AQA A-LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY: PAPER 3 2024/2025 UPDATE WITH
CORRECT ANSWERS
why may bias be inevitable in research - ANSWER-because psychologists' beliefs and values are
influenced by social and historical context, yet psychology claims to have universality in its
findings (they can be applied to anyone, anywhere)
what are the two types of bias in issues and debates - ANSWER-gender and cultural bias
what is gender bias - ANSWER-the idea that research or a theory may offer a view that does not
justifiably represent the experience and behaviour of men or (usually) women
what are the main components of gender bias - ANSWER-alpha bias, beta bias and
andocentrism
what are the two types of gender bias - ANSWER-alpha and beta bias
what is alpha bias - ANSWER-exaggerates differences between sexes (e.g. Freud said women
were morally inferior because they had a less developed superego)
what is beta bias - ANSWER-minimises differences between the sexes (often occurs when
women are not included in research), assuming that finding apply equally to both genders (e.g.
Kohlberg's theory of moral development was based on an all male sample, so his vignettes were
orientated towards violence rather than dialogue)
what is androcentrism - ANSWER-when 'normal' behaviour is judged according to a male
standard, so female behaviour may be misunderstood pathologised (e.g. feminist commentators
say that pre-menstrual syndrome, PMS, is a social construct that medicalises female emotions
while male anger is often seen as a rational response to external pressures)
,evaluate gender bias - ANSWER-recognising bias but contributes to stereotypes, institutional
sexism, Worrell's criteria to avoid gender bias
describe recognising gender bias - ANSWER-many modern researchers are beginning to
recognised the effect of their own bias on their research and embrace it as a crucial and critical
part of research with some including reflection of how their gender-based experiences influence
their interpretation of events, so reflexivity may lead to greater awareness about the role of
personal biases in future research
describe how gender bias contributes to stereotypes - ANSWER-gender-biased research may
create misleading assumptions about behaviour and contribute to negative stereotypes and
discrimination, which could provide a scientific 'justification' for denying women opportunities
in the workplace or wider society
describe institutional sexism in psychology - ANSWER-there are fewer senior female researchers
so female concerns may not be reflected in research, male researchers are more likely to have
their work published, and studies that find evidence of gender differences are more likely to
appear in journal articles than those that don't
describe Worrell's criteria to avoid gender bias in research - ANSWER-women should be studied
within meaningful real-life contexts, women should genuinely participate in research rather
than being the object of study, diversity within groups of women should be studied, and a
greater emphasis should be placed on collaborative research collecting qualitative data
what is cultural bias - ANSWER-a tendency to ignore cultural differences and interpret all
phenomena through the 'lens' of one's own culture
give an example of culture bias in research - ANSWER-94% of the studies used in a 1991 social
psychology textbook were conducted in north america, and in 1992 64% of the world's
psychology researchers were american, which suggests that psychology mainly studies white
american males despite claiming that its results are universal
,describe a criticism of mainstream psychology in terms of cultural bias - ANSWER-mainstream
psychology tends to assume that the finding of western research can be applied worldwide, but
replications of studies such as Asch's and Milgram's have found very different results in different
countries, so cultural bias may lead to cultural differences in behaviour being seen as abnormal,
inferior, or unusual
what is ethnocentrism - ANSWER-judging other cultures by the standards and values of one's
own culture (e.g. Ainsworth categorised children's attachment type and suggested that 'secure'
was the ideal attachment type, however this led to mothers in other cultures/countries such as
Germany being seen as cold and rejecting rather than encouraging independence, so the
Strange Situation is an inappropriate measure of attachment type for non-US children
what is cultural relativism - ANSWER-the idea that norms, values, ethics and moral standards
can only be meaningfully understood within specific social and cultural contexts, so
psychologists should be mindful of cultural relativism in their research, and recognise this as a
way of avoiding cultural bias
what is an 'etic' approach - ANSWER-looks at behaviour from outside of a given culture and
attempts to describe universal behaviours
what is an 'emic' approach - ANSWER-functions from inside the culture and identifies
behaviours specific to that culture
evaluate cultural bias - ANSWER-universality of some behaviours but distinguishing between
individualist and collectivist cultures, participant familiarity with research, can be used to justify
discrimination
describe universality of some behaviours - ANSWER-research suggests that the basic facial
expressions for emotions e.g. happiness and disgust are the same all over the world, so not all
of psychology is culturally relative, and a full understanding of human behaviour requires the
study of both universals and variation among individuals and groups
, describe distinguishing between individualist and collectivist cultures - ANSWER-many past
studies have made a distinction between individualist (e.g. USA) and collectivist cultures (e.g.
China), however critics have suggested that this distinction is lazy and simplistic, while research
such as Osaka's (14/15 studies showed no cultural distinction between USA and Japan) may
suggest that cultural bias is now less of an issue because of globalisation
describe participant familiarity with research - ANSWER-research conducted in western cultures
assumes that participants are familiar with the general aims and objectives of scientific
research, but this knowledge may not extend to other cultures, so the importance of demand
characteristics may be exaggerated when working with a different culture, lowering the validity
of research
describe how cultural bias can be used to justify discrimation - ANSWER-during WW1
psychologists gave IQ tests to 1.75 million recruits, but many of the questions were ethnocentric
(e.g. about previous US presidents), so recruits from different cultural backgrounds (e.g.
european people) scored lower and were deemed genetically inferior, which shows how cultural
bias can be used to justify prejudice and discrimination towards ethnic/cultural groups
what is free will the opposite of - ANSWER-determinism
what is free will - ANSWER-the notion that humans can make choices and are not determined
by biological or external forces
what is determinism - ANSWER-the notion that an individual's behaviour is shaped or controlled
by internal or external forces rather than an individual's will to do something
what does free will imply - ANSWER-free will do not deny that biological and environmental
forces exert some influence on our behaviour, but implies that we are able to reject these forces
CORRECT ANSWERS
why may bias be inevitable in research - ANSWER-because psychologists' beliefs and values are
influenced by social and historical context, yet psychology claims to have universality in its
findings (they can be applied to anyone, anywhere)
what are the two types of bias in issues and debates - ANSWER-gender and cultural bias
what is gender bias - ANSWER-the idea that research or a theory may offer a view that does not
justifiably represent the experience and behaviour of men or (usually) women
what are the main components of gender bias - ANSWER-alpha bias, beta bias and
andocentrism
what are the two types of gender bias - ANSWER-alpha and beta bias
what is alpha bias - ANSWER-exaggerates differences between sexes (e.g. Freud said women
were morally inferior because they had a less developed superego)
what is beta bias - ANSWER-minimises differences between the sexes (often occurs when
women are not included in research), assuming that finding apply equally to both genders (e.g.
Kohlberg's theory of moral development was based on an all male sample, so his vignettes were
orientated towards violence rather than dialogue)
what is androcentrism - ANSWER-when 'normal' behaviour is judged according to a male
standard, so female behaviour may be misunderstood pathologised (e.g. feminist commentators
say that pre-menstrual syndrome, PMS, is a social construct that medicalises female emotions
while male anger is often seen as a rational response to external pressures)
,evaluate gender bias - ANSWER-recognising bias but contributes to stereotypes, institutional
sexism, Worrell's criteria to avoid gender bias
describe recognising gender bias - ANSWER-many modern researchers are beginning to
recognised the effect of their own bias on their research and embrace it as a crucial and critical
part of research with some including reflection of how their gender-based experiences influence
their interpretation of events, so reflexivity may lead to greater awareness about the role of
personal biases in future research
describe how gender bias contributes to stereotypes - ANSWER-gender-biased research may
create misleading assumptions about behaviour and contribute to negative stereotypes and
discrimination, which could provide a scientific 'justification' for denying women opportunities
in the workplace or wider society
describe institutional sexism in psychology - ANSWER-there are fewer senior female researchers
so female concerns may not be reflected in research, male researchers are more likely to have
their work published, and studies that find evidence of gender differences are more likely to
appear in journal articles than those that don't
describe Worrell's criteria to avoid gender bias in research - ANSWER-women should be studied
within meaningful real-life contexts, women should genuinely participate in research rather
than being the object of study, diversity within groups of women should be studied, and a
greater emphasis should be placed on collaborative research collecting qualitative data
what is cultural bias - ANSWER-a tendency to ignore cultural differences and interpret all
phenomena through the 'lens' of one's own culture
give an example of culture bias in research - ANSWER-94% of the studies used in a 1991 social
psychology textbook were conducted in north america, and in 1992 64% of the world's
psychology researchers were american, which suggests that psychology mainly studies white
american males despite claiming that its results are universal
,describe a criticism of mainstream psychology in terms of cultural bias - ANSWER-mainstream
psychology tends to assume that the finding of western research can be applied worldwide, but
replications of studies such as Asch's and Milgram's have found very different results in different
countries, so cultural bias may lead to cultural differences in behaviour being seen as abnormal,
inferior, or unusual
what is ethnocentrism - ANSWER-judging other cultures by the standards and values of one's
own culture (e.g. Ainsworth categorised children's attachment type and suggested that 'secure'
was the ideal attachment type, however this led to mothers in other cultures/countries such as
Germany being seen as cold and rejecting rather than encouraging independence, so the
Strange Situation is an inappropriate measure of attachment type for non-US children
what is cultural relativism - ANSWER-the idea that norms, values, ethics and moral standards
can only be meaningfully understood within specific social and cultural contexts, so
psychologists should be mindful of cultural relativism in their research, and recognise this as a
way of avoiding cultural bias
what is an 'etic' approach - ANSWER-looks at behaviour from outside of a given culture and
attempts to describe universal behaviours
what is an 'emic' approach - ANSWER-functions from inside the culture and identifies
behaviours specific to that culture
evaluate cultural bias - ANSWER-universality of some behaviours but distinguishing between
individualist and collectivist cultures, participant familiarity with research, can be used to justify
discrimination
describe universality of some behaviours - ANSWER-research suggests that the basic facial
expressions for emotions e.g. happiness and disgust are the same all over the world, so not all
of psychology is culturally relative, and a full understanding of human behaviour requires the
study of both universals and variation among individuals and groups
, describe distinguishing between individualist and collectivist cultures - ANSWER-many past
studies have made a distinction between individualist (e.g. USA) and collectivist cultures (e.g.
China), however critics have suggested that this distinction is lazy and simplistic, while research
such as Osaka's (14/15 studies showed no cultural distinction between USA and Japan) may
suggest that cultural bias is now less of an issue because of globalisation
describe participant familiarity with research - ANSWER-research conducted in western cultures
assumes that participants are familiar with the general aims and objectives of scientific
research, but this knowledge may not extend to other cultures, so the importance of demand
characteristics may be exaggerated when working with a different culture, lowering the validity
of research
describe how cultural bias can be used to justify discrimation - ANSWER-during WW1
psychologists gave IQ tests to 1.75 million recruits, but many of the questions were ethnocentric
(e.g. about previous US presidents), so recruits from different cultural backgrounds (e.g.
european people) scored lower and were deemed genetically inferior, which shows how cultural
bias can be used to justify prejudice and discrimination towards ethnic/cultural groups
what is free will the opposite of - ANSWER-determinism
what is free will - ANSWER-the notion that humans can make choices and are not determined
by biological or external forces
what is determinism - ANSWER-the notion that an individual's behaviour is shaped or controlled
by internal or external forces rather than an individual's will to do something
what does free will imply - ANSWER-free will do not deny that biological and environmental
forces exert some influence on our behaviour, but implies that we are able to reject these forces
