Issues and Debates in Psychology

Contemporary Issues in Psychology: Cultural Bias

Issues and debates in psychology are key topics that cover various issues in psychological research and some of the philosophical debates that influence such research. Cultural bias is a modern example of a debate currently being discussed in psychological research.

Cultural bias in psychology is when research, findings or theories from one culture are applied to another, often assuming the first culture is the 'correct' to be applied to other cultures. Cultural bias in psychology can impact the validity and reliability of results.

It is important to study the different types of cultural biases so that we can identify them in psychological research. The concepts we cover in cultural bias are:

• Ethnocentrism - Refers to the belief or assumption that one culture's ideas, values and practices are 'natural' and 'correct'.
• Cultural relativism - Refers to the consideration of values, practices or norms within each culture individually and in its own context. It can be used to reduce ethnocentrism.
• Cross-cultural psychology - Also known as cross-cultural research, cross-cultural psychology looks at the influence of cultural factors on behaviour. Studying behaviours across cultures helps researchers understand which behaviours are innate and which are learned.

Evaluation of Gender Bias in Psychology: Issues and Debates

Gender bias in psychology is the perception or treatment of one gender in a more or less favourable way than another based on stereotypes. Gender bias in psychology can impact the validity and reliability of results. It is important to study the different types of gender bias so that we can identify them in psychological research. The types of gender bias we will cover are:

• Alpha bias - Refers to exaggerating the differences between men and women.
• Beta bias - Refers to the minimisation of differences between men and women.
• Androcentrism - A type of beta bias that refers to the perception of male thinking and behaviour as 'normal'.
• Gynocentrism - A type of beta bias that refers to the perception of female thinking and behaviours as 'normal'.

Fig. 2 - Gender bias can affect research results.

Themes, Issues and Debates in Psychology

Themes tend to exist in many areas of study. Let us now look at some of the other issues and debates in psychology that are more philosophical in nature.

Free Will and Determinism

The debate about free will versus determinism is concerned with the extent to which our thoughts and behaviours are influenced by uncontrollable factors. Those who believe in free will argue that humans are not influenced by external factors and can make their own decisions autonomously.

Believers in free will acknowledge that external factors may affect our behaviour, but ultimately individuals decide how to respond to these.

On the other hand, supporters of determinism argue that human beings cannot exercise free will because our behaviour results from internal and external forces.

There are two types of determinism:

• Hard determinism is the view that our behaviour results from factors beyond our control, such as biology or experiences. Free will is an illusion. Hard determinism includes biological, psychic, and environmental determinism.
• Soft determinism is the view that our behaviour results from factors beyond our control, but a degree of free will remains. We still retain some elements of free will. For example, being born into a poor family is an environmental constraint, but choosing to steal is an example of free will.

Fig. 3 - According to the free will debate, free will can be influenced by external factors, but we decide how to respond.

Reductionism and Holism

The debate about reductionism versus holism concerns the best way to understand and study human behaviour. Holism is the view that human behaviour cannot be broken down into smaller components and so should be studied as a whole. Reductionism believes that human behaviour should be broken down into smaller components to understand it.

There are two types of reductionism:

• Biological reductionism refers to the reduction of behaviour into physiological structures. This includes genetics, hormones, and brain activity.
• Environmental reductionism refers to the reduction of behaviour to 'a response to a stimulus'.

The Nature vs Nurture Debate

The nature vs nurture debate in psychology is concerned with the source of the formation of a person's characteristics and behaviour. It studies whether these characteristics result from our nature (genetics) or nurture (environment).

Traditionally, the debate has taken an either-or approach; however, it has changed over time to adopt an interactionist approach. This approach studies how nature and nurture work together rather than how they compete. We will study the impact of the interactionist approach on the debate.

Issues, Debates and Approaches in Psychology

There are many perspectives explored in psychological research, which can make comparing and generalising results from different approaches difficult, especially if two approaches contradict one another. It's important that research carefully navigates the different perspectives to best present its argument to the public and other researchers.

Idiographic and Nomothetic Approaches

The debate about idiographic and nomothetic approaches concerns how research is carried out in psychology. The idiographic approach focuses on individuals and their experiences of human behaviour. This approach uses qualitative methods to study human behaviour.

The nomothetic approach takes the view that there are general laws about human behaviour that can be studied using groups of people. This approach uses quantitative methods to study human behaviour.

Ethics and Socially Sensitive esearch

The debate about ethics and socially sensitive research concern the ethical implications of research studies and theory on participants. It is also concerned with how the findings of studies may affect the public.

• The 'ethical implications of research studies' consider distress felt by participants due to the nature of some experiments and their findings. They also consider whether participants gave informed consent to an experiment. This is especially relevant when an experiment requires the researcher to withhold information from participants.
• The 'ethical implications of theories' consider whether some theories about humans and human behaviour affect how people see themselves and others.
• Socially sensitive research considers several factors that researchers should consider before conducting research or developing a theory. Such factors include the research question, methodology, context of the research, and potential interpretations and applications of findings.

Fig. 4 - Research must be well thought out to follow ethical guidelines.

Issues and Debates in Cognitive Psychology

Cognitive psychology studies mental processes, including memory and how people process information. As an example of one approach in psychology, cognitive research has an issue in that research cannot be observed directly, leading to debates on applying theories to people in the real world.

Another issue not necessarily only related to a cognitive approach to psychology is that other approaches and explanations are little considered in research. Like with the interactionist approach, someone's behaviour could be due to a mix of biological, cognitive and social reasons.