evaluation of issues and debates

Question 1

evaluation of gender bias-implications of gender bias

Answer 1

might create misleading assumptions about female behaviour, fail to challenge negative stereotypes and validate discriminatory practices. provide ‘justification’ to deny women opportunities in the workplace, not just a methodological problem but may have damaging consequences which affect lives and prospects of women.

Question 2

gender bias sexism within the research process

Answer 2

lack of women appointed at senior research level means that female concerns may not be reflected in the research questions asked. male researchers are more likely to have their work published, and studies that find gender differences are more likely to appear in journal articles that those which do not. laboratory experiment, female participants are placed in an inequitable relationship with a usually male researcher who has the power to label them e.g. unable to do complex tasks. psychology might be responsible for supporting a form of institutional sexism that creates bias in theory and research.

Question 3

gender bias- reflexivity

Answer 3

many modern researchers are beginning to recognise the effect their own values and assumptions have on the nature of their work. instead of seeing it as a negative that might threaten the objective status of their work they embrace it as a critical and crucial aspect of research process in general. such reflexivity is an important development is psychology and may lead to greater awareness of the role of personal biases in shaping research in the future.

Question 4

gender bias- feminist psychology

Answer 4

feminist commentators such as Judith Worrel have put forward a number of criteria that should be adhered to in order to avoid gender bias in research. women should be studied within meaningful real-life contexts, and genuinely participate in research, rather than being the objects of study. diversity within groups of women should be examined, rather than comparisons made between women and men. finally, there should be greater emphasis placed on collaborative research methods that collect qualitative, as opposed to numerical data.