//Gender bias

Question 1

What is gender bias

Answer 1

• preference towards one gender
• it an exaggerate or minimise differences between males and females
• there are different types

Question 2

What is alpha bias

Answer 2

• where differences between males and females are exaggerated
• this can be used to undervalue one of the sexes
• e.g. differences in genetics or hormones

Question 3

What is beta bias

Answer 3

• where differences between males and females are ignored or minimised
• this can happen when studies just include pps of one gender but then the conclusions are applied to the whole population

Question 4

Androcentric vs gynocentric

Answer 4

andro- just males

gyno- just females

Question 5

Explain androcentrism

Answer 5

• where males are viewed as being at the centre of culture
• in psychological terms, male behaviour is seen as the norm. This can mean that theories made in relation to males are applied to women, or it can mean that any differences that women display are seen as exceptions to the rule
• e.g. Zimbardo

Question 6

Explain gynocentrism

Answer 6

-where female behaviour is seen as the norm

Question 7

How do research designs make gender bias more likely

Answer 7

• research methods can cause results and conclusions to be gender biased
• different research designs can unintentionally cause alpha or beta bias

Question 8

Research designs make gender bias more likely- research question and aim

Answer 8

• when a research question is first proposed and an aim is formed, psychoogists need to be careful that they’re not unconsciously including gender stereotypes
• e.g. studies on aggression often use male stereotypes to provide a measure of what is meant to be aggressive

Question 9

Research designs make gender bias more likely- pps

Answer 9

• pps for research should be selected in a non biased way
• many early studies in psychology only use male uni students which could produce beta biased theories
• they would have been based on results from males, but generalised to the whole population
• also, sometimes researchers can unconsciously treat male/female pps differently e.g. spoken to in a different manner. This can introude extraneous variables, producing a gender difference that isn’t actually there

Question 10

Research designs make gender bias more likely- gender stereotypes

Answer 10

• gender steroetypes can affect expectations about the outcomes of research. These expectations can affect the results they record, or the way they interpret their results
• in an observational study, researchers should be careful to not just record behaviours that fit with their ideas about how men and women should behave
• they shouldn’t interpret ther results to show a gender difference that isn’t actually there

Question 11

How can gender bias be a result of publication bias

Answer 11

• studies that produce positive findings are more likley to be published than studies that don’t find any differences
• studies showing a difference between males and females would be more likely to appear in scientific journals than ones with no gender differences
• this can exaggerare differences between males and females- resulting in alpha bias

Question 12

Freud’s theory- gender bias

Answer 12

• Freud’s theories usually describe male behaviour as the norm, explaining female behaviour as anything which differed from the norm
• e.g. Freud proposed that when girls find out they don’t have a pp, they develop pp envy

Question 13

Asch’s theory- gender bias

Answer 13

• Asch’s research was androcentric

- he used a male only sample, meaning his results can’t be generalised to women