AQA Psychology A Level - Issues and Debates

Topic 1 - (Issues) Gender bias

…

Define ‘gender bias’

• name the 3 ways a study can be gender biased

Gender bias - the differential treatment/representation of men and women based on stereotypes rather than real differences

• Androcentrism

• Alpha bias

• Beta bias

Define androcentrism (1)

• give some examples of this (3)

Define alpha bias (1)

• what does this mean for theories (1)

Define beta bias

• (1) what does this mean for theories (1)

• Androcentrism - study centred/focused on men (e.g. male researcher, lab study, male area of interest), often to the neglect or exclusion of women

• Alpha bias - tendency to exaggerate differences between men and women, so theories devalue one gender compared to another

• Beta bias - tendency to ignore/minimise differences between men and women (e.g all male ppts), so theories ignore questions about lives of women or generalise results of men to women

Give some examples (2) of gender biased research in psychology, and explain how they are gender biased

1. Asch’s study - 123 male US undergraduates took part in visual discrimination task, asked to determine which line was the same length as the 'standard' line > male researcher, male ppts, controlled lab study, male area of interest (social influence) = androcentric and beta biased, so gender biased.

2. Peterson et al. - women and men seeking fertility treatment given questionnaire about stress coping, women used 'confrontive coping' and emotion-focused coping, men used distancing and problem-solving coping > exaggerates differences between men and women = alpha bias, so gender biased.​

1. PEE chain - weakness

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Encourages negative stereotypes about women

P – gender-biased research creates misleading assumptions about female behaviour and encourages negative stereotypes or discriminatory practices

E – e.g. pre-menstrual syndrome diagnosis may medicalise female emotions – suggests female anger is due to hormones, but male anger is rational response to external pressures

E - shows gender bias not just methodological problem for psychological studies theories, but damages women's lives.

2. PEE chain - weakness

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Institutional sexism in psychology

P – sexism in psychological research sector as a whole, with lack of women at senior levels

E – male researchers more likely to have work published and studies finding gender differences appear more in journal articles, lab studies disadvantage women by placing them with male researcher who may label them unreasonable, irrational, etc.​

E – shows psychology may be guilty of supporting institutional sexism that creates bias in theory and research.

3. PEE chain - strength

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Reflexivity becoming more common

P – researchers beginning to recognise effect that assumptions and values have on their work

E – bias can be embraced as crucial aspect of research process, rather than threat to objectivity, e.g. including reflection on how gender-related experiences may affect researchers view on events

E – shows reflexivity is an important development for greater awareness of how personal biases shape future research

What is the solution to gender issues? (use this to conclude essay on gender issues)

Universality = the aim to develop theories that apply to all people, which may include real differences

Topic 2 - (Issues) Cultural bias

…

Define ‘culture’ (1)

• name and define the two key forms of cultural bias (2)

• give an example of a study with cultural bias (1)

Culture = rules, customs, morals and interactions that bind members of a society/collection of people

→ two key forms of bias:

1. Alpha bias – exaggerates differences in culture.

2. Beta bias – ignores/minimises cultural differences.

E.g. Milgram's study – conducted in America, only male American ppts > beta bias, so cultural bias

What are the other two main issues in culture bias?

1. Ethnocentrism

2. Imposed Etic

Define ethnocentrism (2)

Define imposed etic (2)

1. Ethnocentrism

   • judging other cultures by standards/values of one's own culture

   • belief in superiority of one's own culture, leading to prejudice and discrimination

2. Imposed Etic

   • looking at behaviour from outside a given culture and describing those behaviours as universal

   • comes as a result of ethnocentrism (an imposed etic is the research technique resulting from ethnocentric values)

Describe an example of a study which contains ethnocentrism and imposed etic

• what does it study

• how is this ethnocentric

• how is this an imposed etic

• what does this lead to

Ainsworth 'Strange Situation' study - studies only American children:

• ethnocentrism (assumes attachment is based on American culture, makes America seem superior)

• imposed etic (study is now used universally to determine attachment)

  = so is culture bias (e.g. in Germany, independent secure, but in Japan, dependent = secure)​

What are the solutions to culture bias? (2)

• describe each

Emic approach - studying within/inside certain cultures to identify specific behaviours

Cultural relativism -  idea that behaviour cannot be judged properly unless viewed in the culture it originates > reduces cultural bias​

1. PEE chain - weakness (of culture bias)

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Cultures vary less nowadays (e.g. in individualism vs collectivism)

P – categorising cultures as individualistic or collectivist no longer relevant to today's research​

E – research found 14 out of 15 studies comparing USA to Japan found no evidence of traditional distinction between individualism and collectivism

E – shows these labels are too simplistic to group certain cultures – so cultural bias may be less of an issue compared to the past

2. PEE chain - weakness (of culture bias)

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Some behaviours are universal, not culturally relative

P – imposed etics are useful reminder of culturally specific work, but not all of psychology is culturally relative​

E – some features of human behaviour are universal (universality), research suggests basic facial expressions for emotions like happiness or disgust are same for all humans and animals, features like imitation and interactional synchrony in Ainsworth's Strange Situation also universal

E – shows psychologists should do more cross-cultural research to gain full understanding of human behaviour to determine if some are universal or culturally relative

3. PEE chain - weakness (of culture bias)

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Demand characteristics in some cultures threatens validity

P – demand characteristics may be more of an issue in certain cultures

E – in Western cultures, ppts familiarity with general aims and objectives of scientific research are assumed, however this knowledge/'faith' in scientific testing may not be true for cultures without this historical experience

E – shows some cultures may not believe there is a specific way/aim to prove a theory in science, so results may be less valid

Topic 3 - (Issues) Ethical Issues

…

Name and briefly describe the four key principles of the BPS guidelines

1. Respect (dignity/worth of all people e.g. privacy)

2. Responsibility (duty to clients, general public and science of psychology to protect ppts from harm)

3. Integrity (honesty and accuracy in findings, limitations and misconduct)

4. Competence (maintain high standard in professional work).

Name the key ethical issues (6)

• name the main way of overcoming most ethical issues

1. Privacy

2. Confidentiality

3. Deception

4. Right to withdraw

5. Protection from harm

6. Informed consent

→ debriefing

Difference between privacy and confidentiality

Privacy – person's right to control flow of information about themselves (need informed consent).

Confidentiality – communication of personal info from person-to-person, trust that it is protected (e.g. using initials, not real names)​

Define socially sensitive research

• name and briefly describe the other considerations Sieber and Stanley proposed to avoid socially sensitive research (6)

Socially sensitive research = any research that might have direct social consequences for ppts or the group they represent, resulting in negative stereotypes, false assumptions, etc.

Sieber and Stanley’s considerations: (+ privacy, confidentiality, deception, informed consent)

1. Valid methodology – poor method = invalid findings, but media and public may be unaware.

2. Equitable treatment – all ppts treated in equal manner, resources vital to ppts wellbeing not withheld from one group (e.g. placebo vs real treatment).

3. Scientific freedom – duty to engage in research but not harm ppts or institutions.​

4. Ownership of data – sponsorship of research (e.g. university) or public accessibility affects ownership.

5. Values - psychologists differ in subjective (idiographic) and objective (nomothetic) approaches, so may clash with values of recipient of research.

6. Risk-benefit ratio – risks or costs minimised, but problems arise in determining risks/benefits.

1. PEE chain - weakness (of BPS guidelines)

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Indirect effects on acquaintances

P – guidelines don’t consider indirect effects on acquaintances ​

E – socially sensitive research increases potential indirect impacts of those directly linked to ppts (e.g. family, co-workers, etc.)​

E – shows current guidelines don’t protect those close to ppts, as they do not get debriefed, which may negatively affect interpersonal relationships.

2. PEE chain - weakness (of BPS guidelines)

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint:

P – current guidelines may not safeguard people adequately

E – BPS guidelines only apply to immediate ppts in research e.g. respect to ppts, responsibility to ppts, integrity to ppts, this ignores effects of socially sensitive research

E – shows BPS guidelines may not safeguard general public, despite still affecting them

3. PEE chain - weakness (of avoiding socially sensitive research)

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Avoiding socially sensitive research

P – some think avoiding socially sensitive research is the solution.​

E – however, this would result in important issues not being studied (e.g. race, gender), which would be an avoidance of responsibility.​

E – failure to represent groups is an ethical issue itself, so these groups may miss out of potential benefits of research.

Topic 4 - (Debates) Free Will and Determinism

…

Define determinism

• difference between soft and hard determinism

Determinism – behaviour is controlled by internal or external factors acting upon individual.

• Soft determinism – behaviour controlled by internal/ external factors and some influence from free will.

• Hard determinism – 'fatalism', all behaviour is predicted due to influence of internal/external factors, no free will.

Name the 4 types of determinism in psychology

1. Biological determinism

2. Environmental determinism

3. Psychic determinism

4. Scientific determinism

Define biological determinism (1)

• give an example in psychology

Biological determinism > genetic influences on behaviour, genes affect brain structure and neurotransmitters.

→ Example: one allele of COMT gene causes higher levels of dopamine = increases OCD compulsions, SERT gene causes low levels of serotonin = OCD

Define environmental determinism (1)

• give an example in psychology

Environmental determinism > previous experiences affect behaviour by classical and operant conditioning.

→ Example: Classical - Little Albert, classical conditioning schedule showed association between white rat and fear. Operant – phobias maintained through reinforcement like avoiding phobia (negative reinforcement)

Define psychic determinism (1)

• give an example in psychology

Psychic determinism > adult behaviour affected by innate drives and early experiences.

→ Example: Personality – 3 parts, Id, Ego and Superego. Psychosexual stages – oral, anal, phallic, latent, genital, fixation causes abnormality.

Define scientific determinism (1)

• give an example in psychology

Scientific determinism > belief that all events have cause, manipulating independent variable has causal effect on dependent variable.

→ Example: Johnson and Scott study – IV (man ran through room with greasy pen (low anxiety) or bloody knife (high anxiety), DV (accuracy identifying man), result = 'weapon focus', higher accuracy in low anxiety.

Define free will (2) - how is this related to law

• give an example of this in psychology

Free will:

• individual has power to make choices about their behaviour

• the basis of morality (law states normal adult behaviour is self-determined regardless of innate factors/early experiences, so held accountable).

Humanistic approach > people are free to change their lives/thinking.

→ E.g. client-centred therapy – therapist gives unconditional positive regard to client to dissolve conditions of worth, help client reach congruence with realistic ideas about ideal self to reach self-actualisation.​

1. PEE chain - strength (of determinism)

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Alignment with science and application

P – determinism is consistent with aims of science

E – the idea that behaviour is orderly/obeys laws establishes psychology with other more formal sciences, research showing the prediction of human behaviour has also led to developments in beneficial treatments/therapies e.g. psychometric drug treatment for schizophrenia ​

E – shows determinism is a more valid explanation for behaviour, such as mental illness

2. PEE chain - weakness (of determinism/strength of free will)

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Application to legal system and falsifiability

P – determinism is inconsistent with the legal system (strength for free will)

E – in a court of law, offenders are held morally accountable for their actions, also determinism is unfalsifiable - it suggests causes of behaviour always exist, even if they haven't been found yet – impossible to prove wrong

E – shows determinism doesn't always apply in real life, and it may not be very scientific

3. PEE chain - strength (of free will/weakness for determinism)

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Positive effect of believing in free will

P – free will has positive effect

E – research suggests having an internal locus of control (free will) results in good mental health, also adolescents with fatalistic views were found to be at greater risk of developing depression

E – shows believing we have free will has a positive effect on our mind and behaviour

Topic 5 - (Debates) Nature-Nurture

…

Define the nature-nurture debate

Nature-Nurture debate – argument as to whether human development is mainly due to genes or environmental influences.

Define nature (1)

• give the key aspects of the nature debate (5)

  • hereditary

  • studies into nature

  • MZ vs DZ twins

  • example of research into twins

  • evolutionary explanations

Nature – behaviour is product of innate (biological or genetic) factors.

1. Hereditary – process where characteristics are passed down from parents to offspring e.g. genetic inheritance.​

2. studies devised to uncover genetic influences on behaviour normally involve comparing family members, especially twins.

3. MZ twins - identical, share 100% of genetics. DZ twins - non-identical, share roughly same amount of genes as siblings.

4. E.g. concordance rate for schizophrenia is 40% for MZ twins, but 7% for DZ twins.

5. There are also evolutionary explanations of behaviour, suggesting behaviour is selected and reproduced for survival value.​

Define nurture (1)

• give the key aspects of the nurture debate (4)

  • define environment

  • blank slate idea

  • behaviourist belief

  • example of research into infants conditioning

Nurture – behaviour is a product of environmental influences.

1. Environment – everything outside our body, including people, events and the physical world. ​

2. the idea of infant being born as a blank slate ('Tabula Rasa' in Latin) with no knowledge is more accepted

3. suggests infants acquire everything as they experience life - belief held mainly by behaviourists

4. E.g. classical conditioning – attachment learned through association (food brings pleasure, mum brings food, so mum associated with pleasure.)​

Define the ‘interactionist approach’

Interactionist approach – view that processes of nature and nurture work together rather than in opposition.

1. PEE chain - evaluating how nature and nurture can’t be separated

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Prevention of health conditions

P – nurture helps prevent nature causing certain conditions

E – Phenylketonuria - inherited disorder that prevents amino acid phenylalanine being metabolised, resulting in brain damage, however, if condition detected at birth, infant can be given diet without phenylalanine to avert brain damage

E – shows nature and nurture work together, and effects of nurture can save/help a person suffering from a natural disorder.

2. PEE chain - evaluating how nature and nurture can’t be separated

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Diathesis-stress explanation of disorders

P – Diathesis-stress model, which is used to explain schizophrenia or phobias

E – Diathesis = biological vulnerability e.g. born with genes predisposing people to certain disorders, the expression of genes depends on experience in the form of a stressor, which triggers condition ​

E – shows nature alone is not sufficient enough cause for health condition, nurture has an effect e.g. (add disorder example)

3. PEE chain - evaluating how nature and nurture can’t be separated

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Impact of nurture on brain structure

P – study of London taxi drivers​

E – region of brain associated with spatial memory was bigger in taxi drivers than controls, which wasn't due to birth but rather hippocampi responded to increased use​

E - shows nurture can impact natural brain structure, and therefore how it works.

Give general conclusion to nature-nurture debate

Overall, nature and nurture cannot be separated, rather one may have more of an effect in certain situations. This shows interactionist approach is a more appropriate explanation for behaviour and development.

Topic 6 - (Debates) Holism and Reductionism

…

Define reductionism (2)

Reductionism

• belief that human behaviour best explained by breaking it down into smaller constituent parts

• complex phenomena best understood in terms of a simpler level of explanation

Name the levels of explanation (for reductionism) in order of complexity (5)

1. physical level (simplest level)

2. neurochemical level

3. physiological level

4. psychological level

5. socio-cultural level (most complex level)

Apply the levels of explanation to OCD (2 - physical and psychological)

• are topics like this explained well/appropriately using these levels? (1)

For OCD:

• physical level – sequence of movements when washing hands

• psychological level – obsessive thoughts

→ these topics are still too complex to be explained by one or all of the levels – too reductionist/simple

Describe the key aspects of the two main types of reductionism

• biological (3)

• environmental (3)

Biological reductionism:

1. we are made up of physiological structures/processes

2. behaviour explained through neurochemical, evolutionary and genetic influences

3. e.g. successful application in effects of psychoactive drugs – shows mental disorders like OCD/depression can be explained at biochemical level

Environmental reductionism:

1. behaviourist approach

2. breaks down complex observable behaviour into stimulus-response links measurable in lab

3. physical level, doesn't consider cognitive processes

Define holism (2)

Holism

• belief that behaviour is best explained by studying indivisible systems rather than constituent parts

• e.g. looking at the whole experience of mental disorder rather than individual features

Give three examples of where holism is seen in psychology

1. Gestalten

2. Humanistic psychology

3. Cognitive psychology

Describe the key aspects of these examples in relation to holism

• gestalten (2)

• humanistic psychology (1)

• cognitive psychology (1)

Gestalten:

1. 'the whole' in German

2. focus on perception making sense when considering the whole rather than individual elements

Humanistic psychology:

1. individual reacts as organised whole/unified identity between ideal and actual self

Cognitive psychology:

1. memory is a complex system where neurons strengthened or weakened with experience

Describe an example of holism seen in action in a study (2 points)

Holism in action → insight learning:

• chimpanzees used their arm to move distant banana using stick

• learnt this by understanding inter-relationship between elements as a meaningful whole (distance, arm, stick, banana)

1. PEE chain - weakness for reductionism (so strength for holism)

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Ignorance of other factors e.g. context

P – reductionism oversimplifies complex phenomena

E – explanations focusing on gene/neurotransmitter/neuron level don’t include effect of social context where behaviour occurs, this context may help understand meaning behind behaviour.​

E – shows reductionism only focuses on specific factors so too simple to explain behaviour due to ignorance of other important factors

2. PEE chain - strength for reductionism (so weakness for holism)

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Reliability for scientific research

P – reductionism has basis for scientific research.​

E – breaking down target behaviours allowed for operationalised variable to be created, so possible to conduct experiments and record observations (behavioural categories), e.g. behaviourist approach broke down complex learning into S-R links.​

E – shows reductionist theory is reliable for research as breaking down behaviour allows for practical and objective research.

3. PEE chain - strength

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Applicable for valid research (e.g. SPE)

P – holism has applicability to social behaviour. ​

E – effects of conformity to social roles in SPE (Stanford Prison Experiment) could only be studied by looking at interaction between ppts and behaviour of group.​

E – shows all factors and connections must be studied through holism for social behaviour/groups.

Topic 7 - (Debates) Idiographic and Nomothetic

…

Define idiographic (3 key aspects)

Idiographic:

• focuses on individuals

• uses qualitative methods

• does not seek to establish generalisations

How are qualitative methods used for an idiographic approach? (1)

• what are the methods used (3)

Qualitative methods:

• allow focus on unique cases/individuals in depth rather than general patterns of behaviour – quality over quantity of data.

• Methods used: thematic analysis, case studies, unstructured interviews

Describe three examples of idiographic research (3 points for each)

1. Humanistic approach – belief that individuals act as organised whole, not S-R links, importance of unified identity with ideal self, lack of this leads to mental disorder.

2. Allport - Jenny – Allport analysed letters (like thematic analysis) from a woman named Jenny over 12 years to study personality of this individual.

3. Little Hans - Freud – Freud did in-depth study on Little Hans' intense fear of horses, which he attributed to Hans' being afraid of his father.

Define nomothetic (3 key aspects)

Nomothetic:

• formulates general laws of behaviour based on group studies

• uses quantitative methods

• attempts to summaries differences between people through generalisations.​

How are quantitative methods used for a nomothetic approach? (1)

• what are the methods used (3)

Quantitative methods:

• are based on numbers – central tendency, dispersion, graphs, statistical analysis and groups/large samples needed

• Methods used: lab experiments, correlational analysis, questionnaires.

Describe three examples of idiographic research (3 points for each)

1. Behaviourist approach - Skinners Rats – rats in highly controlled box taught to push lever for food (pos. reinforcement), to avoid shock (neg. reinforcement) or to stop pushing lever that causes electric shock (punishment).

2. Eysenck - Psychometric Testing – measured personality/intelligence by testing large sample of people and determining normal/abnormal or personality type (EPQ).

3. Cognitive approach - HM – received surgery to reduce effects of seizures, so couldn't form new long-term memories, results generalised to normal memory.

1. PEE chain - weakness for idiographic (so strength for nomothetic)

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Unscientific methods

P – idiographic approach is unscientific and time consuming.​

E – methods are not evidence-based, so any 'findings' may be meaningless, also requires large amounts of data about one person rather than in terms of numbers of people.​

E – shows the approach lack experimental methods so may not show causal relationships.

2. PEE chain - strength for nomothetic

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: Applicability to mental illness

P – nomothetic approach has generalisations which allow for predictions.​

E – research into mental illness tend to be quantitative and allow for general laws of behaviour for mental illnesses, which helps develop effective treatment, e.g. therapy, to meet needs of all similar individuals. ​

E – shows the approach has successful applicability and research support.

3. PEE chain - method of solving debate (somewhat weakness for both)

• Point

• Evidence

• Explain

Hint: False separation between the two approaches

P – One way to solve debate is to combine approaches.​

E – may be beneficial for research to begin with nomothetic approaches, then once 'laws' made, there is more focus on idiographic understanding or vice versa e.g. Freud uses idiographic methods to study people, then used those insights to make general laws about human development in his theory of personality (nomothetic)

E – shows these two distinctions may be a false separation and research does/should use both approaches.