Gender bias Flashcards
(16 cards)
What is the issue with gender bias?
men and women are different in terms of cognitive development, personality and emotion
research often exaggerates/down plays, gender differences
What is gender bias?
differential treatment/ representation of males and females based on stereotypes rather than real differences
What is androcentrism?
theories focused on males
What is gynocentrism?
Theories which are focused on females this is not very common in psychology
What is alpha bias?
theories which exaggerate differences between males and females
what is beta bias?
so this refers to theories which ignore or minimise sex differences
they assume that findings from males can apply equally to females (vice versa)
How can beta bias be addressed?
include ppts of both sexes in research
In reporting make it clear that any conclusion only relates to the gender of the sample
What is universality?
Assumption that findings can be applied equally to both genders
how can gender bias be applied to relationships and mate preferences?
Alpha bias
The evolutionary theory emphasises differences between what each gender looks for an a partner
States males look for youth that are attractiveness where females look for wealth and status
how can gender bias be applied to Biopsychology and the fight or flight response?
Beta bias/universality
Research into fight or flight has often been carried out with male animals - they assumed their response would be the same for both sexes
Beta bias - Taylor et al found that females adopt a tend and befriend response in stressful situations
How can you apply gender bias to schizophrenia and diagnosis?
Longnecker et al concluded that since the 80s men have been diagnosed with schizophrenia more than women
Men may be more genetically vulnerable to schizophrenia, however it could be that females typically function better than men being more likely to work and have good family relationships
What topics in psychology can gender bias be applied to
Biopsychology
Schizophrenia
Relationships
What are some evaluation points for gender bias in psychology
- Results from institutional sexism
- Can be reduced by the feminist approach
- Implication of beta bias is that women and men are the same
Evaluate the idea that Gender bias results from institutional sexism
P: Gender bias is an issue in the research process and could result from institutional sexism.
E: Although female psychology students outnumber male, at a senior teaching and research level men dominate. This may mean that the research agenda is set by male concerns and that female concerns may be ignored.
Results of research may be due to methodological issues rather than real gender differences.
For example, Rosenthal found that male experimenters are more pleasant, friendly,
and encouraging to female participants than to male participants and he found that under such circumstances male participants appeared to perform less well on the task assigned
E: Consequently, conclusions from some research may not be valid and in fact provide a gender biased
explanation of behaviour.
Evaluate that a feminist approach may reduce Gender bias
P: A way to reduce gender bias is to adopt a feminist approach which attempts to restore the imbalance in both psychological theories and research.
E: Feminist psychology accepts that there are biological differences between males and
females BUT suggests that socially determined stereotypes make a far greater contribution to perceived differences. The evolutionary explanation of mate selection, for instance, has recently been challenged as simply reflecting Victorian social norms rather than indicative of genuine innate differences.
E: Recognition of gender bias can also offer practical applications. For example, research by Eagly claims that females are less effective leaders than males – but the purpose of Eagly’s claim is to
help researchers develop training programmes aimed at reducing the lack of female leaders in the real world.
Evaluate that the implication of beta bias is that men and women are the same
P: The implication of beta bias is that women and men are the same.
E: Arguing for equality between men and women draws attention away from women’s needs and from differences in power between men and women.
E: This is a limitation because in a society where one group holds most of the power, seemingly neutral actions end up benefiting this group. For example, legislation to facilitate equal parental leave ignores
the biological demands of pregnancy, childbirth, and breastfeeding and thus the specific needs of women have been overlooked.
However, on a positive note beta bias has led to equal treatment in legal terms, for example in education and employment. Equal opportunity legislation and feminist psychology have worked towards reducing
gender bias by re-examining the ‘facts’ about gender. They have highlighted under-researched areas such as childcare, dual-burden working and prostitution. The feminist perspective emphasises the view of women as normal humans who are not inferior to men.
