Gender Bias

Question 1

what are the implications of gender in psychology?

3

Answer 1

there are gender differences in behaviour — for example, there are possible differences in how men and women obey

such gender differences raise questions about the validity of any theory or explanation because it may not be universal and apply to everyone

gender differences may also lead to bias (a distorted view of the world), in the case of gender bias it leads to a distorted view of what behaviours are typical and atypical for men and women

Question 2

define gender bias

1

Answer 2

the differential treatment or representation of men and women based on stereotypes rather than real differences

Question 3

androcentrism

3

Answer 3

centred or focused on men, usually to the neglect or exclusion of women

throughout history, psychology as well as society has been very much male dominated — almost all psychologists were and are men, meaning that the theories they produce tend to represent a male world view

this is known as androcentrism and may result in either an alpha or beta bias

Question 4

examples of androcentrism

2

Answer 4

Freud’s psychoanalysis — very male dominated, so much so that the parts of his theory relating to women are far less developed

stress research — use of male animals to investigate the stress response, leading to the dismissal of a difference between men and women

Question 5

how has androcentrism affected psychological research?

2

Answer 5

prevented us from fully understanding behaviour

for example, research into the stress response has preventing us from understanding the female stress response as research was concentrated on males alone

Question 6

two main ways that theories may be biased

2

Answer 6

Rachel Hare-Mustin and Jeanne Marecek (1988) proposed that there are 2 different ways that theories may be biased

ALPHA BIAS and BETA BIAS

Question 7

alpha bias

3

Answer 7

a tendency to exaggerate differences between men and women

these theories assume that there are real and enduring differences between men and women

the consequence is that theories that are alpha biased devalue one gender in comparison to the other

Question 8

example of alpha bias

5

Answer 8

Sigmund Freud’s theories reflected the culture in which he lived — in the 19th century, men were more powerful, more educated and regarded as superior to women

in his alpha biased theory of psychoanalysis, Freud viewed femininity as failed masculinity and exaggerated the differences between men and women

Josselson (1988) point out that in his theory “women are seen as being inferior to men because they are jealous of men’s penises (penis envy) and because they cannot undergo the same Oedipus conflict as boys do”

she goes on to add that “because the superego develops from the Oedipus conflict, women therefore must be morally inferior”

furthermore, most of Freud’s conflicts apply directly to men (Oedipus conflict) but his theories regarding female sexuality are far less developed

Question 9

beta bias

5

Answer 9

a tendency to ignore or minimise differences between men and women

these theories assume that all people are the same and therefore it is reasonable to apply the same theories and methods to both men and women

such theories tend to either ignore questions about the lives of women or assume that insights derived from studies of men will apply equally well to women

they assume that what is true for men is also true for women, thus mistakingly minimising the differences between men and women

the consequence is that the needs of one gender (usually women) are ignored

Question 10

example of beta bias

6

Answer 10

research on the fight or flight stress response is an example of beta bias

biological research is usually conducted with male animals because in females the variations in hormone levels would make research more difficult

it is assumed that such male only samples wouldn’t matter because what is true for males is also true for females

in stress research, it was assumed that the fight or flight response was universal until Taylor et al (2000) challenged this

they provided evidence that females produce a tend and befriend response at times of stress, which is adaptive because it ensures the survival of their offspring

the beta biased approach of ignoring the possibility of a difference in how men and women respond to stress meant that female behaviour went undiscovered and the stress response was not fully understood — a genuine difference was ignored

Question 11

another example of beta bias

5

Answer 11

Kohlberg (1969) produced an influential theory of moral development, suggesting that the moral decisions we make are based on an ethic of justice

he based his theory in research with boys and men where he asked them to describe what behaviour would be right in certain situations that were related to fairness

this is an example of beta bias because he assumed that the male responses would apply to all people

researchers like Gilligan (1982) support this as they have found that women tend to be more focused on relationships rather than justice when making moral decisions

therefore, Kohlberg ignored a real difference between men and women

Question 12

quote from Dee Dee Myers about the problem with viewing men and women the same (beta bias)

2

Answer 12

if you say men and women are the same and if male behaviour is the norm, and women are always expected to act like men, we will never be as good at being men as men are

— Dee Dee Myers, former White House Press Secretary

Question 13

consequences of alpha and beta bias

3

Answer 13

if you assume men and women are equal (beta bias) the consequence is that one gender might be misrepresented

if you assume there are differences between men and women (alpha bias) the consequence is that one gender may be devalued

alpha biased theories may be used to sustain male dominance and be used to justify the view that women are inferior

Question 14

what is universality?

3

Answer 14

the aim to develop theories that apply to all people, which may include the recognition of real differences

it would be wrong to try to eradicate gender differences in order to resolve gender bias as this would be beta bias

the solution to gender bias lies in recognising differences but not the superiority of one gender over another

Question 15

example of universality and a solution to gender bias

3

Answer 15

Gilligan (1982) conducted research into moral reasoning

she found that women favoured a care orientation, whereas men favoured a justice orientation

she demonstrated that men and women are different, but she was not biased because neither kind of moral reasoning was considered ‘better’, they were simply different

Question 16

x4 evaluation points

Answer 16

consequences of beta bias

feminist psychology

biased research methods

assumptions need to be examined

Question 17

EVALUATION
feminist psychology

8

Answer 17

one way to counter androcentrism is to take a feminist approach to psychology which aims to redress the imbalances in psychological theory and research

feminist psychology argues that ‘difference’ psychology arises from biological explanations of behaviour

the alternative is the social constructionist approach which aims to understand behaviour in terms of social processes, thus finding a way to greater equality

feminist psychology recognises that there are real biological differences between men and women, but socially determined stereotypes make a great contribution to perceived differences

‘facts’ about gender need to be revised because whether they are true or not, they perpetuate our beliefs about women

one way to redress the imbalance in psychological research and theory is to find evidence that women may be inferior in order to provide women with greater support

for example, Eagle (1978) acknowledged that women may be less effective leaders than men, but this knowledge should not be used to maintain male dominance, it should be used to develop suitable training programmes and therefore create a future where more women are leaders

demonstrates that sometimes differences need to be recognised so that we can improve the situation for women

Question 18

EVALUATION
biased research methods

7

Answer 18

gender biased research may find differences between genders, but it may not be the genders that actually differ

the methods used to test or observe participants may be biased, meaning that males and females only appear to be different due to the methods used

the gender of the researcher can also cause this to happen — Rosenthal (1996) found that male researchers are more pleasant, friendly and encouraging to female participants than they are to make participants, resulting in male participants performing less well on the tasks given to them

this makes it seem that there are differences between the genders, when this is not the case

feminist also argue that laboratory experiments disadvantage women because findings created in a controlled environment tell us very little about the experiences of women in the outside world

for example, a meta analysis by Eagly et al (1990) noted that studies in real settings judged women and men as more similar in styles of leadership than in laboratory settings

therefore, men and women may simply appear to be different due to the research methods used, leading us to falsely assume a difference between men and women when there is not one

Question 19

EVALUATION
consequences of beta bias

6

Answer 19

beta bias, which involves minimising differences between genders, has consequences for women

on the positive side, equal treatment (a beta bias) under the law has allowed women greater access to educational and occupational opportunities

but Hare-Mustin and Marecek point out that arguing for total equality between men and women draws attention away from women’s special needs

it also ignores the differences in power between men and women, which we need to acknowledge if we want to change anything

in a society where one group has a monopoly on power, seemingly neutral actions end up benefiting the group with the power

for example, equal parental leave ignores the biological demands of pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding. thus ignoring the special needs of women and disadvantaging them under the guise of achieving ‘equality’

Question 20

EVALUATION
assumptions need to be examined

8

Answer 20

examples of gender bias in many theories continue to be unchallenged

for example, Darwin’s theory of sexual selection portrays women as demanding and over-particular while men are the one who compete to be chosen

he argued that in terms of ultimate reproductive success, it makes sense for females to be selective because the cost of producing eggs is high

this has been used to explain female ‘coyness’ as a means of masking their interest in males when they are making their choices. in contrast, males are more explicit in their pursuit of the opposite sex because they are in competition

this has been recently challenging as being rooted from the Victorian ideas that women are coy and men are aggressive with other men

it’s been recognised that women are equally competitive and aggressive when the need arises

for example, DNA evidence supports the idea that it is a good adaptive strategy for females to mate with more than one man. this therefore puts women in competition with other women

this demonstrates that it is important to challenge biased assumptions otherwise real gender differences may be overlooked or false differences may be accepted as true