gender bias Flashcards
what is gender bias?
the differential treatment or representation of men and women based on stereotypes rather than real experiences.
what are the 2 types of gender bias?
Alpha bias and beta bias
what is alpha bias?
a tendency to exaggerate differences between men and women, suggesting that there are real and enduring differences between the 2 sexes.
what is a consequence of alpha bias?
a consequence of alpha bias is that theories devalue 1 gender in comparison to the other, but typically devalue women.
what are the 3 examples of alpha bias?
- Deviant superego - females less moral than males - psychodynamic approach
- Sexual promiscuity is part of the nature of males. It’s not a part of females nature so frowned upon.
- women diagnosed with schizophrenia less than men even though there is no difference between the two.
explain the example of alpha bias regarding deviant superego
According to Freud, since females don’t experience castration anxiety, they are under less pressure and have less of a need to identify with their same-sex parent, in comparison to boys.
This suggests that females, in line with the psychodynamic approach, are less moral than males.
explain the example of alpha bias regarding sexual promiscuity in males and females.
Wilsons’s sociobiological theory of relationship formation suggests that sexual promiscuity in males is genetically determined, whereas sexual promiscuity goes against the nature of females.
From an evolutionary view, females needed to be more selective when choosing their mates as they had a limited supply of eggs and required more energy and effort to reproduce, compared to men.
Therefore, such alpha bias may lead to prejudice and stereotyping of women who engage in these behaviours.
explain the example of alpha bias regarding diagnosis of schizophrenia
Since the 1980s, schizophrenia has been diagnosed more frequently in men compared to women.
This is an example of alpha bias, according to Cotton et al, this is because women are more likely to continue working, maintain good interpersonal relationships and show less distress than men.
This means that the schizophrenic symptoms of women may be masked or not severe enough to merit a diagnosis.
what is beta bias?
a tendency to ignore or minimise differences between men and women. Such theories tend to ignore questions about the lives of women, or insights derived from studies of men will apply equally well to women.
What are the 2 examples of beta bias?
- Research into fight or flight response of mice only used male mice. The results were generalised to females and the differences between the 2 sexes were ignored.
- Kohlberg only studied American males when developing his levels of moral reasoning theory. Results were generalised to women.
what is androcentrism?
a consequence of beta bias. it occurs when all behaviour is compared according to a ‘male’ standard, often to the neglect or exclusion of women.
what are 2 examples of androcentrism?
- PMS.
2. Fight or flight response.
explain the example of androcentrism regarding PMS
PMS has been criticised as being a social construction, which trivialises female emotion, particularly anger.
On the other hand, male anger is seen as a logical response to external pressures (Brescoll and Uhlman).
explain the example of androcentrism regarding fight or flight
Research is usually conducted on male animals as the hormone levels in female animals would make it difficult - it has been assumed that only male species are needed as what is true for males is true for females.
Shelley Taylor (2000) challenged this.
Taylor provided evidence that females produce a tend and befriend response at times of stress which is adaptive as it ensures the survival of the offspring. This is also an example of beta bias.
What is universality?
The aim to develop theories that apply to all, which may include real differences.
This describes any underlying characteristic of human behaviour which can be applied to all individuals, regardless of their differences.
Bias, lack of validity and issues with reliability reduce the universality of psychological findings.
