1.1 Psychology Introduction
Levels of analysis in Psychology
The international baccalaureate (IB) psychology courses offer 3 levels of analysis, this means that we will be looking at the psychological issues such as: · A Biological level- focuses on Physiology and genetics · A cognitive level- focuses on mental processes such as memory, thinking, perception, attention. · A sociocultural level- how environment and culture affect behavior or thinking. These levels of analysis can also be illustrated with examples of gender and gender can be defined as what society and culture find appropriate for men and women to do. |
The biological level of analysis explains differences in gender behavior with genetic make-up.
The cognitive level of analysis explains gender differences with gender schema theory- that is people form mental representations of what it means to be either a boy or a girl, and these representations guide behavior. The way we perceive a person is very much related to gender. This is called social cognition.
At the sociocultural level of analysis, social learning theory explains that people learn gender behavior by watching how other people of same gender behave. This level also deals with how culture affects definitions of gender roles and may shape mental representations of gender.
The cognitive level of analysis explains gender differences with gender schema theory- that is people form mental representations of what it means to be either a boy or a girl, and these representations guide behavior. The way we perceive a person is very much related to gender. This is called social cognition.
At the sociocultural level of analysis, social learning theory explains that people learn gender behavior by watching how other people of same gender behave. This level also deals with how culture affects definitions of gender roles and may shape mental representations of gender.