Issues and Debates Flashcards
what is gender bias?
the differential treatment and/or representation of males and females based on stereotypes and not real differences
what is androcentrism?
theories which are centered on or focused on males
what is gynocentrism?
theories which are centered on or focused on females
what is alpha bias?
refers to theories which exaggerates the differences between males and females
what is beta bias?
refers to the theories which ignore or minimise sex differences. These theories often assume that the findings from males can apply equally to females
what is an example of alpha bias?
Freud’s psychodynamic approach
argued there are psychological differences between men and women. His theory suggests that women are inferior because of penis envy.
femininity is a failed form of masculinity
what is an example of beta bias?
fight or flight
research carried out on males assumed it was the same for both sexes. However Shelley Taylor et al (2002) found females adopt tend and befriend where women are more likely to protect their offspring (tending) and form alliances with other women (befriending)
what is an example of androcentrism?
Asch’s conformity studies
- only male Ps
why is gender bias an issue?
- creates misleading assumptions about female behaviour which may reinforce gender stereotypes
- may provide justification from scientific research to deny opportunities to women
- male behaviour is seen as the normal lead women to feel they’re abnormal
- not only methodological issue, has real life consequences
what is culture bias?
cultural bias is the tendency to judge people in terms of one’s own cultural assumptions
what is ethnocentrism?
seeing world from one’s own cultural perspective and believing that this one perspective is both normal and correct
what is cultural relativism?
insists that behaviour can be understood only if the cultural context is taken into consideration
what is an example of ethnocentrism?
Ainsworth’s strange situation
developed to assess attachment types and many researchers assume that strange situation can be applied to all cultures
German children show higher rates of insecure-avoidant attachment
example of cultural relativism?
Sternberg (1985)
coordination skills that are essential in a preliterate society (e.g. shooting a bow and arrow) may be irrelevant to a more literate and developed society
what is determinism?
determinism is the view that free will is an illusion and that our behaviour is governed by internal or external forces over which we have no control. consequently our behaviour is viewed as predictable
what is hard determinism?
view that forces outside our control (e.g. biology/past experiences) shape our behaviour
what is soft determinism?
view that behaviour is constrained by the environment or biological make-up but only to a certain extent and there is an element of free will in all behaviour
what is free will?
idea that we can play an active role and have choice in how we behave. The assumption is that individuals are free to choose their behaviour and are self-determined
what is biological determinism?
idea that all human behaviour is innate and determined by genes
what is environmental determinism?
view that behaviour is caused by forces outside the individual therefore behaviour is caused by previous experience learned through classical and operant conditioning