AQA A level Psychology
- Paper 3 topics
1. Gender vbias: vPsychologists vseek vuniversality vbut vbias vmay vbe vinevitable v(social vhistorical vcontexts) vGender vbias
…ANS… vpsychological vtheory/research vnot vaccurately vrepresent vexperience/behaviour vof vmen v+ vwomen
Alpha vbias: vditterences vexaggerated, vdevalue vwomen
E.g. vFreud v= vgenuine vpsychological vditterences vdue vto vphysiological vditterences vGirls
vsutter vfrom v'penis venvy', vfemininity vis vfailed vmasculinity
Beta vbias: vditterences vminimised, vneeds vof vwomen vignored
E.g. vfight vor vflight vresearch v= vmale vonly vsample, vassumed vwould vbe vapplicable, vTaylor vet val: vtend vand vbefriend v(governed v by voxytocin)
Androcentrism: vmale vbehaviour vseen vas vnormal, vdeviations vseen vas vabnormal/inferior vFemale
vbehaviour vmisunderstood/pathologised
E.g. vfeminists vobject vto vPMS, vmedicalises vfemale vemotions vby vexplaining vin vhormonal vterms v(Male vanger voften vseen vas vrational vresponse vto
vexternal vpressures)
v v
,2. Gender vbias v(- vin vpsych vresearch)v
…ANS… May vcreate vmisleading vassumptions vabout vfemale vbehaviour/val- vidate vdiscriminatory vpractices
Scientific vjustification vto vdeny vopportunities v(e.g. vdue vto vPMS) v Damaging
vconsequences von vlives/prospects
3. Gender vbias v(- vpromotes vsexism vin vresearch vprocess)
v…ANS… Lack vof vwomen vat vsenior vresearch vlevel v= vfemale vconcerns vnot vreflected vin vresearch vquestions vasked
Men vmore vlikely vto vbe vpublished
Female vppts vin vinequitable vrelationship vwith vresearcher v(power vto vlabel virrational/unable vto vcomplete vtasks) vConstitutional vsexism v-
vcreates vbias vin vtheory/research
4. Gender vbias v(+ vfeminist vpsychologists vsuggest vhow vto vavoid): vWorrell v& vRemer
…ANS… vStudied vwithin vmeaningful vreal vlife vcontexts
Participate vinstead vof vobjects vof vstudy
Study vdiversity vwithin vgroups vof vwomen vrather vthan vcomparisons vto vmen vCollaborative
vresearch vmethods v(qualitative vdata)
Preferable/less vbiased
5. Cultural v biasv
…ANS… Psych vclaims vto vunearth vuniversal vtruths vbut vmay vonly vapply vto vparticular vgroups vstudied
v v
,Wrongly vassumed vwestern vfindings vwould vapply vall vover vthe vworld
E.g. vconformity v(Asch) vand vobedience v(Milgram) vproduced vditterent vresults voutside vof vUS vStandard/norm vfor
vbehaviour vjudged vfrom vone vculture v= vcultural vditterences vseen vas vabnormal
Ethnocentrism: vbelief vin vsuperiority vof vown vculture
Behaviour vthat vdoesn't vconform vto vWestern vmodel v= vdeficient
E.g. vAinsworth's vstrange vsituation v(American vnorms/values, vseparation vanxiety vdefining, vsecure v= videal, vGerman vmothers vlabelled vcold/rejecti
vinappropriate vmeasure vfor vnon-US vchildren)
Cultural vrelativism vmay vhelp vreduce vbias
Facts/things vonly vmake vsense vfrom vperspective vof vculture vwithin vwhich vdiscovered
Berry:
Etic vapproach: vlooking vat vbehaviours voutside vof vculture vand videntifying vuniversal vEmic vapproach:
vlooking vat vbehaviour vwithin vculture vand videntifying vculturally vspecific
Imposed vetic: ve.g. vAinsworth vstudies vwithin vsingle vculture vand vassumed vcould vbe vapplied vuniversally
6. Cultural vbias v(- vdistinction vbetween vindividuaism/collectivism)
v…ANS… Value vofvindividual/in- vdependence vvs vvalue vofgroup/interdependence
Lazy/simplistic vdistinction, vno vlonger vapplies
Takano v& vOsaka: v14/15 vstudies vcomparing vUS vand vJapan vfound vno vevidence vof vdistinction vbetween vculture vtypes vForm vof
vcultural vbias vless vof vissue vthan vonce vwas
v v
, 7. Cultural vbias v(recognition vof vboth vrelativism/universals)
…ANS… vImposed vetic vshows vculturally vspecific vnature vof vpsychology
Should vnot vassume vall vpsychology vis vculturally vrelative/no vsuch vthing vas vuniversal vbehaviour vEkman:
vbasic vfacial vexpressions vfor vemotions vsame vall vover vhuman/animal vworld vAttachment vbehaviours
vuniversal v(imitation/interactional vsynchrony)
Full vunderstanding vrequires vstudy vof vboth vuniversals/variations vamong vindividuals/groups
8. Cultural vbias v(cross-cultural vresearch vprone vto vdemand vcharacteristics)
…ANS… vWestern vcultures: vfamiliarity vwith vaims/objectives vof vscientific venquiry vassumed
Cultures vwithout vhistorical vexperience vof vresearch, vlocal vpopulations vmore vattected vby vdemand vcharacteristics vUnfamiliarity vwith vresearc
vtradition vthreatens vvalidity vof voutcomes
v v
- Paper 3 topics
1. Gender vbias: vPsychologists vseek vuniversality vbut vbias vmay vbe vinevitable v(social vhistorical vcontexts) vGender vbias
…ANS… vpsychological vtheory/research vnot vaccurately vrepresent vexperience/behaviour vof vmen v+ vwomen
Alpha vbias: vditterences vexaggerated, vdevalue vwomen
E.g. vFreud v= vgenuine vpsychological vditterences vdue vto vphysiological vditterences vGirls
vsutter vfrom v'penis venvy', vfemininity vis vfailed vmasculinity
Beta vbias: vditterences vminimised, vneeds vof vwomen vignored
E.g. vfight vor vflight vresearch v= vmale vonly vsample, vassumed vwould vbe vapplicable, vTaylor vet val: vtend vand vbefriend v(governed v by voxytocin)
Androcentrism: vmale vbehaviour vseen vas vnormal, vdeviations vseen vas vabnormal/inferior vFemale
vbehaviour vmisunderstood/pathologised
E.g. vfeminists vobject vto vPMS, vmedicalises vfemale vemotions vby vexplaining vin vhormonal vterms v(Male vanger voften vseen vas vrational vresponse vto
vexternal vpressures)
v v
,2. Gender vbias v(- vin vpsych vresearch)v
…ANS… May vcreate vmisleading vassumptions vabout vfemale vbehaviour/val- vidate vdiscriminatory vpractices
Scientific vjustification vto vdeny vopportunities v(e.g. vdue vto vPMS) v Damaging
vconsequences von vlives/prospects
3. Gender vbias v(- vpromotes vsexism vin vresearch vprocess)
v…ANS… Lack vof vwomen vat vsenior vresearch vlevel v= vfemale vconcerns vnot vreflected vin vresearch vquestions vasked
Men vmore vlikely vto vbe vpublished
Female vppts vin vinequitable vrelationship vwith vresearcher v(power vto vlabel virrational/unable vto vcomplete vtasks) vConstitutional vsexism v-
vcreates vbias vin vtheory/research
4. Gender vbias v(+ vfeminist vpsychologists vsuggest vhow vto vavoid): vWorrell v& vRemer
…ANS… vStudied vwithin vmeaningful vreal vlife vcontexts
Participate vinstead vof vobjects vof vstudy
Study vdiversity vwithin vgroups vof vwomen vrather vthan vcomparisons vto vmen vCollaborative
vresearch vmethods v(qualitative vdata)
Preferable/less vbiased
5. Cultural v biasv
…ANS… Psych vclaims vto vunearth vuniversal vtruths vbut vmay vonly vapply vto vparticular vgroups vstudied
v v
,Wrongly vassumed vwestern vfindings vwould vapply vall vover vthe vworld
E.g. vconformity v(Asch) vand vobedience v(Milgram) vproduced vditterent vresults voutside vof vUS vStandard/norm vfor
vbehaviour vjudged vfrom vone vculture v= vcultural vditterences vseen vas vabnormal
Ethnocentrism: vbelief vin vsuperiority vof vown vculture
Behaviour vthat vdoesn't vconform vto vWestern vmodel v= vdeficient
E.g. vAinsworth's vstrange vsituation v(American vnorms/values, vseparation vanxiety vdefining, vsecure v= videal, vGerman vmothers vlabelled vcold/rejecti
vinappropriate vmeasure vfor vnon-US vchildren)
Cultural vrelativism vmay vhelp vreduce vbias
Facts/things vonly vmake vsense vfrom vperspective vof vculture vwithin vwhich vdiscovered
Berry:
Etic vapproach: vlooking vat vbehaviours voutside vof vculture vand videntifying vuniversal vEmic vapproach:
vlooking vat vbehaviour vwithin vculture vand videntifying vculturally vspecific
Imposed vetic: ve.g. vAinsworth vstudies vwithin vsingle vculture vand vassumed vcould vbe vapplied vuniversally
6. Cultural vbias v(- vdistinction vbetween vindividuaism/collectivism)
v…ANS… Value vofvindividual/in- vdependence vvs vvalue vofgroup/interdependence
Lazy/simplistic vdistinction, vno vlonger vapplies
Takano v& vOsaka: v14/15 vstudies vcomparing vUS vand vJapan vfound vno vevidence vof vdistinction vbetween vculture vtypes vForm vof
vcultural vbias vless vof vissue vthan vonce vwas
v v
, 7. Cultural vbias v(recognition vof vboth vrelativism/universals)
…ANS… vImposed vetic vshows vculturally vspecific vnature vof vpsychology
Should vnot vassume vall vpsychology vis vculturally vrelative/no vsuch vthing vas vuniversal vbehaviour vEkman:
vbasic vfacial vexpressions vfor vemotions vsame vall vover vhuman/animal vworld vAttachment vbehaviours
vuniversal v(imitation/interactional vsynchrony)
Full vunderstanding vrequires vstudy vof vboth vuniversals/variations vamong vindividuals/groups
8. Cultural vbias v(cross-cultural vresearch vprone vto vdemand vcharacteristics)
…ANS… vWestern vcultures: vfamiliarity vwith vaims/objectives vof vscientific venquiry vassumed
Cultures vwithout vhistorical vexperience vof vresearch, vlocal vpopulations vmore vattected vby vdemand vcharacteristics vUnfamiliarity vwith vresearc
vtradition vthreatens vvalidity vof voutcomes
v v
