Issues & Debates - Gender and Cultural Bias

Question 1

Define bias

Answer 1

occurs when a psychologist’s pre-existing beliefs and viewpoints influence their theories and data.

this bias may stem from their:
-personal experiences
-cultural background
-education
-political beliefs
-gender-related societal experiences

Question 2

Define gender bias

Answer 2

GB in RS occurs when rs’s stereotypical views about male and female behaviour affect their theoretical assumptions.

LEADING TO misrepresentation of M&F, either by exaggerating differences of underestimating differences between M and F

Question 3

Define cultural bias

Answer 3

refers to interpreting and judging human behaviour based on own cultural norms and experiences.

this often stems from an ETHNOCENTRIC PERSPECTIVE, where RS view their culture as superior or standard against others - LEADING TO MISINTERPRETATION

Question 4

Define universality

Answer 4

argument that certain observed behaviours apply to all humans regardless of differences.

some psychologist may claim or assume universality but if sample is not diverse then claim remains an assumption or may not be universally true

LAUGHTER GOOD EXAMPLE

Question 5

Unfortunately most samples in psychology are …

Answer 5

WEIRD societies

Question 6

What does WEIRD stand for?

Answer 6

Western
Educated
Industrialised
Rich
Democratic

societies

Question 7

Sampling bias is…

Answer 7

when sample is WEIRD

Question 8

Define Androcentrism

Answer 8

when theories reflect and support a male-centric view of the world

Question 9

Define alpha bias

Answer 9

assumption that there are significant differences between genders, often leading to an overemphasis or exaggeration.

Question 10

Define beta bias

Answer 10

assumption that there are no significant differences between genders, often leading to underestimating or minimising actual behavioural differences .

Question 11

Give examples of theories which include alpha bias

Answer 11

Bowlby’s monotropic theory
The Evolutionary Theory of Relationships

Question 12

Bowlby’s monotropic theory is an example of, what type of bias?

Answer 12

Alpha bias

Question 13

The Evolutionary Theory of Relationships is an example of, what type of bias?

Answer 13

Alpha bias

Question 14

Summarise Bowlby’s monotropic theory

Answer 14

-emphasises the mother’s role as crucial in an infant’s development MORE SO THAN THE FATHER’S ROLE
-this perspective was likely influenced by social norms of Britain 1950’s
-where child-rearing roles were less shared
-single-gendered families e.g single fathers may feel inadequate as if they cannot provide the same amount of care

Question 15

Summarise The Evolutionary Theory of Relationships

Answer 15

-Argues males w/ potential to father many children but uncertain of their paternity, ARE INNATELY PROMISCUOUS
-seeking to impregnate as many women as possible to increase their genetic legacy
-also seen as possessive aiming to prevent their partners from bearing children w others
-Fs can have limited no. f children but are certain of their maternity, so they are said to seek men w resources to support child-rearing
-theory enforces a double standard
-normalises and legitimises male promiscuity while stigmatising similar behaviours in women

Question 16

Give examples of theories which include beta bias

Answer 16

Social influence research
The fight or flight response

Question 17

The social influence research is an example of what type of bias ?

Answer 17

Beta bias

Question 18

The fight or flight response research is an example of what type of bias ?

Answer 18

Beta bias

Question 19

Summarise the fight or flight response

Answer 19

-automatic reaction to a threat
-BASED ON MALE SURVIVAL STRATEGIES
-rs supporting this theory predominately involved male participants or male animals
-SHELLEY TAYLOR
argues that its not the most effective survival strategy for females
-INSTEAD women ‘TEND AND BEFRIEND’
tend= actions that maximise the survival of both mother and her children
befriend=building social connections that can provide support in emergency situations

-gender-specific survival strategies

Question 20

Summarise The social influence research

Answer 20

-Milgrim’s orginals study included
-40 partcipants
and focusd only on obediance to male authropty figures, overlooking potential differences in response to female authority figures.

SIMILARLY

-Asch’s conformity study was conducted with only male participants
-use of male ps ignored possibility of GENDER-SPECIFIC DIFFERENCES
-was influenced by societal norms at the time and a belief that male subjects yield MORE ‘generalisable’ results.

Question 21

Summarise research surrounding WEIRD participants.

Answer 21

Henrich found in major psych journals that

68% of rs ps were from US

96% were from Western industrialised nations

67% of american subjects were undergrad pscyh students

-this means american uni student 4000x more likely to be ps in psych study than an individual from a non-western background

Question 22

Cultural bias and schizophrenia

Answer 22

in uk and west indies schizophrenia prevalence is 1%

-west indies indiviudal sthat come to UK have significantly higher diagnosisi rate and 9x more likely to be diagnosed with schizo

FERNANDO
suggests this discrepancy is due to CATEGORY FAILURE
where western definitions of non-western populations are inappropriately applied

-e.g hearing voices of spirits and angels is a normal religious experience in west indies but in UK likely to be interpreted as an AUDITORY HALLUCINATION

Question 23

Ethnocentrism

Answer 23

when rs think their own culture and ethnic group is superior and use it as standard which to others are compared to

-perceive their own culture as the ‘correct’ way of living

-leads to challenges in understanding or accepting cultural practises

-this pov can significantly skew both interpretation of cross-cultural rs and development of psych theories.

Question 24

Which study is an example of ethnocentrism

Answer 24

AInsworth’s strange situation

Question 25

Summarise Ainsworth’s strange situation

Answer 25

-developed w American context

-secure attachment argued to be most desirable outcome and most common (75% in british sample) in western individualistic societies

-EXAMPLE OF IMPOSED ETIC- where a rs’s cultural norms are assumed to be applicable as a standard for all cultures

-diff cultural norms can influence an infants’s behaviour in assessment
=LABELLING BEHAVIOURS AS ‘INSECURE’ BASED ON WESTERN STANDARD IS ETHNOCENTRIC

China has least secure infants at 50%

German infants more likely to be classified as insecure-avoidant
Japanese infants as insecure-resistant

Question 26

Define cultural relativism

Answer 26

principle that human behaviour should be understood w/ in context of specific culture where it occurs

• take into account other culture’s norms, values and beliefs

Question 27

Claims of universality should be supported by…

Answer 27

Empirical data

Question 28

Supporting indigenous pscyh can increase

Answer 28

greater diversity
equal representation
tackle misinterpretation

Question 29

Define indigenous psychology

Answer 29

where rs is conducted by individuals who are native or deeply understand the culture under investigation

Question 30

How can we reduce the WEIRD bias in psych? (Provide an example)

Answer 30

Use diverse samples.

Example-
Van IJzendoorn’s meta-analysis of the Strange Situation, which compared findings across different cultural contexts

Question 31

What is the reflexive approach?

Answer 31

involves researchers actively reflecting on their beliefs, values and experiences.

Self-awareness is crucial for recognising how these personal factors might influence the rs process.