occurs in psychology whenever differences between males and females are either exaggerated or ignored
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what is androcentrism?
* for most of its life, psychology (and society in general) has been very much male-dominated. * almost all psychologists were men, and therefore the theories they produced tended to represent a male world-view.
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what is alpha bias?
* form of gender bias * tendency to exaggerate differences between men and women. * serves to enhance or undervalue members of either sex, but typically undervalues females
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what is an example of alpha bias?
* Freud’s theory of psychosexual development * during the phallic stage, boys experience the Oedipus complex - helps develop their moral development * females are seen as inferior as undergo penis envy - cannot undergo Oedipus complex and are therefore morally inferior
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what is beta bias?
* tendency to ignore or minimise differences between men and women * such theories tend to either ignore questions about the lives of women, or assume what is true for men must also be true for women - mistakenly minimising gender differences
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what is an example of beta bias?
* fight or flight response, was based on early research of male animals (because female hormones fluctuate) and was assumed to be universal response to threats * Taylor et al (2000) showed females respond differently with a ‘tend and befriend response’ where fight or flight is inhibited so attention can be shifted to caring for offspring (tending) and forming defensive networks with other females (befriending)
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ao3 - provides scientific ‘justification’ to deny women opportunities in society
* lack of senior female researchers means that female concerns have been neglected in the research questions asked. * this may lead to inaccurate assumptions about female behaviour that has reinforced negative female stereotypes and validated discrimination at work and in society * Tavris (1993) argues that when men set the standard of normality, ‘it becomes normal for women to feel abnormal’. * **This is a problem as** gender biased research may have damaging effects on the lives and prospects of real women.