1
AQA A LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY PAPER 3 EXAM
ACTUAL QUESTIONS AND CORRECT ANSWERS
ALREADY GRADED A+ GUARANTEED PASS
what are the main components of gender bias?
alpha bias, beta bias and androcentrism
describe institutional sexism in psychology
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
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 are the two types of gender bias?
alpha and beta bias
what is alpha bias
exaggerates differences between sexes (e.g. Freud said women were morally inferior
because they had a less developed superego)
what is cultural bias
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
, 2
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
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 beta bias
minimizes 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
when 'normal' behaviour is judged according to a male standard, so female behaviour
may be misunderstood pathologized (e.g. feminist commentators say that pre-
menstrual syndrome, PMS, is a social construct that medicalizes female emotions
while male anger is often seen as a rational response to external pressures)
evaluate gender bias
recognizing bias but contributes to stereotypes, institutional sexism, Worrell's
criteria to avoid gender bias
describe recognizing gender bias
many modern researchers are beginning to recognized 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
gender-biased research may create misleading assumptions about behaviour and
contribute to negative stereotypes and discrimination, which could provide a
, 3
scientific 'justification' for denying women opportunities in the workplace or wider
society
what is ethnocentrism
judging other cultures by the standards and values of one's own culture (e.g.
Ainsworth categorized 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
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 recognize this as a way of
avoiding cultural bias
what is an 'etic' approach
looks at behaviour from outside of a given culture and attempts to describe universal
behaviours
what is an 'emic' approach
functions from inside the culture and identifies behaviours specific to that culture
evaluate cultural bias
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
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
, 4
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
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
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
determinism
what is free will
the notion that humans can make choices and are not determined by biological or
external forces
what is determinism
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
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
what are the two types of determinism (both suggest that free will cannot explain
behaviour)
hard and soft determinism
AQA A LEVEL PSYCHOLOGY PAPER 3 EXAM
ACTUAL QUESTIONS AND CORRECT ANSWERS
ALREADY GRADED A+ GUARANTEED PASS
what are the main components of gender bias?
alpha bias, beta bias and androcentrism
describe institutional sexism in psychology
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
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 are the two types of gender bias?
alpha and beta bias
what is alpha bias
exaggerates differences between sexes (e.g. Freud said women were morally inferior
because they had a less developed superego)
what is cultural bias
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
, 2
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
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 beta bias
minimizes 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
when 'normal' behaviour is judged according to a male standard, so female behaviour
may be misunderstood pathologized (e.g. feminist commentators say that pre-
menstrual syndrome, PMS, is a social construct that medicalizes female emotions
while male anger is often seen as a rational response to external pressures)
evaluate gender bias
recognizing bias but contributes to stereotypes, institutional sexism, Worrell's
criteria to avoid gender bias
describe recognizing gender bias
many modern researchers are beginning to recognized 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
gender-biased research may create misleading assumptions about behaviour and
contribute to negative stereotypes and discrimination, which could provide a
, 3
scientific 'justification' for denying women opportunities in the workplace or wider
society
what is ethnocentrism
judging other cultures by the standards and values of one's own culture (e.g.
Ainsworth categorized 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
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 recognize this as a way of
avoiding cultural bias
what is an 'etic' approach
looks at behaviour from outside of a given culture and attempts to describe universal
behaviours
what is an 'emic' approach
functions from inside the culture and identifies behaviours specific to that culture
evaluate cultural bias
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
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
, 4
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
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
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
determinism
what is free will
the notion that humans can make choices and are not determined by biological or
external forces
what is determinism
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
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
what are the two types of determinism (both suggest that free will cannot explain
behaviour)
hard and soft determinism
