Gender bias

• Define alpha bias in terms of gender bias

  Tendency to exaggerate differences between men and women
• Define androcentrism

  • Theories centred on men, often to the neglect and exclusion of women
  • can result in either an alpha or beta bias
• Define beta bias in terms of gender bias

  Tendency to ignore or minimise differences between men and women
• Define gender bias

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

  The aim to develop theories which apply to all people, which may include real differences
• A description of gender bias using the key terms, alpha and beta bias, and universality?

  Alpha bias leads to theories which emphasise the differences between genders, whereas beta bias leads to theories which minimise these same differences. the aim in psychology is to establish universality- developing theories which apply to all people
• define how androcentrism is represented throughout psychology

  • Psychology is male dominated
  • Represent a male world view
  • Results in either alpha or beta bias
• Provide an example of alpha biasin terms of gender bias

  FREUD:

  • In his culture- men were more powerful than women, so he regarded men as superior
  • Viewed femininity as failed masculinity- exaggerated differences between men and women (alpha bias)
  • In his theory, girls cannot undergo the same Oedipus complex as boys as they are jealous of male penises and cannot undergo castration anxiety, women seen as morally inferior as have weaker identification with their mothers
• Describe an example of beta bias in terms of gender bias

  STRESS RESEARCH

  • Fight or flight
  • Research is conducted usually in male animals because in females variations in hormone levels would make the research more difficult
  • Assumed that male only samples wouldn’t matter because whats true for males is true for females
  • Shelley Taylor and colleagues identified females have a tend-and-befriend response at times of stress which ensures offspring survival, a real difference was ignored
• What are the conclusions derived from minimising gender bias?

  • Wrong to eradicate gender differences as that in itself is a beta bias
  • Need to recognise differences without the superiority of one gender over another
• Evaluation of gender bias?

  • ☺️Take a feminist approach to counteract androcentrism- Feminist psychology- acknowledge biological diffs bet genders but socially based stereotypes need to be tackled to ensure equality
  • ☺️Acknowledging beta bias may lead to more equality- the right to vote, armed forces, gender access to education
  • ☹️avoiding beta bias can draw attention away from special needs of each gender-eg male suicide rates higher than females might be ignored
  • ☺️Reverse alpha bias- maximise gender differences but emphasis value of women- eg research shows that women are better learners- more attentive and flexible