Gender Bias

What is gender bias

Differential treatment or representation of men and women based on stereotypes rather than real differences

• e.g. Freuds theory of psychoanalysis viwed feminity as faired and therefore inferior to males

Defintion of universitality 

Conclusions drawn can be applied to everyone, anywhere regardless of culture or time - typically strive for but there will always be some bias 

What is androcentrism

• bias in which male viewpoints and traits are treated as the norm

• female perspective is seen as less valid - behaviour seen as abnormal

What are the two types of gender bias

• Alpha Bias

• Beta Bias

What is Alpha Bias

• exaggerates the difference between the gender

What is Beta Bias

• minimises the differences between the genders

• results are seen as equal - one gender is ignored 

Give an example of alpha bias 

• Freud - females cannot go through castration anxiety - cannot identify as stronly with their same sex parents

• females are less moral than boys 

Give an example of beta bias

• Fight or Flight response

• early research into this was only on male animals and asssumed to be a universal response to threatening situation

• Taylor challenged this - females tend and befriend instead

Strengths to Gender Bias   

Weakness to Gender Bias

Which topics can you apply gender bias to 

• Aschs Research - beta bias shown as study done only on males and assumed women were the same 

• Zimbardos Research - beta bias shown as simulation only done on males 

• Attatchment - Ainsworths Strange Situation example of gynocentric research - only conducted on mothers men not involved

• Baddeley & Hitch

What topics or research shows universitality

• Digit span test 

• Peterson & Peterson test