Key term
AQA A-Level Psychology 7182
Social Influence
Memory
Attachment
Topic overviewCaregiver-infant interactions: reciprocity and interactional synchronySchaffer's stages of attachmentMultiple attachments and the role of the fatherAnimal studies of attachmentExplanations of attachmentAinsworth's Strange Situation and types of attachmentBowlby's theory of maternal deprivation and effects of institutionalisationInfluence of early attachment on relationshipsCultural variations in attachment
Approaches in Psychology
Biopsychology
Topic overviewDivisions of the nervous systemStructure and function of neurons and synaptic transmissionThe endocrine systemThe fight or flight responseWays of studying the brainLocalisation of function and hemispheric lateralisationPlasticity and functional recovery of the brain after traumaBiological rhythms: circadian, infradian and ultradian
Clinical Psychology and Mental Health
Research Methods
Scientific Processes
Topic overviewAims and hypothesesSamplingPilot studiesExperimental designsObservational designQuestionnaire construction and design of interviewsVariablesControlDemand characteristics and investigator effectsEthicsPeer reviewImplications of psychological research for the economyReliabilityValidityFeatures of scienceReporting psychological investigations
Quantitative and Qualitative Data
Topic overviewQuantitative and qualitative data; the distinction between qualitative and quantitative data collection techniquesPrimary and secondary data, including meta-analysisDescriptive statistics: measures of central tendency and measures of dispersionPresentation and display of quantitative data: graphs, tables, scattergrams, bar chartsDistributions: normal and skewed distributionsIntroduction to statistical testing; the sign test
Data Handling and Analysis
Inferential Testing
Issues and Debates in Psychology
RelationshipsOption 1
GenderOption 1
Cognition and DevelopmentOption 1
SchizophreniaOption 2
Eating BehaviourOption 2
StressOption 2
AggressionOption 3
Forensic PsychologyOption 3
AddictionOption 3
Explanations for Nicotine AddictionOption 3
Gender
- 6 subtopics
- 25 things to know
- Paper 3
- Paper 3, one topic chosen from the first option block
What Gender covers
Gender is an optional topic for Paper 3. It covers the distinction between sex and gender, the biological basis of sex, and the cognitive and social learning accounts of how gender develops, ending with explanations of gender incongruence.
The 6 subtopics
Each one has its own page.
- Sex, gender, sex-role stereotypes and androgynyWhat separates biological sex from gender, how sex-role stereotypes are transmitted, and androgyny as measured by the Bem Sex Role Inventory.Open →
- Chromosomes and hormones in biological sexHow chromosomes determine sex before birth, the hormones that shape sexual development, and what androgen insensitivity and atypical chromosome patterns reveal.Open →
- Cognitive explanations of gender developmentKohlberg's three stages leading to gender constancy, and gender schema theory's account of how schemas direct what children notice and remember.Open →
- Psychodynamic explanation of gender developmentFreud's psychodynamic explanation of gender development: the phallic stage, the Oedipus and Electra complexes, identification and internalisation, the case of Little Hans, and the criticisms of the theory's evidence and timing.Open →
- Social learning theory as applied to gender developmentThe mediational processes behind imitation, how modelling and reinforcement produce gender-typed behaviour, and the influence of parents, peers, culture and the media.Open →
- Gender incongruenceWhat gender incongruence describes, the biological evidence offered for it, the social and cultural accounts, and the limitations of both.Open →
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
Your recallNot started
Key term
What is a sex-role stereotype and how is it passed on?
Study
What is androgyny, and how did Sandra Bem assess it?
Evaluation
Evaluate the Bem Sex Role Inventory.
Process
How do chromosomes determine biological sex before birth?
Key term
Which hormones shape sexual development, and what does each do?
Key term
What is androgen insensitivity syndrome?
Evaluation
What do atypical chromosome patterns show about biological sex?
Process
What are the three stages in Kohlberg's account of gender development?
Who and when
Why does Kohlberg say gender-typed behaviour starts only after gender constancy?
Key term
What are gender schemas, and when do they begin to form?
Process
How do schemas affect what children notice and remember about gender?
Evaluation
Evaluate cognitive accounts of gender development against social learning.
Process
According to Freud, when does gender development take place?
Key term
What is identification in Freud's explanation of gender development?
Key term
What is internalisation in Freud's explanation of gender development?
Process
Which mediational processes must occur before a gendered behaviour is copied?
Key term
How do modelling and reinforcement produce gender-typed behaviour?
Key term
How do parents and peers reinforce gender-typed behaviour?
Key term
How do culture and the media shape gender roles?
Evaluation
Evaluate the social learning explanation of gender development.
Key term
What is meant by gender incongruence?
Study
What biological evidence do researchers offer for gender incongruence?
Key term
How do social and cultural accounts explain gender incongruence?
Evaluation
What limitations apply to explanations of gender incongruence?
Take Gender further
The same content, four other ways.
Commonly confused
Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.
Sex vs Gender
Sex: the biological status of being male or female. Gender: the psychological and cultural sense of being masculine or feminine.
Gender stability vs Gender constancy
Gender stability: understanding that one's own male or female status lasts over time. Gender constancy: understanding that a change of appearance does not alter someone's sex.
Vicarious reinforcement vs Direct reinforcement
Vicarious reinforcement: learning from seeing another person rewarded or punished for a behaviour. Direct reinforcement: being personally praised or rewarded for one's own behaviour.
Questions from this topic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
What is the difference between sex and gender?
Model answer
Sex is the biological status of being male or female; gender is the psychological and cultural sense of being masculine or feminine.
- 2
What is a sex-role stereotype?
Model answer
A widely held but oversimplified belief about the characteristics and behaviours expected of males and females.
- 3
How are sex-role stereotypes transmitted?
Model answer
Through socialisation, including the influence of parents, peers, school and the media.
- 4
What is androgyny?
Model answer
Displaying a balance of both masculine and feminine personality characteristics.
- 5
Who developed the Bem Sex Role Inventory?
Model answer
Sandra Bem.
- 6
What does the Bem Sex Role Inventory measure?
Model answer
The degree to which a person is masculine, feminine, androgynous or undifferentiated.
What is inside Levo
Six ways to work the same material.
Gender revision questions
- What does Gender cover in AQA A-Level Psychology?
- 6 subtopics: sex, gender, sex-role stereotypes and androgyny, chromosomes and hormones in biological sex, cognitive explanations of gender development, psychodynamic explanation of gender development, social learning theory as applied to gender development and gender incongruence. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
- How is Gender organised?
- By the AQA 7182 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.
Every question in Gender, on a schedule.
Attempt a question from memory, write the correct version, then attempt it again. Levo records the jump between your first attempt and your last, and brings each question back on the day you are due to forget it.
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