Essay Flashcards
Beta bias
Refers to theories which ignore or minimise sex differences between males and females, these theories often assume that findings from males can apply to females
Alpha Bias
Refers to theories which exaggerate the differences between males and females, reinforcing stereotypes
Gender Bias
A certain preference or prejudice toward one gender over the other. This bias can be conscious/unconscious and consists of two key aspects alpha and beta
Androcentrism
Male behaviour is normal, anything different is abnormal
Freud (psychosexual development)
1933, time of androcentrism. He was demeaning to women.
His theory reinforced stereotypes, displaying his androcentrism as he stated that ‘anatomy is destiny, femininity is a failed form of masculinity’ (suggesting morally inferior)
- ‘women oppose change, receive passively and add nothing of their own’
Kohlberg
(1973)- stage of moral development theory- linked moral understanding to cognitive development.
Preconventional- ‘’ and post ‘’
Used an all male sample of 10-16 boys
Applied all findings to women and said they had lower moral development
Gender bias
Institutional but primarily Methodical- same male sample bias and standardised responses
Eg Asch (1950s)conformity, milgram (1960s) obedience and Zumba Reo (1970s) SPE
Andocentric. Accepted they are the norm
Ways to minimise gender bias
- educate. A greater understanding of gender bias= psychologist work harder to minimise it. they develop theories that emphasise the importance and value of women and challenge theories and acknowledge female differences
- Gillian, horney
- change methodology- psych of women for women
What did Gillian do
(1982)- contradicted kohlberg in her theory of female morality, suggesting females moral reasoning differed but wasn’t deficient. Male morality based on principles like law and justice- women compassion and care (which her theory looked at). Brought attention the fact that diff analysis was required
-ve of gillians work
Minimised attention for differences- eg parental leave
What did horney do
(1942)- contradicted Freud in womb envy theory. Proposed that Freud was demeaning to women and that men have womb envy and feel inferior as they can’t give birth.
-ve horney
Seperates men and women + stereotypes
How can we overcome gender bias
Change samples and focus on women
Why is gender bias an issue
It can lead to an androcentric view of human behaviour. Therefore anything different is seen as deviant, abnormal
Can lead to political sexism and reinforce stereotypes
Stats
In 1975 70% of psychology field were male
In 2008 30% were male
Wilson
(1975)- an example of alpha bias, Wilson’s social biological theory of relationship formation and exaggerated principles of survival.
Suggested men need to spread their seed- their nature
Why is psych important in society
It’s interpreted to understand human behaviour and decision making. This information is then translated and implimented in society to form policies and ensure the best for everyone
Animal research beta bias
Fight/flight response, animal mails for used as they have less variation in hormones than females. Assumption was made that the response to be standardised to both male and female.
Taylor et al
2000
carried out further stress research, finding evidence that females tend and befriend, therefore challenging these ideas and a period where differences were ignored
Biomedical theories of abnormalities
Freuds influence can be observed in society, often, depression and woman is explained by hormonal/neurochemical factors rather than social/environmental factors
Constance Holsen (1976)
Supported Gilligan, found female scored three on Kohlberg stages (emphasis on interpersonal relationships and issues of social duty) where is males scored at four (law, social constructs) , showed unfairly, biased, and in favour of the moral reasoning of males
