Gender Bias Flashcards
What is universality?
Being able to apply theories and concepts to everybody
What is gender bias?
Any prejudice for or against males or females
What is alpha bias?
Exaggerating the differences between men and women
What is wrong with alpha bias?
It reinforces stereotypes
What are the implications for the real world from alpha bias?
Maternity and paternity leave - attachment theories
Jobs - women less likely to be in medicine
What is beta bias?
Minimising or ignoring differences between men and women
(E.g. using all male/female participants and generalising results to everyone)
What is the problem with beta bias?
Lacks validity
What is androcentrism?
Viewing the world from a male point of view
What is the issue with Androcentrism?
Can lead to female behaviour being misunderstood and often trivialised
What is researcher bias (in terms of gender bias)?
Gender imbalance in research institutes - males tend to be appointed more and given more promotion in mainstream psychology
Male researchers tend to…
Research things that focus on stereotypes
Not research issues that are important to women (pregnancy, female harassment)
What is publication bias?
When editors of journals/books filter out certain studies which then exaggerates gender differences in published works
What is a strength of beta bias?
Helps us see men and women as similar and so can lead to equal treatment (e.g. in legal terms)
What does alpha bias sustain? Why is that a limitation?
Prejudices and stereotypes
Has a knock-on effect on how people are treated (e.g. being refused jobs/promotions)
What are 3 implications of gender bias?
Can validate stereotypes and discrimination (maternity/paternity leave)
May justify denying women of opportunities (because of PMS)
Can have damaging consequences in the real world (diagnosis of autism/ADHD being affected by “extreme male brain” theory)
