Issues/Debates

Issues/Debates

1. Gender bias

   • Alpha: Exaggerates difference
   • Beta: minimises difference
     • Androcentrism: Male centred
   • Universality: generalise to everyone

2. Culture bias

   • Cultural relativism: only relevant to certain culture
   • AINSWORTH: Strange situation =
     • Attachment = separation anxiety
     • Only applies to America = issues for German mothers
     • Imposed etic: generalises own cultures norms to everyone
   • Ethnocentrism: judge other cultures by standards of own

3. Free will/Determinism

   • Free will: make choices
   • Determinism
     • Hard: free will's impossible = Biological approach
       • Soft: Everything has a cause - but can be caused by conscious choices = Cognitive aprroach
     • Environmental: Caused by things in environment we cant control = genes, hormones = SKINNER = conditioning
     • Psychic: unconscious conflicts = FREUD = psychodynamic approach
     • Biological approach: biological influences = genes, hormones = biological apporach

4. Nature/Nurture

   • Nurture: environment
     • Empiricists: Mind is a blank slate
       • LERNER: diff levels of environment = pre-natal, post-natal
   • Nature: biological
     • Natavists: innate characteristics = heredity
       • Heritability coefficient: access heredity = numerical between 0-1 = IQ is 0.5
   • Diathesis stress model: biological vulnerability along with trigger (bio/psycho)
   • Interactionist: nature creates nurture
   • Epigenics: change genetic activity without changing genetic code = E.g. dieting
     • DIAS & RESSLER: 3rd element: experiences of past generations

5. Reductionism/Holism

   • reductionism: break down into individual parts
     • Biological: explains phenomena through genes/hormones
     • Environmental: stimulus-response learned through experiences
   • Holism: Look at things all together
   • E.g. OCD = understood at socio-cultural level, psychological level, physical level, physiological level = reductionism = holism is all as a whole

6. Ideographic/nomothetic

   • ideographic = greek word idos meaning private = looks at individuals rather than trying to make generalisations
     • Qualitative data = case studies, interviews, self report
     • E.g. Psychodynamic approach = FREUD = case studies when detailing lives of patients
   • Nomothetic = greek word nomos meaning law = makes general principles and universal laws
     • Makes bench mark to compare against
     • Quantative data = lab experiments, blood tests, brain scans
     • E.g. behaviourist approach = SKINNER = studies response of groups of animals to make laws of learning

7. Ethical issues