Outline what is meant by 'culture bias' and describe culture bias in two or more psychological studies
Outline what is meant by 'culture bias' and describe culture bias in two or more psychological studies Culture bias is a term which covers several types of bias in psychology. It can be used to refer to judgements and prejudices about certain cultures, or methodological biases which lead to such biased conclusions. For example, although a method of research may be developed and found to be reliable in one culture, the same may not be true in another. Culture bias in methodology prevents us from being able to identify innate behaviour in cross-cultural research. One type of culture bias is ethnocentrism, which is the tendency to use one's own culture as a basis for judgements about others. Eurocentrism, ethnocentrism from the perspective of Western cultures, is particularly widespread in modern Psychology, as it is commonplace for findings based solely on, for example, American participants to be generalised to people across the globe. The relevance of psychological research carried out in Western countries to the wider world is questionnable. A large amount of this issue is a result of methodology. Because mundane realism and ecological validities have so much effect on the generalisation of findings, in order for findings to be relevant across cultures, the methodology must hold these characteristics no matter which culture it is carried out in. Failure to do so may lead to
OCR G544 - Using examples, discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the use of self-reports in psychology. (12 marks)
Self-Reports in Psychology Q1)c) Using examples, discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the use of self-reports in psychology. (12) One of the strengths of using self-reports as a method of data collection in psychology is that, if we are to believe the cognitive approach, this is the only way in which we can extract information about the way a person thinks. To clinically interview a person, such as in Ellis’ study on Rational Analysis as a means of treating an affective disorder can provide important information about the individual that otherwise cannot be seen, as the cognitive approach believes that mental processes, or cognitions, are hypothetical constructs and the only way we can establish reasons for behaviour is to ask the individual themselves. Another strength of self-reports in psychology is that you can collect both quantitative and qualitative data from them. With the use of closed questions whereby predetermined answers are provided (multiple choice questionnaires, e.g. a Likert scale), researchers can collect quantified measurements of the number of people who chose a certain answer, like in Holmes & Rähe’s study of Life Changing Events, where the majority of participants rated the bereavement of a spouse/partner as the hardest thing to adjust to on the Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS), giving in a collective rating of 100/100. With open
OCR G544 - Using examples of research that you have studied, discuss the strengths and limitations of using the nurture debate to explain human behaviour (12 marks)
Nature vs. Nurture Q1) Using examples of research that you have studied, discuss the strengths and limitations of using the nurture debate to explain human behaviour. (12) The nurture debate in psychology aligns itself with explaining all human behaviour as a product of the environment that an individual lives in. It suggests that the people we interact with, the homes we grow up in and even the school experiences we have as we grow up are all influential on our behaviour later in life. In the longitudinal study by Farrington, et al. into delinquent development of boys in East London, he found that there are environmental factors that directly influence why young offenders become adult criminals. Negative school experiences, weak family bonds and growing up in an impoverished area where life prosperity is low were all contributing risk factors, but even so, this study does not attribute any behaviour to the nature side of the debate and therefore ignores important genetic factors that may also predetermine behaviour from birth (such as explored in a study by Raine where he observed brain dysfunction as a reason the crimes committed by serial murderers). Another weakness of the nurture debate is shown in Meichenbaum’s study, whereby a comparison group of students suffering exam anxiety enrolled on a course of systematic desensitisation – a behavioural method of treating
Discuss the biological approach to psychopathology
Discuss the biological approach to psychopathology The biological model assumes that all mental disorders are caused by physical factors - like illnesses. Such illnesses may be caused by one of four possible factors: genes, biochemistry, neuroanatomy and viral infection - biochemistry referring to hormones and neuroanatomy referring to brain structure. According to this approach, mental illness can be the result of genetic inheritance, and so are passed on from parent to child. Many of the genes responsible for abnormal behaviours are the product of evolutionary adaptations in our ancestors, despite the fact that these traits are no longer useful. For example, psychologists believe 'stress genes' evolved in order to help our ancestors in times of danger and provide them with the 'fight or flight' response which is no longer as useful in our technological world. According to this approach genes can also be responsible for mental illnesses. Genes tell the body how to function - they determine, for example, the level of hormones and neurotransmitters in the brain, referred to as biochemistry. This means that certain genes may lead to abnormal biochemistry and/or abnormal neuroanatomy. For example, genes may dictate the low levels of serotonin that have been found in depressed individuals. Genes also determine the structure of the brain, known as the neuroanatomy. For
Outline the strengths and weaknesses of the social approach .
Outline the strengths and weaknesses of the social approach (12 marks) The first strength of the social approach is it utilises experimental methods. Experimental methods manipulate one variable to see the effect it has on another variable. This allows for cause and effect to be established. The social approach can therefore be seen as being scientific. An example of a social study that uses a field experiment method is the Piliavin et al subway study on bystander behaviour in emergency situations. This study manipulated a number of variables including race of the victim. It then recorded if passengers on the tram helped the victim and how long it took for them to help. Whilst using experimental methods makes the approach scientific, on the other hand this strength can be seen as a small weakness as it is very reductionist. Reductionist methods only try to identify one cause for a behaviour occurring. This is a weakness as the social approach's theories may be based on incomplete evidence as the studies may have missed some causes of behaviour e.g. affect of physiology in obedience. The second strength of the social approach is social studies have important applications to everyday life. Social psychology studies prejudice conformity and obedience; these are real factors that influence how people in everyday social situations. An anecdotal example from life is the affect
Discuss the view that stress is environmentally determined.
"Psychological research has provided evidence to support the view that stress can be caused by life changes. It has also provided evidence of individual differences in response to sources of stress." Discuss the view that stress is environmentally determined. Although stress is an unavoidable part of life and may not be entirely negative as it is able to increase motivation and arousal, psychological research has shown that it can be caused by life changes and can therefore be environmentally determined. Marmot et al (1997) recognised that an environment such as the workplace can cause stress. The results from lower-paid and higher-paid grades self-report questionnaires and five year follow up showed that the lower-paid grade had an overall increase in stress-related illnesses. Consent and debriefing would have been mandatory, however the sample of government civil servants was biased, which would therefore make it difficult to generalise findings. Nonetheless, Fox et al (1993) also concluded evidence that a personal in a low-control high-demand job would also suffer from stress related illness. The workplace can be deemed stressful due to environmental factors such as noise, temperature, control and workload, which are all potential sources. Life changes and daily hassles are also a cause of stress according to Holmes and Rahe (1967) retrospective study. With the social
Asch - Conformity
Psychologists have long been interested in conformity as a powerful influence on our behaviour, making us behave in ways that can often conflict with our attitudes and moral and ethical principles. Asch was interested in how strong the urge was to social conformity. He believed that people are manipulated by suggestion, where a person's judgment of a situation can be changed without their knowledge of it being changed first. When confronted by majority opinion, a person appears to lose their confidence and capacity to go against group pressure, and will instead conform. Sherif demonstrated that people will look to others for guidance and answer in line with the majority. Participants were tested on their estimation of how far a stationary light had moved in a dark room, and there was considerable doubt about the appropriate response, therefore Asch wanted to test in a situation where the correct answer was clearly obvious. Social Psychology offers the insight that conformity is characterized by public compliance rather than attitude change. Asch aimed to demonstrate that a significant minority of people would be willing to say that a line was the same length as another line of blatantly different length. Conformity involved many concepts such as values, beliefs, morals and ethics, but Asch was particularly interested in perceptual conformity. In a controlled laboratory
Two attributional biases with evidence
Discuss at least two attributional biases, refer to evidence in your answer (10) Attribution is judging the causes of behaviour, the decision is made that behaviour is caused by internal factors OR external factors. A dispositional attribution is made when we can decide that someone's behaviour is due to their personality or an internal cause. This means that the behaviour is seen as an outward manifestation of an inward quality. A situational attribution is made when we decide that someone's behaviour is the result of the situation or the circumstances which they find themselves in. This means that the cause is external or beyond the control of the person. In social psychology, the actor is the person producing the behaviour and the observer is the watcher of the behaviour. The Fundamental Attribution Error is the general tendency observers have to decide that an actor's behaviour has an internal cause. We have the general belief that a person's behaviour and actions are due to their own personality traits. It is likely that this is because of an expectation that our behaviour and personality match or fit each other. A real life example is "He dropped the jug because he is clumsy" Nisbett et al (1973) wanted to see if people tend to attribute the cause of a person's behaviour as due to an internal cause rather than external cause. Participants were asked to explain
The cognitive perspective in psychology is often used to explain behaviour. Discuss the cognitive perspective in psychology. In your answer, refer to at least two topics that you have studied in psychology.
The cognitive perspective in psychology is often used to explain behaviour. Discuss the cognitive perspective in psychology. In your answer, refer to at least two topics that you have studied in psychology The cognitive approach focuses on the cognitive processes between the stimulus and response. It see's humans as information processors, much like computers, as information is received, processed and then used to guide behaviour. In 1973, Mischel distinguished five variables that influence the response to a stimulus. These variables are competencies, encodings, expectancies, values and plans. Together, they influence the attribution process and so affect behaviour. Unlike behaviourists, cognitive psychologists include the internal cognitive processes between stimulus and response and so when compared to the behaviourist approach, cognitive psychologists argue that humans make sense of the stimulus before responding, rather than simply responding in an unthinking way to a stimulus. However, the cognitive approach is often criticised for being too mechanistic and reductionist. This is because it reduces complex human processes and behaviour to those of a computer and ignores the fact that humans are biological organisms and are not machines. One topic that the cognitive approach applies to is anxiety disorders, and more specifically, phobias. Cognitive psychologists
Describe and Evaluate Studies on Conformity. (Key study Solomon Asch)
Name: Odesanya Atilola Class: AS Psychology group1 Key Skills Assignment Topic: Describe and Evaluate Studies on Conformity. (Key study Solomon Asch) Lecturer: Kim Weeks Conformity is defined as a change in a person's opinion or behaviour as a result of real or imagined pressure from a group of people. This pressure to act like other people sometimes, despite our true feelings and desires, is common in our everyday lives. This is due to implied and spoken rules of the situation. People conform due to two different reasons. People conform either by informational influence or normative influence. Deutsch and Gerard (1955) gave a definition on informational and normative social influence: Informational social influence is a situation whereby the individual has a desire to be right in the knowledge and judgement of others, shown in Sherif's study. People change their opinion because of a number of different reasons including status and roles and familiarity. Informational influence leads usually to internalisation, where what a person believes actually changes. While Normative social influence is basically a situation whereby an individual has the urge or the want to be liked and accepted by others, as shown by Asch's experiment. Normative does not change private opinion; it affects public opinion because of compliance, where people, even though they don't believe in it,
