Biological Psychology Questions - Assignment Example

The field of social psychology pertains to the interaction of individuals with others in society. More specifically, it is “the scientific study of how people think about, influence, and relate to one another” (Haynes, 2007, p.1). Social psychology deals with many different phenomenon that occurs within the individual that are often a product of social norms, lasting stereotypes, prejudices, or how others construct their own self-concept based on comparisons to others such as with a reference group. It pertains to how society constructs their own social identities and the lasting impact that these feelings or emotions have on certain social norms. Social psychology is concerned about the level to which an individual is willing to adapt or change their behaviors based on the opinion of others or the extent to which certain social norms make up the majority of society’s behaviors. This field identifies certain factors such as compliance, obedience, or certain helping behaviors that are either individualistic or would be a part of the group majority. One area where social psychology would be relevant to a multicultural approach in psychology is in areas of gender, or the roles that are considered acceptable for the masculine or feminine personality. Under social role theory, it is asserted that minor gender differences tend to be exaggerated by the varying gender roles that men and women entertain (Weiten & Lloyd, 2005). For example, if a female is given the role of a family caretaker, they will, over time, begin to learn nurturing behaviors over that of more aggressive behaviors commonly found in men. In certain cultures, the male and female role is distinct and there are certain social consequences for stepping outside of these roles. In some Eastern countries, those that have strict regulations regarding masculine behaviors, it would be uncommon for the female to take the role of household aggressor or the typical breadwinner in the family. Social psychology would uncover the dimensions of gender that are unique to certain regions or communities to determine how these attitudes related to gender have been constructed. Another area related to multiculturalism is business study, such as the interpersonal dimensions that make up certain organizational cultures. Social psychology tells us that there is the phenomenon of group norms, or the level to which social rewards are the outcome of obedience to these norms (faculty.uml.edu, 2007). For example, a large company might have hundreds of employees that interact, all hailing from different regions of the world, therefore the norm that is established is not necessarily based on country of origin but on how the company has evolved over time. Social psychology would show the distinct differences between organizational cultures to help identify behaviors. Finally, social psychology would be relevant to multiculturalism in areas of intimate relationships, such as with heterosexual people versus their homosexual counterparts. In some countries, it is considered offensive to have male/male relationships, while in more progressive countries the dynamics of male/male relationships are acceptable and widespread. How heterosexual versus homosexual men and women interact in these relationships based on cultural norms is a multicultural approach. Biological psychology deals more with the inherent mechanisms and structures of anatomy that categorize behaviors. Biological psychologists would typically believe that there are inherent aspects of human physiology, such as electrophysiological and biochemical mechanisms, that deal with sleep patterns, memory patterns, or even reproductive behaviors that underlie why people behave the way they do (Ahmada, 2008). Biological psychology would be concerned about brain function such as synapses and electrochemical processing and then apply these understandings to issues of behavior or personality. Where social psychology would want to identify the relationships between people and society, biological psychology first seeks to understand the organic or genetic factors that actually create certain issues such as phobic disorders, anxiety disorders, or obsessive-compulsive disorder. This field would look beyond the influential factors of environment and would begin to consider the actual dimensions of the brain or human hormones to discover behavioral traits or patterns. One area related to multiculturalism would be when measuring what causes schizophrenia in certain regions of the globe, through comparisons or studies of genetic factors that might be different, for example, in Chinese citizens as opposed to certain Western Caucasians. From an evolutionary perspective, the Chinese hail from Mongol citizens and have adapted certain biological processes and nuances that were not inherently necessary with Caucasian citizens. Certain structural abnormalities in the brain might be identified that shows a higher tendency for schizophrenia in the Caucasian research participants over that of their Mongol relatives. These observed or measured brain differences could then be applied to understand why this disorder developed before identifying how it impacts behavior in different cultures through environment or family structure. Another area of study related to multiculturalism would be in family studies, such as the process by which an individual selects their chosen mate or even the acceptability of certain communications between foreign and domestic citizens. Biological psychology might look at the biochemical factors that influence procreation in Japanese citizens while comparing these Japanese subjects to people in Europe. The neurology of brain function might be compared, perhaps through an MRI or CAT scan device, after conducting a pre-test survey about their unique cultural views on marriage and procreation. The results of these types of studies might help psychologists to better work with family counseling in different regions of the globe since they understand how the cerebrum or other sensory genetic factors play a direct role. Finally, a third area related to multiculturalism in biological psychology might measure perception by examining different age groups and the changes that occur through the aging process that define behavior and personality. In a workplace, ageism is common due to misunderstandings about self-confidence levels or intelligence quotients related to older workers. Results of studies about the biological factors that are noticeable in older workers could help businesses to better relate, such as creating more ergonomical working environments or improving visual representation of computer imagery so that the older worker is better equipped to function properly. Individualism differs from collectivism in many ways. “In individualistic societies, people are expected to look out for themselves” (Blodgett, Bakier & Rose, 2008, p.339). By this, there is generally less reliance on others in individualistic societies and personal goals and needs are usually considered more important than those of the group norm. Self-expression and personal independence are usually the focus of lifestyle and this can spill over into the workplace where team-working is less favorable than an environment where one can be rewarded and acknowledged for their unique business accomplishments. Collectivism puts a greater emphasis on family structures or organizations, where group interests are generally placed ahead of individual needs and desires (Blodgett, et al). Collectivist cultures have more respect for tradition and will often reciprocate certain favors; a bartering system where group loyalty is often common. In collectivist societies, there is usually higher influence from reference groups and respect for group norms that make-up a different type of social system than that of individualist nations. In the business environment, as one example, collectivist values might be dimensions that are found in a workplace where team projects are commonplace that require many different meetings and brainstorming sessions to uncover a solution to a unique problem. It might be an environment where individual job roles have been replaced by group function in order to maximize business outputs. It would be different if the company had specialized job roles where individuals were rewarded or punished based on their own job roles that are largely independent from others. Collectivism is not only culturally related, it can be applied to certain stages of human development. For instance, children and adolescents tend to have more collectivist values as they attempt to build their own sense of identity. They will often look toward reference groups, such as celebrities or their own peers, to find a sense of equality, belonging or even morality. They tend to gather in groups to find approval and act cooperatively based on their perceptions of an ingroup and outgroup (Weiten & Lloyd). It is not usually until later in life, young adulthood and beyond, that some collectivist values are shed and the person searches for their own self-constructed lifestyles and value systems. Individualism might also be noticeable for people in society that have rejected certain social norms in relation to prejudice and stereotyping. Individualism would be found in promotion behaviors, such as choosing to become an educator in teaching others about social injustice (Pittman, 2008) perhaps amid a culture that still considers women to be inferior to their male counterparts. An individualistic person will sometimes challenge the existing social status quo and protest in order to advance personal and unique needs over those of traditional values. Rather than promoting a strict sense of belonging, an individualist, rather than a collectivist, will help others to identify their wants and desires and help them to maximize a positive outcome that is satisfying over that of group needs. One area where cultural bias might exist would be related to language, such as the structure of words or certain slang terms that might be relevant in one region of the world but meaningless in others. Cultural bias in testing might occur when a psychologist is constructing a testing instrument, such as the questionnaire, and delivering this to a foreign population. They might, based on their own cultural bias and understandings related to their homeland, develop an inappropriate questionnaire that uses terminology considered slang to their own country. It could distort the research findings and confuse the participant groups. For example, if the psychologist were hailing from the United Kingdom, they might use terms like “bullish” instead of suggesting something inane or ridiculous, making the foreign participant believe that the term meant aggressive or cruel. The end result could be primary data results that are completely without merit or unbalanced. In this case, bias could have been avoided by considering the language factors of foreign countries and realizing not to use slang terms in research design, perhaps by making a list of these cultural bias factors when considering reliability or validity. Another example of cultural bias might be in the recruitment methods that are undertaken for a certain primary study. The researcher might have pre-existing values about the subject groups, such as a White researcher needing information about an African-American group, and therefore tend to recruit only light-skinned participants. If the study involved attitudes of pigmentation or self-concept related to different African-Americans, they could be adding bias by not considering recruitment needs. This could be avoided by avoiding segregation and selecting a more random sampling or by being responsible enough to outsource the recruitment effort to one without prejudice. Cultural bias can also existing in testing in areas of economics, such as using questions in a survey that tend to lead the participant groups. The researcher may not realize they are using concepts or terminology that cast a negative and/or positive light on issues of money and then expecting to achieve results. People in studies often try to give answers that they believe will make the researcher happy, therefore this type of bias would be avoided by simply constructing the instrument with simple, straight-forward questions that are basic and quite closed-ended. A statement such as Do you believe money is the root of all evil? would likely lead the participant to give a response that favors cultural opinion of the researcher. Cultural bias can also be unintended when it occurs. A foreign researcher might be offering a survey to Chinese citizens, failing to recognize that a certain color represents bad luck. Even the most perfectly-designed survey could have fatal flaws if the researcher does not conduct preliminary secondary or primary studies about the values of this particular culture. This is how bias would be avoided by conducting pre-testing or preliminary research to ensure the quality of the research instrument. Even though the person’s home country has no issues with red ink, it might provide rapid and undeveloped responses from the offended participant groups. Based on the volume of information available in many different domains of psychology, from sociological, biological, and mental health, world view should not be considered a valid psychological construct. Psychology has been broken down into many different fields of study in order to understand inherent mechanisms along with those that are environmental, further categorized even more by trying to relate these findings to cultures and subcultures within an established society. The world view should meet two tests to be valid: It should be rational and be consistent with what is observed (Solomon, 2010). The world view attempts to make sense of inter-related factors, while also measuring how multiple environmental and cultural factors work together in harmony; or otherwise. It attempts to bring balance to our understanding by grouping generally unrelated factors together to create a form of global prescription to areas that are highly diverse. Many of these factors are irrational, such as the presence of many different phobias and disorders, thus trying to blend the irrational does not meet the first test of world view which is rationality. There is much that is not understood about what makes people individualistic or collectivist, and there are many different studies always being conducted about cultural theory, business organizational structure, and change management, with none of these defined areas of psychological study providing solid answers, mostly just conjecture or speculation. Therefore, what is observed in one study might not always be reliable when re-tested in a similar environment. A world view would need to take this lack of consistency and give it a single, defined prescription. This is something that would be difficult to accomplish amid multiple fields of psychological study when there are still so many unanswered questions in biological psychology and social psychology, only to name a couple. For example, a recent study offered by Decety, Michalska, Akitsuki & Lahey (2008) identified youth sensitivity to viewing others who had pain inflicted upon them. Some youths showed responses at the biological level with activity in the somatosensory cortex and the supplementary motor area. In this same study, other youths showed only activity in the medial prefrontal cortex and the lateral orbitofrontal cortex, showing there are many unknowns in certain experimental participant groups. A world view would attempt to diagnose cultural similarity to sympathy or compassion that could classify or categorize all of global society as a single group. The results of this study showed there are likely inherent differences at the biochemical level, making a world view difficult to prescribe in the face of neurological differences in global society. “Leaders aspiring to be effective in multicultural environments must develop an awareness of the different dimensions of culture that will be central to their different customers or followers” (Shriberg & Kumari, 2008, p.19). This statement suggests too much diversity in follower or customer groups that make it difficult to establish a solid leadership plan or demand adaptable behaviors in order to be successful in an organization. These differences tend to make the world view, for now, unrealistic. References Ahmada, A. (2008). “History of Biological Psychology”. Retrieved August 27, 2010 from http://fac.hsu.edu/ahmada/3%20Courses/3%20Physiological/1%20PhysioNotes/History%20of%20Physiological%20Psychology.pdf Blodgett, J., Bakir, A. & Rose, G. (2008). “A test of the validity of Hofstede’s cultural framework”, The Journal of Consumer Marketing, Santa Barbara. 25(6): 339. Brown, B. & Lohr, M. (1987). “Peer group affiliation and adolescent self-esteem: An integration of ego-identity and symbolic-interaction theories”, Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 47-55. Decety, J., Michalska, K., Akitsuki, Y. & Lahey, B. (2008). “Atypical empathic responses in adolescents with aggressive conduct disorder: A functional MRI investigation”, Biological Psychology. Retrieved August 27, 2010 from http://news.uchicago.edu/images/pdf/081107.Decety_BiologicalPsy2008.pdf Faculty.uml.edu. (2007). “Social psychology – General psychology”, p.2. Retrieved August 26, 2010 from http://faculty.uml.edu/mhaynes/47.101/Lectures_Spring07/SocialPsychology.pdf Haynes, M. (2007). “Social psychology – General psychology”. Retrieved August 26, 2010 from http://faculty.uml.edu/mhaynes/47.101/Lectures_Spring07/SocialPsychology.pdf Pittman, C. (2008). “Current research in social psychology – The relationship between social influence and social justice behaviors”, New College of Florida. Retrieved August 27, 2010 from http://www.uiowa.edu/~grpproc/crisp/crisp13_20.pdf Shriberg, A. & Kumari, R. (2008). “Why Culture Matters: Leveraging Cultural Differences to Create a Business Advantage”, The Business Review, Cambridge. 10(1), pp.19-25. Solomon, J. (2010). “World Views”, Probe Ministries. Retrieved August 26, 2010 from http://www.leaderu.com/orgs/probe/docs/w-views.html Weiten, W. & Lloyd, M. (2005). Psychology Applied to Modern Life, 7th ed. Thomson Wadsworth. Read More