issues and debates

to understand human behaviour, psychologists aim to produce theories which are universal.- understanding that whole cultures have the same experience. problem with this is that psychologists are first and foremost people, and therefore, like all of us, possess beliefs and values that are influenced by the social and historical context in which they live. Therefore, bias may be an inevitable part of the research process. Bias occurs when researchers view things in a way that is unbalanced or unfair. Two forms of bias are gender bias and cultural bias.

Gender bias refers to the differential treatment and/or representation of males and females based on stereotypes and not real differences. Androcentrism - theories which are focused on males. a male dominated field, focused on a male view of the world, often to the neglect or exclusion of women. Many feminists object to the diagnostic category of premenstrual syndrome as it trivialises and stereotypes female experience. Critics suggest that PMS is a social construct which medicalises female’s emotions in terms of their hormones. Male anger on the other hand is often seen as a rational response to external pressures.

Hare-Mustin & Maracek (1990) suggest that there are two general types of gender bias: Alpha bias – this occurs when the differences between men and women are exaggerated. Thus behaviour between males and females is seen as being ‘different’. This serves to undervalue members of either sex, but typically, undervalues females. For example, Freud argued that there are genuine psychological differences between men and women. His theory suggests that females are inferior to males because they are jealous of men’s penises (penis envy) and, as they cannot experience castration anxiety, they develop a weaker superego, and are therefore morally inferior to men. In fact, Freud viewed femininity as a failed form of masculinity. Beta bias – this occurs when the differences between men and women are minimised. Such theories tend to either ignore questions about the lives of women, or assume that what is true for men must also be true women, thus mistakenly minimising gender differences. For example, Biological research into the fight or flight response has often been carried out with male animals. It was assumed that this would not be a problem as fight or flight response would be the same for both sexes.

Neg stereotypes One major problem with gender bias is that it creates misleading assumptions about female behaviour. These assumptions can provide a ‘scientific justification’ to deny women opportunities within the workplace or in wider society. For example, critics claim that the diagnostic category premenstrual syndrome (PMS) medicalises female emotions, especially anger, by explaining these in hormonal terms. Thus, being diagnosed with PMS may affect how a women is viewed by herself and by society in general. strength is that awareness of the issue of gender bias led to worrell developing a criteria to prevent and reduce gender bias from occuring. These include: Women should be studied within meaningful real-life contexts, and genuinely participate in research rather than being ‘objects of study’. Diversity within groups of women should be examined rather than differences between men and women. Finally, there should be greater emphasis on qualitative as opposed to numerical data.

Another way of tackling androcentrism in research is to emphasise the value of women, by showing instances where women outperform men (reverse alpha bias). For example, Cornwell et al (2013) found that women are better at learning because they are more attentive, flexible and organised. This technique helps to challenge the stereotype that in any gender difference, the male position must be better, helping to change people’s preconceptions and false beliefs. social constructs -feminist psychology has also tried to tackle androcentrism by considering whether gender differences are simply social constructs. feminist psychology agrees that there are real biologically-based sex differences, it is argued some gender differences are the result of social stereotypes. For example, if children grow up seeing far more males in positions of power and authority, they associate power and leadership with males. These learnt expectations may encourage more boys than girls to pursue careers that requires these skills. This suggests that some deeply held societal gender differences, may simply be a social construction, contributing to social inequalities and discrimination.

Cultural bias is the tendency to judge people in terms of one’s own cultural assumptions. Ethnocentrism - use of one cultural group as a standard to judge other groups. often perceive ones own beliefs are superior+ other cultures abnormal eg can be ainsworth strange situation alpha bias- assume theres real difference between cultural groups. beta - minimises. Culture bias is WEIRD westernised, educated, industrialised, rich and democratic

idea that a behaviour can only be properly understood in the context of the norms and values of the culture in which it occurs Etic approach ;) studying behaviours across many cultures to find universal human behaviours emic approach - studying cultures in isolation by identifying behaviours specific to that culture

One major problem with culture bias is that it creates misleading assumptions about people from less dominant cultures. These assumptions can provide a ‘scientific justification’ to deny people from certain cultural groups opportunities in society. One of the most infamous examples of the damage done by psychologists through culture bias was the US Army IQ test used just before the First World War. The tests showed European immigrants fell slightly below white Americans and African-Americans were at the bottom of the scale, with the lowest mental age. The data from these tests had a profound effect on the attitudes held by Americans towards certain cultural groups. This illustrates the damaging effects of culture bias on the lives and prospects of a wide range of people in the real-world. Cultural Bias within the research process When conducting research in Western cultures (e.g. USA/UK), it is presumed that participants are familiar with the aims and objectives of scientific testing. However, the same knowledge of scientific testing may not extend to cultures that do not have same historical experience of research. For this reason demand characteristics may occur more often when working with members of the local population (Bond and Smith 1996). This reduces the validity of the research findings.

free will - suggests that as humans were able to choose our own thoughts and behaviour. doesnt ignore role of bio+env but suggests were able to override these forces. assosciated w humanistic approach. implies moral responsibility as if you can control behaviour should be able to be held accountable. contrasts with determinism link w ao2. determinism- understanding that our behaviours controlled and we have no free will over our own behaviour, controlled by internal/externl factors hard determinsm -all behaviour is caused by forces outside a person’s control. (by internal external forces, no subconscious control) soft - behaviour caused but not by force, by conscious desires. some element of free will, some conscious mental control- capable of making rational choices but action has cause biological -Behaviour is caused by brain structure, biochemistry and genetics. Genes influence brain structure and neurotransmitters, such as serotonin and dopamine, that are implicated in a range of behaviours. behavioural - env factors such as learnt associations, conditioning rolemodels psychic- adult behaviour shaped by mix of innate drives and early experience Scientific Determinism and Causal Explanations A basic principle of Science is that all behaviour has a cause. This ‘scientific emphasis on causal explanations’ allows scientists to predict and control events in the future. Hence, in psychology, the laboratory experiment is often seen as ‘ideal’ as it allows researchers to control extraneous variables in order to establish cause and effect. This then allows psychologists to predict and control human behaviour. For example, understanding causes of mental illness to prevent or treat them.

Determinism – the case for Practical Applications One advantage of determinism is that it has led to a number of practical applications. For example, the theory that schizophrenia is caused by the neurotransmitter dopamine (the dopamine hypothesis), led to the development of antipsychotic medication. These drugs have proven to be an effective way of reducing schizophrenic symptoms, such as hallucinations and delusions. This suggests the deterministic emphasis on cause and effect has enabled researchers to predict and control events, to the benefit of people who suffer from a wide range of mental disorders. Determinism – the case against.. Explanations It appears that neither internal nor external forces on their own can to explain all behaviour. For example, studies have found that MZ twins have a concordance rate of around 40% for schizophrenia compared to only 7% for DZ. The fact that concordance rates are not 100% in the MZ twins suggests genes alone do not entirely determine these behaviours. However, these studies do show genes seem to play a significant part in these behaviours and therefore, the environment cannot be the sole determining factor in these behaviours either. This is a problem because it is unlikely that complex behaviours, such as schizophrenia or OCD, are caused by one single factor. Instead, internal AND external forces, as well as the role of the conscious mind (free will), have a part to play. Incompatible with the legal system One limitation of the deterministic stance is that it is in conflict with our legal system. For example, research into the role of the MAOA gene in aggression argues that we may be somehow pre-programmed to be aggressive and therefore have no free will over our aggressive behaviour. One implication of this argument is that it may be seen as wrong for the legal system to then find people responsible for their aggressive behaviour, if it was not something under their conscious control. Free will – the case for…. Face Validity Firstly, although not based on scientific evidence, everyday experience does ‘give the impression’ that we are exercising free will through the choices we make. This means that the concept of free will has face validity and it is, therefore, plausible. Also, research has found that people who feel in control of their own behaviour (internal locus of control) are more likely to be able to resist pressures to conform. This suggests that, even if we do not have free will, thinking we have free will can have a positive impact on our behaviour. Free will – the case against… The experience of mental disorders like schizophrenia where suffers experience a total loss of control over their thoughts and behaviour, casts doubt on the concept of free will. It seems unlikely that someone would choose to have schizophrenia! This suggests that in terms of mental illness, behaviours would appear to be determined and that free will may well be an ‘illusion’ (B.F Skinner). will is a subjective notion. Just because people believe that they have free will does not necessarily mean that they do. Additionally, free will is inconsistent with the assumptions of science, i.e. that all physical events have a cause. Free will implies that behaviour is random and without cause. However, very few people would want to argue for such an extreme position. Conclusion An interactionist approach to explaining behaviour might provide the best compromise in the free will-determinism debate. The SLT is a good example for an approach that takes this position when explaining behaviour. For example, Bandura argued that although environmental factors in learning are key, we are free to choose who or what to attend to and when to perform certain behaviou