Gender & Culture in Psychology (AQA A Level Psychology)

Suggest two ways in which researchers might reduce cultural bias in their research.

Cultural relativism, ethnocentrism, holism and universality are four concepts relevant to issues and debates in psychology.

Table 1

Look at Table 1 above. 

• Which definition (A-E) best describes cultural relativism?
• Which definition (A-E) best describes ethnocentrism?
• Which definition (A-E) best describes holism?
• Which definition (A-E) best describes universality? 

In your answer book, list the four concepts and write the appropriate letter (A-E) next to each one. A letter may only be used once.

A psychologist asked men aged 25 to 35 years to keep a diary record of how many miles they walked in a week. The psychologist also asked each man to climb a flight of stairs, then took each man’s heart rate. For each man, the number of miles walked in the week was correlated with heart rate after climbing stairs. The findings showed a significant negative correlation. A national newspaper reported the findings under the headline ‘Everyone should walk for a healthy heart’.

Explain how the newspaper headline might be an example of beta bias.

A psychologist asked men aged 25 to 35 years to keep a diary record of how many miles they walked in a week. The psychologist also asked each man to climb a flight of stairs, then took each man’s heart rate. For each man, the number of miles walked in the week was correlated with heart rate after climbing stairs. The findings showed a significant negative correlation. A national newspaper reported the findings under the headline ‘Everyone should walk for a healthy heart’.

Briefly suggest one way in which psychologists might address the problem of beta bias in their research.