SEXISM Flashcards
(29 cards)
What is Alpha Bias in psychology?
It is the tendency to exaggerate differences between men and women, often to the detriment of one gender.
Give an example of Alpha Bias in Freud’s theory.
Freud suggested women are morally inferior to men, focusing on motherhood as moral retardation.
What did Hoffman (1975) find in relation to gender and morality?
Girls were better at resisting temptation, contradicting Freud’s moral development claims.
What is meant by androcentrism in psychology?
It means focusing on men and considering male behaviour as the norm, making female behaviour seem deviant.
What is PMS used to illustrate in gender bias?
That women’s emotional behaviour is pathologized while similar male behaviour is attributed to upbringing.
What did Rosenthal (1966) discover about researcher behaviour?
Researchers treated female participants more positively, potentially biasing results.
What is Beta Bias in psychology?
It is the tendency to ignore or minimize differences between genders, generalizing male findings to females.
How is Kohlberg’s research an example of Beta Bias?
His moral development theory was based on boys but applied to all genders.
Why are male animals often preferred in studies?
The female oestrus cycle can disrupt behaviour, but this introduces gender bias.
What did Maccoby and Jacklin (1974) conclude about gender differences?
They found only four small differences, e.g., girls with better verbal ability and boys with better spatial skills.
What is heterosexism in psychological research?
The tendency to ignore non-heterosexual relationships, often studying only heterosexual couples.
What did Buss (1989) find in his cross-cultural study of mate selection?
Men preferred younger, attractive women; women preferred older men with resources.
What bias can exist in research into homosexuality?
Either exaggerating (Alpha Bias) or ignoring (Beta Bias) differences compared to heterosexual relationships.
What did Kurdek and Schmitt (1986) find about love in couples?
All couple types (heterosexual, gay) reported high levels of love and similar levels of liking.
What did Peplau (1991) find about relationship longevity?
Relationships last longer when partners have similar backgrounds and levels of commitment, regardless of orientation.
What did Blumstein and Schwartz (1983) report about sexual fidelity?
94% of gay men vs. 22% of wives had additional sexual partners in long-term relationships.
What are methodological issues in studies on sexuality?
Comparisons often involve straight married vs. cohabiting gay couples, skewing results.
How did views on homosexuality change after 1973?
It was declassified as a mental disorder, with research moving toward liberal humanism.
What are the three themes of liberal humanism in sexuality research?
Rejecting personality stereotypes, normalizing homosexuality, and denying it as a threat.
What role did Bowlby and Bettelheim play in sexist research?
They reinforced traditional motherhood roles, excluding non-traditional family forms.
How did intelligence tests like Stanford-Binet contribute to sexism?
They were designed/tested on men and ignored cultural and educational disparities for women.
What were the consequences of biased intelligence testing?
Women were misclassified and over 7500 were forcibly sterilized in Virginia (1924–1972).
What is feminist psychology?
A field aiming to counteract sexism, include women as researchers and participants, and highlight gender bias.
What are Wilkinson’s (1989) three contributions of feminist psychology?
Identifying bias, encouraging critical thinking, and researching under-explored areas.
