Issues And Debates

Question 1

Gender bias

Answer 1

The differential treatment or representation of men and women based on stereotypes rather than real difference.

Question 2

Alpha bias (gender)

Answer 2

A tendency to exaggerate differences between men and women, suggesting that there are real and enduring differences between the two sexes. The consequences are that theories devalue one gender in comparison to the other, but typically devalue women.

Question 3

Alpha bias examples (gender) (2)

Answer 3

1. Psychodynamic theory. Alpha bias favouring males. Freud claimed children in the phallic stage desire their opposite-sex parent. This is resolved by identification with their same-sex parent. But a girl’s identification is weaker, creating a weaker Superego and weaker moral development. In addition he suggested women are inferior and so suffer ‘penis envy’.
2. Bowlby monotropic theory of attachment

Question 4

Beta bias (gender)

Answer 4

A tendency to ignore or minimise differences between men or women. Such theories tend to ignore questions about the lives of women, or insights derived from studies of men will apply equally well to women.

Question 5

Beta bias example (gender)

Answer 5

Early research conducted into the fight or flight response exclusively used male lab mice because they experience fewer hormonal fluctuations and so changes in adrenaline, due to environmental stressors, could be more reliably measured. However, results from these studies were then generalised to females, ignoring differences between the two sexes (e.g. speed and extent of the fight or flight response). More recently, Taylor et al. have suggested that female biology has evolved to inhibit the fight or flight response, shifting attention towards caring for offspring (tending) and forming defensive networks with other females (befriending). This tend and befriend response is suggested to be governed by hormone oxytocin which women have more of.

Question 6

Androcentrism

Answer 6

The consequence of beta bias and occurs when all behaviour is compared according to a ‘male’ standard, often to the neglect or exclusion of women (female behaviour is often judged to be ‘abnormal’ by comparison). This leads to female behaviour being misunderstood and even pathologised.

Question 7

Androcentrism examples (2)

Answer 7

1. Feminists object to the category of premenstrual syndrome (PMS) because it medicalises female emotions (e.g. anger) by explaining these in hormonal terms. But male anger is often seen as a rational response to external pressures.
2. Research on beta bias is usually conducted with male animals as female variations in hormones would make research more difficult. It was assumed that only male samples are needed as what is true for males is true for females, until Taylor challenged this and provided evidence that females produce tend and befriend response at times of stress which is adaptive as it ensures the survival of offspring. This beta bias meant that a real difference was ignored.

Question 8

Universality

Answer 8

The aim to develop theories that apply to all people, which may include real differences. This describes any underlying characteristic of human behaviour which can be applied to all individuals, regardless of their differences. Bias, lack of validity and issues with reliability reduce the universality of psychological findings.
Example: facial expressions

Question 9

Gynocentrism

Answer 9

Theories which are centred on, or focused on females.

Question 10

Gender bias evaluations (3)

Answer 10

❌ Bias in research methods = If theories and studies are gender biased, the research may find differences between genders but it may not be the genders that differ but simply the methods used to test or observe them. For example, Rosenthal (1966) found that male experimenters are more pleasant and encouraging to female participants and subsequently they perform better in tasks/male participants appeared to perform less well. Secondly, fewer women being appointed at senior research positions means that female concerns are less likely to be reflected in the experimental questions.

✅ Reverse alpha bias describes the development of theories that show a greater emphasis on women = Research by Cornwell et al (2013) showed that women are better at learning because they are more attentive, flexible and organised. Such research challenges the stereotype that in any gender differences the male position must be better and challenges people’s preconceptions.

❌ Negative implications for society. For example, in 1930s, scientists proposed that intellectual activity in women shrinks their ovaries so attending university would risk their chances of giving birth. This can be seen as a politically motivated argument which has been disguised as a biological fact.

Question 11

Culture

Answer 11

The rules, customs, morals and ways of interacting that bind together members of a society or some other collection of people.

Question 12

Cultural bias

Answer 12

The tendency to judge all cultures and individuals in terms of your own cultural assumptions. This distorts or biases your judgements.

Question 13

Cultural relativism

Answer 13

The view that the ‘facts’ that psychologists discover may only make sense from the perspective of the culture within which they were discovered. Being able to recognise this is one way of avoiding cultural bias in research.

Question 14

Example of Cultural Relativism

Answer 14

Milgram’s study into obedience was originally conducted using 40 male American participants, but then also replicated using Spanish students.
(Miranda et al. found over 90% obedience rates in Spanish students). This suggests that Milgram’s original results were specifically bound to American cultures.

Question 15

Beta bias in cultural relativism

Answer 15

Cultural relativism is often discussed in the context of defining mental disorder. Behaviours that are statistically infrequent in one culture may be more frequent in another, i.e. schizophrenia is claiming to hear voices but this experience is more common in African cultures, where hearing voices is a sign of spirituality and so individuals are more likely to openly report these experiences to their psychiatrist. By assuming the same rules universally we may diagnose some people as mentally ill but relative to the culture they may not be.

Question 16

Alpha bias in cross-cultural research

Answer 16

With regards to culture refers to the assumption that there are real and enduring differences between cultural groups. An example is the distinction that is often made between individualistic and collectivist cultures. We would expect individualistic cultures to be less conformist as they are less orientated towards group norms and value their own needs over the group. For example, Takano and Osaka reviewed 15 studies that compared the US and Japan in terms of collectivist/individualism and found that 14 out of 15 studies did not support the common view about differences in conformity. This suggests that there is less of a collectivist/individualist divide in an increasingly global world.

Question 17

Ethnocentrism

Answer 17

Form of cultural bias.
Seeing things from the point of view of ourselves and our social group. Evaluating other groups of people using the standards and customs of one’s own culture. In its extreme form, ethnocentrism can lead to prejudice and discrimination against ‘lesser’ cultures.

Question 18

Indigenous psychologies

Answer 18

A method of countering ethnocentrism, the development of different groups of theories in different countries.

Question 19

Example of Ethnocentrism

Answer 19

Ainsworth’s Strange Situation is an example of cultural relativism due to suggesting that a secure attachment was only characterised by moderate separation and stranger anxiety. Therefore, German mothers, whose children showed little separation and stranger anxiety (thus being insecure-avoidant according to Ainsworth’s system), were deemed as cold and rejecting.

Question 20

The emic-etic distinction

Answer 20

Berry argues that:
• An etic approach looks at behaviour from outside a given culture and identifies behaviours that are universal. Ainsworth’s research illustrates imposed etic — they studied behaviours inside a single culture (America) and then assumed their ideal attachment type could be applied universally.
• An emic approach functions from inside a culture and identifies behaviours that are specific to that culture.

Question 21

WEIRD

Answer 21

Henrich et al. founded the term to describe the group of people most likely to be studied by psychologists — Westernised, Educated people from Industrialised, Rich Democracies. If the norm or standard for particular behaviour is set by WEIRD people, then behaviour from people who do not fit this category are inevitably seen as ‘abnormal’.

Question 22

Culture bias evaluations (3)

Answer 22

❌ Not all behaviours are affected by cultural bias: Although there may be differences in rates of obedience (Milgram) and conformity (Asch) between collectivist/Eastern and individualist/Western cultures, universal behaviours still exist. For example, Ekman et al. demonstrated that facial expressions for anger, guilt and disgust were universally recognised across all cultures. In terms of attachment, interactional synchrony and reciprocity are universal features of infant-caregiver interactions. Therefore, this suggests that to fully understand behaviour, we must look at both universal and culture-bound examples.

✅ Worldwide psychology: Researchers are now able to travel more and therefore have a greater understanding of other cultures, alongside having increased opportunities to conduct cross-cultural research. Academics meet to discuss and share ideas at international conferences, which reduces ethnocentrism in Psychology through appreciating that behaviours found in one culture may not be the same as in others, as well as real differences being identified and valued. For example, Bond and Smith noted that not all cultures will be familiar with research traditions and the aims of science, leading to a greater ‘Please-U’ demand characteristic effect, which may bias the findings. Conclusions psychologists draw are likely to have more validity if they include recognition of the role of culture

❌ Bias in research methods: Smith and Bond surveyed research in one European textbook on social psychology and found that 98% Western and 2% from the rest of the world. A considerable amount of psychology is based on middle class academic young adults who are males. This suggests that there is almost an institutionalised cultural bias in psychology, as students would be learning about ‘universal’ behaviours that were demonstrated only in certain cultures.