AQA Psychology A Level Issues and
Debates
Universality - ANSAny underlying characteristic of human beings that is capable of being
applied to all
Ekman (1989) - ANSArgued that facial expressions are an example of universality
Gender Bias - ANSWhen one gender is treated in a different way from another
Androcentrism - ANSWhen 'normal' behaviour is judged according to a male standard and so
anything which deviates from this is seen as 'abnormal'
PMS is often thought as a stereotype when in fact is a diagnosable disorder under the DSM-5
Alpha Bias - ANSPsychological theory which suggest a difference between males and females
e.g. Wilson's principle of survival efficacy
Beta Bias - ANSTheories that ignore or minimise the differences between males and females
e.g. Freud
Gender Bias - ANSEvaluation: Implications of bias- misleading assumptions of female
behaviour// Sexism within research- more likely to be published if highlighting differences
between males and females// Reflexivity- psychologists now consider this when conducting
research
Cultural Bias - ANSThe tendency to ignore the cultural differences and interpret information
through the 'lens' of our own culture ie. in 1992, 64% of the worlds psychology researchers were
American
Ethnocentrism - ANSJudging other cultures by the standards and values of one's own cultures
and in extreme cases the superiority of one e.g. Ainsworth's strange situation
Cultural Relativism - ANSThe idea that norms, values and morals can only be understood within
a specific social and cultural context
Berry (1969) - ANSDistinguished between etic and emic
Etic - ANSLooks at behaviour outside of a culture and attempts to describe those behaviours as
universal
, Emic - ANSLooks at behaviours within a certain culture an describes behaviour within that
culture
Cultural Bias - ANSEvaluation: Individualism and collectivism// Relativism vs universality//
Unfamiliarity with research tradition
Free Will - ANSThe notion that human being can make choices that are not determined by
biological or external forces
Determinism - ANSThe idea that behaviour is controlled by internal forces e.g. genetics or
external forces e.g. conditioning
Hard determinism - ANSImplies free will is not possible as our behaviour is always caused by
events beyond our control, sometimes called fatalism
Soft determinism - ANSFirst put forward by James (1890): All events have causes but we can
also control our conscious choices in the absence of coercion
Biological determinism - ANSThe belief that behaviour is caused by biological influences we
cannot control
Environmental determinism - ANSThe idea that behaviour is caused by features of our
environment
Psychic determinism - ANSThe idea that behaviour is caused by internal conflicts we cannot
control
Evaluation of determinism - ANSAdvantages: compatible with aims of science with the ideas of
general laws
Applications in the development of therapies and medication e.g. antipsychotics for
schizophrenia
Schizophrenia shows we do not have complete free will- who would choose?
Disadvantages: Inconsistent with our legal system
Unfalsifiable- impossible to prove wrong
Evaluation of free will - ANSAdvantages: we feel like we are in control of decisions giving it face
validity
Internal LOC are more mentally healthy
Disadvantages: Libet (1985) found that simple decisions e.g. which hand to press a button with
were decided before we were conscious of the task
At least some are determined
Roberts (2000) - ANSFound people with an internal LOC were more mentally healthy ie. less
likely to develop depression
Debates
Universality - ANSAny underlying characteristic of human beings that is capable of being
applied to all
Ekman (1989) - ANSArgued that facial expressions are an example of universality
Gender Bias - ANSWhen one gender is treated in a different way from another
Androcentrism - ANSWhen 'normal' behaviour is judged according to a male standard and so
anything which deviates from this is seen as 'abnormal'
PMS is often thought as a stereotype when in fact is a diagnosable disorder under the DSM-5
Alpha Bias - ANSPsychological theory which suggest a difference between males and females
e.g. Wilson's principle of survival efficacy
Beta Bias - ANSTheories that ignore or minimise the differences between males and females
e.g. Freud
Gender Bias - ANSEvaluation: Implications of bias- misleading assumptions of female
behaviour// Sexism within research- more likely to be published if highlighting differences
between males and females// Reflexivity- psychologists now consider this when conducting
research
Cultural Bias - ANSThe tendency to ignore the cultural differences and interpret information
through the 'lens' of our own culture ie. in 1992, 64% of the worlds psychology researchers were
American
Ethnocentrism - ANSJudging other cultures by the standards and values of one's own cultures
and in extreme cases the superiority of one e.g. Ainsworth's strange situation
Cultural Relativism - ANSThe idea that norms, values and morals can only be understood within
a specific social and cultural context
Berry (1969) - ANSDistinguished between etic and emic
Etic - ANSLooks at behaviour outside of a culture and attempts to describe those behaviours as
universal
, Emic - ANSLooks at behaviours within a certain culture an describes behaviour within that
culture
Cultural Bias - ANSEvaluation: Individualism and collectivism// Relativism vs universality//
Unfamiliarity with research tradition
Free Will - ANSThe notion that human being can make choices that are not determined by
biological or external forces
Determinism - ANSThe idea that behaviour is controlled by internal forces e.g. genetics or
external forces e.g. conditioning
Hard determinism - ANSImplies free will is not possible as our behaviour is always caused by
events beyond our control, sometimes called fatalism
Soft determinism - ANSFirst put forward by James (1890): All events have causes but we can
also control our conscious choices in the absence of coercion
Biological determinism - ANSThe belief that behaviour is caused by biological influences we
cannot control
Environmental determinism - ANSThe idea that behaviour is caused by features of our
environment
Psychic determinism - ANSThe idea that behaviour is caused by internal conflicts we cannot
control
Evaluation of determinism - ANSAdvantages: compatible with aims of science with the ideas of
general laws
Applications in the development of therapies and medication e.g. antipsychotics for
schizophrenia
Schizophrenia shows we do not have complete free will- who would choose?
Disadvantages: Inconsistent with our legal system
Unfalsifiable- impossible to prove wrong
Evaluation of free will - ANSAdvantages: we feel like we are in control of decisions giving it face
validity
Internal LOC are more mentally healthy
Disadvantages: Libet (1985) found that simple decisions e.g. which hand to press a button with
were decided before we were conscious of the task
At least some are determined
Roberts (2000) - ANSFound people with an internal LOC were more mentally healthy ie. less
likely to develop depression
