gender bias

• what are the two types of gender bias?

  alpha bias and beta bias
• what is alpha bias?

  Exaggerating differences between men and women
• what is beta bias?

  downplaying or ignoring differences between men and women
• what is androcentrism?

  male-centred research, 'normal' behaviour is judged according to male standards
• evaluation of gender bias- limitation

  biological versus social explanations: gender differences are often presented as fixed and enduring. Maccoby and Jacklin (1974) examined research into gender and concluded that girls have superior verbal ability whereas boys have better spatial ability. they suggested that these differences are hardwired in the brain before birth.

  this data has since been proven wrong by brain scans, but was popularised at the time because it fitted the stereotypes.
• evaluation of gender bias - strength 


  Ingalhalikar et al (2014) studying gender differences in the brain and found that women had more connections between the two hemispheres than men did, meaning that women being better at multitasking may have some biological truth to it.
• evaluation of gender bias - limitation

  sexism within the research process: male researchers are more likely to have their work published and studies that find evidence of gender differences are more likely to be published than those that do not
• evaluation of gender bias - limitation

  may create misleading assumptions about female behaviour, fail to challenge negative stereotypes and validate discriminatory practices. science leads to real world applications - if these are based on biased research, then it may provide 'scientific' justification for denying women opportunities. gender bias is not just a methodological problem but may have damaging consequences which affects the lives and prospects of real women.
• what are the five ways of avoiding gender bias in research?


  -promoting universality

  -woman should be studied within meaningful real-life contexts and genuinely participate in research, rather than being objects of study

  -diversity within groups of women

  -greater emphasis on collaborative research methods

  -greater focus on research into women dominated areas