gender bias Flashcards
universability
an underlying characteristic of human beings that is capable to apply to all despite
gender bias
differential treatment and/or representation of males+females based on stereotypes + not real differences
can be androcentric or Gynocentric
androcentrism
-consequence of beta bias
-theories which r centred on/focused on males
-leads to female behaviour being misunderstood+sometimes pathologised (psychological instability or disorder)
Gynocentrism
-theories which r centred/focused on females
alpha bias
-the difference between males+females r exagerrated/over emphaised
-eg agression. according to evolution theory men=more physically aggressive. females=^nonpshycially aggressive to raise offspring. so if dont act this way=go against nature
aplha bias research
freud+wilson(1975)
sociobiological theory
human sexual attraction+behaviour via principle of ‘survival efficiency’.
in males interest to impregenate as many women as possible to ^ chances of his genes being passed on.
for woman to preserve genes is to ensure healthy survival of few offspring shell have
-the central premise= sexual promiscuity in males=genetically determined whilst females who do same behaviuour=going against their nature. (alpha bias)
-essentialist argument: an intuitive theory in belief certain categories have important unchanging characterstics that define their nature + properties
beta bias
-difference between males n females r minimised/ignored, a theory or findings from research r though to apply exact same to both genders
-eg asch (1951)-found high rates of conformity in men but assumedit would be same for women=androcentric
-eg kolhbergs theory of moral development: tested on men who answered questions on moral dilemmas but generalised to both genders
-eg flight or fight
beta bias research
flight or fight response
-early research was exculssively based on male animals+assumed as universal response
-shelley taylor et al (2000)-female biology has evolved to inhibit the FoFr , shift attention towards caring for offspring+forming defensive networks w other females=’tend and befriend’
AO3
implication of gender bias
-misleading assumptions about female behaviour
-no challenging of stereotypes + discriminatry practices
-it provides ‘scientific’ justification for denying females equal oppurtunities (Pre menstrual syndrome eg)
-carol travis (1993) male criteria makes it ‘normal for women tp feel abnormal’
-this is not j methodological problem but also affects real women in daily life from workplace to diagnosis of depression which is 2x as high compared to male numbers
ao3
sexism within the research process
-serious lack of women at senior research position is concern as iyts likely female issues r not researched + research questions r formulated from male perspective only
-journal articles r published far more from male authors +articles highlighting gender bias r more likely found in articles
-lab exp=run by males who label their ppts behaviour as unreasonable, irrational+unable to complete complex tasks (nicolson 1995)
-psychology might be supporting institutional sexism which creates serious bias in theory +research (denmark et al 1988)
AO3
biological vs social explanations
-gender differneces r presented as fixed+enduring when theyre not
-maccoby+jacklin (1974) show finidings of many gender studies which concluded girls =superior verbal ability but boys=better spatial ability.
-they suggested these differences r ‘hardwired’ into brain before birth. such findings become widely reported+seen as facts
-joel et al(2015) used brain scanning+found no such sex differences in brain structure/processing
-possible data from M+J=popularised bc it fitted existing stereotypes of girls as ‘speakers’+boys as ‘doers’
=shud be wary of accepting research findings as biological facts when might be better expl as social stereotypes
ao3
counterpoint
-this dont mean they shud avoid studying possible gender diff in brain.
-for instance, research by **ingalhalikar et al (2014) **suggests popular social stereotype women r better at multitasking may have bit of biological truth
-womans brain=benefit from better connections betwen r+l hemisphere than in mans
-so there is biological diff but still be wary of exagerrating effect have on eachother
quick limitaions
-reinforces negative stereotypes+culd be used to justify unfair treatment of sexes eg woman shuld priotise domestic role over c areer
-more male senior researchs then woman so woman less likely to be addressed
-gender diff in research r rooted in essentialist perspective- idea theres fixed unchanaging diff between genders=outdated but often used as fact
