Gender Bias

Question 1

AO3 gender bias

Answer 1

• A negative implication of gender bias issue is that it sees gender as a binary concept
• Almost all psychological research is conducted with gender bias in mind, be that androcentrism, alpha bias or beta bias, or working to exclude gender bias by stiving for universality, but all of these options exclude non-binary genders.
• However, identifying this as an issue has allowed psychologists to research more into how identifying as non-binary gender may have an influence on behaviour, allowing for reflexivity in research on gender issues.
• Despite this, this is still a negative implication as it highlights how psychology is biased and this negatively impacts conclusions.
• This therefore decreases the validity of the issue of gender bias in psychology
• A negative implication of gender bias is often social explanations of behaviour are misjudged as factual biological differences
• For example, incorrect conclusion from brain scans have suggested proved differences in male and female behaviour – males being good at spatial tasks and females good at verbal tasks. No such differences were found, but merely overexaggerated stereotypes based on incorrect conclusions
• However, it can be argued that using scientific methodology within psychological research allows us to re-test and assess the credibility of previously made conclusions, thus allowing us to asses or dispute pre-existing research or question future research that pose these conclusions
• Despite this, other conclusions about human behaviour may be seen as fact, proven differences but to scientific evidence in psychology, but there differences are over-exaggerated
• This would lead to incorrect explanations of behaviours and increased gender bias as we assume there are more differences/similarities between genders than there actually are
• Reflexivity
• Psychologists being reflective in their practices
• More psychologist identifying gender bias or minimising or reflecting when doing their sampling
• A negative implication of gender bias is that it can lead to harmful stereotypes and prejudice
• For example, it may lead to biases within research, due to majority of researchers being male
• Gender bias can lead to harmful stereotypes and prejudice
• Males go thru one thing and males go thru another expect males do one thing and females do the other leads us to stereotyping them
• Biological differences between men and women
• Lot of communication between female hemispheres compared to male hemispheres
• A positive implication of Gender Bias is that it has led to research into Feminist Psychology
• For example, women should be studied with meaningful real-life contexts, and genuine participate in research, rather than being the objects of study. Additionally diversity within groups of women should be examined rather than comparisons made between women and men.
• However it can be argued that
• Despite this, this has raised awareness of how women should participate in research as opposed to be objects of studies to identify differences and similarities between genders.

Question 2

What is gender bias in psychology?

Answer 2

A: When research or theory misrepresents the experiences or behaviours of one gender (usually women), often based on stereotypes rather than actual differences.

Question 3

What is meant by “universality” in psychology?

Answer 3

A: The idea that psychological theories should apply to all humans, regardless of gender, culture, or upbringing. Gender or cultural bias threatens this.

Question 4

What is alpha bias?

Answer 4

A: Exaggerating differences between men and women, often undervaluing women.

Question 5

Give 2 examples of alpha bias in psychology.

Answer 5

Freud’s theory – suggests women are less moral due to lack of castration anxiety.

Wilson’s sociobiology – justifies male promiscuity as “natural” but shames females for the same.

Question 6

What is beta bias?

Answer 6

Ignoring or minimising differences between genders, assuming findings from males apply to females.

Question 7

Give 2 examples of beta bias in psychology.

Answer 7

Fight or flight research – based only on male animals, later challenged by Taylor (2000) who found females show “tend and befriend”.

Kohlberg’s moral reasoning – developed from male-only samples, but applied to everyone.

Question 8

What is androcentrism in psychology?

Answer 8

Viewing male behaviour as the norm, and judging females by this standard.

Question 9

Give an example of androcentrism.

Answer 9

PMS trivialisation – female anger seen as hormonal and irrational, while male anger is seen as rational (Brescoll & Uhlman).

Question 10

What is gynocentrism?

Answer 10

The idea of placing female experiences as the norm, e.g. some argue Moscovici’s conformity research is gynocentric.