ID: Gender Bias

Question 1

Define Gender bias

Answer 1

Treating + representing men and women differently based on stereotypes.
It distorts view on how we see behaviours

Question 2

Define Androcentrism
Give an example of

Answer 2

Male-centred view, judged from a male viewpoint making female behaviour seem ‘abnormal’ (produced/dominated by males)
E.g - 6 women out of 100 influential psychologists

Question 3

Define Alpha bias
What can it lead to?

Answer 3

Exaggerated differences between genders that r fixed. Can lead to theories that devalue one gender over the other.

Question 4

Define beta bias
What can it lead to?

Answer 4

Minimised/ignored differences between genders. Can lead to qs about women’s lives ignored and assumptions that results equally apply to men and women

Question 5

Universality

Answer 5

Generalised/applied to all
Idea that underlying characteristics apply to all

Question 6

Give one limitation (one neg implication)

Answer 6

-Biological differences r seen as fixed e.g Alpha bias
-Maccoby and jacklin presented findings of sesveral gender studies and found girls have spatial abilities where boys have verbal abilities
-they implied these r hardwired into the brain before birth
-Joel through a brain scan found no difference in brain structure of genders
-their findings were probs popularised due to existing stereotypes of girls as speakers and boys as doers.
-important as we should be careful not to explain as biological differences rather social stereotypes

Question 7

Give a strength - counter of biological differences

Answer 7

-we should still study biological differences
-Madura Ingalhalikar found stereotypes such as women r multitaskers to have some bio truth to it
-Perhaps a woman’s brain may benefit from better connections between right and left hemispheres than a mans brain structure.
-may be biological differences just shouldn’t exaggerate

Question 8

Give a limitation - sexism

Answer 8

-Promotes sexism in psychological research, women r underrepresented In psych
-even tho undergrad inatke is mainly women
-Murphy et al suggested men r most likely to be lectures
-puts women at a disadvantage because may seem irrational or like they r unable to complete tasks (a male might think)

Question 9

Give a strength - reduce

Answer 9

-reduce bias by using better samples for studies
-equal amounts of men and women
-apply findings to group studied
-mention any bias in/during study
-encourage women to join psych