gender bias Flashcards
what is universality
-The assumption that psychological theories apply to all genders,
often ignoring differences and leading to biased conclusions.
alpha bias
Exaggeration of gender differences, reinforcing stereotypes and
misrepresenting female experiences in psychological research.
beta bias
Ignoring gender differences, assuming male-based research applies
to both sexes, leading to inaccurate conclusions.
androcentrism
A male-centered perspective where male behavior is seen
as the norm, often misrepresenting or devaluing female experiences.
alpha bias in freuds work
Freud (1905) argued that males and females,
once they enter the phallic stage, develop in
completely different ways
-phallic stage boys hv castration anxiety
-resolved when the boy identifies with his dad
He says women end up with a weaker
‘Superego’ (sense of morality) according to
Freud, because girls identify with their
mothers (whose superegos are weaker!)
why is freud alpha bias
he completley exagerates
alpha bias that favours women
-psychodynamic
-chodrow e.g daughters and mothers have great connectedness than sons and mothers of biological similarities
-women have better ability to bond w others
what does evolutionary theory argue
responses to stress have
always suggested that men and women both experience the
‘fight or flight’ response (we all get pumped full of adrenaline,
experience greater muscle power, etc. You know this!)
what does taylor argue about the evolutionary theory
suggests that women are also
evolved to have a ‘tend and befriend’ response, where they
use social skills rather than physical power to deal with
difficult situations
(This challenges traditional evolutionary theory, but also
adds to it)
more info on the tend and befriend response
-the love hormone is more plentiful in women but smaller in men
-women repsond to stress by increasing oxytocin
is evolutionary theory beta or alpha bias
Taylor says this is a beta
bias (ignoring gender
differences)
However, you could probably argue that she is
now creating an alpha bias, exaggerating gender
differences that might only be slight. Not all
women are socially skilled and not all men
rely on muscle!
is gender bias in psych inevitable
Reflexivity isresearchers recognizing their own biases,
including gender bias, and actively challenging
them.
By reflecting on how their beliefs and
background influence findings, researchers can reduce androcentrism, alpha, and beta bias,
leading to more objective, balanced, and representative psychological research.
what is shown by androcentrism
-american psycholgical associaiton published 100 most infulential psych of 20th century
-only 6 women presented
hows women beh presented?
-misunderstood
-taken as illness
-feminists have objected to premenstrual syndrome
-medicalises womens emotions by hormons
-but mens anger seen as rational resp to external pressures
limitiations of gender bias research
(what did maccoby and jacklin discuss)
-girls and boys brain function different infulencing lang use
-e.g girls better at verbal and boys at spatial ability
-differences were hard wired into brain before birth, became seen as facts
(what did formanowicz say)
research into gender bias recieves less funding and seen as less important so issues often not adressed
as few researchers are aware
how did daphna joel counterpoint maccoby
-brains are more similar then different and they exaggerated gender differences
-bias shaped cocnlusions
-they fitted stereotypes of girls being ‘ speakers’ and boys being ‘ doers’
counter daphna joel
madura ingalahlikar suggest the stereotypes that women are better at multitasking can have truth
-womens brain can have better connections w right and left hem than a mans
what can we say about gender bias
-gender differences can be innate or socially constructed some differences are bio and others made by society
