Gender bias Flashcards
Gender bias
a tendency to favour one gender over another in psychological research, theory or practice.
Alpha bias
The difference between males and females are exaggerated or overemphasised.
Beta bias
Theories which minimise or ignore gender differences.
Androcentrism
Male views and behaviour are taken as the norm and used to explain both male and female behaviour.
Universality
The aim to develop theories that apply to all people. Human behaviour that can apply to all individuals.
Examples of alpha bias in topics.
Schizophrenia- diagnosis of men is higher than women and females are more likely to diagnose someone with schizophrenia.
Schizophrenogenic mother- exaggerates the difference between mother and passive father roles in development of sz.
Psychopathology- theories of abnormality are likely to be attributed to hormones for women.
Attachment- Bowlby exaggerates importance of mother being primary caregiver and role of the father being different, fathers can do the same job and no issues.
Examples of beta bias in topics.
Social influence- Asch (+androcentrism), Zimbardo (+androcentrism), Milgram (+androcentrism), Moscovici= all women sample.
Psychopathology- little Albert/Hans phobias.
Cognition and development- TOM due to generalisability to females when only 3 used in sample.
Example of universality in topics.
cognition and development- Selman due to 30 male and 30 female sample.
Positive implications of gender bias- practical applications.
Beta bias minimises the differences between men and women and has practical applications. This can lead to the equal treatment of men and women in work and education if we are minimising the differences between genders.
However… Hare-Mustin and Mareck argue inequality is not always of benefit e.g women have a more physical demand in pregnancy so deserve longer maternity.
Positive implication of gender bias- Cornwell.
solutions to reduce gender bias. Cornwell noted females are better at learning as they are more attentive and organised thus emphasising both the value and positive attributes of women in contrast to research focused on men. This research challenges stereotypes and works towards accurate and inclusive approaches.
Positive implications- feminist approach. (Eagly)
Allows for feminist approach which attempts to restore the imbalance in psychological theories and research. Eagly for example claims that females are less effective leaders than males which has helped to develop training programmes aimed at reducing lack of female leaders in the world.
Consequences of gender bias- socially sensitive.
Research has contributed to the formation of rigid gender stereotypes, for example women as the primary caregiver. Such assumptions have contributed to widespread beliefs of gender roles in the family. This can have impacts on the economy for example if the mother is breadwinner but believes she should stay home as a result of gender stereotypical research.
Consequences of gender bias- Rosenthal.
He found male researchers are more pleasant towards female participants and in the same research males performed worse. Feminists argue that lab experiments disadvantage women because of the controlled nature.
How to overcome gender bias?
Use 50/50 sample or only generalise findings to gender used in sample.
