Gender Bias

Question 1

What is meant by gender bias?

Answer 1

Where research or a theory offers a view that doesn’t justifiably represent the experience and behaviour of men and women.

Question 2

What is meant by universality?

Answer 2

Any underlying characteristic of human beings that is capable of being applied to everyone despite differences in experience and upbringing.

Question 3

What is meant by androcentrism?

Answer 3

When normal behaviour is judged according to male standard.

Question 4

What is meant by alpha bias?

Answer 4

Research that focuses on differences between men and women and exaggerates these differences.

Question 5

What is meant by beta bias?

Answer 5

Where research or a theory ignores/minimises the differences between men and women.

Question 6

Give one example of psychological research which demonstrates beta bias.

Answer 6

Zimbardo’s stamford prison experiment - sample only contained men.
Research assumed women would respond in the same way to men when conforming to social roles.

Question 7

Give one example of alpha bias in psychology.

Answer 7

Freud’s psychosexual theory suggests girls have weaker superegos than boys as they don’t experience the Oedipus complex. This indicates girls are morally inferior.

Question 8

Give two weaknesses of gender bias in psychology.

Answer 8

1. Sexism in research.
   Research likely to be conducted by males - sets up women to fail due to believing they think irrationally and cannot do some tasks - leads to them under performing.
   Institutional structures of psych may produce gender biased findings.
   Therefore, female concerns not reflected.
2. Alpha bias theories may heighten value of women.
   Women more likely to be diagnosed with depression than men - diagnosis system may be gender biased - focus on women’s mental health forces men to deal with mental illness.
   Therefore, gender bias should be reduced to support equity.

Question 9

Give one strength of gender bias in psychology.

Answer 9

1. Greater understanding of GB has reduced androcentric research.
   E.g some research attempts to develop theories which value women e.g researcher noted that women are better at learning.
   Shows that research can now focus on positive attributes of women.
   Therefore, understanding of GB can help reduce stereotypes about women.