Psychology Debates and Biases

Overview

This lecture covers major issues and debates in psychology, focusing on gender and cultural bias, free will and determinism, the nature-nurture debate, holism and reductionism, idiographic vs nomothetic approaches, and ethical implications of research.

Gender Bias in Psychology

• Gender bias is differential treatment of men and women based on stereotypes, not real differences.
• Alpha bias exaggerates gender differences, often devaluing women (e.g. Freud's theory on morality).
• Beta bias downplays or ignores gender differences, often generalizing male findings to females.
• Androcentrism evaluates behavior based on a male standard, marginalizing women.
• Feminist psychology argues perceived differences are often socially constructed, not biological.
• Bias in research methods can affect findings, as method or researcher may favor one gender.

Cultural Bias in Psychology

• Cultural bias is judging other cultures using one's own cultural standards.
• Cultural relativism states behavior should be judged within its cultural context.
• Alpha bias assumes real differences between cultures, possibly exaggerating them.
• Beta bias ignores cultural differences, assuming findings apply to all (e.g. IQ tests).
• Ethnocentrism is seeing things only from one's own cultural perspective, leading to bias.
• Indigenous psychologies develop theories within specific cultures to reduce bias.

Free Will and Determinism

• Determinism: behavior is controlled by internal (biological/psychic) or external (environmental) factors.
• Biological determinism links behavior to genes and neurochemistry.
• Environmental determinism attributes behavior to learned experiences.
• Psychic determinism (Freud) links behavior to unconscious conflicts.
• Free will: individuals make their own choices, emphasized in humanistic psychology.
• Hard determinism denies free will; soft determinism allows some free choice within limits.
• Scientific research in psychology relies on determinism to establish cause-effect.

The Nature-Nurture Debate

• Nature refers to genetic/biological influences; nurture to environmental influences.
• Heredity is the passage of traits via genes; heritability coefficient quantifies genetic influence.
• Most behavior results from nature and nurture interaction.
• Diathesis-stress model: genetic vulnerabilities are triggered by environmental stress.
• Epigenetics explains how experiences affect gene expression across generations.
• Constructivism: individuals shape their environment based on inborn traits.

Holism vs Reductionism

• Holism studies whole systems or behaviors, recognizing the complexity of psychological phenomena.
• Reductionism breaks complex phenomena into simpler components for study.
• Biological reductionism explains behavior by genes or chemistry; environmental reductionism by learned associations.
• Reductionist approaches align with scientific methods but may oversimplify behavior.

Idiographic vs Nomothetic Approaches

• Idiographic approach studies individuals in depth, focusing on uniqueness and qualitative data (e.g. case studies).
• Nomothetic approach seeks general laws using quantitative data from groups.
• Idiographic methods provide rich insights but may lack generalizability.
• Nomothetic methods enable generalization and scientific rigor but can overlook individual experiences.

Ethical Implications of Research

• Socially sensitive research may have significant impacts on participants or groups.
• Ethical concerns include privacy, consent, valid methods, and risk/benefit analysis.
• Past misuse of research (e.g. Burt's IQ data) shows importance of careful application and presentation.

Key Terms & Definitions

• Alpha Bias — Exaggerates differences between genders or cultures.
• Beta Bias — Minimizes or ignores genuine differences.
• Androcentrism — Judging all behavior by a male standard.
• Cultural Relativism — Judging behavior within its cultural context.
• Determinism — Behavior is controlled by outside forces.
• Free Will — Individuals control their own actions.
• Holism — Study of the whole, rather than parts.
• Reductionism — Breaking down complex phenomena into simpler elements.
• Idiographic Approach — Focus on individuals and subjective experiences.
• Nomothetic Approach — Focus on general laws and objective measurement.
• Socially-sensitive Research — Studies with significant social implications.

Action Items / Next Steps

• Review definitions and examples of key types of bias.
• Study major research examples illustrating each debate.
• Prepare to discuss real-world implications of ethical guidelines in psychological research.