Gender Bias

Question 1

What does it mean to be biased?

Answer 1

• Leaning towards a subjective view that does not necessarily reflect reality
• Undermines psychology’s claim to universality

Question 2

What is Alpha Bias?

Answer 2

• Psychological research that exaggerates gender differences which are often presented as fixed and inevitable

Question 3

What is an example of Alpha Bias?

Answer 3

• In the Psychodynamic Approach Freud suggested that in order to resolve anxiety developed in the phallic stage, a child identifies with their same sex parents. The child takes on their same sex parents moral perspective and girls are thought to have a weaker identification with their mother than boys with their father as women are morally inferior to men.

Question 4

What is Beta Bias?

Answer 4

• Research that undermines/underestimates differences between genders
• Tends to occur when we assume that findings apply equally to both men and women when women have been excluded from the research process

Question 5

What is an example of Beta Bias?

Answer 5

• It was assumed both men and women respond to threatening situations with fight or flight - however, Taylor claimed this was untrue and due to a woman’s heightened level of oxytocin they have a ‘tend and befriend’ response rather than a ‘fight or flight’

Question 6

What is Androcentrism?

Answer 6

• Alpha bias and beta bias are consequences of androcentrism. Psychology has presented a male dominated version of the world, e.g out of 100 most Influential psychologists only 6 were women
• Produced by men, about men and for men
• Feminists have objected to the diagnostic category for pre-menstrual syndrome as it medicalises women’s emotions by explaining them in hormonal terms, whereas men’s emotions are presented as rational snd justified.

Question 7

What is a consequence of gender bias regarding the spread of harmful misinformation and stereotypes?

Answer 7

• Maccoby and Jacklin found girls have better verbal ability and boys have better spatial ability, perpetuating the idea of boys as ‘doers’ and girls as ‘speakers’.
• Joel conducted brain scans and found no such differences in brain structure or processing

Question 8

What is a consequence of gender bias regarding the burying of potentially groundbreaking research?

Answer 8

• As gender bias is a controversial topic, research challenging gender bias often goes unpublished. Formanowicz analysed over 1000 articles relating to gender bias published over 8 years. Found research on gender bias is funded less often and published by less prestigious journals.
• Therefore, less awareness makes the problems continue and promotes ignorance.

Question 9

What idea supports research into gender differences?

Answer 9

• Ingalhalikar suggested women are better at multitasking then men as a woman’s brain may benefit from better connections between hemispheres than in a man’s brain which supports multitasking.
• May be some biological differences but we must be vary of exaggerating them.