gender bias evaluation Flashcards
implications of gender bias
gender- biased research may create misleading assumptions about female behaviour fail to challenge negative stereotypes and validate discriminatory practices
It may provide a scientific “justification to deny women opportunities within the workplace or in wider society”
Carol Tavris “it becomes normal, for normal women to feel abnormal”
Gender bias, therefore, is not just a methodological problem but may have damaging consequences which affect the lives and prospects of real women
e.g. women are twice as more likely to be diagnosed with depression
sexism within the research process
lack of women appointed at senior research levels means that female concerns may not be reflected in the research questions
male researches more likely to have their work published and studies which find evidence of gender differences are more likely to appear in journals than those that do not
also lab experiments may further disadvantage women - female participants are placed in an inequitable relationship with a usually male researcher who has the power to label them unreasonable, irrational and unable to complete complex tasks (Nicolson 1995
)
what is psychology therefore responsible for dude to the sexism within the research process
this means that psychology may be guilty of supporting a form of institutional sexism that creates bias in theory and research
(Denmark et al 1988)
reflexivity
many modern researchers are beginning to recognise the affect their own values and assumptions have on their work, they embrace it as a crucial and critical aspect of the research process in general
what did Dambrin and Lambert study show
in their study of the lack of women in executive positions in accounting firms, they concluded reflection on how their gender - related experiences influences their reading of events
essentialism
many gender differences reported by psychologist over they are based on an existentialist perspective which is:
- the gender difference in question is inevitable (essential) and “fixed” in nature
what did Valerie Walkerdine (1990) say
reports how in the 1930s “scientific” research revealed how intellectual activity such a attending uni would shrivel a women’s overies and harm her chances of giving birth
such existentialist accounts are usually politically motivated disguised as biological “facts”. This often creates a double standard in the way that the same behaviour is viewed from a male and female perspective
what is the actual definition for gender bias
when considering human behaviour, bias is a tendency to treat one individual or group in a different way from others
what is gender bias in the context of psychology research
in the context of gender bias, psychological research or theory may offer a view that does not justify/represent the experience of men or women usually women)
what is the definition of androcentrism
male centred
when “normal” behaviour is judged according to a male standard (remaining that female behaviour to be judged as “abnormal” or deficient by comparison
what is the definition of alpha bias
alpha bias - psychological theories that suggest there are real and enduring differences between men and women
These may enhance or undervalue moments of either sex - but typically under value females
what is the beta bias
theories that ignore or minimise differences between sexes
