Gender Bias

Question 1

What is Gender Bias

Answer 1

offering a view that does not justifiably represent the experience and behaviour of men & women

Question 2

What is Universality

Answer 2

characteristic of humans that can be applied to all, threatened by gender and culture bias

Question 3

Alpha Bias

Answer 3

Research that focuses on the differences between men and women, tends to exaggerate them
- Sometimes heighten value of females in relation to males but more often devalue females

• Freud - girls have weaker identification with same-sex parent meaning her superego is weaker (conscience)
  Therefore it states girls are morally inferior to boys
• Psychodynamic approach - Chodorow - boys lack connectedness to mother so less empathy

Question 4

Beta Bias

Answer 4

Research that focuses on similarities between men & women, tends to ignore/minimise differences
→ Occurs when we assume findings apply equally to men & women even if females excluded from research
- EG - fight/flight response - biological research favoured using male animals as female behaviour is affected by regular hormonal changes due to ovulation
- Taylor - claimed isn’t true: Oxytocin higher in females & reduces fight/flight response - tend/befriend
Shows how research that minimises gender differences may result in misinterpretation of gender behaviour

Question 5

Androcentrism

Answer 5

Male-centred, when normal behaviour is judged to a male standard meaning female behaviour is judged as abnormal (normal behaviour judged from male standard)

Alpha and beta bias are consequences of androcentrism
Over time, psychology presented male-dominant version of world. EG - 6/top 100 psychologists female

Question 6

Evaluation

Answer 6

Biological vs Social explanations
Maccoby & Jacklin - found girls better verbal ability, boys better spatial ability
→ This data may have been popularised as it fitted existing stereotypes of boys and girls, questions validity

Counterpoint: Some stereotypes have biological basis
Ingalhalikar - female multitasking explained by better hemispheric connections in women
→ Therefore may be biological differences but should be wary of exaggerating them

Sexism in research - gender bias promotes sexism
Women remain underrepresented in university - lectures in psychology more likely to be male
This means research is more likely to be conducted by males & disadvantages female participants
Therefore institutional structures may produce findings that are gender biassed

Gender-biassed research
Studies of gender bias published less than studies of other bias - EG - ethnicity
Funded far less, published less by prestigious journalists
Suggests that gender bias taken less seriously as other forms of bias