gender bias

Question 1

universality and bias

Answer 1

psychologists hold beliefs and values that have been influenced by the social and historical context within which they live

these beliefs may be biased - leaning towards a subjective view that does nt necessarily reflect objective reality

this means bias in the research process may be inevitable despite psychologists claims about discovering facts that are objective and value free

bias also undermines psychology’s claims to universality that conclusions drawn can be applied to everyone anywhere regardless or time or culture

Question 2

alpha bias

Answer 2

psychological research that exaggerates differences is alpha-biased

such differences are typically presented as fixed and inevitable

sometimes these differences heighten the value of a women but more often they devalue women in relation to men

example - Freuds theory of psychosexual development

during the oral kid stage the development fo both boys and girls desire for the opposite gender parent

in a boy this creates a very strong castration anxiety - the anxiety is resolved when the boy identifies with his fathers

but a field eventual identification with her same gender parent is weaker which means her superego is weaker - because it developed as a result of taking out eh same-gender parents moral perspective

therefore girls/women are morally inferior to men

Can also favour women in the psychodynamic approach - Chodorow

suggested that daughters and mothers have a greater connectedness than sons and mothers because of biological similarities

as a result of the child’s closeness women develop better abilities to bind with other and empathise

Question 3

beta bias

Answer 3

psychological research that ignores or underestimates differences

this happens when we assume that research findings apply equally to both men and women even when women have been excluded form the research process

example - flight of flight response

biological research is generally favoured using ale animals because dermal behaviour is affected by a regular hormonal change due to ovulation

this simply ignore any possible differences

illustrates how research that minimises gender differences may result in a misrepresentation of women behaviour

or men’s behaviour

Question 4

androcentrism

Answer 4

alpha bias an beta bias are consequences of androcentrism

over the years psych has presented a male-dominated version of the world

women’s behaviour if it has been considered has been misunderstood

Question 5

limitation

Answer 5

biological vs social explanations

gender differences are often presented as fixed and enduring when they are not

Maccoby and Jacklin presented the findings of several gender studied which concluded that girls have superior verna; ability whereas boys have better spatial ability

suggested that these differences are hardwired into the brain before birth

such findings become widely reported as facts

Joel et al used braun scanning and found not such sex difference in brain structure or processing

possible that data from that study was popularised because it fitted existing stereotypes of girls as speakers and boys as doers

suggest that we should be wary of accepting the research findings ad biological facts when they might be better explained as social stereotypes

Question 6

limitation

Answer 6

sexism in research

gender bias promotes sexism in the research process

woemn remain under presented in university departments particularly in science

although psychology’s undergraduate intake is mainly of woemn

lectures in psych department are more likely to be men

means research is more likely to be conducted by men and this ma disadvantage participants who are women

example- a male researcher may expect woemn to be irrational and unable to complete complex tasks and such expectations are likely to mean that women underperform in research studies

means that the institutional structure and methods of psych may produce findings that are gender biased

Question 7

limitation

Answer 7

gender-biased research

research challenging gender biases may not be published

Formanowicz et al analysed more than 1000 articles relating to gender bias publishing over eight years

found that research on gender bias is funded less often and is published by less prestigious journals

consequences of this is that fewer scholars become aware of it or apply it within their own work

researchers argued that this till held true when gender bias was compared with other forms of bias such as ethnicity bias

suggest that gender bias in psychological research may not be taken as seriously as other forms of bias