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ISSUES AND DEBATES - AQA A LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY (PAPER 3) EXAM QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
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ISSUES AND DEBATES - AQA A LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY (PAPER 3) EXAM QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
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ISSUES AND DEBATES - AQA A LEVELPSYCHOLOGY (PAPER 3) EXAM
QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
What is universality? (gender & culture bias) - Answer-The idea that conclusions drawn
can be applied to everyone, anywhere, regardless of time or culture.
What is bias? - Answer-Bias is a tendency to treat one individual or group in a different
way from others
What is gender bias? (gender bias) - Answer-Psychological research or theory that
offers a view that does not justifiably represent the experience and behaviour of men or
women.
What are the two types of gender bias? (gender bias) - Answer-Alpha bias
Beta bias
What is alpha bias? (gender bias) - Answer-Psychological research/theories that
exaggerate or overestimate the difference between the sexes.
What group is most likely to be affected by alpha bias? Give an example of a theory that
does so. (gender bias) - Answer-Alpha bias is more likely to devalue women in relation
to men.
E.g, the sociobiological theory of relationship formation (Wilson 1975). States that
sexual promiscuity in males is genetically determined while females who do this are
going against their nature.
What is beta bias? (gender bias) - Answer-Psychological research/theories that ignore,
minimise or underestimate differences between men and women.
Why is psychological research often beta biased? Give an example of a theory that has
this problem. (gender bias) - Answer-Beta bias often occurs when female participants
are not included as part of the research process, but it is assumed that the findings
apply to women as well as men.
E.g, the fight or flight response. Early research was based exclusively on male animals,
and was assumed to be a universal response. Taylor et al. (2000) suggested that
female biology evolved to inhibit fight or flight, shifting attention towards caring for
offspring (tending) and forming defensive networks (befriending).
What is one possible consequence of beta bias? (gender bias) - Answer-Androcentrism
Explain androcentrism. (gender bias) - Answer-If our understanding of 'normal
behaviour' is drawn from research with all-male samples, behaviour that deviates from
, this is likely to be seen as 'abnormal' or 'inferior'. Leads to female behaviour being
misunderstood, or even pathologised.
Give an example of androcentrism. - Answer-PMS - critics often claim that PMS is a
social construction which medicalises female emotions, seeing them in hormonal terms
What is the essentialist perspective on gender? (gender bias) - Answer-The essentialist
perspective on gender is that the gender difference in question is inevitable and 'fixed' in
nature.
What are the implications of gender bias? - Answer-• *It is scientifically misleading*
• *Upholds stereotypical assumptions*, and might provide a justification to deny women
opportunities where men set the standard of noramilty
• *It validates sex discrimination* - double standard in the way the same behaviour is
viewed from a male and female perspective
• *Institutional sexism creates bias in theory and research* - male researchers are more
likely to have their work published. Lack of women appointed at senior research levels
means female perspective may not be reflected in research questions asked.
Define culture (cultural bias) - Answer-The learned set of behaviours, values and norms
of a particular group.
What is cultural bias? (cultural bias) - Answer-The tendency to ignore cultural
differences and interpret all phenomena through the 'lens' of ones own culture.
What is ethnocentrism? (cultural bias) - Answer-Occurs when a researcher takes the
views or behaviour of their own culture as 'normal', and if other cultures differ from this,
views them as abnormal or deficient.
What is anglocentrism? (cultural bias) - Answer-Anglocentrism - a form of ethnocentrism
from an English/anglo-American perspective. It is common in psychological research as
many psychologists have English/anglo-American backgrounds.
What is the most common form of ethnocentric bias? - Answer-*Eurocentrism* - most
psychologists are European or North American.
What are three studies that have an ethnocentric cultural bias? (cultural bias) - Answer-•
*Goddard (1913)*. Researched intelligence of immigrants arriving in NYC, and
concluded that the majority of Russians, Jews, Hungarians and Italians were 'feeble-
minded'. Goddard ignored obvious fact that most of the immigrants had very limited
knowledge of the English language.
• *Luria (1969)*. Gave Russian rural-dwellers an IQ test ("Which is the odd one out:
hammer, axe, log, saw").
All gave wrong answer (said 'hammer', not 'log'). But, doesn't mean they have low IQ -
just looked at through a different cultural lense
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