L1 - Gender Bias in Psychology Flashcards
why is there gender bias in psychology
historically psychology has been a male dominated discipline and critics argue that the major theories reflect this - some argue that the female voice hasnt been heard in research, it has been minimised, marginalised or judged as abnormal
what is universality?
psychology claims to have universaliity which means the conclusions it draws can be applied to everyone, anywhere, regardless of time, culture or gender.
Psychologists claim that they discover facts about human beings, which are objective and not influenced by their own values - many critics argue against this claim
what is gender bias?
gender bias is when psychological research may offer a view that does not justifiably represent the experience of men or women (usually women)
there are two types of gender bias - alpha and beta bias
alpha bias
alpha bias is when there is a misrepresentation of behaviour because researchers overestimate the difference between the genders. These differences often devalue women in relation to men.
An example of alpha bias is the SOCIOBIOLOGICAL THEORY of relationship formation which argues that its in a male’s best interest to impregnate as many different women as possible to increase chances of his genes being passed on but it also argues that women’s best strategy is to ensure the survival of their relatively few children which in turn encourages sexual promiscuity in men and shames women for the same thing as it is ‘not nature’
beta bias
beta bias is when there is a misrepresentation of behaviour because researchers underestimategender differences. This often happens when males female pps are not included in a research study, but its still assumed that the research findings can be applied to both genders.
An exampe of BETA BIAS is the FIGHT OR FLIGHT RESPONSE, early research focused only on male animals and assumed that there would be a universal response in these situations, however more recently, TAYLOR et AL have suggested that women actually have a tendency to TEND AND BEFRIEND - forming groups is a more effective way to ensure the survival of offspring than fighting or running
what is ANDROCENTRISM?
one possible CONSEQUENCE of BETA BIAS is ANDROCENTRISM, if our understanding of what constitutes normal behaviour is being drawn from research that involves all male pps then behaviour which deviates from this standard is likely to be viewed as abnormal or even inferior.
This can lead to females’ behaviour being misunderstood, and even pathologised (seen as a sign of mental illness)
+ INSTITUTIONAL SEXISM
gender bias is an issue because male researchers are still more likely to have their research published than female researchers and research which finds gender differences is more likely to be published than research which finds no such difference - psychology may be guilty of supporting a form of insitutional sexism
+ WOMEN DENIED OPPURTNITIES
another reason why gender bias is a problem is because gender biased research may provide scientific justification for denying women’s opportunities within society.
E.g in the 1930s a research study suggested that intellectual activity (such as attending university) would shrivel women’s ovaries and reduce their chances of conceiving
+ ESSENTIALIST PERSPECTIVE
another argument supporting this issue is that many of the gender differences reported over the years are based on the ESSENTIALIST perspective which suggests that gender differences are fixed and inevitable (essential) - determined by nature.
This is not necessarily the case, in societies where men and women have similar roles in and out of the home they show less psychological differences.
- DAMBRIN AND LAMBERT
However, many modern researchers have begun to recognise the effect that their own values and assumptions have on their work.
DAMBRIN and LAMBERT included a REFLECTION of how their own gender related experiences affected their reading of events when they investigated the reason for the lack of women in accountancy firms. Therefore gender bias might not be that big of an issue in current psychology.
- WORELL
In an attempt to solve gender bias in psychological research, WORELL et Al have put forward a numer of criteria which should be adhered to in order to avoid gender bias in research:
women should be studied within meaningful life contexts, women should genuinely participate in psychological research (not just be objects of research), diversity within groups of women should be examined (rather than comparisons between men and women), there should be collaborative research methods used that collect qualitiative data.
