Gender Bias

Question 1

Describe universality

Answer 1

• Any underlying behaviour that can be applied to all humans
• Much (not all e.g. idiographic approach) of psychology strives to achieves universality

Question 2

What is gender bias?

Answer 2

Refers to research that offers a view that doesn’t justifiably represent the experience and behaviour of men or women

Question 3

Describe androcentrism

Answer 3

• A theory/study is centred on men (results in beta or alpha bias)
• Leads to behaviour being judged according to male standards, so female behaviour to be judged as abnormal

Question 4

What is gynocentrism?

Answer 4

A theory/study is centred on women

Question 5

What is alpha bias in terms of gender?

Answer 5

Tendency to overestimate gender differences

Question 6

What is beta bias in terms of gender?

Answer 6

Tendency to underestimate gender differences (often occurring when research has one gender in the sample)

Question 7

Give an example of alpha bias in the psychodynamic approach

Answer 7

• Freud’s view on the psychosexual stages was a alpha-biased theory
• Women are seen as inferior as they have penis envy and they can’t undergo the same Oedipus complex as boys do (castration anxiety). As the superego develops from the Oedipus complex, women are morally inferior due to their weaker identification with their mother.
• He believed femininity was a ‘failed’ masculinity

Question 8

Give an example of beta bias in Asch’s research

Answer 8

• Asch’s research on conformity included a sample of only male students, but generalised his findings to the whole population
• However Eagly found men were more concerned about appearing to have high status, acting independently (less conformist). Women were more concerned with connecting with others (more conformists)

Question 9

Give evaluation for gender bias (how does bias occur?)

Answer 9

• Gender bias occurs in research due to sexism within research
• Women are underrepresented in university departments. Although psychology’s undergraduate intake is mainly women, lecturers in psychology are likely to be men (Murphy et al).
• Means research is more likely to be conducted by men (in power) which disadvantages female participants. e.g. male researchers expect women to be irrational and unable to complete complex tasks (Nicolson) .
• These expectations lead to research being more susceptible to gender bias.

Question 10

Give evaluation for gender bias (how do we overcome this bias?)

Answer 10

• To counter gender bias we must develop theories which show the differences between men and women that emphasise the value of women
• e.g. research shows women are better at learning as they’re more attentive, flexible and organised (Cornwell et al)
• Although this may reverse androcentrism, this feminist approach might be unproductive as it’s gynocentric

Question 11

Give evaluation for gender bias (implications of bias)

Answer 11

• Gender bias research may create misleading assumptions about female behaviour, fail to challenge negative stereotypes and may validate discriminatory practices
• Whenever men set the standard of normalcy, as Carol Tavis puts it ‘it becomes normal for women to feel abnormal.’
• Thus, gender bias in research may have damaging implications which affect the lives of real women

Question 12

Give evaluation for gender bias (differing views on issue)

Answer 12

• It was thought that eradicating research into gender differences could resolve gender bias but this would beta bias (ignoring gender differences).
• Feminist psychologists tried to solve the issue but they differ in their beliefs regarding the cause of gender differences. Essentialist feminists believes there’s biological differences while social constructivist feminists believe gender difference are socially constructed stereotypes
• As a result, feminist psychology now pursues understanding the biological and stereotypical differences and aims to readdress the imbalance in theory and research in psychology