Issues and Debates: Gender Bias - AO1 Flashcards
What is gender bais?
Gender Bias is understanding behaviour based on misleading or inaccurate views of gender effects
What does universality mean?
Universality is the aim to develop theories that apply to all people so that conclusions drawn in psychological research can be applied to everybody, everywhere.
What is androcentrism?
Androcentrism is a bias towards a male-centred viewpoint.
What does androcentrism lead to?
Alpha and Beta Bias
What is Alpha Bias?
When differences between males and females are exaggerated
What does Alpha Bias lead to?
Stereotypes and One gender is valued more/less than the other.
What is one example of Alpha bias in research?
Freud is an example of Alpha bias. He claimed in the phallic stage children desired their opposite-sex parent due to identifying with their same-sex parent. However, he said that identification was weaker in girls so they had a weaker superego and morality. Through this he is suggesting females are devalued compared to males and the identification level is exaggerated- Alpha bias
What is Beta Bias?
When the difference between two genders is underestimated/downplayed.
What is Beta Bias based on?
It is based on the assumption that woman are the same as men (and visa versa) when in reality this is not entirely the case.
What does Beta Bias lead to?
Leads to incomplete explanations or invalid conclusions being drawn.
What are 2 examples of Beta bias in experiments?
Zimbardo, Asch & Milgram didn’t include women in theor studies assuming they respond the same.
Fight-or-Flight studies are often carried out with male animals only, assuming that the response is the same irrespective of gender. However this isn’t true, Taylor (2000) found that females may show a “tend & befriend” approach due to high levels of oxytocin which is different to males approach.
