Cultural bias in psychological theories
Cultural bias in psychological theories Many psychological theories are hampered by cultural bias, which can ultimately negate their validity. Cultural bias can appear in two forms; ethnocentrism and eurocentrism. Ethncocentrism refers to the use of our own cultural group to make judgements about other groups. We tend to view the beliefs, customs and behaviours of our own cultural group as normal or even superior, and those of other groups as strange or deviant. Eurocentrism is a particular form of ethnocentrism wereby psychologists place an emphasis on european (or western) ideas at the expense of those of other cultures. Western researc is then applied to other cultures to create a universal view of human behaviour. Mogaddam has suggested that 'economic' theories of relationships such as Thiabut and Kelly's social exchange theory and walster's equity theory only apply to western relationships and even then only to short term relationships among those with high mobility. Such theories only reflect characteristics of individualist socieites whereby members are concerned with their own success (therefore their profit and loss in relationships). Conversely, collectivist societies strive towards the success of the group as a whole, thus profit and loss and equity in relationships are less important. In social psychology many theories eg those by walster and thiabut and kelly
Outline and evaluate two social psychological theories of aggression
Outline and evaluate two social psychological theories of aggression. (24 marks) Bandura believed that the potential for aggression may be biological, but the expression of aggression is learned. The social-learning theory (SLT) states that learning occurs through observation of a model. Imitation of an observed behaviour is more likely if the model is someone we aspire to or identify with or if they are rewarded. This is vicarious reinforcement. A child forms a mental representation of an event, including the possible rewards or punishments of the behaviour. When a child imitates an aggressive behaviour, they gain direct experience, and the outcome of the behaviour influences the value of aggression for the child. If they are rewarded they are more likely to repeat the behaviour. Children develop self-efficacy, which is confidence in their ability to successful carry out a behaviour. If aggressive behaviour is unsuccessful for a child, they will have a lower sense of self-efficacy so are less likely to behave this way in future. There is strong empirical evidence to support the SLT. For example, Bandura's Bobo doll studies found that children who observed a model behaving aggressively to the Bobo doll behaved more aggressively than those who observed a non-aggressive model and also imitated specific aggressive acts. This supports the theories claims that behaviour can be
Outline and Evaluate research (theories/ and studies) into the relationship between stress and physical illness.
Outline and Evaluate research (theories/ and studies) into the relationship between stress and physical illness. 18 marks Stress is an example of a behavior and experience explained in physiological and psychological terms. Recently awareness has been highlighted concerning harmful effects of stress on our lives and how it can be managed and prevented. Stress is often associated with anxiety, strain, tension, distress and fatigue. The effects of stress include biochemical physiological and psychological changes, most show with ill health or unusual behavior. Therefore medical and psychological research findings in this area are crucial in aiding our understanding of the issue. Stress is usually the way we perceive stressors e.g. divorce, and the way we feel we are able to cope with things. If we cannot cope with the situation we are faced with, then we experience psychological and physiological responses to the stressor. In the short term, stress can be quite stimulating and motivating. In the long term stress can result in illness and even death. During a state of stress, the sympathetic area of the nervous system stimulates the adrenal medulla to release the hormones adrenaline and non-adrenaline into the bloodstream. These hormones stimulate heart rate and cause the body to use extra energy resources in the body. This enables the body to deal with the stressor by
Revision notes - origins of life on Earth, chemistry of life
8.4 LIFE ON EARTH 8.4.1 Origin of life 8.4.1.1 Identify the r/ship between the conditions on early Earth and the origin of organic molecules * Early earth contained no ozone layer › large amounts of UV radiation reached the earth * Little free oxygen (anoxic) therefore no ozone layer. * The volcanic emissions filled the atmosphere with methane (CH4), ammonia (NH3), H, CO2, CO and small amounts of water vapour. * The violent electrical storms and acidic rain formed the present warm and mineral-rich oceans. * There are only two possible ways organic molecules could have formed either - formed on earth from simpler molecules (Abiogenesis) - arrived from the cosmos (Panspermia) 8.4.1.2 Discuss the implications of the existence of organic molecules in the cosmos for the origin of life on Earth Panspermia * Elements found in space (H, He, C, O, N, P) can combine to form organic molecules. * Some of these compounds including amino acids have been found in meteors that have struck the earth's surface. * Panspermia proposes that living organisms were seeded on earth as passengers on comets and meteors (ie. Life evolved elsewhere and travelled to earth) 8.4.1.3 Describe two scientific theories relating to the evolution of the chemicals of life and discuss their significance in understanding the origin of life Chemosynthesis * Formation of complex organic molecules on
Why is sexual reproduction so common in nature?
Why is sexual reproduction so common in nature? One of the greatest challenges for evolutionary biology is explaining the widespread occurrence of sexual reproduction, and the associated process of genetic recombination. Sexual reproduction involves one individual combining half its DNA with half of DNA of another individual, so that the offspring is only half genetic copy of each parent. However, in asexual reproduction, the offspring are genetic copies of the parent. Thus, sexual reproduction poses an evolutionary problem because it seems to be half as efficient a method of reproducing as asexual reproduction. Asexual females can potentially produce twice as many daughters as sexual females, so that the ratio of asexual to sexual females should initially double each generation, resulting in the 'two-fold cost of sex'.? In addition to this 50% cost and the dilution of the individual's genome, sexual reproduction also presents other disadvantages in comparison to asexual reproduction. First and foremost there is the cost of recombination - favourable gene combinations that have increased in frequency under the action of natural selection are broken up. Secondly, the process of sexual reproduction requires a significant cellular-mechanical cost as sex requires meiosis, syngamy and karyogamy. A great amount of time is taken up by these three processes alone, and far
Outline and evaluate the Marxist view of the family
Outline and evaluate the Marxist view of the family Marxism looks at the methods of control of the ruling class (bourgeoisie) in determining the way society is organized. The family is seen as part of the structure of society and is one of a number of social institutions which help maintain the capitalist system. Marxists state that it is the requirements of this system that has come to shape the family in modern societies. From a Marxist perspective, society revolves around the infrastructure and social superstructure. The superstructure maintains the infrastructure whilst the infrastructure shapes the superstructure. The family helps to maintain this system. Friedrich Engels' 1884 study provides a basis for the Marxist view of the family. Engels aimed to trace its origin through time, and found that changes to the structure of the family were strongly linked to the evolution of the capitalist system. He also explored the concept of monogamy and argued that the monogamous nuclear family developed with the emergence of private ownership of the 'means of production'. Engels stated that this system is maintained by the socialisation of capitalist social norms and values. Marxists do not see this as benefiting the family at all, only the system, and therefore this helps support their theory that the family exists as a largely negative institution. Zaretsky (1979) looked at
Outline and evaluate two social psychological explanations for aggression
Outline and evaluate two social psychological explanations for aggression While there are many different approaches in psychology, perhaps the most believable, and ultimately provable approaches to aggression come from the social psychological approach: social learning theory and deindividuation. While the two theories differ in their context, they both assert that the explanations of behaviour, in this case aggression, originate from the situational context emphasising little importance on other factors such as biology, evolution or cognitive processes. The social learning theory (SLT) approach to aggression largely originates from the somewhat infamous work of Bandura. While SLT comes under the large umbrella term of behaviourism, it goes far beyond the simple stimulus response model, explaining in depth more complex and perhaps realistic explanations for behaviour. Aggression is learned either indirectly: through observational learning and only replicated if vicarious reinforcement occurs, or directly. This is where aggressive behaviour is directly reinforced. While both are a form of operant conditioning, the direct approach parallels the ideas much closer. Bandura outlined the following four steps in the modelling process of SLT: Attention, retention, reproduction and motivation. Attention is increased if the model is more prestigious, attractive or similar. This causes
Examine the reasons for the existence and localities of biodiversity hotspots.
Supervision 2: Examine the reasons for the existence and localities of biodiversity hotspots "I have never experienced such intense delight... such a plenitude of forms, colours, behaviours-such a magnitude of Life! What explains the riot?" - Darwin (1851) "The current massive degradation of habitat and extinction of species is taking place on a catastrophically short timescale, and their effects will fundamentally reset the future evolution of the planet's biota." - Novacek & Cleland (2001) Biodiversity may be regarded as 'the number, variety and variability of living organisms' (MacDonald, 2003: 406). Whilst global variation in biological diversity has long been a source of fascination, it has recently been the basis for increasing concern (Tilman, 2000). Awareness of the extent and rate of the current biodiversity crisis (or the 'sixth extinction', as termed by Leakey & Lewin, 1996) has led to a significant re-assessment of the role of biodiversity in ecosystem functioning and the scope for policy intervention to enable its preservation, exemplified by the international ratification of the Convention on Biodiversity in 1992. The identification and analysis of spatial patterns of biodiversity has been central to conservation goals of maximum preservation at the least cost (Reddy & Davalos, 2003). The hotspots approach is one of many methods for delimiting areas of
Are the differences between radical and liberal feminism greater than what unites them?
Are the differences between radical and liberal feminism greater than what unites them? Feminism was a twentieth-century invention that has only truly become familiar on a wide scale since the 1960's. In modern society feminism is invariably linked to the women's movement and the attempt to advance the social role of women. It is thus associated with two basic fundamental beliefs: those women are disadvantaged because of their sex; and that this disadvantage should be overthrown. Feminists have highlighted what they see as a political relationship between the sexes. Essentially this comes through the supremacy of men and consequential subjection of women in most, and some would argue, in all societies. Thus the goal of tackling this inherent problem is common throughout feminism. Nevertheless feminism has been characterised by a diversity of views and political positions, and perhaps there is an argument to say that the radical and liberal approaches to feminism are so contrasting, that the differences outweigh what unites them to such an extent, that they cannot be placed together under the same ideology. Through assessing the extent to which they differ, one can thus conclude whether the uniting factors pale in insignificance. Liberal feminism's philosophical basis lies in the principle of individualism contrasting to with the notion of 'sisterhood' evoked by some radical
Has Neofunctionalism Been Superseded By A New 'Liberal Intergovernmentalism" As Currently The Most Convincing Theoretical Explanation of European Political Integration?
Has Neofunctionalism Been Superseded By A New 'Liberal Intergovernmentalism" As Currently The Most Convincing Theoretical Explanation of European Political Integration? From an ambitious project originally envisaged to remove the catastrophe of war from such a war-torn continent, the European project has proceeded in 'fits and starts'. Since its inception, there has been much debate regarding what forces drive the integration process forward. Why now, when interstate war in Europe seems impossible, do member states continue to 'pool' their sovereignty in so many areas? Two theories have dominated previous attempts to answer the question of "how and why states cease to be wholly sovereign, how and why they voluntarily mingle, merge and mix with their neighbours, so as to lose the factual attributes of sovereignty."1 Neofunctionalism, the idea that the integration process, once started, develops its own momentum for further integration, saw the height of popularity in the 1960s, following the initial success of the ECSC/EEC and the hugely influential theoretical explanation by Ernst Haas. The second theory, Liberal Intergovernmentalism, surfaced in the 1990s and was championed by Andrew Moravcsik. It saw flaws in neofunctionalist thinking and instead offered an alternative account in which the integrative process was always, and remains, in the hands of national governments;
