gender bias Flashcards
what is gender bias?
gender bias in psychological research undermines claims that the discipline is ‘value free’.
what is universality?
when theories can apply to all people, irrespective of gender and culture
what is alpha bias?
when the differences between men and women are shown and may be exaggerated. it is either to heighten the value of women or devalue them.
how are the differences between men and women presented in alpha bias?
they are real and enduring, fixed and inevitable.
what is beta bias?
when differences between men and women are ignored or minimised then generalised to the opposite sex. this often occurs when women are not included in the research.
what are alpha and beta bias consequences of?
androcentrism
what is androcentrism?
where research studies have largely only been conducted on males but generalised to females. therefore female behaviour has been misunderstood.
what is our understanding of ‘normal’ behaviour?
if our understanding of ‘normal’ behaviour is from research that involves ‘all male’ samples, then behaviour that deviates from this is seen as abnormal
AO3: how is ‘increased awareness of gender bias’ a strength to gender bias?
as we have an increased awareness of gender bias, it has led to greater reflexivity in the research process and more care is now being taken when designing research studies and experiments to reduce any negative impacts. for example, Judith Morrell put forward criteria to avoid gender bias within research- such as studying females in real life context rather than artificial surroundings.
AO3: how is ‘gender differences are fixed due to nature’ a limitation to gender bias?
many instances of gender bias also assume that gender differences are fixed due to nature. however, this ignores the individual differences within genders rather than simply comparing males and females. this is because both genders are a diverse group and therefore there are dangers of attempting to generalise theories to all. for example, men may adopt different and more likely to be higher levels of aggression to a stressful situation and are more likely to fight then flight compared to a woman.
AO3: how is ‘misleading assumptions about female behaviour’ a limitation to gender bias?
gender bias may create misleading assumptions about female behaviour that could lead to stereotypes and discrimination within society. this is an issue as the research findings might be used to justify and deny women equal opportunities within society. for example, bowlbys maternal deprivation hypothesis could be interpreted as suggesting that women should stay at home and look after their children rather than pursue career opportunities.
AO3: how is ‘promotes sexism in the research process’ a limitation to gender bias?
gender bias promotes sexism in the research process as there is a lack of female researchers within psychology. this means that female concerns may not be fully represented or reflected in research questions and/or designs. male researchers are more likely to have their research published and often the male researcher may disadvantage women during experiments. for example, the research into the effects of pregnancy on the female brain has only recently been investigated
