gender and culture bias

what is gender bias

• Treating or representing men and women differently based on stereotypes rather than actual differences

• This distorts the view of what behaviours we might see as typical and atypical for each gender

• Theory/research not justifiably representing the experience of men or women (usually women)

universality

• Belief that some psychological findings/theories apply to all people, irrespective of differences people may have

• Aim in Psychology is to develop theories that apply to all people, and that could include any real differences between the genders

• Solution is to recognise differences but not argue for the superiority of one gender over another

alpha bias

• Research that exaggerates the difference between males and females - usually making females seem inferior

• Consequence of this is that it can lead to theories that devalue one gender in comparison to the other

• Think about Freud

beta bias

• Research that minimises the differences between males and females and assume they are the same

• Consequence of this is that theories could ignore questions about the lives of women, or assume that insights derived from studies of men will apply equally well to women

androcentrism

• Research that takes a male-centred view of the world

• Normal behaviour is judged according to a male standard

• Thus female behaviour is seen as deficient or abnormal in comparison to male behaviour or any differences may be considered to have no value

• This consequence of this is that it can result in alpha or beta bias in research

links to research/theory

• Fight or flight response - beta bias as it minimises differences between men and women, drawing conclusions on the way both males and females respond to stress

  • Has led to potentially invalid understanding of the way females respond to stress

• Milgram's shock study - beta bias as it minimises differences as all of the ppts were male but conclusions were drawn with regards to males and females

  • Any real differences between obedience in males and females ignored

• Hofling's nurse study - beta bias as it minimises differences as all of the nurses were female but conclusions were drawn with regards to males and females

  • Any real differences between obedience in males and females ignored

• Psychodynamic approach - alpha bias as it viewed femininity as failed masculinity, making females seem inferior by exaggerating differences

  • Women seen as inferior to men in Victorian society because superego develops from Oedipus complex which females do not experience - so they are morally inferior

strength 1 of gender bias

• One strength is that an understanding of gender bias has led to reflexivity.

• This is when researchers recognise the effect their own values have on their work. They embrace bias as an important aspect of the research process rather than seeing it as a problem which threatens the objective status of their work.

• While reviewing studies in relation to the lack of women in executive positions in accountancy firms, Dambrin and Lambert (2008) includes reflection on how their gender related experiences influence their reading of the events.

• Such reflexivity is an important development in psychology and may lead to greater awareness of the role of personal bias in shaping future research.

strength 2 of gender bias

• A strength is that feminist psychologists propose how gender bias can be avoided.

• Feminist psychology is a branch of psychology that aims to redress the imbalances in theory and research. They agree that there are biological differences between men and women but argue its social stereotypes which make a greater contribution to perceived differences.

• They suggest that we should use evidence which proposes women are ‘inferior’ to provide women with support. For example, the claim that women may be less effective leaders. This knowledge should be used to develop suitable training programmes and therefore create a future with more women as leaders.

• This demonstrates how feminist psychology seeks to understand behaviour in terms of social processes and thus find a way to greater equality.

weakness 1 of gender bias

• One limitation is that there are problems of gender bias in psychological research.

• Research challenging gender biases may not be published. Formanowicz et al. (2018) analysed over 1000 articles relating to gender bias. They found that research on gender bias is funded less often and is also published in less prestigious journals.

• Furthermore, this finding still was true when gender bias was compared against other forms of bias such as ethnic bias and when other factors was controlled.

• Gender bias in research is not just a methodological problem but may have damaging consequences as it not taken as seriously as other forms of bias.

weakness 2 of gender bias

• Another limitation is that gender bias promotes sexism in the research process.

• Women remain underrepresented in university departments. Despite Psychology’s undergraduate intake is mainly female, lecturers in psychology are more likely to be male. Meaning that male researchers are also more likely to have work published and that female concerns may not be reflected in research questions.

• Furthermore, female participants in lab studies are in an inequitable relationship with usually a male researcher who has the power to label them irrational and unable to complete complex tasks.

• This means psychology may be guilty of supporting a form of institutional sexism that creates bias in both theory and research.

what is culture bias

• Culture bias - refers to when a norm or standard of behaviour is judged only from the standpoint of one particular culture

  • Henrich et al 2010 - found that 68% of ppts in all studies from US, 96% from industrialised nations, 80% of research ppts were undergraduates of psychology

  • Any differences that deviate from this standard will inevitably be seen as abnormal, inferior or unusual

  • Usually in reference to the dominant culture being individualist and the non-dominant culture being collectivist

what is the Chitling test

• Chitling test - based specifically on African American culture in the 1960s

• African American sociologist Adrian Dove developed the 'Dover Counterbalance General Intelligence Test'

• Used to highlight the issue of cultural bias in 'normal' IQ tests because it was specifically designed to favour individuals from African American cultural backgrounds

universality

• Belief that all humans are alike, so what is true for one person is true for everyone

• Aim is to develop theories that apply to all people, and that could include any real differences between the different cultures

• Solution is to recognise differences but not superiority of one culture over another

alpha bias

• Research that exaggerates the difference between cultures- usually making non-Western cultures seem inferior

• Consequence of this is that it can lead to theories that devalue one culture in comparison to another

beta bias

• Research that minimises the differences between cultures and assume they are the same

• Consequence of this is that theories could ignore questions about the lives of people in non-Western cultures or assume that insights derived from studies of Western cultures will apply equally to non-Western culture

ethnocentrism

• Type of culture bias which assumes superiority of a cultural/ethnic group

• Most research comes from Western Cultures (particularly America and Europe)

• Comparatively can see other cultures as 'unsophisticated'

  • Ainsworth - misinterpreting child-rearing practice in other countries which deviated from the American 'norm' as inferior to a 'secure attachment' which is favoured in American culture

cultural relativism

• consideration of CR is a way of overcoming ethnocentrism

  • Idea that assessment of norms, values and behaviours can only be meaningful if understood within the specific social and cultural context

  • Does appreciate that a person's own cultural background can affect the view they may have and behaviours they display

Berry 1969 etic and emic approaches

• Etic approaches - looks at behaviour from outside of a given culture and attempts to describe those behaviours as universal

  • Researchers using the Big 5 personality traits (openness, conscientiousness, extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism) administer standardised personality tests in various countries to see if these traits are universally found

• Emic approaches - looks at behaviour from within a given culture and identifies behaviours that are specific to that culture

  • Researchers would explore the indigenous beliefs and explanations surrounding 'susto' (soul loss), a culture bound syndrome associated with anxiety and distress, within specific cultural context

• Both approaches can be used to limit culture bias and lead to a recognition of cultural relativism

• Imposed etic approach - assumption that one cultural interpretation of a behaviour can be applied to other cultures

  • Ainsworth's research took place in the US and assumed ideal attachment type and the method of assessing it could be applied universally

• Researchers should be more mindful of not imposing universality where it does not apply

link to other theories

• Buss 1989 - mate preferences across cultures - emic approach, found a male universal preference for attractiveness and female for resourcefulness, used indigenous researchers to avoid culture bias

  • This universality has reduced stereotypes about cultural differences in attraction

• DSM-V: classification and diagnosis of mental health - beta bias, culture bound syndromes were historically minimised but recently have been considered more relevant

  • Potentially de-values the experiences of people from cultures who experience these disorders

• Studies of social influence - beta bias, generally use white ppts and attempt to generalise the findings to all people

  • Undermines any real differences that might exist between the cultures with regards to conformity and obedience

• Ainsworth's Strange Situation - imposed etic approach, found that secure attachment is most universal attachment style, however SS is a Western measure of attachment

  • Undermines any real differences in attachment and parenting that could exist between different cultures

strength 1 of culture bias

• One strength of conducting cross cultural research is that it may challenge dominant individualist ways of thinking and viewing the world.

• The “imposed etic” shows the culturally specific nature of psychology. Being able to see that some of the knowledge and concepts we take for granted are not hardwired (i.e., social rather than biological) may provide a better understanding of human nature.

• However, there are some universal human behaviours. Ekman (1989) suggests that basic facial expressions for emotions (such as happiness or disgust) are the same all over the human and animal world. In the same way imitation and interactional synchrony in attachment are universal.

• This suggests that a full understanding of human behaviour requires the study of different cultures and variation among individuals and groups.

strength 2 of culture bias

• Another strength is the emergence of cultural psychology

• Cultural psychology is the study of how people shape and are shaped by their cultural experience (Cohen, 2017). This is an emerging field and incorporates work from researchers in other disciplines including anthropology, sociology, and political science.

  • Mind-Society-Culture Interaction: how social and cultural contexts shape individual mids

  • Cultural transmission: how social and institutions are passed down

  • Social cognition: explores the unique aspects of human social cognition

• Furthermore, cultural psychologists strive to avoid ethnocentric assumptions by taking an emic approach and conducting research from inside a culture, often alongside local researchers using culturally based techniques. Cross-cultural research tends to focus on just two cultures instead of larger scale studies with maybe eight or more countries/cultures.

• This suggests that modern psychologists are mindful of the dangers of cultural bias and are taking steps to avoid it, so conclusions psychologists draw are more likely to have more validity.

weakness 1

• One limitation is the distinction between individualist cultures and collectivist cultures.

• Psychologists have often referred to culture in the context of individualism versus collectivism. Individualist cultures (e.g. USA) value individual independence. Collectivist cultures (e.g. Japan) value the group and interdependence.

• However, critics argue that this is a lazy and simplistic distinction that no longer applies. Takano and Osaka (1999) found 14/15 studies comparing USA and Japan showing no evidence of a distinction between the two cultures. Additionally, Van Ijzendoorn (1988) found that there is more variation of behaviour within a culture than between cultures.

• This could suggest that this form of culture bias (seeing the world as individualist vs collectivist) in research may be less useful in more recent psychological research.

weakness 2

• Another limitation of cultural bias in psychology is it has led to prejudice against groups of people.

• Gould (1981) explained how the first intelligence tests led to eugenic social policies in the US. Psychologists used the opportunity of World War I to pilot their first IQ tests on 1.75 million army recruits. Many of the items on the test were ethnocentric, for example assuming everyone would know the names of the US presidents. The result was that recruits from south-eastern Europe and African-Americans received the lowest scores

• The poor performance of these groups was not taken as a sign of the test's inadequacy but was instead used to inform racist discourse about the genetic inferiority of particular cultural and ethnic groups. Ethnic minorities were deemed 'mentally unfit' and 'feeble-minded’ in comparison to the white majority and were denied educational and professional opportunities as a result.

• This illustrates how cultural bias can be used to justify prejudice and discrimination towards certain cultural and ethnic groups.