Gender Bias

Question 1

What is the issue in psychology?

Answer 1

Refers to a source of conflict that if ignored could undermine the value of theories in research

Question 2

What are the three main issues?

Answer 2

Gender bias

Culture bias

Ethical issues

Question 3

What is the debate in psychology?

Answer 3

Academic argument that lasts over many years and often have no resolution

enables to gain a better understanding of any other potential factors involved

Question 4

What are three main debates that have long history in psychology?

Answer 4

• Free will and determinism
• Nature vs nuture
• Holism and reductionism
• Idiographic and nomethic approaches to studying behaviour

Question 5

Psychology seeks universality but bias may be inevitable

Answer 5

Psychologists possess beliefs and values influenced by scoial and historial contexts within which they live.

This may undermine psychologists’ claims to discover facts about human behaviour that are objective, value-free and consistent across time and culture (universality)

Question 6

What is gender bias?

Answer 6

• Gender bias results when one gender is treated less favourably than the other, often referred to as sexism and as a result does not accurately represent either gender.
• e.g , although female psychology students outnumber male, at a senior teaching and research level in universities, men dominate. This can lead to research focusing on male interests, with female concerns marginalised or ignored (androcentrism).

Question 7

What is alpha bias?

Answer 7

Exaggerate difference

Difference between sexes are usually presented as real,enduring, fixed and inevitable

These differences occasionally heighten the value of the women but are more likely to devalue females in relation to male

Question 8

What is an example of alpha bias?

Answer 8

• An Example of alpha bias can be seen with Freud’s psychodynamic approach in this approach women are seen as inferior as they endure penis envy
• . Due to this, they do not undergo the same Oedipus complex as boys. The superego develops from this conflict; therefore, women have a lower moral development.

Question 9

What is beta bias?

Answer 9

Ignoring or underestimating differences between men and women

This occurs when female participants are not included in research process and assumed that research findings apply equally to both sexes

Question 10

An example of beta bias

fight or flight response

Answer 10

Early research into fight or flight response was based exclusively on male animals(preferred for research because female hormones fluctuate). The fight or flight response was assumed to be universal response to a threatening situation

Question 11

What is the consequence of beta bias?

Answer 11

Andocentrism

Question 12

What is the problem of beta bias?

Answer 12

Understanding of ‘normal’ behaviour is coming from research involving all male samples , then any behaviour that deviates from this standard is judged as ‘abnormal’

This leads to female behaviour is being misunderstood and even pathologised (taken as a sign of illness)

Question 13

AO3

First limitation

Problem of gender bias in psychological research

Answer 13

• Gender bias research create misleading assumptions about female behaviour and validate discriminatory practices
• It may provide scientific justification to deny women opportunites to work within the workplace or wider society (e.g because of PMS)
• Gender bias in research is not just a methodological problem but may have damaging consequences which affect lives and prospects of real women

Question 14

AO3

Second limitation

Gender bias promotes sexism in the research process

Answer 14

• A lack of women at senior research level means female concerns may not reflected in research questions in asked. Male researchers is more likely to have work published
• Also, female participants in lab studies are in a inequitable relationship with (usually with a male) researcher who has the power to label them irrational and unable to complete complex tasks

Question 15

A03

First strength

Understanding of gender bias leads to reflexivity

Answer 15

• Researcher recongnise the effect of their values on their work (reflexivity). They embrace bias as an important aspect of the research process rahter than seeing it as a problem threatening the objective status of their work
• In their study of the lack of women in accountancy firms. Dambrin and Lambert (2008) include reflection on how their geneder-related experiences influence their understanding of events
• Such reflexivity is an important development in psychology and may lead to greater awareness of role and personal bias in shaping future research

Question 16

?A03

Second strength

Feminist psychologist proposes how gender bias can be avoided

Answer 16

• Worell and Remer (1992) suggest criteria researcher can follow to avoid gender bias. Women should be studied within meaingful real-life contexts, and genuinely particoate in research instead of being objects in a study
• Diversity in groups of women should be studied rather than making a comparison between men and women. Finally, there wuld be a greater emphasis on collabortative research methods that collect qualitative data
• Way of doing research may be preferable and less gender-biased then lab research

Question 17

A second example of beta bias

Answer 17

An example in Milgram study 65% electrcuited with men

women - 65% - the same

no gender bias?

Question 18

Outline some of the gender biases that can occur in studies due to the way the research has been carried out and comment how the results can be used to promote inequalities

Answer 18

Only use male participants

= if research is male

lead to inequalities

Question 19

Explain why research supporting differences between men and women is more likely to be published

Answer 19

Since women and men would respond differently to situations

It will have extreme findings

More interesting

More journals are sold

Leading to misunderstanding

Question 20

Why is it wrong to assume all research has a gender bias?

Answer 20

In Milgram study found electrocuted rates are the same for men and women

Not all approaches consider geneder differences

Behavioural - how they learn

Question 21

Subtle differences are found in research between men and women might be exaggererated to suppot gender differences

Explain how this can lead to a maintenance of gender supremacy of men in our society

Answer 21

• e.g women are unreliable and expensive to emplloy as they miss work due to menstruation, pregnancy and childcare
• Attachment - focus too much on women (they make better mother) - less men in child care
  
  • Bowlby says 2 and half is sensitive period

Question 22

What is universality?

Answer 22

Aim to develop theories that apply to all people, which may include real differences

Question 23

What is androcentrism?

Answer 23

Centred or focused on men, often to the neglect or exclusion of women