Lesson 3.6.1

3.6.1 Issues and debates in biological psychology Quiz: Pearson Edexcel Psychology, Unit 3

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

In partnership with Revision Ninja

Lesson 3.6.1, Issues and debates in biological psychology: 20 multiple choice questions for the Pearson Edexcel Psychology (9PS0), Unit 3: Biological psychology, written with Revision Ninja.

Host it live on the board and students join with a game code on their own devices, or revise alone with Free Play. The answers are revealed in the game.

Host this setFree Play

The 20 questions

  1. Which issue is most closely associated with the idea that psychology is a science, in the context of biological psychology?

    • Its reliance on the personal interpretation of dreams and childhood memories, which cannot be checked by other researchers
    • Its use of objective, replicable measures, such as brain scans and synaptic recordings
    • Its focus on the unconscious mind, which is not directly observable and so cannot be studied with any scientific method
    • Its use of moral judgements to decide which behaviours are normal, which cannot be tested against any objective evidence

  2. Which ethical issue arises from research on the brain and aggression?

    • Competition, since researchers always compete with each other to publish the most dramatic findings about the brain in journals
    • Deception, since the brain cannot be scanned without the participant being told the exact hypothesis of the experiment in advance
    • Confidentiality, since brain scan data about individuals may be identifiable and must be kept secure from unauthorised access
    • Gravity, since the weight of a participant's head may affect the quality of the image produced by a brain scanner in the lab

  3. Reductionism in biological psychology is best described as:

    • the view that behaviour is so complex that no scientific method can be used to study it, so it must be left to philosophers
    • the view that the brain is larger in aggressive people, which is why aggression should be reduced by surgery on the skull
    • the view that all psychological research must be carried out in small laboratory settings, which limits the range of behaviour studied
    • the view that behaviour can be fully explained by a single level of analysis, such as brain function, while setting others aside

  4. A practical issue in brain scanning research is that:

    • scans produce images that can be affected by movement and noise, and the brain is complex, making results hard to interpret
    • scans always show exactly the same pattern in every person, so no measurement issues arise in the research process at all
    • scans cost very little and are available in every hospital, so they can be used by any researcher without difficulty at all
    • scans can only be carried out on animals, so their results are never relevant to human behaviour and cannot be applied to people

  5. Freud's account of aggression is often compared with biological explanations. Which theme does this comparison illustrate?

    • The use of animals in research, because Freud's theory relied almost entirely on experiments with rats in controlled conditions
    • Socially sensitive research, because Freud's theory was developed through laboratory experiments on large groups of participants
    • Culture and gender, because Freud and biological psychologists both agree that aggression is entirely a matter of cultural norms
    • Comparing ways of explaining behaviour, where psychodynamic and biological accounts offer different levels and types of explanation

  6. Hormonal differences between males and females are often discussed in relation to aggression. Which issue does this illustrate?

    • Freudian theory, since hormones are the same thing as the id and so they must be discussed under psychodynamic theory only
    • Culture and gender, since sex differences in hormones may influence behaviour, though social factors may also shape it
    • Deception, since researchers often lie about the hormonal levels of their participants in order to obtain the desired result
    • Reductionism, since hormones are entirely unrelated to behaviour and so cannot be linked to any gender differences at all

  7. Which issue does the use of brain scanning to control individuals raise?

    • Issues of social control, since knowledge of brain function could be used to monitor or regulate people without their consent
    • Issues of validity, since scanners can only measure the weight of the brain and not any function it performs during behaviour
    • Issues of nature-nurture, since the scanner determines whether a person was born with the correct genes for their gender
    • Issues of reliability, since scanners always produce identical results in every individual person in every research setting

  8. The development of brain scanning from CAT to fMRI is an example of which theme?

    • An understanding of how psychological understanding has developed over time, as techniques have improved and changed what can be known
    • A focus on the id, since each new scanner has allowed psychologists to measure the unconscious drives that Freud described
    • A focus on deception, since each new scanner has been designed to hide the true nature of brain activity from the researchers
    • A focus on reductionism, since each new scanner reduces the number of participants needed to obtain any useful information at all

  9. Which statement about the use of psychological knowledge in society is most accurate?

    • Knowledge of brain causes of aggression means that society no longer needs schools, police or courts of any kind at all
    • Knowledge of brain causes of aggression may help society deal with violence, for example through treatment or prevention
    • Knowledge of brain causes of aggression must always lead to the punishment of individuals, with no possibility of treatment
    • Knowledge of brain causes of aggression is never used by society, since policy is always based on religion rather than science

  10. Which example best illustrates the nature-nurture issue in biological psychology?

    • Brain localisation of aggression is studied alongside environmental influences such as upbringing, showing both nature and nurture
    • Brain localisation of aggression is studied only in animals, so the issue of human environment is entirely irrelevant to it
    • Brain localisation of aggression is studied only through questionnaires, so the biological side of the issue is never measured
    • Brain localisation of aggression is studied only through religious teachings, which removes any biological content from the topic

  11. Why is research into the biology of aggression considered socially sensitive?

    • Because findings always show that aggression is a happy and healthy behaviour, which upsets people who value peace and calm
    • Because findings may stigmatise groups, such as men or offenders, and may be misused to justify discrimination or control
    • Because findings are only published in languages other than English, which makes them difficult for most people to read
    • Because findings are always confidential and never shared with anyone, so the research has no social value for society at all

  12. Which evaluation point best addresses the issue of reductionism for the biological explanation of aggression?

    • It is reductionist only if the sample is large, since small samples always produce a complete view of all causes of aggression
    • It is valuable because it considers biology in depth, but it may underplay social and cultural factors that also influence aggression
    • It is fully holistic, because it considers all social, cultural and biological factors equally in every study of aggression ever done
    • It is not reductionist at all, because biology has no link with behaviour and so it cannot ever be reduced to anything at all

  13. Which of these is an example of the theme of comparisons of ways of explaining behaviour?

    • Comparing the cost of two scanners, which has no link to any explanation of behaviour in any psychological theory
    • Comparing Freud's ideas of the id and superego with biological accounts that point to neurotransmitters and brain regions
    • Comparing the colour of brain scans from different scanners, without considering any theory of why behaviour occurs at all
    • Comparing the number of participants in two studies, without considering the explanations that each study offers for behaviour

  14. What does the issue of practical issues in research design involve for scanning studies of aggression?

    • Problems such as small samples, scanner limitations and the difficulty of measuring the complexity of the brain accurately
    • Problems such as the choice of coffee for participants, which has been shown to change the results of all brain scanning studies
    • Problems such as the researcher's favourite colour, which can subtly change the appearance of the brain images in the scanner
    • Problems such as the weather on the day of the scan, which has been shown to determine the structure of the brain in adults

  15. Which statement best describes the concept of synaptic transmission as an issue in psychology as a science?

    • It is a measurable biological process, which allows the claims about neural communication to be tested in controlled ways
    • It is a social process that occurs only between people, so it cannot be investigated using any form of biological method
    • It is a process that occurs only in the heart, which means it has no role in brain function or in aggressive behaviour
    • It is an unmeasurable mental event, so it can be studied only by the introspection of the individual and never by experiment

  16. A researcher uses a biological explanation to suggest treatments for aggression. Which issue is most relevant to considering the impact of this on society?

    • Issues of gravity, since the weight of the treatment is the only factor that could affect how it is accepted by the public
    • Issues of the id, since biological treatments always act on the unconscious mind rather than on the brain or body directly
    • Issues of reliability, since treatments are always perfectly reliable, so society need not consider any other social effects
    • Issues of social control, since treatments based on biology could be used to regulate people's behaviour in ways they did not choose

  17. Which evaluation of biological explanations of aggression considers the issue of gender?

    • Biological accounts only study women, so they cannot be used to explain any differences in aggression between the two sexes
    • Biological accounts always show that gender has no effect on aggression, so there is no need to consider sex differences at all
    • Biological accounts treat gender as the same as the id, so they cannot be used to explain any differences between men and women
    • Biological accounts may overlook social expectations about gender that also shape aggression, so sex differences need care

  18. Which issue is raised when a researcher studies the brain of a participant without fully explaining what the scan will reveal about their future?

    • Informed consent, since participants must understand the purpose and possible implications of the research before agreeing to take part
    • Gender, since the scan can only be carried out on men, so women are never allowed to take part in brain research at all
    • Reductionism, since the researcher has reduced the number of participants in the study to a single person for the scan session
    • Freud's id, since the researcher has allowed the participant's unconscious drives to influence the scan image in the process

  19. Which statement about the issues and debates in biological psychology is most accurate?

    • Issues such as reductionism are only relevant to Freud's theory, and do not apply to biological explanations of any kind at all
    • Issues such as nature-nurture, reductionism and ethics are interrelated, and a strong evaluation considers several together
    • Issues such as nature-nurture, reductionism and ethics are unrelated, so an evaluation should consider only one of them at a time
    • Issues such as nature-nurture and ethics are never discussed in biological psychology, since the field is purely technical

  20. A study examines the brain of one patient in detail and generalises the findings to all people. Which issue in biological psychology does this best illustrate?

    • Practical issues in research design, since a single case gives limited data on individual variation
    • The id, since the unconscious drives of one patient always dominate the findings of any case study in the field at all
    • Socially sensitive research, since a single patient means the findings must always be kept confidential from the general public
    • Deception, since the single patient must have been misled about the purpose of the scan at the start of the study

All Pearson Edexcel Psychology quizzes