gender bias Flashcards
what is universality?
when all research is presumed to apply equally to both genders
what is gender bias?
the differential treatment and presentation of males and females in psychological research and theory
what are the three main ways that gender bias can occur?
-male samples
-male behaviour as standard
-biological differences emphasis
what is meant by ‘male samples’?
-research is conducted on all-male samples which isn’t made clear in reports
-findings get generalised to women
-eg Milgram’s study on obedience
what is meant by ‘male behaviour as standard’?
if female behaviour differs from male’s, its seen as deviation away from the norm
what is meant by ‘biological differences emphasis’?
-underemphasise the role of social and external factors
-anatomical differences between men and women
what is androcentrism?
-a form of male bias where mens behaviour is the standard against which women’s is compared
-Tavris - most cultures take male behaviours to be the standard
-DSM-III-R - ideal mental health should show ‘playing the martyr, self-sacrifice’ etc which are predominantly male behaviours applied to women
who proposed alpha and beta bias?
Hare-Mustin and Marecek 1988
what is alpha bias?
-exaggerate the differences between genders, eg freud’s theory of moral development, which says women have weaker moral codes because they don’t fully develop their superego
what is beta bias?
-downplays the differences between the genders
-eg fight or flight response; Lee and Harley 2012 showed women had a tend and befriend instead
how does gender bias relate to schizophrenia?
-issues in diagnosis - could be up to 50% more men with sciz than diagnosed
-classification - 2 peaks of onset for men (21 and 39) but 3 for women (22,37 and 62)
how does gender bias relate to aggression?
-MAOA gene only explains aggression in men, gender difference is underemphasised (beta bias)
