AO1 Gender Bias:
Research may favour one gender.
Male behaviour seen as norm.
Female behaviour judged abnormal.
Alpha bias: exaggerates differences.
Beta bias: ignores differences.
Androcentrism: male-centred view.
Male samples often generalised.
AO3 Gender bias
✔ Feminist psychology reduced bias
✖ Bias promoted sexism
✖ Women underrepresented
✔ Bias now recognised
AO1 culture bias
Research based on Western samples.
Findings claimed universal to all.
Other cultures judged abnormal.
Ethnocentrism: Western norms applied.
Cultural relativism: behaviour culture-specific.
AO3 Culture Bias
✔ Cross-cultural research reduces bias
✔ Indigenous psych increases validity
✖ Bias causes misdiagnosis
✖ Leads to stereotyping
✔ Bias increasingly recognised
AO1 Determinism
Behaviour caused by internal/external forces.
Free will is limited or absent.
Hard determinism: no free will.
Soft determinism: some choice.
Biological: genes, brain control.
Environmental: learning, upbringing.
Psychic: unconscious drives.
AO3 Determinism
✔ Drug success supports biology
✔ Soft determinism compromise
✖ Challenges legal responsibility
✖ Reduces personal control
✔ Interactionist supported
AO1 Free Will
-Humans choose behaviour freely.
Self-determining not controlled.
Humanistic approach supports.
Maslow: choice enables growth.
Rogers: therapy needs choice.
AO3 free will
✔ Subjective choice experience
✔ Positive wellbeing effects
✖ Behaviourist determinism challenge
✖ Neuroscience shows pre-decisions
✖ May be illusion of control
AO1 Nature and Nurture debate
Nature: behaviour from genes.
Twin/family studies support.
Evolution selects survival traits.
Nurture: behaviour learned.
Conditioning and environment shape.
Interaction: both influence behaviour.
Diathesis–stress and epigenetics.
AO3 Nature vs Nurture
✔ Real-world applications
✔ Interactionist understanding
✖ Led to eugenics abuse
✖ Nature–nurture inseparable
✔ Adoption/twin evidence
AO1 Reductionism
Behaviour explained in parts.
Complex behaviour simplified.
Biological reductionism: genes/brain.
Environmental reductionism: learning.
Ignores whole person.
AO3 Reductionism
✔ Scientific measurable explanations
✔ Enables effective drug treatments
✖ Oversimplifies behaviour
✖ Ignores other influences
✖ Not effective for all
AO1 Holism
Behaviour too complex to reduce.
Whole person must be studied.
Humanistic psychology holistic.
Uses qualitative methods.
Behaviour from interacting factors.
Examples: MAOA, social influence.
AO3 HOLISM
✔ Complete understanding behaviour
✔ Explains situational effects
✖ Hard identify key factors
✖ Lacks scientific evidence
✔ Humanistic therapy effective
AO1 Nomothetic approach
Aims for general laws.
Predicts and controls behaviour.
Scientific, objective methods.
Uses large samples.
Examples: DSM, experiments.
AO3 nomothetic
✔ Scientific and objective
✔ Predicts behaviour well
✔ Quick large data
✖ Ignores individuality
✔ Complements idiographic
AO1 Idiographic
Focuses on individuals.
Emphasises uniqueness.
No generalisation aim.
Subjective, qualitative data.
Rich personal detail.
Examples: humanistic, case studies.
AO3 idiographic
✔ Rich detailed insight
✔ Generates new theories
✔ Explains individuals
✖ Lacks scientific rigour
✖ Subjective unreliable data
AO1 Ethical implications and social sensitivity
Research affects society/individuals.
Topics may be controversial.
Issues: privacy, deception, harm.
Includes vulnerable groups.
Must avoid bias.
Careful method and use.
AO3 Ethical implications and social sensitivity
✔ Ethical guidelines protect people
✔ Can benefit groups studied
✖ Risks stigma/misuse
✖ Some topics avoided
✔ Cost–benefit evaluation used.
