gender bias
AO1
gender bias is the idea that men and women are misrepresented or favoured in psychological research
psychology is a male dominated field so this often affects research
alpha bias - when differences between men and women are exaggerated
freud’s psychodynamic theory - femininity is a form of failed masculinity. this has negative implications for women in wider society as it could subject them to more misogyny and mistreatment
beta bias - when differences between men and women are undermined
taylor et al - studies looking at fight or flight responses mainly used male animal samples and generalised the findings. but taylor et al found that women adopt a tend and befriend response. the initial beta biased approach meant that female behaviour went unexamined. beta bias can have negative implications as it could lead to significant differences being missed.
androcentrism - when research and samples predominantly focus on men and assume a male pov
AO3
one of the main limitations of psychological research is that gender bias goes unchallenged. for example, darwin’s theory suggests that women are selective when it comes to mate selection. however, DNA evidence has suggested that women are just as competitive as men. this shows that challenging theories is integral in order to keep valid information on women in contemporary studies
in order to change this bias, psychologists should take on an essentialist approach. essentialism acknowledges the inherent differences between men and women but instead of ignoring this, it embraces it. for example, eagly claimed that women are less effective leaders than men and this finding should be used to develop training programmes tailored to women. however, some psychologists disagree with eagly and claim that the methodology is biased, which makes it appear as if men and women are different. this could exaggerate differences and, therefore, enables alpha bias.
another way to challenge bias is to take on a feminist approach. feminist research acknowledges differences but emphasises the value of women and restores the balance in psychological research. for example, cornwell et al found that women are better learners than men because they are more attentive and organised. publishing research like this could have positive implications because it portrays women in a positive light and can inform real world changes, such as teaching strategies
practice
gender bias is when psychological research misrepresents men and women. psychology is a male dominated field so often, research predominantly focuses on men and uses a male point of view. this is called androcentrism. there are two types of gender bias: alpha and beta bias.
alpha bias is when the differences between men and women are exaggerated. for example, freud’s psychodynamic theory states that femininity is the result of failed masculinity. this exaggerates the difference between men and women and also has negative implications. the theory suggests that women are inferior and that there is something wrong with them. this can subject more women to misogyny and bias.
beta bias is when the differences between men and women are undermined. for example, when studying fight or flight responses, psychologists mainly used male animal samples and generalised their findings but taylor et al found that women have a tend and befriend response.
a limitation of the psychological research is that it doesn’t challenge gender bias. for example, darwin’s theory states that women are selective in terms of mate selection but more recent studies (DNA evidence) have shown that women are just as competitive as men when needed. therefore, research needs to be challenged in order to obtain valid information
in order to challenge this bias, researchers could take on a feminist approach. a feminist approach serves to put emphasis on valuing women. for example, cornwell et al found that women are better learners than men because they are more attentive and organised. publishing research like this can have positive implications because it portrays women in a positive light and allows for real world changes (ie teaching strategies) to be tailored to them.
another way to challenge bias is reflexivity
essentialism also addresses the differences between men and women. eagly claims that women are less effective leaders → tailor training programs → however, its controversial because of fixed nature → methodology is biased → feminist approach is better
a strength of idenitfying bias is method imprvements. contemp psych include mixed gender samples, analyse sex as a variable and avoid overgeneralisations of one group. furthermore the growth of feminist approaches means