Debates
Socially sensitive research
Research should be socially sensitive because these topics are important and valuable to
society be we should do so in a careful and considered way
Research doesn’t need to be socially sensitive because we should stop researching these
topics altogether because significant damage can be caused as a result
Studies:
Baron-Cohen- provides a lot of information in order to help people with autism and
it has a lot of practical applications
Freud- only helps us understand Little Hans so arguably not enough benefit to
outweigh the trauma
Milgram- socially sensitive because it is trying to uncover why people are capable of
acts of gross humanity
Loftus and Palmer- had a dramatic social impact in understanding the evidence given
by adults about their memories of childhood experiences
Strengths:
Can explore areas that are not commonly spoken about
Studying sensitive topics is useful for understanding all aspects of behaviour
Weaknesses:
It may disturb the participants and/or the social group, creating distress for no
measurable benefit
Can damage the reputation of psychology
Ethnocentrism
Research is ethnocentric when the researchers only study one culture and the belief is that
ones own culture is the norm
Research is culturally inclusive when it considers multiple cultures and they have the belief
that people behave differently across cultures
Studies:
Levine- studies altruism in 23 countries and studied individualistic, collectivist and
simpatia cultures
Freud- only studied 1 child from Austria but he does follow the Oedipus complex
(univsersal)
Gould- intelligence tests were highly reliant on knowledge of American culture
Lee- studied Canadian and Chinese children- collectivist and individualistic
Socially sensitive research
Research should be socially sensitive because these topics are important and valuable to
society be we should do so in a careful and considered way
Research doesn’t need to be socially sensitive because we should stop researching these
topics altogether because significant damage can be caused as a result
Studies:
Baron-Cohen- provides a lot of information in order to help people with autism and
it has a lot of practical applications
Freud- only helps us understand Little Hans so arguably not enough benefit to
outweigh the trauma
Milgram- socially sensitive because it is trying to uncover why people are capable of
acts of gross humanity
Loftus and Palmer- had a dramatic social impact in understanding the evidence given
by adults about their memories of childhood experiences
Strengths:
Can explore areas that are not commonly spoken about
Studying sensitive topics is useful for understanding all aspects of behaviour
Weaknesses:
It may disturb the participants and/or the social group, creating distress for no
measurable benefit
Can damage the reputation of psychology
Ethnocentrism
Research is ethnocentric when the researchers only study one culture and the belief is that
ones own culture is the norm
Research is culturally inclusive when it considers multiple cultures and they have the belief
that people behave differently across cultures
Studies:
Levine- studies altruism in 23 countries and studied individualistic, collectivist and
simpatia cultures
Freud- only studied 1 child from Austria but he does follow the Oedipus complex
(univsersal)
Gould- intelligence tests were highly reliant on knowledge of American culture
Lee- studied Canadian and Chinese children- collectivist and individualistic
