gender bias Flashcards
what is gender bias
occurs when psychological research presents a perspective that
does not accurately represent the experiences of men or women.
what is alpha bias
Alpha bias refers to a misrepresentation of behaviour due to researchers
overestimating or exaggerating differences between genders. These
differences often devalue women in relation to men.
what is beta bias
Beta bias occurs when researchers underestimate or minimise gender
differences, leading to a misrepresentation of behaviour. This often happens when female participants are not included in a study, yet the findings are still assumed to apply to both genders.
what is a consequence of beta bias
One possible consequence of beta bias is androcentrism—a male-centred view of the world. In androcentric perspectives, male behaviour and masculine traits are
considered the norm, acceptable, or desirable, while female behaviour and
feminine traits are viewed as abnormal, less acceptable, or less desirable.
what is universality
Psychology claims universality, meaning that its conclusions should apply to
everyone, regardless of time, culture, or gender.
Psychologists claim to discover objective facts about human behaviour that are
not influenced by their own values. However, these values are often shaped by
the social and historical context in which they live.
strengths of gender bias
Research that finds gender differences is more likely to be published than
research that finds no such differences. This suggests that psychology may
contribute to institutional sexism.
+ Gender-biased research may provide scientific justification for denying
women opportunities in society. For example, in the 1930s, ‘scientific’ research suggested that intellectual activity (such as attending university) could shrink women’s ovaries and reduce their chances of conceiving.
+ Many reported gender differences are based on an essentialist perspective—
the idea that gender differences are fixed, inevitable, and biologically
determined. However, this is not necessarily true. In societies where both men and women work and share childcare responsibilities, the psychological differences between genders tend to be smaller.
weaknesses of gender bias
Many modern researchers now recognise the impact of their own values and assumptions on their work. For instance, Dambrin and Lambert (2008) reflected on how their gender-related experiences influenced their interpretation of events when investigating the lack of women in accountancy firms.
- Gender bias can be reduced by:
Avoiding the extrapolation of findings from male participants to females,
and vice versa.
Including both male and female participants in research.
Ensuring research teams consist of both male and female researchers.
Being sensitive to gender norms when designing studies and reporting
findings.
Reflecting on personal gender biases when conducting research
studies that display gender bias
Asch’s conformity study - Solomon Asch’s study on conformity explored how individuals conform to a majority’s opinion. Asch used male participants only in his initial experiments. Critics have argued that by using only male participants, the study may not have accurately reflected the conformity behaviors of women, who might conform differently due to socialization. replications of the study suggested that women may conform at higher rates due to different societal pressures.
Freuds psychosexual stages - Sigmund work on the psychosexual stages of development, presented ideas about gender development. Freud believed that women experienced “penis envy” during the phallic stage and were psychologically inferior to men. Freud’s theories have been criticized for being highly gender-biased, as they suggested that women’s development was incomplete or inferior to men’s. his theories may reflect the patriarchal views of his time rather than universal psychological truths.
The Stanford Prison Experiment - Zimbardo’s experiment on social roles and behavior in a simulated prison setting involved male participants only. The study showed how people can take on abusive roles in an oppressive environment. criticized for excluding women and assuming that the behavior of male participants was representative of all humans, disregarding potential gender differences in how individuals might respond to authority or oppressive roles.
Bowlby’s Attachment Theory - Bowlby’s attachment theory focuses on the importance of a primary caregiver (typically the mother) in a child’s development and how attachment impacts later relationships. Bowlby’s theory assumes that mothers are the primary caregivers for children, which ignores the potential for fathers or other caregivers to play an equally important role. reinforces traditional gender roles and doesn’t consider the impact of gender diversity in caregiving.
Bandura’s Bobo Doll Experiment - Bandura’s social learning theory was demonstrated in the Bobo Doll experiment, where children observed an adult acting aggressively towards a doll and then imitated those actions. Though Bandura’s study involved both male and female children, the findings were interpreted with gender biases in mind. For example, boys were more likely to imitate aggressive behavior, which was interpreted as evidence of inherent gender differences, without accounting for the socialization processes that encourage boys to act more aggressively.
