Issues and Debates (not finished)

Question 1

Define gender bias in psychological research
(CHECK THIS DEFINITION)

Answer 1

When one gender is treated less favourably in research, usually women, as psychology is a male-dominated field.

Question 2

What is alpha bias in the context of gender bias?

Answer 2

When differences between men and women are emphasised

Question 3

What is beta bias in the context of gender bias?

Answer 3

When similarities between men and women are emphasised, so research is applied to both men and women without proper testing

Question 4

Which researchers suggested alpha and beta bias as forms of gender bias?

Answer 4

Hare-Mustin and Marecek

Question 5

What are the negative consequences of alpha bias?

Answer 5

• Can uphold harmful gender stereotypes - especially true as research that finds differences is more likely to get published
• Can validate sex discrimination - male senior researchers are more common, for example

Question 6

What are the negative consequences of beta bias?

Answer 6

• Can lead to scientifically misleading results that lower the validity of research

Question 7

Give an example of alpha bias in psychological research

Answer 7

• Freud’s Explanation of Moral Development - Women are naturally less moral than men as they do not undergo castration anxiety like boys do during the Oedipus Complex. As a result, girls do not identify as strongly with their mothers, leading to a weaker superego.
• Biomedical Approach to Mental Illness - Women are more likely to be diagnosed with mental illness on the basis of hormones, as the biomedical approach highlights that hormonal activity is more inconsistent in women. As a result, it creates the impression that women are more unstable, and environmental/social factors impacting mental illness may be overlooked.
• Kohlberg’s Stages of Moral Development -Used an all male sample, then generalised his findings to women. However, he claimed that women typically reached lower levels of morality without any substantial evidence to support this.

Question 8

Give an example of beta bias in psychological research

Answer 8

• The Tend and Befriend Response - As research into fight and flight was conducted largely on men, it was assumed that women underwent the same process. However, it was later found that women have the tend and befriend response, where they will care for themselves and form alliances with others in times of crisis to better protect offspring (as running or fighting is not viable evolutionarily speaking)

Question 9

Define Androcentrism

Answer 9

When men are established as the norm/superior, and women are seen as inferior/’other’.
- Consequence of psychology being a male-dominated field
- Leads to alpha and beta bias

Question 10

How does Eagley suggest gender bias can be addressed in psychological research?

Answer 10

• Differences between men and women are real, and they must be used in a proactive and pragmatic way to promote equality between genders.
• For example, research has shown that women are less effective leaders than men, but this should be used to create specialist training courses for women to better prepare them for leadership roles

Question 11

Explain reverse alpha bias

Answer 11

• Suggested by feminist psychologists as a response to male-dominated research
• Research should instead emphasise the strengths/qualities of women rather than those of men to challenge gender stereotypes
• For example, Cornwell et al suggested that women are better learners because they are more attentive, flexible and organised
• However, this is still a form of alpha bias that can lead to an imbalanced view of the genders

Question 12

What is an emics approach in relation to culture bias?

Answer 12

• Linked to alpha bias
• When is is assumed there are distinct differences between cultures
• Emic constructs are specific to certain cultures, so researchers outside of that culture may misinterpret the emic due to their own ‘cultural filters’

Question 13

What is an etics approach in relation to culture bias?

Answer 13

• Linked to beta bias
• When differences between cultures are minimised or ignored
• Can lead to ‘imposed etics’ where a construct assumed to be universal is inappropriately applied to a culture outside the one it was tested/created in

Question 14

Give an example of a psychological theory that led to an ‘imposed emic’

Answer 14

• Collectivist and Individualist Cultures (East vs. West)
• Takano and Osaka reviewed 15 studies comparing the USA with Japan on levels of conformity, and found that 14 of these did not suggest a difference relating to perceived individualist or collectivist culture.
• Thus the ‘individualist’ and ‘collectivist’ distinction may no longer be relevant

Question 15

Give an example of psychological research that led to an ‘imposed etic’

Answer 15

• IQ Tests –>IQ tests are designed in and for the West, but they are applied to a wide range of cultures around the world with the assumption that is is a universal measure of intelligence. This is not the case, making non-Western cultures appear less intelligent than the West. In reality, other cultures may have a different view of intelligence that does not conform to Western views

Question 16

Define Ethnocentrism

Answer 16

When one culture is seen as ‘normal’, or superior to others
- Can lead to racism and discrimination

Question 17

Give an example of ethnocentric research

Answer 17

• US Army IQ Test before WW1- Because it was designed for White Americans, Black Americans’ scores showed they had a low mental age, creating the view that they were less intelligent than white people and fuelling discrimination.
• Ainsworth’s Strange Situation - This test was designed with Western childrearing methods in mind, meaning that when used to assess any culture that does not conform to these ideals, the data is at risk of being misinterpreted. E.g. Japanese culture values dependence more so than Western culture, which would see it as an attachment disorder.

Question 18

Define cultural relativism

Answer 18

When a culture’s practices, beliefs etc. are viewed from the perspective of the culture itself
- Practiced by researchers to avoid culture bias and wrongfully judging other cultures by the standards of one’s own

Question 19

What is meant by Indigenous Psychology?

Answer 19

The development of groups of psychological theories that apply specifically to different cultures - EMIC APPROACH
- For example, Afrocentrism postulates that, because Black people have their roots in Africa, all theories concerned with Black people must express African values.

Question 20

What is an example of emic-etic research?

Answer 20

Buss’ research into mate preferences
- He worked with 3 local researchers in each of the 37 cultures he studies to accurately translate the questionnaire into and out of the native language.
- He then used the results to create universal assumptions about mate selection - these results were therefore more useful, and they avoided culture bias.

Question 21

What is the main issue with emic-etic research?

Answer 21

It is too expensive and time consuming to be a viable way to reduce culture bias for every piece of research.

Question 22

Which research showed the extent of culture bias in psychological samples?

Answer 22

• Smith and Bond (1998) - in one European psychology textbook: 66% of the studies were American, 32% were European, and only 2% came from the rest of the world
• Sears (1986) - 82% of studies used undergraduates, and 51% were psychology students - samples were therefore not even representative withing Western culture
• Henrich et al (2010) - A randomly selected American psychology student was 4000x more likely to be selected for a study than a non-Westerner. As a result, most research is based on white, middle-class, academic young adult males - NOT REPRESENTATIVE