Issues and debates - Gender bias Flashcards
what is gender bias in psychology?
the tendency to favour one gender over another, which can lead to assumptions or stereotypes and a misrepresentation of behaviour
key term - alpha bias
exaggerates gender differences in behaviour
where is alpha bias seen in psychological research?
identified in an evolutionary view of sexual relationships, which suggests it’s in men’s genetics to be promiscuous and it’s a woman’s nature to care for her family.
How does Freud’s view of gender show alpha bias?
He believed that boys developed a stronger superego than girls, so girls were seen as morally inferior to males.
key term - beta bias
denies or minimises differences between male and female behaviour
what is an example of beta bias in psychological research?
early research into the stress response only focused on men and assumed females would be the same.
However, Taylor (2000) suggests that females show a ‘tend/befriend’ response due to increased oxytocin
key term - androcentrism
male-centred view of behaviour.
Results in female behaviour being viewed as ‘abnormal’
what are examples of androcentrism in psychological research?
Research based on all male participants
Milgram, Zimbardo, and Asch
How is Psychology itself androcentric?
94/100 of the most influential Psychologists listed by the APA are male, so Psychology is dominated by men.
Androcentric view of anger
androcentrism in psychology trivialises female behaviour.
While male anger is presumed to be reasonable, women are seen as ‘being emotional’ or ‘hysterical’
limitation - gender differences are often resented as fixed
Maccoby and Jacklin (1974) found that girls have superior verbal ability and boys have better spatial ability, and suggests these differences are ‘hardwired’ into the brain - this was widely seen as fact.
Joel et al (2015) found no such differences in brain structure - suggested the idea was only popularised because it fit existing stereotypes
counterpoint - gender differences should still be studied
research by Ingalhalikar et al (2014) has suggests that the stereotype of women being better at multi-tasking may have biological truth to it - women’s brains have better connections between hemispheres than men’s
strength - beta bias may have positive implications
it results in women and men being viewed as the same, which has led to qual treatment in legal terms and equal access to education and employment.
counterpoint: some research leads to misunderstanding of female behaviour through beta bias - ignores biological differences.
Limitation - research challenging gender biases may not be published
psychologists analysed over 1000 articles relating to gender bias and found research on gender bias is funded less often and published by less prestigious journals.
This means fewer scholars are aware of it and won’t apply findings to their work
