Gender bias

Androcentrism

• Refers to theories that are centred on males or focused on males only

• This occurs if all male samples are used in research and then a theory is generated from this research that is applied to both genders

• e.g. Freud’s psychodynamic theory - Little Hans & male perspective of sexuality

Gynocentrism

• In the past, androcentrism in research may have been relative to the availability of a sample, as male students may have been more plentiful to use in research than female students

• Nowadays, approx 70% of psychology undergrads are female, so we may later find that research has a bias in favour of females, especially those that employ opportunity sampling methods. This could be called gynocentrism

• e.g. Moscovici used an all female sample

Alpha bias

• Occurs when the differences between men and women are exaggerated. Therefore, stereotypical male and female characteristics may be emphasised

• E.g. Revolutionary explanations for partner preference. Men are more likely to commit adultery and women have a more parental investment in their offspring.

Beta bias

• Occurs when the differences between men and women are minimised

• This often happens when findings obtained from men are applied to women without additional validation (androcentrism)

• E.g. Biological research into the fight or flight response has often been carried out with male animals but Taylor et Al (2000) suggests that females produced a slightly different response to fight or flight: tend and befriend.

Discussion: Theories of human behaviour based on androcentrism research testing women using flawed criteria. 

• Kohlberg (1969) proposed a stage theory of moral development based on research on boy s only. He later tested girls using the stages, finding that, on average, women reached a lower level of moral development. This led to alpha biased conclusions that women have inferior moral understanding. 

• Therefore, androcentric research can at best only apply to half the population, reducing its effectiveness on whole peoples. As a result, androcentric research should only be applied specifically to males and not inappropriately generalised to females.

• This means psychology as a field may have some significant biases in terms of understanding behaviour in relation to gender. 

Discussion: We should not minimise differences between women and men. 

• hare-Mustin and Marecek suggest arguing for equality between men and women draws attention away from the current power imbalance between men and women and may inadvertently lead to even greater imbalances

• E.g. arguing for equal parenting rights/time ignores the biological demands of pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding

• Therefore, beta biased approaches that seek to minimise differences can be classed as alpha biased

Discussion: Some differences appear toe xist between males and femalesmay stem from gender bias in research

• Rosenthal found that male researchers are more pleasant, friendly and encouraging towards female participants than male ones, which may skew results

• This means researchers must be careful to consider how they are able to carry out research with minimal experimenter bias as possible to avoid misinterpreting data

Discussion: Psychologists are beginning to challenge potential gender bias in well-established theories. 

• Recent DNA evidence suggests women are equally competitive and aggressive compared to males in situations where they need to be, which contradicts the long-held Darwinian view that males are competitive whereas females are more passive

• The suggestion is that Darwin may have been influenced by the prevailing view of women in Victorian times and that many of the theories we assume to be unbiased and scientific may actually be riddled with gender bias.