Psychology A level
Paper 3
Issues and debates in Psychology
• Gender and culture in Psychology – universality and bias. Gender bias including androcentrism and alpha and
beta bias; cultural bias, including ethnocentrism and cultural relativism.
• Free will and determinism: hard determinism and soft determinism; biological, environmental and psychic
determinism. The scientific emphasis on causal explanations.
• The nature-nurture debate: the relative importance of heredity and environment in determining behaviour;
the interactionist approach.
• Holism and reductionism: levels of explanation in Psychology. Biological reductionism and environmental
(stimulus-response) reductionism.
• Idiographic and nomothetic approaches to psychological investigation.
• Ethical implications of research studies and theory, including reference to social sensitivity.
, Gender in Psychology – universality and bias. Gender bias including androcentrism and alpha and beta bias failure
to consider adequately differences between men and women can lead to gender bias
• historically in psychology there has been predominance of research based on samples of men
• researchers might have different expectations of men and women, which might then affect research
outcomes
Alpha bias – overemphasises differences between men and women
Beta bias – ignores / underestimates differences between men and women
• overemphasis on importance of biology as the driver of behaviour.
Androcentrism – research/ideas/theories that are centred on males - assume they are the standard
Link to topic Link to topic
Psychodynamic approach – Freud: ‘penis envy’ Many studies androcentric – assuming male behaviours
(femininity as a failed form of masculinity; women’s is the standard and centre. Replications of Milgram’s
behaviours is explained in terms of their lack of research tend to show women do not obey as much as
maleness)à Minimising the whole gender men.
Kilham & Mann (1974) tested gender differences in
Psychodynamic explanations of crime – women do not obedience among Australian students. They replicated
suffer the same oedipal conflict as boys so have an Milgram's study but found that only 16% of women
underdeveloped superego and therefore depending on obeyed compared to 40% of men
men to make fair moral decisions. Can provide more
modern psychoanalytical theories such as Electra and Kohlberg’s theory of moral development – developed
possible womb envy. based on an all-male sample
à Gilligan later proposed that women tend to be more
focused on relationships when making moral decisions
so appear to be at a lower level of moral reasoning in
Kohlberg’s system à difference ignored
Discussion of research - RWA How to reduce the bias
Important to understand gender differences as there • Education and awareness
are serious real-world applications. If drugs, therapies, • Representation in sample
medications are not thoroughly tested on both genders • Representation in researchers
this can potentially cause harm. • Peer review process involved to check research
proposals to prevent full scale research taking
Stress research into fight or flight for example is often place which is bias towards a gender and also
focused on men which then leaves women without peers to check full studies to prevent
adequate care publication of bias findings.
à Taylor et al – evidence that females produce a tend-
and-befriend response
Research into the effects of postpartum depression is
largely focused on women, potentially missing men that
need support as well.
Paper 3
Issues and debates in Psychology
• Gender and culture in Psychology – universality and bias. Gender bias including androcentrism and alpha and
beta bias; cultural bias, including ethnocentrism and cultural relativism.
• Free will and determinism: hard determinism and soft determinism; biological, environmental and psychic
determinism. The scientific emphasis on causal explanations.
• The nature-nurture debate: the relative importance of heredity and environment in determining behaviour;
the interactionist approach.
• Holism and reductionism: levels of explanation in Psychology. Biological reductionism and environmental
(stimulus-response) reductionism.
• Idiographic and nomothetic approaches to psychological investigation.
• Ethical implications of research studies and theory, including reference to social sensitivity.
, Gender in Psychology – universality and bias. Gender bias including androcentrism and alpha and beta bias failure
to consider adequately differences between men and women can lead to gender bias
• historically in psychology there has been predominance of research based on samples of men
• researchers might have different expectations of men and women, which might then affect research
outcomes
Alpha bias – overemphasises differences between men and women
Beta bias – ignores / underestimates differences between men and women
• overemphasis on importance of biology as the driver of behaviour.
Androcentrism – research/ideas/theories that are centred on males - assume they are the standard
Link to topic Link to topic
Psychodynamic approach – Freud: ‘penis envy’ Many studies androcentric – assuming male behaviours
(femininity as a failed form of masculinity; women’s is the standard and centre. Replications of Milgram’s
behaviours is explained in terms of their lack of research tend to show women do not obey as much as
maleness)à Minimising the whole gender men.
Kilham & Mann (1974) tested gender differences in
Psychodynamic explanations of crime – women do not obedience among Australian students. They replicated
suffer the same oedipal conflict as boys so have an Milgram's study but found that only 16% of women
underdeveloped superego and therefore depending on obeyed compared to 40% of men
men to make fair moral decisions. Can provide more
modern psychoanalytical theories such as Electra and Kohlberg’s theory of moral development – developed
possible womb envy. based on an all-male sample
à Gilligan later proposed that women tend to be more
focused on relationships when making moral decisions
so appear to be at a lower level of moral reasoning in
Kohlberg’s system à difference ignored
Discussion of research - RWA How to reduce the bias
Important to understand gender differences as there • Education and awareness
are serious real-world applications. If drugs, therapies, • Representation in sample
medications are not thoroughly tested on both genders • Representation in researchers
this can potentially cause harm. • Peer review process involved to check research
proposals to prevent full scale research taking
Stress research into fight or flight for example is often place which is bias towards a gender and also
focused on men which then leaves women without peers to check full studies to prevent
adequate care publication of bias findings.
à Taylor et al – evidence that females produce a tend-
and-befriend response
Research into the effects of postpartum depression is
largely focused on women, potentially missing men that
need support as well.
