Gender Bias Flashcards
universality
any underlying characteristic of human beings that is capable of being applied to all, despite differences of experience and upbringing.
Gender bias
If a psychological theory/research offers a view that doesn’t justifiably represent the experience or behaviour of men or women.
androcentrism
Male-centred; when ‘normal’ behaviour is judged according to a male standard (meaning that female behaviour is often judged to be ‘abnormal’ or ‘deficient’ by comparison).
alpha bias
Exaggerating the differences between men and women
Psychological theories that suggest there a re real differences between men and women. These may enhance or undervalue members of either sex, but typically undervalue females.
beta bias
theories that ignore or minimise difference between the sexes
Examples of alpha bias
Bowlby - mothers must stay at home or they risk damaging their children’s social/cognitive development implying only a women can fulfil this role.
Freud - boys have a strong superego as they identify with their fathers while girls develop a weaker superego and have penis envy exaggerating the gender difference.
Examples of beta bias
Bandura - used boys and girls in his study but ignored any differences in their level of aggression to formulate one general law.
Fight or flight - researched was based on male animals due to female hormones fluctuating and was assumed to be a universal response to danger. However, Taylor et al suggested that female biology inhibited the fight or flight response and that they are more likely to adopt a ‘tend and befriend’ approach.
Problem with androcentrism
A possible consequence of beta bias.
If our understanding of behaviour comes from all-male samples, any behaviour that deviates from ‘standard behaviour’ is abnormal leading some female behaviour to be misunderstood.
Example of andocentrism
Asch - all male sample but generalised his findings to the entire population.
Weaknesses of gender bias
Negative implications - create misleading assumptions about female behaviour, fail to challenge negative stereotypes and validate discriminatory practices.
May provide a scientific justification to deny women opportunities either in the workplace or elsewhere.
Eg. women are twice as likely to be diagnosed with depression.
Can cause sexism within the research process - a lack of women appointed at a senior level mean female concerns may not be raised in research questions asked.
Psychology could be criticised for supporting institutional sexism.
How to overcome gender bias
Reflexivity
Reflexivity
modern researchers are beginning to recognise the effect of their own values/assumptions on their work. They are embracing it as a crucial and critical aspect of the research process not a problem.
Such reflexivity is an important development in psychology and may lead to greater awareness of the role of personal biases in shaping research in the future.
