idea that all human behaviour is a direct result of the environment and outside forces
• Environmental reductionism


  The idea that behaviour can be reduced to simple responses to stimuli
• Ethnocentrism


  A bias towards your own culture, and judging other cultures by that subjective standard
• Hard determinism


  The idea that free will is non-existent, all choices and behaviour arise due to pre-existent causes
• Holism

  A type of learning approach that suggests that to understand human behaviour we must look at the human as a whole
• Idiographic approach


  A type of learning approach that suggests we should focus on the unique experiences of each individual to understand human behaviour
• Interactionist approach


  The idea that all human behaviour has multiple causes that stem from the simplest causes (genes) all the way to complex causes (social and cultural systems)
• Nomothetic approach


  A type of learning approach that suggests we should establish general laws of behaviour that can be applied to all people to understand human behaviour
• Gender bias


  The differential treatment or representation of men and women based on stereotypes rather than real difference
• Alpha bias


  A tendency to exaggerate differences between men and women, suggesting that there are real and enduring differences between the two sexes
• Examples of Alpha Bias


  • Psychodynamic explanations for offending behaviour
  • Wilson's sociobiological theory of relationship formation
  • Historically, since the 1980s, schizophrenia has been diagnosed more frequently in men compared to women
• Androcentrism


  The consequence of beta bias and occurs when all behaviour is compared according to a 'male' standard, often to the neglect or exclusion of women
• Example of Androcentrism


  • PMS has been criticised by some as being a social construction, which trivialises female emotion, particularly anger. On the other hand, male anger is seen as a logical response to external pressures
• Beta bias


  A tendency to ignore or minimise differences between men and women. Such theories tend to ignore questions about the lives of women, or insights derived from studies of men will apply equally well to women
• Examples of Beta Bias


  • Early research conducted into the fight or flight response exclusively used male lab mice
  • Kohlberg's levels of moral reasoning theory was developed on the basis of studying groups of American males
• Universality


  The aim to develop theories that apply to all people, which may include real differences. This describes any underlying characteristic of human behaviour which can be applied to all individuals, regardless of their differences
• Psychic determinism


  The idea that all human behaviour is a result of unconscious mental processes
• Culture


  The rules, customs, morals and ways of interacting that bind together members of a society or some other collection of people
• Cultural bias


  The tendency to judge all cultures and individuals in terms of your own cultural assumptions. This distorts or biases your judgements
• Cultural relativism


  The view that behaviour, morals, standards and values cannot be judged properly unless they are viewed in the context of the culture in which they originate
• Example of Cultural Relativism


  • Milgram's study into obedience was originally conducted using 40 male American participants, but then also replicated using Spanish students and Australian students
• Alpha bias (in cultural relativism)


  Cultural relativism can lead to an alpha bias, where the assumption of real differences lead psychologists to overlook universals
• Beta bias (in cultural relativism)


  Cultural relativism is often discussed in the context of defining mental disorder. Behaviours that are statistically infrequent in one culture may be more frequent in another
• Alpha and Beta Bias in Cross-Cultural Research

  • Alpha bias - The assumption that there are real and enduring differences between cultural groups

  Beta bias - Theories that minimise or ignore cultural differences, assuming that all people are the same and therefore it is reasonable to use the same theories for different cultural groups
• Ethnocentrism


  Seeing things from the point of view of ourselves and our social group. Evaluating other groups of people using the standards and customs of one's own culture
• Example of Ethnocentrism


  • Ainsworth's Strange Situation is an example of cultural relativism due to suggesting that a secure attachment was only characterised by moderate separation and stranger anxiety
• The emic-etic distinction


  Emic approach emphasises the distinction of uniqueness in every culture, while the "etic" approach seeks universal aspects of behaviour
• Reductionism


  A type of learning approach that suggests that, to understand human behaviour, we must reduce it to its simplest parts
• Determinism


  The belief that behaviour is controlled by external or internal factors acting upon the individual and beyond their control
• Biological determinism

  The view that behaviour is always caused by internal biological forces beyond our control, such as the influence of genes
• Environmental determinism


  The belief that behaviour is caused by previous experience through classical and operant conditioning
• Psychic determination


  Freud's theory of personality suggests that adult behaviour is determined by a mix of innate drives and early experience
• Free will


  Each individual has the power to make choices about their behaviour, without being determined by internal or external forces beyond their control