✓ Gender Bias (AO1)

Question 1

What is universality?

Answer 1

any underlying characteristic of humans being that is capable of being applied to all
e.g. crying, emotions, facial expressions

Question 2

What is gender bias?

Answer 2

the tendency to treat 1 gender in a different way to others
- research/a theory may not represent the experience of both men & women

Question 3

What is androcentrism?

Answer 3

male-centred (andy)
- when ‘normal’ behaviour is judged according to a male standard

Question 4

What is estrocentrism?

Answer 4

female-centred (oestrogen)
- when female behaviour is considered the norm

Question 5

What is alpha bias?

Answer 5

when a study/study over-exaggerates the differences between the genders
(this may enhance or undervalue members of either sex)

Question 6

What is beta bias?

Answer 6

ignoring or minimising the differences between the genders

Question 7

Example of alpha bias?

Answer 7

Freud
- his theories reflected culture at the time (men more powerful/educated)
- psychoanalysis ⁖ views women as lesser (penis envy)
- F only described the oedipus complex
- Jung came up with the electra complex many years later

Question 8

Example of beta bias?

Answer 8

Fight-or-Flight
- biopsychologists looking at f-or-f typically used male animals to research on
- recent research shows females use a tend-and-befriend response in times of stress

Question 9

Example of androcentrism?

Answer 9

Psych is dominated by Male Researchers
- leads to female behaviour being misunderstood or pathologised
- PMS has been objected by females as it medicalises female emotions by explaining it in terms of hormones
- vs. male anger often seen as a rational response to pressure

Question 10

Example of estrocentrism?

Answer 10

Jacobs
- study with only females ppts
- female behaviour considered the norm

Question 11

Examples of gender bias in diagnosis of certain mental disorders?

Answer 11

Anorexia:
- gender bias towards females
- one symptom is amenorrhea (loss for 3 months+)
- this criteria doesn’t have an equivalent in males
- this gives clinicians less chance to consider anorexia in men

Autism:
- gender bias towards males
- often under-diagnosed in females as key criteria for diagnosis centre around limited social skills, relationships & communication
- autistic females are often better in social contexts so may be diagnosed with things like depression, anxiety or OCD instead