8 Issues and Debates
KEY TERMS
Any underlying characteristic of human beings that is capable of
being applied to all, despite differences of experience and upbringing
UNIVERSALITY
Gender bias and culture bias threaten the universality of findings in
psychology
When considering human behaviour, bias is a tendency to treat one
individual or group in a different way from others
GENDER BIAS In the context of gender bias, psychological research or theory may
offer a view that does not justifiably represent the experience and
behaviour of men or women (usually women)
Male-centred; when ‘normal’ behaviour is judged according to a male
ANDROCENTRI
standard (meaning that female behaviour is often judged to be
SM ‘abnormal’ or ‘deficient’ by comparison)
Psychological theories that suggest there are real and enduring
differences between men and women
ALPHA BIAS
These may enhance or undervalue members of either sex, but
typically undervalue females
Theories that ignore or minimise differences between the sexes
BETA BIAS
CULTURAL Refers to a tendency to ignore cultural differences and interpret all
BIAS phenomena through the ‘lens’ of one’s own culture
Judging other cultures by the standards and values of one’s own
ETHNOCENTRI culture
SM In its extreme form, it is the belief in the superiority of one’s own
culture which may lead to prejudice and discrimination
The idea that norms and values, as well as ethics and moral
CULTURAL
standards, can only be meaningful and understood within specific
RELATIVISM social and cultural contexts
The notion that humans can make choices and are not determined by
FREE WILL biological or external forces
The view that an individual’s behaviour is shaped or controlled by
DETERMINISM internal or external forces rather than an individual’s will to do
something
HARD Implies that free will is not possible as our behaviour is always caused
DETERMINISM by internal or external events beyond our control
All events, including human behaviour, have causes, but behaviour
SOFT can also be determined by our conscious choices in the absence of
DETERMINISM coercion
In contrast with hard determinism
BIOLOGICAL The belief that behaviour is caused by biological (genetic, hormonal,
DETERMINISM evolutionary) influences that we cannot control
ENVIRONMENT The belief that behaviour is caused by features of the environment
AL (such as systems of reward and punishment) that we cannot control
DETERMINISM
PSYCHIC The belief that behaviour is caused by unconscious conflicts that we
DETERMINISM cannot control
THE NATURE- Concerned with the extent to which aspects of behaviour are a product
NURTURE of inherited or acquired characteristics
DEBATE
The genetic transmission of mental and physical characteristics from
HEREDITY one generation to another
, Any influence on human behaviour that is non-genetic
ENVIRONMENT This may range from pre-natal influences in the womb to cultural and
historical influences at societal level
THE The idea that nature and nurture are linked to such an extent that it
INTERACTIONI does not make sense to separate the two, so researchers instead study
ST APPROACH how they interact and influence each other
An argument or theory which proposes that it only makes sense to
HOLISM study an indivisible system rather than its constituent parts (which is
the reductionist approach)
REDUCTIONIS The belief that human behaviour is best explained by breaking it down
M into smaller constituent parts
BIOLOGICAL A form of reductionism which attempts to explain social and
REDUCTIONIS psychological phenomena at a lower biological level (in terms of the
M actions of genes, hormones, etc.)
ENVIRONMENT The attempt to explain all behaviour in terms of stimulus-response links
AL that have been learned through experience
REDUCTIONIS
M
Derived from the Greek ‘idios’ meaning ‘private or personal’
IDIOGRAPHIC An approach to research that focuses more on the individual case as a
APPROACH means of understanding behaviour, rather than aiming to formulate
general laws of behaviour (the nomothetic approach)
Derived from the Greek ‘nomos’ meaning ‘law’
NOMOTHETIC The nomothetic approach attempts to study human behaviour
APPROACH through the development of general principles and universal laws
The impact that psychological research may have in terms of the
ETHICAL rights of other people especially participants
IMPLICATIONS This includes, at a societal level, influencing public policy and/or the
way in which certain groups of people are regarded
SIEBER & STANLEY (1988) define socially sensitive research as,
SOCIAL “studies in which there are potential consequences or implications,
SENSITIVITY either directly for the participants in the research or for the class of
individuals represented by the research”
KEY PSYCHOLOGISTS & DATES
FREUD
KEY TERMS
Any underlying characteristic of human beings that is capable of
being applied to all, despite differences of experience and upbringing
UNIVERSALITY
Gender bias and culture bias threaten the universality of findings in
psychology
When considering human behaviour, bias is a tendency to treat one
individual or group in a different way from others
GENDER BIAS In the context of gender bias, psychological research or theory may
offer a view that does not justifiably represent the experience and
behaviour of men or women (usually women)
Male-centred; when ‘normal’ behaviour is judged according to a male
ANDROCENTRI
standard (meaning that female behaviour is often judged to be
SM ‘abnormal’ or ‘deficient’ by comparison)
Psychological theories that suggest there are real and enduring
differences between men and women
ALPHA BIAS
These may enhance or undervalue members of either sex, but
typically undervalue females
Theories that ignore or minimise differences between the sexes
BETA BIAS
CULTURAL Refers to a tendency to ignore cultural differences and interpret all
BIAS phenomena through the ‘lens’ of one’s own culture
Judging other cultures by the standards and values of one’s own
ETHNOCENTRI culture
SM In its extreme form, it is the belief in the superiority of one’s own
culture which may lead to prejudice and discrimination
The idea that norms and values, as well as ethics and moral
CULTURAL
standards, can only be meaningful and understood within specific
RELATIVISM social and cultural contexts
The notion that humans can make choices and are not determined by
FREE WILL biological or external forces
The view that an individual’s behaviour is shaped or controlled by
DETERMINISM internal or external forces rather than an individual’s will to do
something
HARD Implies that free will is not possible as our behaviour is always caused
DETERMINISM by internal or external events beyond our control
All events, including human behaviour, have causes, but behaviour
SOFT can also be determined by our conscious choices in the absence of
DETERMINISM coercion
In contrast with hard determinism
BIOLOGICAL The belief that behaviour is caused by biological (genetic, hormonal,
DETERMINISM evolutionary) influences that we cannot control
ENVIRONMENT The belief that behaviour is caused by features of the environment
AL (such as systems of reward and punishment) that we cannot control
DETERMINISM
PSYCHIC The belief that behaviour is caused by unconscious conflicts that we
DETERMINISM cannot control
THE NATURE- Concerned with the extent to which aspects of behaviour are a product
NURTURE of inherited or acquired characteristics
DEBATE
The genetic transmission of mental and physical characteristics from
HEREDITY one generation to another
, Any influence on human behaviour that is non-genetic
ENVIRONMENT This may range from pre-natal influences in the womb to cultural and
historical influences at societal level
THE The idea that nature and nurture are linked to such an extent that it
INTERACTIONI does not make sense to separate the two, so researchers instead study
ST APPROACH how they interact and influence each other
An argument or theory which proposes that it only makes sense to
HOLISM study an indivisible system rather than its constituent parts (which is
the reductionist approach)
REDUCTIONIS The belief that human behaviour is best explained by breaking it down
M into smaller constituent parts
BIOLOGICAL A form of reductionism which attempts to explain social and
REDUCTIONIS psychological phenomena at a lower biological level (in terms of the
M actions of genes, hormones, etc.)
ENVIRONMENT The attempt to explain all behaviour in terms of stimulus-response links
AL that have been learned through experience
REDUCTIONIS
M
Derived from the Greek ‘idios’ meaning ‘private or personal’
IDIOGRAPHIC An approach to research that focuses more on the individual case as a
APPROACH means of understanding behaviour, rather than aiming to formulate
general laws of behaviour (the nomothetic approach)
Derived from the Greek ‘nomos’ meaning ‘law’
NOMOTHETIC The nomothetic approach attempts to study human behaviour
APPROACH through the development of general principles and universal laws
The impact that psychological research may have in terms of the
ETHICAL rights of other people especially participants
IMPLICATIONS This includes, at a societal level, influencing public policy and/or the
way in which certain groups of people are regarded
SIEBER & STANLEY (1988) define socially sensitive research as,
SOCIAL “studies in which there are potential consequences or implications,
SENSITIVITY either directly for the participants in the research or for the class of
individuals represented by the research”
KEY PSYCHOLOGISTS & DATES
FREUD
