AQA A-LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY PAPER 3
ISSUES AND DEBATES
AO3 POINTS
Gender Bias + -
Beta bias may be a good thing Socially sensitive - PMS - BESCOLL + UHLMAN
Recognising the special needs of women, eg: during pregnancy and Gender bias validates discrimination by providing scientific
after childbirth, we can give special care to women, may include justification to deny women opportunities
maternity leave/extra childcare offered. Premenstrual syndrome, medicalises female emotion, explaining it in
hormonal terms, lowers opportunity as women seen as
overemotional
Whereas male anger is seen as rational response to external
pressures
= damaging for women in the workplace
CA: there is a biological basis to stereotypes - INGALHALIKAR Differences have been interpreted as fact - MACCOBY +
We should still investigate possible biological causes for differences, JACKLIN, JOEL
INGAHALIKAR: scanned the brains of males and females and found Several gender studies have suggested girls have better verbal skills,
women have better connectivity between the 2 hemispheres allowing boys have better spatial skills, these have been presented as being
for greater multi-tasking, whereas men focus on one task hardwired into the brain
= suggests there are biological differences but we should be wary of JOEL: did brain scans and found no such sex differences
exaggerating the effect they may have on behaviour Maccoby and Jacklin’s claims have been popularised as they fit in
with the stereotype that girls are ‘speakers’ and boys are ‘doers’
= should be wary of accepting gender differences of biological facts
when they are just stereotypes
Sexism in research - MURPHY, NICHOLSON
Women are underrepresented in university departments, especially
science
Psych undergrads are more likely to be women although lecturers
are more likely to be male (MURPHY)
Research is more likely to be conducted by men which
disadvantages female ppts, males may expect women to be irrational
and unable to complete complex tasks (NICHOLSON), so women
underperform in such studies
= institutional structures and methods of psych produce
gender-biassed findings
, Research challenging gender bias is published less -
FORMANOWITZ
Analysed 1000 articles on gender bias published over 8 yrs, found
research to do with gender bias receives less funding and is
published by less prestigious journals
Fewer scholars are aware of it or apply it to their own work
= gender bias may be taken less seriously than other forms of bias
Cultural bias + -
Indigenous psychologists develop culturally relative theories CA: Not all behaviour is culturally relative
Using psychologists native to the country counters ethnocentrism, EKMAN et al. identified basic facial expressions for emotions are
allows for development of different groups of theories in different universal, Ainsworth showed imitation and interactional synchrony
countries are universal
Afrocentrism - movement proposing all black people have roots in
Africa so psych theories concerning them must be African-centred
expressing African values. Disputes view that European values are
universally appropriate descriptions of human behaviour
Psychology community today is more interconnected Socially sensitive - GOULD, IQ tests
More conferences held internationally, discussion of Can lead to prejudice, GOULD explains how the first IQ tests led to
theories/approaches, has led to more cultural relativism eugenic policies in US
ICD and DSM introduced ‘culturally bound syndromes’ to reflect Psychologists piloted first IQ tests on 1.75 mil soldiers, ethnocentric
cultural differences = minimise bias questions, like naming US presidents, Europeans scored worse than
Americans and African Americans at the bottom, led to ethnic
minorities being deemed as inferior and denied educational and
professional opportunities
(For essay do Led to more emic approaches - VAN IJEZNDOORN Emic approaches don’t allow for universal treatments
Ainsworth in Emic approaches challenge western ways of thinking, raises Although emic approaches help us understand cultures better, it is
AO1) awareness and sensitivity towards cultural discrimination more difficult to establish general laws and principles which are
AINSWORTH’s imposed etic Strange Situation led to Ijzendoorn’s easier to develop treatments for
emic study, improved knowledge of different child rearing practices
affect on attachment
ISSUES AND DEBATES
AO3 POINTS
Gender Bias + -
Beta bias may be a good thing Socially sensitive - PMS - BESCOLL + UHLMAN
Recognising the special needs of women, eg: during pregnancy and Gender bias validates discrimination by providing scientific
after childbirth, we can give special care to women, may include justification to deny women opportunities
maternity leave/extra childcare offered. Premenstrual syndrome, medicalises female emotion, explaining it in
hormonal terms, lowers opportunity as women seen as
overemotional
Whereas male anger is seen as rational response to external
pressures
= damaging for women in the workplace
CA: there is a biological basis to stereotypes - INGALHALIKAR Differences have been interpreted as fact - MACCOBY +
We should still investigate possible biological causes for differences, JACKLIN, JOEL
INGAHALIKAR: scanned the brains of males and females and found Several gender studies have suggested girls have better verbal skills,
women have better connectivity between the 2 hemispheres allowing boys have better spatial skills, these have been presented as being
for greater multi-tasking, whereas men focus on one task hardwired into the brain
= suggests there are biological differences but we should be wary of JOEL: did brain scans and found no such sex differences
exaggerating the effect they may have on behaviour Maccoby and Jacklin’s claims have been popularised as they fit in
with the stereotype that girls are ‘speakers’ and boys are ‘doers’
= should be wary of accepting gender differences of biological facts
when they are just stereotypes
Sexism in research - MURPHY, NICHOLSON
Women are underrepresented in university departments, especially
science
Psych undergrads are more likely to be women although lecturers
are more likely to be male (MURPHY)
Research is more likely to be conducted by men which
disadvantages female ppts, males may expect women to be irrational
and unable to complete complex tasks (NICHOLSON), so women
underperform in such studies
= institutional structures and methods of psych produce
gender-biassed findings
, Research challenging gender bias is published less -
FORMANOWITZ
Analysed 1000 articles on gender bias published over 8 yrs, found
research to do with gender bias receives less funding and is
published by less prestigious journals
Fewer scholars are aware of it or apply it to their own work
= gender bias may be taken less seriously than other forms of bias
Cultural bias + -
Indigenous psychologists develop culturally relative theories CA: Not all behaviour is culturally relative
Using psychologists native to the country counters ethnocentrism, EKMAN et al. identified basic facial expressions for emotions are
allows for development of different groups of theories in different universal, Ainsworth showed imitation and interactional synchrony
countries are universal
Afrocentrism - movement proposing all black people have roots in
Africa so psych theories concerning them must be African-centred
expressing African values. Disputes view that European values are
universally appropriate descriptions of human behaviour
Psychology community today is more interconnected Socially sensitive - GOULD, IQ tests
More conferences held internationally, discussion of Can lead to prejudice, GOULD explains how the first IQ tests led to
theories/approaches, has led to more cultural relativism eugenic policies in US
ICD and DSM introduced ‘culturally bound syndromes’ to reflect Psychologists piloted first IQ tests on 1.75 mil soldiers, ethnocentric
cultural differences = minimise bias questions, like naming US presidents, Europeans scored worse than
Americans and African Americans at the bottom, led to ethnic
minorities being deemed as inferior and denied educational and
professional opportunities
(For essay do Led to more emic approaches - VAN IJEZNDOORN Emic approaches don’t allow for universal treatments
Ainsworth in Emic approaches challenge western ways of thinking, raises Although emic approaches help us understand cultures better, it is
AO1) awareness and sensitivity towards cultural discrimination more difficult to establish general laws and principles which are
AINSWORTH’s imposed etic Strange Situation led to Ijzendoorn’s easier to develop treatments for
emic study, improved knowledge of different child rearing practices
affect on attachment
