sexism Flashcards
what to put in the introduction
survey by the AMerican psychological association
what did the survey my the AMA find
surveyed its members and found that of the top 100 psychologists of the 20th century only 6 of them were women
why is the survey from the AMA surprising
because the number of female undergraduates studying psychology outnumber males as much as 4:1
what are the 4 paragraphs
historical and social context
gender difference/bias
sexism
heterosexism (leave out if you can)
O- historical and social context
important to consider the historical context of sexism before we can establish if psychology can ever be free from sexism
E- historical and social context
in early psychology, women were viewed as inferior and were unable to progress their career in psychology. leading to psychology being dominated by middle-class, male practitioners who were interested in studying women only in their capacity as mothers.
Bowlby’s work on maternal deprivation where he saw it essential that mothers fulfil a full time caregiver role in the home in order to raise socially and emotionally adjusted children. he scare mongered mothers to believe that if they were to attempt to have a life or role beyond the home, it would result in their children being ‘affectionless psychopaths’. at the time this view was adopted by the government which led to further cementing sexist views into the heart of society.
where does Bowlby’s research come in
evidence in historical and social context
research into maternal deprivation, scared mothers and further cemented sexism into society
strength of why psychology has historically been sexist
sexist attitude towards women was prevalent in society. Moss Racusin et al, sent out job applications to academics. they were identical apart from one being from ‘John’ the other from ‘Jennifer’ the application from ‘Jennifer’ was perceived as being less competent than when labelled as John. the academics (men and women) found John was much more competent and offered him a higher salary and more career mentoring opportunities,
what does Moss-Rascuin’s research demonstrate
stereotypes continue to bias the way we treat men and women
where does Moss-Rascuins’ research come in
strength of psychology historically being sexist
another piece of evidence that can support psychology historically being sexist
stanford- binet test. a test of intelligence which gives a ‘mental age’ of pps. were designed with a male view of intelligence in mind, and was tested on male pps. when women were assessed against this test the often scored poorly, test also ignored the role that culture plays in intelligence. had real world consequences for women. e.g. between 1924 and 1972, over 7500 women in Virginia alone were forcibly sterilised in particular unwed mothers (all were assessed by this test)
what research can be used to support that psychology has been sexist historically
(S)
stanford-binet test
moss-rascuin et al
weakness of historical and social context of sexism
the BPS has founded the psychology of women and equalities section, the primary aim is to promote the psychology of women in academic and professional domains. POWES works to encourage psychological research which challenges negative assumptions about minority groups. therefore we are moving away from sexism in psychology
what to include in a conclusion of historical and social context (sexism)
it could be argued that psychology moving away from sexism is as a result of a change in societies perception of women and therefore psychology has followed suit.
Gender difference or gender bias
E
Hare-Mustin and Maracek applied their ideas of alpha and beta bias to gender as well as to culture. outcome of both biases is that women are seen as being inferior
what does alpha bias mean
(E)
overemphasising the differences between gender- meaning there are real and significant differences between men and women
what does beta bias mean
(E)
underemphasising the differences between gender (ignoring or minimising any differences)
Strength of gender difference/bias
evidence to support that psychology has a beta bias
Kohlberg’s stage theory of moral development is an example of beta bias. it was based on extensive interviews that he conducted on boys aged 10-16. some males re-interviewed at 3-4 year intervals over a 20 year period. he chose not do conduct his research on women as he thought they would be too ‘temperamental/unstable’
kohlberg found that when tested females did not reason in the same way that men did
weakness - gender bias (W)
Gilligan has argued that it is important for biases not to exist in psychology, this is because women approach things differently to men e.g, make moral decisions differently. women have a care focus compared to males focus on injustice. shows how Kohlberg’s model should not be applied to women. Gilligan’s research was also more ecologically valid as she used real situations
what big impacts can gender bias have on women
(Conclusion)
women are not considered to be morally developed, needs to be eliminated
Evidence of why women have been ‘invisible in psychology’
american psychological association, a list of the top 100 psychologists, only 6 were women
S- why women have been invisible in psychology
Murphy et al. argued that part of the problem lies with women’s own implicit stereotypes about gender, women are studying to degree level but then using their qualifies status to become teachers, social workers etc. they do not envisage themselves as scientists and researchers. Murphy suggested we must all become more aware of our biases as these are what are holding people back
W- invisibility of women in psychology
when women are given the chance, important contributions have been made. Mary Ainsworth pioneered the attachment theory. she developed ‘strange situations’ a procedure to observe and classify attachment styles of infants (strength of this)
W- strength of Mary Ainsworth
her procedures has high internal validity as Ainsworth controlled many factors within her experiments e.g. same stranger for each child, mothers behaviour controlled, same amount of time away from mother
