Gender bias

Question 1

Define Gender Bias and give an example.

Answer 1

• When one gender in a piece of psychological research is generally more favored over the other gender, thus the experiences of this gender is not represented adequately.
• For example, Milgram’s study into obedience had all male participants, and findings were generalised to the wider population, including women,

Question 2

Bias

Answer 2

• Treating an individual or a group differently to another individual/group.

Question 3

Universality

Answer 3

• Researched may apply the same characteristic to all human beings without considering that there is no ‘one size fits all.’
• Everyone has different experiences and different childhoods.

Question 4

Alpha Bias + example

Answer 4

• Occurs when researchers exaggerate/overestimate the differences between genders
• e.g. males are competitive whereas females are nurturing

Question 5

Beta Bias + example

Answer 5

• Occurs when researches undermind/downplay the differences between genders
• e.g. even though Asch’s conformity study involved all male ppts, findings were still applied to women.

Question 6

Androcentrism + example

Answer 6

• Male-centered
• Occurs when the male behavior is the standard, and any female behavior is seen as abnormal.
• e.g. men who often express strong emotions are more likely to be seen as ‘assertive,’ where as women who do the same are more likely to be seen as ‘bossy’

Question 7

Avoiding gender bias

Answer 7

1. Have both male and female participants in research
2. Don’t exaggerate/minimize differences between male and females
3. Involve both male and female researchers - both views are considered
4. Don’t extrapolate findings from research that contains one gender of participants

Question 7

(-) Negative stereotypes about women (3)

Answer 7

• Gender biased research can lead to misleading assumptions and validate discriminatory practices
• Provides scientific reason to reject women opportunities
• (Tarvis) Where androcentrism is present, women often feel ‘abnormal’
• Negatively impacts many women

Question 7

(+) Psychologists accept there are biological differences (3)

Answer 7

• Psychologists acknowledge the biological differences between men and women, and looks at how to reduce these differences
• Eagly claimed that females are less effective leaders than males
• Suggests that there should be training programmes to help reduce the lack of female leaders
• Shows how realizing gender bias can improve experiences