Evaluate Edexcel Psychology cultural and gender issues by identifying bias, representativeness, participant differences and how research assumptions affect conclusions.
Evaluate whether gender issues influence psychological research.
AO1 (8 marks), AO3 (12 marks)
AO1
- Androcentric is when research is centred on, or dominated by, males;
or takes only a
male viewpoint.
- Gynocentric is when research is centred on, or dominated by, females;
or takes only
a female or feminist viewpoint.
- Socialisation from early infancy is underpinned by social norms, values and
expectations of behaviour that are gender specific.
- Nomothetic laws of universality can ignore the effects of gender on how behaviours
may differ between males and females.
- Alpha bias refers to theories which exaggerate the differences between males and
females.
- Beta bias theories have traditionally ignored or minimised sex differences between
males and females.
- Neurotransmitter explanations of human behaviour are based on physiological
components that are unlikely to be affected by gender.
- Poor representativeness of gender differences in participant samples could limit
research findings.
AO3
- Milgram's (1963) research involved all male participants until experiment 8 where it
was found that females reported higher levels of stress and tension than male
participants, showing there is some difference in gender obedience.
- Wong et al. (1997) used MRI scans of 19 violent male criminals and compared the
size of the amygdala with 20 'normal' control subjects, but as their research was
confined to males the findings may not fully explain violence in females.
- Ainsworth et al. (1978) researched attachment in Baltimore, where she focussed on
infant-mother interactions as a marker of attachment type, excluding the father of
the child from her research, leading to a gynocentric focus of attachment.
- Bowlby (1944) theorised that maternal deprivation could lead to juvenile delinquency,
ignoring the role of paternal deprivation or male role models in his ideas about
bonding and children's emotional development.
- Evans and Davies (2000) researched books published in 1997 for children in school,
there were fairly equal numbers of males and females represented, but they were
gender stereotyped, so people learn to view males and females differently from an
early age and researchers may not be aware of unconscious bias in their research.
- Becker et al. (2002) has an alpha bias in sampling girls in Fiji to research the impact
of television on eating behaviours, demonstrating a gendered assumption that there
is a difference in how or whether eating disorders may affect boys in the same way.
- Chen et al. (2019) found that low expression of the MAOA gene in women was related
to greater happiness, yet no such association was found in men, so there are gender
differences between males and females that researchers should consider.
- Kohlberg's stage of moral development shows beta bias as it was based on interviews
with boys, and conceptualised morality with justice, yet Gilligan (1982) found women
tend to be focused on relationships when making moral decisions, so often appear at
a lower level of moral reasoning in Kohlberg's stages.
- It is likely that dopamine plays a part universally in schizophrenia, but how the
disorder is experienced may reflect gender differences in the D2 receptor given there
are differences in the onset for men and women.
- Rosenthal (1966) found male experimenters were more pleasant, friendly, honest,
and encouraging with female participants than with males, therefore male and female
participants may experience the research process itself very differently.
- Where studies have gender biased samples, such as Moscovici (1969) using just
female participants, the results may not be representative of male conformity,
limiting the usefulness of the findings.
- The APA reported that in the 2014-2015 academic year around 75\% of psychology
graduates were female, showing a reduction in male psychologists which may result
in a shift in the nature of research in psychology from previously male dominated.
Look for other reasonable marking points.
(20)
\begin{tabular}[t]{|l|l|l|}
\hline Level
Mark
Descriptor
\begin{tabular[t]{l}
AO1 (8 marks), AO3 (12 marks)
Candidates must demonstrate a greater emphasis on evaluation/conclusion vs knowledge and understanding in their answer.
Knowledge & understanding is capped at maximum 8 marks
\end{tabular}}
0
No rewardable material.
Level 1
1-4
Marks
\begin{tabular}[t]{l}
Demonstrates isolated elements of knowledge and understanding. (AO1)
A conclusion may be presented but will be generic and the supporting evidence will be limited. Limited attempt to address the question. (AO3)
\end{tabular}
Level 2
5-8
Marks
\begin{tabular}[t]{l}
Demonstrates mostly accurate knowledge and understanding. (AO1)
Candidates will produce statements with some development in the form of mostly accurate and relevant factual material, leading to a superficial conclusion being made. (AO3)
\end{tabular}
Level 3
9-12
Marks
\begin{tabular}[t]{l}
Demonstrates accurate knowledge and understanding. (AO1)
Arguments developed using mostly coherent chains of reasoning leading to a conclusion being presented. Candidates will demonstrate a grasp of competing arguments, but evaluation may be imbalanced. (AO3)
\end{tabular}
Level 4
13-16
Marks
\begin{tabular}[t]{l}
Demonstrates accurate and thorough knowledge and understanding. (AO1)
Displays a well-developed and logical evaluation, containing logical chains of reasoning throughout. Demonstrates an awareness of competing arguments, presenting a balanced conclusion. (AO3)
\end{tabular}
Level 5
17-20
Marks
\begin{tabular}[t]{l}
Demonstrates accurate and thorough knowledge and understanding. (AO1)
Displays a well-developed and logical evaluation, containing logical chains of reasoning throughout. Demonstrates an awareness of competing arguments and presents a balanced response, leading to an effective nuanced and balanced conclusion. (AO3)
\end{tabular}