gender bias

Question 1

what is universality and bias?

Answer 1

•bias undermines psychology’s claims to universality- that conclusions drawn can be applied to everyone, anywhere, regardless of time or culture
•gender bias and culture bias threaten the universality of findings in psychology

Question 2

what is gender bias?

Answer 2

a psychological theory or research that may offer a view that does not justifiably represent the experience and behaviour of men or women (usually women)

Question 3

what is alpha bias?

Answer 3

•psychological research that exaggerates differences is alpha-based
•it is research that focuses on differences between men and women, and therefore tends to present a view that exaggerates these differences
•eg Bowlbys attachment theory

Question 4

what is beta bias?

Answer 4

•minimises the differences between the sexes, focuses on the similarities
•women seem to have a biological difference which makes the fight or flight response, yet all the previous research was done on male animals

Question 5

what is androcentrism?

Answer 5

•alpha and bias are consequences of androcentrism
•it is male-centred, when ‘normal’ behaviour is judged according to a male standard (meaning that female behaviour is often judged to be ‘abnormal’ or ‘deficient’ by comparison)
•e.g. categorising female emotions as ‘pre-menstrual’
•sexism
•milgram & zimbardo are androcentric

Question 6

possible implications of gender bias:

Answer 6

•gender bias is not just a methodological problem
•fails to challenge negative female stereotypes
•validate discriminatory behaviour
•deny women opportunities in the workplace
•damaging consequences

Question 7

what implications did bowlby’s research have in WW2?

Answer 7

bowlbys research was used post-WW2 to encourage women to take up their caring responsibilities

Question 8

limitation: biological vs social explanations

Answer 8

•on average, the corpus callosum in women are 10% larger than men’s
•gender differences are often presented as fixed when they are not
•Maccoby and Jacklin suggested that differences are ‘hardwired’ in the brain before birth
•we should be wary of taking things as biological facts when they might be better explained as social stereotypes

Question 9

limitation: sexism in research

Answer 9

•gender bias promotes sexism in research
•research is usually conducted by men and disadvantages participants who are women
•research produces gender bias results

Question 10

limitation: gender-biased research is not researched

Answer 10

•research into pre-existing gender bias is not funded or researched
•it is rarely published
•fewer scholars are aware of it and try to limit it within their own work
•gender bias within research is not taken as seriously as other forms of bias (like ethnic/ cultural)

Question 11

understanding bias:

Answer 11

•it has become ‘normal for women to feel abnormal’
•gender biased research may lead to misleading assumptions about female behaviour
•has damaging consequences on the lives and prospects of real women