Issues and Debates (culture&gender)

Question 1

What is gender bias

Answer 1

The differential treatment or representation of men and women based on stereotypes or real differences

Question 2

What is an alpha bias

Answer 2

Exaggerating the differences between men and women.

Question 3

Examples of alpha biases

Answer 3

• Psychodynamic theory suggests that criminality occurs due to deviant superego. According to Freud, females don’t experience castration anxiety, they are under less pressure and have less of a need to identify with the same sex parent compared to boys. Suggests that females are less moral than males.

Question 4

What is beta bias

Answer 4

Ignoring or minimising the sex differences by assuming that the findings from males can apply equally to females and vice versa

Question 5

Examples of beta biases

Answer 5

• Kohlberg proposed a stage theory of moral development based on the findings from interviews with all male samples. Males were interviews every 3/4 yrs over 20 yrs. Kohlberg concluded that an individuals moral development occurs overtime and develops in line with a more sophisticated style of thinking w/ moral development.

Question 6

What is Androcentrism

Answer 6

The consequences of beta bias and occurs when all behaviour is compared to a male standard, often to neglect women’s POV.
- leads to female behaviour being misunderstood or pathologised.

Question 7

Who argued that alpha bias, beta bias and androcentrism exists in psychology

Answer 7

Hare-Mustin & Marecek

Question 8

What is universality

Answer 8

The aim to develop theories that apply to all people , which may include real differences.

Question 9

What is cultural bias

Answer 9

Tendency to judge all cultures based on your own cultural assumptions.

Question 10

What is cultural relativism

Answer 10

The idea that a behaviour can obey be understood in the context oft he norms and values of the society or culture it occurs in

Question 11

Examples of cultural relativism

Answer 11

• Milgram’s obedience study using 40 male Americans but later replicated using Spanish students (Miranda et al) and Australian students . However Milgram’s original results were specifically bound to American culture

Question 12

What can cultural relativism lead to?

Answer 12

• Alpha bias - where assumptions of real differences lead psychologist to overlook universals.
• Beta bias - some behaviours are statistically infrequent in one culture may be more frequent in another. Schizophrenia is claiming to hear voices but this experience is more common in African cultures

Question 13

Alpha bias in cross cultural research

Answer 13

• the differences made between Individualistic and collectivist cultures
• Individualistic cultures are less orientated to group norms and value the needs of the group over he

Question 14

Who devised emic-etic distinction?

Answer 14

Berrry 1969

Question 15

Imposed etic

Answer 15

Assuming the behaviour from outside of a given culture can be applied universally

Question 16

Imposed emic

Answer 16

Examines behaviour within a culture & identifies behaviours that are specific to that culture

Question 17

What is ethnocentrism

Answer 17

• Seeing the world from our POV and our cultural perspective and evaluating other groups of people using the standards from our own culture.

Question 18

Examples of ethnocentrism

Answer 18

• Ainsworth’s strange situation is an example of cultural relativism due to suggesting that a secure attachment was based of moderate separation and stranger anxiety. Therefore German kids who showed little separation and stranger anxiety were seen and insecure-avoidant (cold and rejecting)

Question 19

What is alpha bias in culture

Answer 19

Exaggerating the difference between culture

Question 20

What is beta bias in culture

Answer 20

Ignoring or minimising the differences between culture (Ainsworth’s strange situation)

Question 21

What did Takano and Osaka find about alpha biases between collectivist and individualistic cultures

Answer 21

They found in 14/15 studies that compared to the US and Japan that there wasn’t a common view about differences in conformity.
- Suggests that there is led of a collectivist/individualistic divide in an increasingly global world