gender bias Flashcards
alpha bias
differences between males and females are exaggerated
can be used to undervalue one of the sexes
the differences are sometimes attributed to differences in biology - for example, differences in genetics or hormones
beta bias
males and females are ignored or minimised
this can happen when studies just include the participants of one gender but then the conclusions are applied to the whole population
androcentrism
males are viewed as being at the centre of culture
male behaviour is seen as the norm
- theories made in relation to males are also applied to women, or it can mean that any differences that women display are seen as exceptions to the rule
estrocentrism
female behaviour is seen as the norm
this is a much rarer phenomenon than androcentrism
not all studies are published?
gender bias can be created as a result of publication bias
it has been reported that studies that produced positive findings are more likely to be published than studies that don’t find any differences
this can exaggerate differences between males and females and so produce an alpha bias
freud’s theories
usually described male behaviour as the norm, explaining female behaviour as anything which differed from the norm
for example, Freud proposed that when girls find out that they don’t have a penis, they suffer from what he termed ‘penis envy’
Asch’s theory
research into conformity was androcentric - he used a male-only sample, meaning that his results couldn’t be generalised to women
gender bias
psychological research or theory which may offer a view that does not justifiably represent the experience and behaviour of men or women
universality
any underlying characteristic of human beings that is capable of being applied to all
biological versus social explanations evaluation
limitation - gender differences often presented as fixed when they are not
gender studies - girls have superior verbal ability and boys spatial ability
Joel - brain scans found no differences in brain structure
we should be wary of accepting research findings as biological facts when they might be explained better as social stereotypes
biological versus social counterpoint
social stereotype - women are better at multitasking may have some biological trust in it
women’s brain has better connections between the hemispheres
suggests there may be biological differences but we still should be wary of exaggerating the effect they may have on behaviour
shouldn’t mean that psychologists avoid studying gender difference in brain
sexism in research evaluation
limitation - gender bias promotes sexism in research
women still under-represented in university departments
majority of psych undergrads are women but lecturers more likely to be mean
research is more likely to be conducted by men - a male researcher may expect women to be irrational - women underperform in research due to expectation
the institutional structures and methods of psychology may produce findings that are gender-biased
gender-biased research evaluation
limitation - research challenging gender biases may not be published
found research on gender bias is funded less often and is published by less prestigious journals - still held true when compared to other forms of bias
suggests that gender bias in psychological research may not be taken as seriously as other forms of bias
