Issues & Debates - Gender Bias Flashcards
What is gender bias in psychology?
Psychological research/theory that doesn’t justifiably represent the experience & behaviour of men & women
What is universality?
Any underlying characteristic that is capable of being applied to all, in humans, despite differences of experience & upbringing
What is androcentrism?
When behaviour is judged as normal according to a male standard
What is alpha bias?
Research the over exaggerates the differences between men & women
What is beta bias?
Research that ignores or minimises the differences between men & women
How does bias affect universality?
Bias is inevitable in research as researchers have different beliefs that are influenced by their surroundings, however bias undermines universality
How does alpha bias affect research?
Often considered fixed & inevitable -> the differences between genders usually uplift women’s value but mainly undermine women
What is an example of alpha bias in research?
Freud’s theory of psychosexual development -> during the phallic stage boys & girls develop a desire for the parent of the opposite sex, this creates castration anxiety in the boy which can only be resolved when he identifies with his father. This is weaker in girls, making their superego weaker. Overall, women are seen as inferior to men
How does beta bias occur in research?
Happens when it is assumed that the findings will be the same for both men & women even when women are excluded from the research
What is an example of beta bias in research?
Flight or fight research -> male animals are favoured over female, because female’s behaviour is affected by hormone changes in ovulation -> this ignores the possible difference between men & women as they are assumed to have the same response
What is androcentrism a consequence of?
Alpha & beta bias
How does androcentrism affect women?
Women have been misunderstood & their behaviour has been pathologised -> e,.g. PMS has medicalised women’s emotions by explaining emotions e.g. anger in hormonal terms, however men’s anger is seen as a normal response
EVALUATION: What does biological vs social explanations for gender bias propose?
Gender bias often seen as fixed when it isnt -> maccoby & jacklin presented gender studies suggesting girls have better verbal ability, boys have better spatial ability which is hardwired in the brain at birth & slowly started to become fact. It wasnt until Daphna Joel et al did brain scans and found it out to be false -> suggests to be wary about research findings claiming to be biological fact when they are a social stereotype
However, gender differences in the brain shouldnt be ignored -> ingalhalikar et al suggested women having better ability to multitask had biological truth in it & their brains had a benefit from connections between the right & left hemispheres of their brain which men’s didnt -> suggests there may be biological differences but caution should be taken as to not exaggerate their effect on behaviour
EVALUATION: What does sexism in research say about gender bias?
Gender bias promotes sexism in research -> psychology female dominated subject, most lecturers male -> more likley research created by them will discourage female participants -> means psychological institutions may produce gender-biased research
EVALUATION: What does gender-biased research say about gender bias?
Research that challenges gender bias may not be published -> Formanowicz did a meta analysis on 1000 articles relating to gender & found that that particular research is less funded & less likely to be published in prestigious journals -> means fewer scholars become aware & apply it in their work, suggesting it isnt taken as seriously as other forms of bias
EVALUATION: What does understanding bias say about gender bias?
Gender-biased research may create misleading assumptions about female behaviour, fail to challenge negative stereotypes & validate discriminatory practices -> isnt just a methodological problem, it affects lives of women
However, many men recognise their bias & see it as a crucial aspect of the research process, rather than a problem
