4.3.1 - Issues and debates

• Differences between genders have not been considered in the research leading to bias or potential biased conclusion. Often based on stereotypes
• Universality

  Characteristics that are capable of being applied to all despite differences in experiences and upbringing
• Alpha bias

  • Theories which exaggerate differences between sexes. More likely to devalue females than males
• Freuds psychosexual theory: 'Femininity was just failed masculinity. Never believed the sexes were equal. Women are envious of men and are failed men. Superego develops from the odious complex. Women are morally inferior and have a weakened identity'
• Beta bias


  • Theories which ignore differences between sexes. The female perspective is not included
• Androcentrism

  Develops from beta bias. Belief that male behaviour is human behaviour. Sees women’s behaviour as abnormal
• PMS medicalises female emotions and undermines their experience
• Milgram had no women in the study, so the theory of obedience to authority cannot be generalised
• Zimbardo suggested that females are more sensitive and emotional, less likely to conform to violent social roles like men. His wife tried to intervene in the experiment, calling it inhumane
• Asch suggested that women would be more likely to conform
• Fight or flight response may not apply to females as they tend to shift attention to caring for their offspring and forming defensive networks with other females, creating a Tend and befriend response instead
• Evaluation (AO3)


  Alpha bias has positive consequences as it asserts the worth and valuation of ‘feminine qualities. Leads to healthy criticism of cultural values and praises certain ‘male’ qualities such as aggression and individualism as desirable and universal. Focuses on the differences between genders which implicates similarities within that gender and ignores the various ways in which women differ from one another. Sustains prejudice and stereotypes. Freud was a product of his time had serious consequences on perception of women with traditional sex roles and inferiority are all clearly androcentric
• If theories and studies are gender biased, the research may find differences between genders but it may not be the genders that differ but simply the methods used to test or observe them
• Rosenthal (1966) found that male experimenters are more pleasant and encouraging to female participants, leading to better performance in tasks. Male participants appeared to perform less well
• Fewer women being appointed at senior research positions means that female concerns are less likely to be reflected in the experimental questions
• Beta bias


  Makes people see men and women as equals and has allowed access to better treatment in society with education, employment etc. Percentage of women MP’s has risen to 34% from 1979 (3%). Draws attention away from differences in power between men and women. Is considered as an equal approach but results in major misinterpretations of both genders. Feminists argue the gender difference is minimal. Used against women to maintain male power. Lowers the self-esteem of women rather than men as it makes them think that they have to improve themselves (Tavris 1993)
• Cultural bias imposes a particular worldview (that of the Western culture) into the ways it tries to understand people
• Psychologists may overlook the importance of cultural diversity in understanding human behavior, resulting in theories that are scientifically inadequate
• Psychologists may privilege their own worldview over those that emerge from other cultures, leading to research that either intentionally or unintentionally supports racist and discriminatory practices in the real world
• Emic approach

  Investigation of a culture from within the culture itself
• Etic construct

  Theoretical idea assumed to apply in all cultural groups, considered universal to all people and factors that hold across all cultures
• Ainsworth’s Strange Situation for Attachment
• Cultural differences in child-rearing styles

  • Make results liable to misinterpretation, e.g., German or Japanese samples
• Takashi (1990) aimed to see whether the strange situation is a valid procedure for cultures other than the original, found no children in the avoidant-insecure stage
• IQ tests developed in the West contain embedded assumptions about intelligence, but what counts as ‘intelligent’ behavior varies from culture to culture
• Non-Westerners may be disadvantaged by IQ tests and viewed as ‘inferior’ when they don’t perform as Westerners do
• IQ testing is not a valid measure
• One limitation of cultural bias is that lots of approaches in psychology are based on studies with cultural bias
• It is argued that the separation between individualist and collectivist cultures no longer exists
• Cultural bias has led to the development of cultural psychology which is described as how people shape and are shaped by their cultural environment
• Cultural bias has led to prejudice against certain groups and minorities
• Some features of human attachment are universal
• Free Will

  We all have a choice and can control and choose our own behaviour
• Humanistic approach

  • Focuses on individual potential and stresses the importance of growth and self-actualization
• Free will approach

  Opposite of deterministic approach
• Hard determinism

  All behavior can be predicted by internal and external forces beyond our control, suggesting no free will
• Soft determinism

  Allows for some element of free will, suggesting that all events, including human behavior, have a cause
• Research

  IV is manipulated to have an effect on the DV. Through repeating the research under controlled conditions and performing stat tests, a cause and effect can be established between two variables
• Research

  Increases scientific credibility of Psychology by enabling prediction and control of behavior
• 100% genetic determinism is unlikely to be found for any behavior