ISSUES AND DEBATES Flashcards
gender bias, cultural bias, nature/nurture debate, holism/reductionism, idiographic/nomothetic, ethical implications
what in universality
conclusions drawn can be applied to everyone anywhere, regardless of time or culture
when does gender bias occur
when one gender is treated less favourably than the other
what are the three main types of gender bias
alpha, beta, androcentrism
what is alpha bias
exaggerating the difference between men and women, more likely to devalue females
what is beta bias
exaggerating the similarities between men and women, often occurs when female ppts are not apart of the research
what is androcentrism
male behaviour being taken as standard so female behaviour is deviant and abnormal
result of androcentrism
female behaviour is misunderstood and pathologised
examples of alpha bias
Freud - morality is governed by the superego that develops in the psychosexual phases, boys develop and resolve the Oedipus complex - because their conflict is greater, their morality is therefore stronger than girls who have to identify with their weak mother
Bowlby - mothers need to be the primary caregiver or their baby’s development will be damaged, this reinforces stereotypes that the mother needs to be the one who raises the children
examples of beta bias
Milgram - all male sample, made assumptions that women will act the same or even kinder, generalising
Taylor - research into fight-or-flight response, found evidence that supports that women actually have a tend-and-befriend response
example of androcentrism in research
Brescoll and Uhlman - PMS is a social construct which medicalises female emotions
AO3 - implications of gender bias for women in life and for their health
Gender bias can lead to misleading assumptions about female behaviour and can validate discriminatory practices. Gender bias in research can lead to the scientific justification to deny women opportunities within the workplace and society. Brescoll and Uhlman’s research into PMS justifies this point as its creation acts as a social construct to some and medicalises female emotions. Opposing this, mens’ emotions are seen as valid reactions to the situation they are in. This can have real-life impacts in the workplace where women may be regarded too emotional to lead because of PMS, particularly because many high ranking positions are dominated by males and so they set the standard of normalcy. Researcher, Tarvis, adds to this as he suggests that it has become ‘normal [for women] to feel abnormal’. This has damaging consequences that effect the life of women, for instance, women are twice as likely to be diagnosed with depression. Therefore, gender bias can deeply effect the role women play in society and how they function.
AO3 - reflexivity of gender bias
In the modern age, researchers are beginning to recognise the effect their own beliefs and values have on the nature of their work. Embracing this as a crucial and critical aspect of the research process is now commonplace to implement into a researchers work. Dambrin and Lambert demonstrate this in their study on how women lack roles in executive positions in accountancy firms. They include a reflection on how their gender-related experiences influence their reading of events. Moving forward, an awareness of gender bias is actually positive since it can improve the accuracy and therefore validity of results if researchers are aware of it.
AO3 - feminist psychology
Many researchers have presented a criteria to follow to avoid gender bias in their work. Worrell and Remer are an example of this. Some of the criteria is along the lines of: women should be studied with meaningful real-life context, should genuinely participate in research, and an effort should be made to collect qualitative data over numerical figures.
how many psychologists in 1992
56000
what percent of total psychologists in 1992 were american and what did this mean for the field of psychology
64% - psychology is the study of white american males
whose social influence studies had different results in other parts of the world - what researchers found this
asch and milgram - (kilham and mann)
what leads to cultural bias
any cultural differences being seen as abnormal
what is ethnocentrism
a belief that the ethnic group with which the individual identifies is superior to other groups
name an ethnocentric study and why
ainsworth strange situation - USA upholds a secure attachment type as being the best but this is not universal. German mothers for example are seen as cold since they prefer an insecure-avoidant attachment type in their children - they just see this as encouraging independence. (Grossman)
what can ethnocentrism turn into
racism
who created emics and etics definitions
berry
what is emics
constructs particular to a specific culture, vary from place to place. Functions from within/inside certain cultures and identifies behaviours that are specific to that culture.
what is etics
constructs that are universal to all people. Looks at behaviour from outside a given culture and attempts to describe universal behaviours.
ex of imposed etic
ainsworth
