Gender

Question 1

What is universality?

Answer 1

The idea that conclusions drawn can be applied to everyone, anywhere, regardless of time and culture

Question 2

What is bias?

Answer 2

The tendency to treat one individual or group in a different way from others

Question 3

What is gender bias?

Answer 3

Psychological research or theory that offers a view that does not justifiably represent the experience and behaviour of men or women

Question 4

What is alpha bias?

Answer 4

Psychological research/theories that exaggerate or overestimate the difference between the sexes

Question 5

What group is most likely to be affected by alpha bias? Give an example of a theory that does so.

Answer 5

Alpha bias is most likely to devalue women in relation to men. E.g. The psychoanalytical theory by Freud which potrayed women as inferior to men

Question 6

What is beta bias?

Answer 6

Psychological research/theories that ignore, minimise, or underestimate differences between men and women

Question 7

Why is research often beta biased? Give an example of a theory that has this problem.

Answer 7

Beta bias often occurs when female participants are not included as a part of the research process, but it is assumed that the findings apply to women as well as men. E.g. The fight or flight response - Early research was based exclusively on male animals, and was assumed to be a universal response. Taylor et al suggested that female biology evolved to inhibit fight or flight, shifting attention towards caring for offspring (tending) and forming defensive networks (befriending)

Question 8

What is one possible consequence of beta bias?

Answer 8

Androcentrism

Question 9

What is one possible consequence of beta bias?

Answer 9

Androcentrism

Question 10

Explain androcentrism

Answer 10

If understanding of normal behaviour is drawn from research with all-male samples, behaviour that deviates from this is likely to be seen as abnormal or inferior. This leads to female behaviour being misunderstood or pathologised

Question 11

Give an example of androcentrism

Answer 11

Critics often claim that PMS is a social construction which medicalises female emotionns, seeing them in hormonal terms

Question 12

What is the essentialist perspective on gender?

Answer 12

The gender difference in question is inevitable and fixed in nature

Question 13

What are the implications of gender bias?

Answer 13

• It is scientifically misleading
• Upholds stereotypical assumptions, and might provide a justification to deny women opportunities where men set the standard of normality.
• It validates sex discrimination: double standard in the way the same behaviour is viewed from a male and female perspective.
• Institutional sexism creates bias in theory and research: male researchers are more likely to have their work published. Lack of women appointed at senior research levels means female perspective may not be reflected in research.