Gender Bias Flashcards
Gender bias
The differential treatment and/or representation of males and females, based on stereotypes and not on real differences.
Alpha bias
An alpha bias refers to theories/studies that overestimate or exaggerate the differences between males and females.
Beta bias
A beta bias refers to theories/studies that ignore or minimise or underestimate sex differences. These theories/studies often assume that the findings from studies using males can apply equally to females.
Androcentrism
Theories which are centred on, or focused on males. Gender bias might result in androcentrism – the belief that men’s behaviour represents the norm and therefore that any behaviour typical of women might be judged abnormal. Both Alpha and Beta bias are the consequences of androcentrism.
Universality
believing that some behaviours are the same for both genders and should therefore be applied to both genders
What is gender bias in psychology
The term bias is used to suggest that a person’s views are distorted in some way, and in psychology there is evidence that gender is presented in a biased way. This bias leads to differential treatment of males and females, based on stereotypes and not real differences.
Anatomically men and women are different. There are psychologists who argue that the idea of gender differences is much exaggerated and that the differences within genders are actually much greater than between genders! In other words, two females can be just as different from each other as a male and female. For example, one female could be short and moody and the other female could be tall and happy. Also one female could be strong and agile whereas another female could be fragile.
Examples of alpha bias research
1)In his psychoanalytic approach, Freud argued that because girls do not suffer the same oedipal conflict as boys, they do not identify with their mothers as strongly as boys identify with their fathers, and so develop weaker superegos – this point is insinuating a difference albeit negative between boys and girls with girls being morally weaker than boys.
2)The evolutionary approach in psychology has also been criticised for its alpha bias. This is because this approach suggests that evolutionary processes in the development of the human species explain why men tend to be dominant, why women have more parental investment in their offspring, and why men are more likely to commit adultery. To add to this, the evolutionary theory might suggest promiscuity in men is normal and acceptable whilst promiscuity in women is abnormal and unacceptable. Therefore the evolutionary approach could be creating or encouraging gender bias!
Beta bias in psychology
Beta bias theories have traditionally ignored or minimised sex differences. These theories often assume that the findings from males can apply equally to females.
There is evidence of beta bias in psychological research. Male and female participants are used in most studies, but there is normally no attempt to analyse the data to see whether there are significant sex differences. Where differences are found, it may be possible that these occur because researchers ignore the differential treatment of participants. For example, Rosenthal (1966) reported that male experimenters were more pleasant, friendly, honest, and encouraging with female participants than with male participants. This led Rosenthal to conclude: “Male and female subjects may, psychologically, simply not be in the same experiment at all.”
Examples of rea search that is beta biased
1)Some animal research can be argued to suffer from beta bias. For example, biological research into the fight-or-flight response has often been carried out with male animals because they have fewer variations in hormones than females. It was assumed that this would not be a problem as the fight-or-flight response would be the same for both. However, later stress research by Taylor et al. (2000) has challenged this view by providing evidence that females produce a tend-and-befriend response. The beta-bias in the earlier animal studies meant that for a long time the stress response was not fully understood and a real difference was ignored.
2) Research into moral development that suggests women’s morality might be less sophisticated than that of men. Kohlberg’s stage theory of moral development was based on extensive interviews that he conducted with boys aged 10-16. The same all-male sample was then re-interviewed at intervals of 3-4 years over a 20- year period. His classification system is based on a morality of justice – this is an example of beta biased research – carried out on only males. However, some researchers, such as Gilligan (1982), have found that women tend to be more focused on relationships when making moral decisions and therefore often appear to be at a lower level of moral reasoning when using Kohlberg’s system. Therefore Kohlberg’s approach meant that a real difference was ignored.
Result of beta bias in psychological research
The result of beta bias in psychological research is that we end up with a view of human nature that is supposed to apply to men and women alike, but in fact, has a male or androcentric bias. For example, Asch’s (1951; 1955) conformity studies involved all male participants, as did many of the other conformity studies (e.g., Perrin & Spencer, 1980) and it was just assumed that females would respond in the same way. Zimbardo (1973) in his prison experiment only used male students but it was assumed that females would react in the same way to prison life. This is again another example of beta bias.
Androcentrism
Androcentrism means being centred on, or dominated by, males or the male viewpoint. This can be conscious (the individual knows they are behaving this way) or unconscious. In the past most psychologists were male, and the theories they produced tended to represent a male view of the world. Both alpha bias and beta bias are the consequences of androcentrism.
Examples of Androcentrism
Over the years psychology has presented a male dominated version of the world. For example, the American Psychological Association published a list of the 100 most influential psychologists of the 20th Century which included only six women. This suggests that psychology has traditionally been a subject produced by men, for men and about men – an androcentric perspective.
Another example of androcentric bias is the way a woman’s behaviour is interpreted. For example, if a woman gets angry then this is categorised as a sign of premenstrual syndrome meaning it is because of her hormones whereas when a man gets angry then this is often seen as a rational response to external pressure (Brescoll and Uhlmann 2008)
Advantages of gender bias in psychology
+Although one way to reduce gender bias is by developing a greater understanding of gender bias, psychologists have put forward a number of solutions. For example, some psychologists attempt to develop theories that emphasise the importance or value of women. Cornwell et al. (2013) noted that females are better at learning, as they are more attentive and organised, thus emphasising both the value of and the positive attributes of women. As a result, this type of research helps to reduce or challenge gender stereotypes, which is important in reducing gender bias.
+Furthermore, Worrell (1992) also suggested a number of research criteria that are particularly important to ensure that research investigations are not gender biased: using alternative methods of inquiry to explore the personal lives of women; considering women in the natural settings in which they function; collaborating with research participants to explore personally relevant variables and studying diverse samples (women who vary by age, socio-economic class, partner preference, minority or ethnic group).
+It is also important to note that when a theory is described as universal, it means that it can apply to all people, irrespective of gender. However, this also means that it needs to include real differences. In relation to gender, this means developing theories that show the similarities and differences between males and females, without devaluing either gender. This may mean using a variety of research methods and considering women in the natural settings in which they function.
Disadvantages of gender bias in psychology
-A problem with issues of gender bias is the fact that unfortunately they often go unchallenged. For example, Darwin’s established theory of sexual selection suggests that women are selective (choosy) in terms of mate selection and men are more competitive with each other in order to attract a female mate. These views have only recently been challenged by DNA evidence suggesting that women are equally as competitive as men when the need arises. Does this mean that previous theories on sexual selection are not correct or do they just lack temporal validity or are they just gender biased
-Another problem with issues of gender bias is that gender differences are often presented as fixed and enduring when they are not. For example, Maccoby and Jacklin (1974) concluded that girls have superior verbal ability than boys whereas boys have better spatial ability. They suggested that these differences were hardwired into the brain before birth. Such findings were spread and seen as facts. This may have been due to the popular stereotypes at that time with girls being ‘speakers’ and boys ‘doers’. In fact, in a recent study by Joel et al (2015) who used brain scanning and found no such sex differences in brain structure or processing. Therefore, gender differences should be treated with caution in terms of whether they are biological facts or based on social stereotypes.
-another problem with gender bias is that it promotes institutional sexism. Women remain underrepresented in university departments as research scientists. Although there are more female undergraduates studying psychology than males, psychology lecturers tend to be men (Murphy et al. 2014).This means that research is more likely to be conducted by men and this may disadvantage female participants despite male researchers being more friendly towards their female participants (Rosenthal 1966), they may expect women to be irrational and unable to complete tasks (Nicholson, 1995) and such expectations are likely to mean that women underperform in research studies. This means that there is sexism occurring in the research process.
-However, it is also important to remember that sometimes the gender bias can work against males as well as females, as sometimes alpha bias theories heighten the value of women. For example, women are more likely to be diagnosed with depression and given treatment than males. This may be because woman are more likely to suffer from depression, or it could be that the diagnostic system may be biased towards finding depression among women. The expectation that if males do suffer from depression should be able to ‘pull themselves together’ may highlight an issue with the diagnostic systems for mental disorders. It also highlights the fact that societal pressures do not allow men to be sad.
