Gender bias

Universality

A characteristic/conclusion can be applied to everyone regardless of experience or culture

Gender bias

treated differently based on gender stereotypes instead actual differences

Androcentrism

male-centred, In the past most psychologists were male, and the theories they produced tended to represent a male view of the world, i.e. when ‘normal’ behaviour is judged according to a male standard so female behaviour could often be judged to be ‘abnormal’ or ‘deficient’ by comparison. Alpha and beta bias are consequences of androcentrism.

Alpha bias

Differences betweeen genders are exaggerated

e.g. Freud’s psychodynamic explanation → girls have a weaker superego as they cannot identify with the same-sex parent as strongly and overcome their electra complex fully. This makes them morally inferior to boys

Beta bias

Differences between genders and ignored

e.g. Psychoanalytic theory of gender dysphoria, only gives explanation for trans women (bio men), not trans men

AO3

-Alpha bias can create and reinforce gender stereoptypes

-Beta bias means womens behaviour isnt studied

-Psychology doesnt take gender bias seriously

Alpha bias can create and reinforce gender stereotypes

Maccoby and Jacklin (74) presented findings from their research which concluded that girls have superior verbal ability whereas boys have better spatial ability and that these differences were ‘hardwired; into the brain before birth. These findings were widely reported and viewed as factual. Maccoby and Jacklin’s theory may have been popularised due existing gender stereotypes of girls as ‘speakers’ and boys as ‘doers'. This is an issue because it may have prompted boys and girls to choose different career paths leading to further division in society. 

This suggests that we should be cautious about accepting research findings as biological facts when they may be better explained as gender stereotypes.

Beta bias means women's behaviour not explored

Assumptions made its the same -> leads to misinterpretations and innacuracies

e.g. fight/flight only in males, Taylor et al. found females have a tend + befriend response (higher conc. oxytosin)

Psychoanalytic expl. for gender bias

-excluding women leads to innacurate assumptions of behaviour

Psychology doesnt take gender bias seriously

Formanowicz et al.

analysed 100 articles relating to gender bias, found research was less funded and published by prestigious journalists

less scholars become aware of the issue and apply it to own work

-research challenging being limited furthers issue + allows it to be ignored