gender bias

bias definition

• any factors that interferes with the validity of the research process

• Bias may lead to researchers forming conclusions which favour universality

universality

• Universality occurs when a researchers has not considered the fact that there is no ‘one size fits all’ in terms of human behaviour and experience

  • E.G. Milgram’s 1963 obedience study only used male participants which limited its generalisability and its usefulness

  • E.G. Bowlby’s attachment theory initially assumed that the mother is the primary caregiver and his maternal deprivation hypothesis places the burden of dysfunction on women rather than a shared responsibility between both parents

  • E.G. Duck’’s (2007) phase model of relationship breakdown is only applicable to individualistic cultures wherein divorce, separation and freedom of choice are easily attainable

gender bias definition

• Gender bias occurs when one gender is either favoured other another gender or discriminated against

• Adopting a universal bias can involved gender bias

alpha bias definition

• Alpha bias occurs when researchers over-emphasise the differences between males and females

  • E.G. males are competitive; females are caring

  • E.G. males like youth and beauty; females want a male with resources

disadvantages of alpha bias

• Differences between males and females allow for no flexibility when it comes to alpha bias

  • Male/female traits, behaviours and characteristics are presented as fixed and inevitable

  • Freud’s psychodynamic theory is guilt of such inflexibility with its insistence that women are essentially inferior to men

  • Schizophrenia is diagnosed more frequently in men, which means that women may have to try harder to mask their symptoms or they may believe that there is nothing wrong with them

beta bias definition

• Beta bias occurs when researchers ignore or downplay the differences between males and females

  • E.G. the complete absence of females in a sample means that conclusions drawn are applied to both males and females alike, with no acknowledgement that females may respond

beta bias and its links to biopsychology

• Biopsychology, particularly when it comes to hormones, means that research in this field should account for gender differences, but it generally doesn’t

  • E.G. the fight-or-flight response is based on the male experience, which can only explain male biological mechanisms

  • Kohlberg’s theory of moral reasoning used American males whose results were then generalised to both men and women - Carol Gilligan then went on to develop her Ethics of Care theory to incorporate the female perspective

androcentrism

• Androcentrism - male-centred

• Research like Milgram and Asch used all male samples to draw conclusions about the nature of destructive obedience and normative conformity, not accounting for the fact that women (who make up half the population) may respond differently

strengths of gender bias

• Researchers who are aware of gender bias may practice reflexivity

  • This in turn can lead to good practice and the modelling of an ideal for other researchers to aspire to

• Cornwell et al. (2013) showed that women are successful when it comes to learning because they are more attentive, flexible and organised

  • Stereotypes that the male model of behaviour is superior are therefore challenged - REVERSE ALPHA BIAS

weaknesses of gender bias

• As well as ignoring the females experiences in psychology, there are other potential consequences of gender bias

  • E.G. female researchers may receive less funding than their male colleagues, as their role as serious psychologists may be questioned

  • Research which ignores or devalues the female experience normalises prejudice, discrimination and sexism being viewed as acceptable

• Gender bias can limit the external validity of research as alpha bias, beta bias or androcentrism can change how the researcher draws conclusions in their research and can lead to generalisability falsely being deemed applicable