Lesson 1: Gender Bias In Psychology

Question 1

Gender bias in psychology

Answer 1

• the differential treatment and/or representation of males and females based on stereotypes and not on real differences
• historically, psychology has been a male-dominated discipline and critics argue that many of its major theories reflect this. Some argue that the female voice has not been heard at all, it has been minimised, marginalised or judged as abnormal.

Question 2

Universality

Answer 2

• psychology claims to have universality, which means the conclusions drawn can be applied to anyone, anywhere, regardless of time, culture of gender. Psychologists claim that they discover facts about human beings, which are objective and not influenced by their own values (values which are formed by the social and historical context in which they live). Many commentators dispute this claim.

Question 3

Alpha bias

Answer 3

• when there is a misrepresentation of behaviour because researchers overestimate/exaggerate the differences between the genders. These differences often devalue women in relation to men. An example of alpha bias is in the socio-biological theory of relationship formation. It argues that it is in the males’ interest to impregnate as many different women as possible to increase the chance of his genes passing on. Women, it argues should focus on ensuring the healthy survival of relatively few children. The message is that sexual promiscuity in males is genetically determined and females who engage in the same behaviour are going against nature and are thus abnormal.

Question 4

Beta bias

Answer 4

• when there is a misrepresentation of behaviour because researchers underestimate gender differences. This often happens when female participants are not included in a research study, but it is still assumed that the research findings can be applied to both genders. An example of beta bias is the fight or flight response, early research focused exclusively on male animals and it was assumed that there would be a universal response to a threatening situation. However, Taylor (2000) have suggested that biology has evolved to inhibit the fight or flight response in women, who instead have a tendency to tend and befriend. Forming groups is a more effective way to ensure the survival of offspring than running away or fighting.

Question 5

Androcentrism

Answer 5

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 participants then behaviour which deviates from this standard is likely to be viewed as abnormal or even inferior. At best this leads to female behaviour being misunderstood, at worst pathologised seen as sign of mental illness).

Question 6

Minuses of gender bias

Answer 6

• problem with issues of gender bias is that issues often go unchallenged. For example, Darwin’s established theory of sexual selection suggests that women are selective in terms of mate selection and men are more competitive with eachother in order to attract a female mate. These views have only recently been challenged by DNA evidence suggesting that women are equally as competitive as men when the need arises. Does this mean that previous theories on sexual selection are not correct or do they just lack temporal validity?
• gender bias can work against males as well as females, as sometimes alpha bias theories heighten the value of women. For example, Chodorow (1978) viewed women as more relational and caring. Another example, is that women are more likely to be diagnosed with depression and given treatment than males. This may be because women are more likely to suffer from depression, or it could be that the diagnostic system may be biased towards finding depression among women. The expectation that males should be able to ‘pull themselves together’ may highlight any issue with the diagnostic systems for mental disorders.

Question 7

Pluses of gender bias

Answer 7

+ one way to reduce gender bias is by developing a greater understanding, psychologists have put forward a number of solutions. For example, psychologists attempt to develop their theories that emphasise the importance or value of women. Cornell et al (2013) noted that females are better at learning, as they are more attentive and organised, thus emphasising both the value of and the positive attributes of women. As a result, this type of research helps to reduce or challenge gender stereotypes, which is important in reducing gender bias.

+ Another way to reduce gender bias is to take a feminist approach that attempts to restore the imbalance in both psychological theories and research. For example, feminist psychology accepts that there are biological differences between males and females: Research by Eagly (1978) claims that females are less effective leaders than males. However, the purpose of Eagly’s claim is to help researchers develop training programmes aimed at increasing the number of female leaders in the real world.

+ Furthermore, Worrell (1992) also suggested a number of research criteria that are particularly important to ensure that research investigations are not gender biased: using alternative methods of inquiry to explore the personal lives of women; considering women in the natural settings in which they function; collaborating with research participants to explore personally relevant variables and studying diverse samples (women who vary by age, socio-economic class, partner preference, minority or ethnic group).

+ Moreover, as society has changed and females have progressed further in academic disciplines such as psychology, there have been changes, both in the research methodology used and in the earlier theories. As previously explained, Carol Gillian (a student of Kohlberg’s) proposed that some have a different sense of moral understanding. Her approach showed that men and women are different, but neither kind of moral reasoning is considered to be better, they are just different.

+ It is also important to note that when a theory is described as universal, it means it can apply to all people, irrespective of gender. However, this also means that it needs to include real differences. In relation to gender, this means developing theories that show the similarities and differences between males and females, without devaluing either gender. This may mean using a variety of research methods and considering women in the natural settings in which they function.