Gender bias Flashcards
Gender bias
Refers to the misrepresentation in attuited and beliefs concerning gender
e.g women more nurturing then men
Alpha bias
refers to theories which exageratte the differneces between men and women. These may enhance or undervalue members of another sex but typically undervalue females
example of alpha bias-attachment
-Bowlby’s monotropic theory
-infants innately programmed to form attachments with one primary caregiver
-usually the mother who is the source of food and nurturing
-attachment between mother and child is survival mechanism
-also argued deprivation from mother would cause long term social and emotional effects
beta bias
refers to theories which ignore or minimise sex differences. These theories often assume that the findings from males can apply equally to females. Findings of the studies are generalised equally to men and women which is particularly an issue when participants are all male
example of beta bias
asch
-research involved all male sample
-assumed females would respond same as males therefore same rates of conformity
-most recent replications Mori and Arai showed gender differences in conformity rates
-research ignores gender differences through assuming women would be the same
androcentrism
theories which are male-centred on. It occurs when normal behaviour is judged according to male standard. This means that female behaviour is judged to be abnormal
example of androcentrism
in the past most psychologists were male and the theories they produce tend to represent a male view of the world
limitation-gender bias is the problems in psychological research
gender bias research may create misleading assumptions about female behaviour and validate discriminatory practices. it may provide a scientific justification to deny women opportunities within the workplace or in wider society.
limitation-promotes sexism in the research process
females remain underrepresented in university departments particularly science. Although psychology undergraduate intake mainly women, lectures mainly men. means research more likely conducted by men. Men may expect women not to be able to do complex tasks because of stereotypes making women underperform
strength-feminists psychologits have proposed how gender bias can be avoided
Worrell and Rehner have put forward a set of criteria that researchers should follow in order to avoid gene=der bias in research. Suggests women should be studied with meaningful real-life contexts and generally participate in research instead of being objects of a study
strength-leads to reflexibility
several modern researchers are beginning to recognise the effect of their own values and assumptions have on the nature of their work(reflexibility). instead of seeing such bias as a problem that may threaten the objective status of their work, they embrace bias it as a crucial and critical aspect of the research. strength because reflexibility is an important development in psychology as may lead to greater awareness of the role of personal biases in shaping behaviour
