Gender Bias

Question 1

What is gender bias?

Answer 1

-when a theory unfairly exaggerates or minimises the importance of gender in its explanation of differences between men and women

Question 2

What is alpha bias?

Answer 2

-when a theory unfairly exaggerates the differences between men and women

Question 3

What is beta bias?

Answer 3

-when a theory unfairly minimises the differences between men and women

Question 4

What is androcentrism?

Answer 4

-when a theory unfairly favours men

Question 5

AO3: research methods can be biased

Answer 5

• it may not be that males and females are different, but that the methods used to test or observe them are biased
• Rosenthal found that male experimenters were more friendly towards female participants than to male participants
• there are serious issues with the way that data is collected

Question 6

AO3: gender-biased assumptions in theories

Answer 6

• most of the theories were rooted in Victorian ideas about gender roles
• Darwin’s theory of sexual selection portrays women as choosy when it comes to a mate selection, however, research would challenge this

Question 7

AO3: feminist psychologists

Answer 7

• feminist psychologists propose how gender bias can be avoided
• women should be studied with meaningful real-life contexts, and genuinely participate in research instead of being objects if study
• there should be a greater emphasis on collaborative research methods