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Issues and Debates - Coggle Diagram
Issues and Debates
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Nature-Nurture
- Environment: everything that is outside our body, any influence on behaviour which isn't genetic. Lerner identified 'levels', pre-natal experiences to post-natal. Mind is a blank slate upon which experience writes upon - Locke
- Nature: any influence on behaviour which is genetic
- Heredity: traits passed from parents to offspring. The heritablity coefficient can be used to quantify the extent to which a characteristic has a genetic basis. E.g. intelligence HC = 0.5 (Plomin et al) so influences of nature and nurture are equal
- Interactionist: work together rather than in opposition
- Nature-nurture debate: whether person's development is mainly due to genes or environment
Examples of influence of nature:
- Genetic explanations - more closely related more likely develop same behaviours. Concordance rate for a mental disorder such as SZ is 40% for MZ twins and 7% for DZ. Nature plays part in contributing. However, concordance rate for MZ not 100% despite genetically identical.
- Evolutionary explanations: behaviour promotes survival is naturally selected. Behaviours are adaptive so you're more likely to survive adulthood and reproduce. Bolwby proposed attachment was adaptive as it meant an infant was more likely to be protected due to displaying social releasers and features of infant-caregiver interactions = survive and reproduce
Examples of influence of nurture:
- Behaviourism: all behaviour can be explained due to experience alone. Skinner concepts of classical and operant conditioning to explain learning and suggests attachment could be explained in terms of classical conditioning where food reduces discomfort of hunger
- SLT: Bandura proposed behaviour is acquired indirectly through operant and classical conditioning but directly through vicarious reinforcement. Bio had a role to play e.g. urge to act aggressively could be bio but way anger expressed is through environmental influences
- Double-bind theory of Sz: Bateson et al - Sz develops in children who frequently receive contradictory messages from parent and these messages prevent development of internal consistent construction of reality. When behave incorrect punished by withdrawal of love leading to belief that world is dangerous (paranoid delusions) and confusing (disorganised thinking)
Evaluation of nature v nurture:
- Diathesis-stress model: a diathesis is a bio vulnerability. The expression of the gene depends on experience in the form of a stressor which triggers the condition. Tienari et al - studied 145 Finnish adoptees whose mother had Sz and were then matched with a sample of 158 adoptees without genetic risk. Two groups were independently assessed after 12 years and of the total 303, 14 developed Sz and 11 of these were from the high risk group. Children with genetic risk and who experienced family climate of tension and lack of empathy developed Sz
- Nurture affects nature: Maguire et al study of London taxi drivers - region of brains with spatial memory was bigger than controls, hippocampi had responded this way. Also found larger grey matter volume in mid-posterior hippocampus ('the knowledge' exam). Positive correlation between increasingly pronounced changes and a increasing length of time had been drivers
Evaluation:
- Epigenetics: material in each gene which acts like a switch to turn genes on or off. Life experiences control these and are passed on when the DNA is replicated semi-conservatively. MZ twins may differ in weight even though given same diets, due to differences in upbringing/experiences causing differences in individual expression of genes. Caspi et al assessed antisocial behaviour in 1000 Ps between birth and age 26 - 12% of men with less MAOA gene expression had expeirenced maltreatment when babies but were responsible for 44% of crimes.
- Constructivism: Plomin - an individual's 'nature' would determine their 'nurture' through niche-picking or niche-building. E.g. naturally aggressive child more likely to play with and befriend other aggressive children, increasing aggressiveness
Gender Bias
- Gender Bias - the differential treatment or representation of men and women based on stereotypes rather than real different
- Alpha Bias - A tendency to exaggerate differences between men and women, suggesting that there are real and enduring differences between the two sexes. The consequences are that theories devalues one gender in comparison to the other, but typically devalues women
- Beta Bias - A tendency to ignore or minimise the 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
- 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
- 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. Bias, lack of validity and issues with reliability reduce the universality of psychological findings
Examples:
- Alpha - psychodynamic explanations for offending = deviant superego. Freud - females don't have castration anxiety, under less pressure and have less of need to identify with moral standards of same sex parent - females = less moral than males, idea refuted by Hoffman et al
- Beta - early fight or flight research exclusively used male lab mice as they experienced fewer hormonal fluctuations and changes in adrenaline , due to environmental stressors. Results were generalised to females, ignoring differences
Strengths:
- Feminist psychology: the difference psychology arises from biological explanations of behaviour. The social constructionist approach aims to understand behaviour in terms of social processes. Feminist psych argues there are real differences but socially determined stereotypes make a far greater contribution to perceived differences. Androcentrism can be countered by a feminist view and the balance can be readdressed. Eagly acknowledged that women may be less effective leaders than men but this knowledge should be used to develop suitable training programmes and a future with more female leaders
- Reverse alpha bias describes the development of theories that show a greater emphasis on women - Cornwell et al (2013) + women are better at learning because they are more attentive, flexible and organised. Such research challenges the stereotype that in any gender differences the male position must be better and challenges people's preconceptions
- Avoiding beta bias - beta bias has allowed women greater access to educational and occupational opportunities. Hare, Mustin and Marecek - arguing for equality draws attention away from women's special needs, e.g. equal parenting ignores biological demands for pregnancy, childbirth and the special needs of women - elements of beta bias may disadvantage women
Weaknesses:
- Bias in research methods - is theories and studies are gender biased, research may find differences between genders but it may not be the genders that differ but the methods used to test or observe them. Rosenthal (1966) - male experimenters are more pleasant and encouraging to female Ps and so they perform better in tasks. Fewer women being appointed senior research positions means female concerns are less likely to be reflected in experimental questions
- Lab experiment may be an example of institutionalised sexism in psych - male researchers have the authority to deem women as 'unreasonable, irrational and unable to complete complex tasks' (Nicolson 1995). Eagly and Johnson noted studies in real settings found women and men were judged as more similar in styles of leadership than in lab settings, hence having higher ecological validity
- Assumptions need to be challenged - gender bias remains unchallenged in many theories. Darwin's theory of sexual selection portrays women as choosy and males as the ones who compete to be chosen, arguing women are coy and males as aggressive as they are in competition with other males. View has been challenged as it has been found that women are equally competitive when needed. DNA evidence supports the idea that it is a good adaptive strategy for females to mate with more than one man and this puts women in competition (Vernimmen 2015)
Cultural Bias
- 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 Ps, but then also replicated using Spanish students (Miranda et al found over 90% obedience rates in Spanish students) and Australian students (where only 16% of female Ps continued to the highest voltage setting, Kilham and Mann) - Milgram's results were bound to American cultures
- Alpha Bias - with regards to culture refers to the assumption that there are real and enduring differences between cultural groups. E.g. individualistic v collectivist cultures. Takano and Osaka reviewed 15 studies that compared the US and Japan in terms of collectivist/individualism and found that 14/15 studies didn't support the common view about differences in conformity - less of a collectivist/individualist divide in an increasingly global world
- Beta Bias - theories that minimise or ignore cultural differences. Psychologists use an IQ test to study intelligence in many cultures as they assume that their view of intelligence applies equally to all cultures. Western = individual, collectivist cultures = functional relationship depending on shared info between the individual and society, may seem less intelligent. Imposed etic - studied behaviour outside group and apply universally
- Ethnocentrism - Evaluating other groups of people using the standards and customs of one's own culture
- Indigenous psychologies - counter ethnocentrism, development of different groups of theories in different countries
Evaluation:
- Bias in research methods: Smith and Bond surveyed research in one European textbook on social psych and found 66% of studies were American, 32% European and 2% rest of the world. Considerable amount psych based on MC academic young male adults. Suggests institutionalised cultural bias in psych, 'universal' behaviours demonstrated only in certain cultures
- Consequences of cultural bias: US army IQ test showed European immigrants fell slightly below white american in terms of IQ. Profound effect on attitudes of Americans towards certain groups of people, leading to stereotyping and discrimination
- Not all behaviours are affected by cultural bias. Ekman et al demonstrated facial expressions for anger, guilt and disgust were universally recognised across all cultures. Attachment = interactional synchrony and reciprocity are universal features of infant-caregiver interactions
- Worldwide Psych: travel more = greater understanding and increased opportunities to conduct cross-cultural research. Academies meet to discuss and share ideas at international conferences - reduce ethnocentrism. Bond and Smith - not all cultures will be familiar with research traditions and aims of science = 'Please-U'
Holism and Reductionism
- Holism: perceiving the whole experience rather than the individual feature and or the relations between them. Gestalt psychs suggest 'the whole is greater than the sum of its parts', doesn't make sense to break down target behaviours into their constituent parts but study behaviours as part of an indivisible system
- Reductionism: breaks complex phenomena into more simple components and implies this is desirable as complex phenomena are best understood in terms of a simpler level of explanation.
- Levels of explanation: different ways of viewing the same phenomena. Reductionism suggests lower-level explanations will replace higher-level, according to reductionist hierarchy of science. Explanations begin at the highest level and progressively reduce.
- Highest: cultural and social explanations of behaviour - e.g. depression explained by withdrawal from social activities, low energy levels and insomnia, which is viewed as odd by society
- Middle: psychological explanations of behaviour - e.g. depression explained by Beck's Cognitive Theory (cognitive triad, faulty info processing, negative self-schema) and Ellis' ABC model
- Lower: Biological explanations of behaviour - e.g. depression explained by action of candidate genes and neural factors
Types of reductionism:
- Bio: reducing behaviour to biology as it is based on the premise that we're biological organisms
- Environmental: all behaviour can be explained in terms of stimulus response links
Evaluation holism:
- Provides more complex picture: some behaviour understood on a holistic level - conformity and deindividualisation of Zimbardo's prisoners and guards. Research into resisting conformity (Gamson's work into the role of social support groups) make use of holistic explanations by looking at interactions
- Difficult to investigate many types and levels of explanation: practical problems when combining higher levels of explanation, difficult to identify which explanation is most influential and more useful for treatment.
- More hypothetical and not based on empirical evidence: used by humanism. Lack of empirical evidence associated with higher-level explanations and holistic view may simplify complex phenomena too far.
Evaluation of reductionism:
- Consistent with scientific approach: aim to predict and control behaviour. Smaller, constituent parts of behaviour are easily measured and manipulated under strict lab conditions, 'cause and effect' can be reliably established
- Practical application in development of drug therapy: research into mental disorders led development of powerful and effective drug therapies e.g. SSRIs to treat depression, based on view serotonin deficiency causes depression. Reduces need for institutionalisation, continue lives with non-invasive treatment
- Ignores complexity of behaviour: lead to loss of validity due to ignoring social context where behaviour occurs.
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