Issues and Debates Flashcards
Universality
Any underlying characteristics of human beings that is capable of being applied to all despite differences of experience and upbringing.
Gender bias and culture bias threaten the universality of finding in psychology
Gender Bias
Bias is a tendency to treat one individual or group in a different way from others
The theory may offer a view that doesn’t represent the experience and behaviour of men or women.
Androcentrism
Male centred
Normal behaviour is judged according to a male standard
Female behaviour is therefore often judged as abnormal or deficient
Alpha bias
Psychological theories that suggest there are real and enduring differences between men and women.
These may enhance or undervalue members of either sex, typically undervalues female
Beta Bias
Theories that ignore or minimise differences between the sexes
Implications of gender bias
Can create misleading assumptions about female behaviour and validates discrimination
Provides scientific justification to deny women opportunities they deserve.
Affects the lives and prospects of women.
Reflexivity
Some researchers recognise this and have embraced it by commenting on how their own gender and experiences may influence how they view evidence.
Sexism within research process
Senior researchers are primarily male so are more likely to get their research published.
Studies that find gender differences are more likely to be published in journals.
Lab researchers may be sexist
Essentialism
Many psychologists believe that gender difference is fixed and inevitable
Such accounts are often politically motivated arguments disguised as biological facts
eg. If a women attends university, her ovaries will shrink
Double flipping standards
Feminist psychology
Worrel and Remer have made a criteria
- women should be ppts irl studies, not objects
- groups should have diversity
- more emphasis should be on collaborative research
Cultural bias
Refers to a tendency to ignore cultural differences and interpret all phenomena through the lens of one’s own culture
Ethnocentrism
Judging other cultures by the standards and values of one’s own culture.
In its extreme form it’s the belief that one’s own culture is superior.
Which may lead to prejudice and discrimination
Cultural relativism
The idea that norms and values as well as ethics and moral standards, can only be meaningful and understood within specific social and cultural contexts.
Etic
Looks at behaviour from outside the culture
Attempts the describe those behaviours that are universal.
Emic
Functions from within a given culture and identifies behaviours that are specific to that culture.
