Issues and Debates Flashcards
What is gender bias
This is the preference towards one gender
Can either exaggerate or minimise differences between males and females
Includes alpha bias and beta bias
What is alpha bias
Where the differences between males and females are exaggerated
This type of bias can be used to undervalue one of the sexes
Differences are sometimes attributed to differences in biology
E.g. differences in genetics or hormones
What is beta bias
This is where differences between males and females are ignored or minimised
This can happen when studies just include ppts of one gender but then the conclusions are applied to whole population
Differences between androcentrism and estrocentrism
Androcentrism: male centred
Estrocentrism: female centred
What is Androcentrism
This is where males are viewed as being at the centre of culture
In psychological terms, male behaviour is seen as the norm
Can mean that theories made in relation to males are also applied to women
Or it can mean that any differences that women display are seen as exceptions to the rule
What is estrocentrism
Where female behaviour is seen as the norm
Much rarer phenomenon than Androcentrism
How can research methods and experiment design lead to gender bias
Gender stereotypes cannot be included into a research question
E.g. male stereotypes are often used to provide a measure of aggression
Ppts should be selected in a non biased way
E.g. not choosing male university students and generalising results to whole population
Researchers may treat male and females ppts differently during studies by speaking to them differently, this introduces extraneous variables that create gender differences that aren’t there
Gender stereotypes may affect researcher’s expectations of the outcomes of research
E.g. in an observational study comparing men and women, behaviours that fit with ideas about how males and females should behave should not just be recorded.
Also shouldn’t be led to interpret results to show a gender difference that isn’t really there
How can publication result in gender bias
Publication bias
Has been reported that studies that produced positive findings are more likely to be published than studies that show no differences
In terms of gender research, this would mean that studies showing a difference between males and females would be more likely to appear in scientific journals than ones with no gender differences
Can exaggerate differences between males and females so produce an alpha bias
How can Freud’s theories show gender bias
Usually describe male behaviour as the norm and explained female behaviour as anything which differed from norm
E.g. Freud proposed that when girls find out that they don’t have a penis, they suffer from ‘penis envy’
How can Asch’s theories show gender bias
Asch’s research into conformity was androcentric
Used male only sample, meaning his results couldn’t be generalised to women
How can Bem’s theories show gender bias
Her theory of psychological androgyny is a beta biased theory
Her theory centres on the idea that the most psychologically healthy men and women can choose which personality traits they want to have, regardless of whether they’re typically masculine or feminine qualities
Classes various male and female traits as all being on a level playing field
Shows beta bias as she ignores the fact that different traits are valued differently in society (e.g. some masculine traits are valued highly)
Negative evaluation of gender bias: implication of gender bias
Gender-biased research may create misleading assumptions about female behaviour, fail to challenge negative stereotypes and validate discriminatory practices
It may provide a scientific ‘justification’ to deny women opportunities both in the workplace and society
Negative evaluation of gender bias: institutional sexism
Lack of women at senior level means that female concerns may not be reflected in the research questions asked
Positive evaluation of gender bias: Reflexivity
Modern researchers are beginning to recognise the effect their own values and assumptions have on the nature of their work.
Rather than see bias as a problem they embrace it and see it as a critical aspect of the research process.
Researchers are starting to reflect on their own gender-related experiences in their research
Positive evaluation of gender bias: Feminist psychology
Worrell stated that a number of criteria should be adhered to in order to avoid gender bias:
Women should be studied in real life context
They should genuinely participate in research
They should not be objects of study
Diversity within groups of women should be examined as opposed to differences between men and women
What is culture in psychology
Culture refers to the set of customs, social roles, behavioural norms and moral values that are shared by a group of people
Why have cultural differences been ignored in the past
As psychology developed in western countries, researchers would typically study people who were available
This was usually people from their cultural background
Why hasn’t there been research of people from different cultures
Historically there hasn’t been much research to compare people of different cultures
Could be because:
- Researches assumed that people from western cultures are essentially the same as people in other cultures, so results from one culture was applied to all
- May have been assumed that non-western cultures were more primitive and less worthy of study
- Researchers who wanted to do cross-cultural research couldn’t because they lacked time and resources
What did Berry do research into
Etic research
Emic research
What is etic research
This is research from a specific culture which is then applied to other cultures to find universal laws, giving the studies universality
This is widespread due to humans having same physiology and similar behaviours in all cultures, e.g. language, attachment formation, aggression
All studies have to take samples of the population only so it’s difficult to generalise the findings to all cultures
If researchers do this, they could be guilty of bias in the form of an imposed etic
What is emic research
Research based on the specific culture that’s used to understand that culture from within and isn’t generalised to other cultures
It instead studies variations of behaviour between groups of people
This avoids the problem of cultural bias through an imposed etic
Bias can still occur by exaggerating differences between different cultural groups, and neglecting to look at the differences within the cultural groups
What is sub-culture bias
Etic or emic bias for sub-groups within larger groups
E.g. research on relationships might focus on studying heterosexuals, and so neglect homosexual relationships (emic bias). The findings might then be generalised to homosexuals relationships, despite not having studied them (etic bias)
What is ethnocentrism
Where our own culture is taken as the norm that we judge other cultures against
Ethnocentric research is centred around the one culture it’s based in
Why are most psychological studied ethnocentric
Because most psychological studies have studied people from western cultures, a lot of them are ethnocentric as they are centred around the one culture they are based in
How are Asch’s studies ethnocentric
Asch only studied Americans to see if they would conform and change their answers
Showed etic bias as Asch generalised the results to members of groups that hadn’t actually been studied
Further research has since been conducted on other cultures
How are Milgram’s studies ethnocentric
He used only American ppts in the study to see if they obeyed an order to do a horrible action
Didn’t take into account cultural differences between Germany and USA so it shows imposed etic
What will culturally biased studies produce
These will produce culturally biased theories
Can have implications for society as psychologists might be making claims that aren’t true
Can be problematic when biased views influence psychological practice e.g. understanding and treating abnormally
How have people from a black background been discriminated against in psychology
Study found that people of African-Caribbean origin in UK were 7x more likely to be diagnosed with schizophrenia than white patients.
Rate of schizophrenia in Caribbean is no higher than UK so it seems that African-Caribbeans don’t have a genetic predisposition towards it
Study found that African-Caribbean patients were often prescribed stronger doses of medication than white patients even though their symptoms were the same
Suggests their symptoms were interprets as more severe
These findings could be a result of culture biased assumptions influencing how people’s behaviours are interpreted
Seems that all patients are judged against norms for the white population, even if they’re originally from a different culture
What are problems involved with doing cross-cultural research
Can be difficult to interpret what ppts say and do even with translation
Some beliefs and customs may be difficult for people from other cultures to understand so findings can be misinterpreted and research can be ethnocentric as researchers judge behaviour against their own cultural norms
Cross cultural replications of studies are difficult to do
It is argued that perfect cross cultural replications are impossible because procedures will have different meanings to people in different cultures so studies can lack validity
How can cultural relativism reduce cultural bias
Research should recognise cultural relativism
This is accepting that there are no universal standards for behaviour and that any research done must take into account the culture it takes place in
Ways to reduce cultural bias in research
Research should recognise cultural relativism
Samples should be representative of groups you want to generalise the results to - should include all relevant sub-groups
Should be conducted in meaningful contexts
How did Berry suggest that cultural bias could be reduced
Recommended that conducting research in meaningful contexts and using local researchers who are part of the cultural studied
Avoids problems of an imposed etic
How can alpha bias be shown in cultural bias
Alpha bias assumes that there are real and enduring differences between cultural groups
E.g. difference between collective and individualistic societies
How can beta bias be shown in cultural bias
Beta bias refers to theories which ignore or minimise any differences in culture
E.g. the use of IQ tests on non-western cultures
Good example of a culturally biased psychologist
Mary Ainsworth’s Strange Situation can be seen as ethnocentric
This is because the procedure was developed in US and based on the US views of what is seen as important in caregiver infant attachment
This is based purely on US values
What is determinism
The view that an individual’s behaviour is shaped or controlled by internal (biological) or external forces
This means that our behaviour should be predictable
What is free will
The notion that as humans, we are free to choose our own thoughts and actions
This views humans as self-determining - they have an active role in controlling their behaviour and are not acting in response to any external or internal (biological) pressures
Why may someone think they have free will
People can explain behaviours in terms of decisions and intentions
Free will can be subjective as someone may think they’re choosing how to behave by may be influenced by other forces
Some people with psychological disorders don’t appear to have free will (people with OCD feel they can’t control their thoughts or actions)
Comments on determinism
Determinism approach is very scientific
E.g. subjects like physics have shown events in the physical universe operate according to cause and effect
Determinism is unfalsifiable - can’t be proved wrong as it assumes that events can be the result of forces which aren’t discovered yet
What is hard determinism
Free will is not possible as our behaviour is always caused by internal and external event beyond our control
Principles of science to uncover laws that govern thought and action
What is soft determinism
This approach suggests that all human action has a cause
The idea that behaviour/actions are to an extent dictated by internal/external forces
However, people have conscious mental control over the way they behave
Biological determinism
The belief that behaviour is caused by biological (genetic, hormonal, evolutionary) influences that we cannot control
Levels of explanation pyramid in Holism and reductionism
