ISSUES AND DEBATES: gender and culture in psychology - gender bias

Question 1

Define universality and bias.

Answer 1

Assumption that psychological theories apply to all people regardless of gender or culture however many theories are based on male dominated research.

• gender, bias and culture by threatened the university of findings in psychology.

Question 2

What is gender bias?

Answer 2

When psychological research/ theory may offer a review that does not justify represent the experience and behaviour of men or women.

Question 3

What are the two forms of gender bias?

Answer 3

Alpha bias and beta bias

Question 4

Define alpha bias.

Answer 4

Research that focuses on differences between men and women and therefore to present a view that exaggerates these differences.

Reinforces stereotypes.
eg Freud = male and female develop in different ways = women have a weaker superego because girls identify with their mothers who superego are weaker

Question 5

Define beta bias.

Answer 5

Research that focuses on similarities between men and women and therefore presents a view that ignores or minimise the differences.

eg fight or flight= biological research used male animals because female behaviour is affected by hormonal changes. Findings of fight or flight are generalised to females.

Question 6

What is androcentrism?

Answer 6

A male-centred perspective in psychology = male behaviour is the norm and female behaviour is misunderstood.
eg premenstrual syndrome is seen as abnormal, whereas men’s anger is seen as a rational response to external pressures.

Question 7

What is a reflexivity in psychological research?

Answer 7

When researchers recognise their own biases and challenge them.

This is them reflecting on how their beliefs and background influence findings = researchers can reduce androcentrism, alpha+ beta bias = leading to objective balanced representative psychological research

Question 8

evaluate gender bias in research.

Answer 8

• gender differences are presented as fixed when they aren’t = Maccoby and Jacklin = girls have better verbal ability+ boys have better spatial ability = suggests that this has been like this since birth. HOWEVER = Joel et al = used brain scanning and found no sex differences in brain structure.
• gender bias promotes sexism in research = women remain underrepresented in university departments + lecturers are most likely to be men. Research conducted by men disadvantages women due to the researcher’s stereotypes about women. = institutional methods, procedures, findings are gender biased.

-research challenging gender bias may not be published. Formanowicz = found that research on gender bias is funded less and published by less prestigious journals = fewer scholars become aware of it = gender bias and psychological research may not be taken seriously.