I&D - Gender in psychology: Gender bias Flashcards
Alpha bias
A tendency to exaggerate differences between men and women. The consequence is that theories devalue one gender in comparison to the other.
Androcentrism
Centred or focused on men, often to the neglect or exclusion of women.
Beta bias
A tendency to ignore or minimise differences between men and women. Such theories tend either to ignore questions about the lives of women, or assume that insights derived from studies of men will apply well to women.
Gender bias
The differential treatment or representation of men and women based on stereotypes rather than real differences.
Universitality
The aim to develop theories that apply to all people, which may include real differences.
Who proposed that there are two different ways that theories may be biased?
Rachel Hare-Mustin and Jeanne Marecek (1988).
What did Rachel Hare-Mustin and Jeanne Marecek (1988) propose?
That there are two different ways that theories may be biased.
- Alpha bias
- Beta bias
What might androcentrism result in?
Either an alpha or a beta bias.
What is an example of alpha bias in research?
Freud’s theories reflected the culture in which he lived. In the 19th century, men were more powerful and more educated, and regarded as superior to women. I his alpha-biased theory of psychoanalysis Freud viewed femininity as failed masculinity - he exaggerated the difference between men and women.
What was pointed out about alpha-bias in Freud’s theories?
Josselson (1988) pointed out that ‘In this 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 (which involves castration anxiety). Because the superego develops from the Oedipus conflict, women therefore must be morally inferior because they have a weaker identification with their mother.’
What is the consequence of beta bias?
The needs of one gender (usually women) are ignored.
What is an example of beta bias in research?
Stress research on the fight-or flight stress response.
Biological research is usually conducted with ma;e animals because in females the variations in hormone levels would make the research more difficult. It is assumed that such male-only samples wouldn’t matter because what is true for males would be true for females. In stress research it was assumed that the fight-or-flight response was universal - until Shelley 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 meant that female behaviour went undiscovered and meant that the stress response was not fully understood. The beta bias meant that a real difference was ignored.
What was the result of the beta-biased approach in research into the stress response?
The beta-biased approach of ignoring the possibility of a difference meant that female behaviour went undiscovered and meant that the stress response was not fully understood. The beta bias meant that a real difference was ignored.
What is an example of how universality has been reached in research?
Moral reasoning research
Lawrence Kohlberg (1969) produced a very influential theory of moral development, suggesting that the moral decisions we make are based on an ethic of justice. He based his theory on 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 the male responses would apply to all people.
Carol Gilligan (1982) pointed out that, aside from the biased sample, the dilemmas used by Kohlberg were also biased - they had a male orientation because they were concerned with justice rather than being concerned with, for example, hurting someone else’s feelings (a moral of care).
When Kohlberg tested women, he found that they were less morally developed than men - a classic outcome of alpha bias. In other words, his original beta bias meant that he now exaggerated the differences between men and women.
Gilligan’s own theory and research showed that women favoured a care orientation, whereas men favoured a justice orientation. Gilligan’s approach showed that men and women are different, but it was not biased because neither kind of moral reasoning was considered as ‘better’ - they are just different.
