gender bias

• Alpha bias is when a researcher exaggerates the difference between men and women.
• Beta bias is when a researcher minimises or ignores the difference between men and women
• In observational studies, we need to operationalise the behaviour we observe, using behavioural categories
• Beta bias can be seen in

  • Asch's conformity research
  • Zimbardo's Stanford prison experiment
  • Milgram's obedience experiment
• • When research focuses on male participants, that research is androcentric
• When research lacks validity because it focuses on male participants, it suffers from androcentric bias
• Freud’s theories suffer from androcentric alpha bias, because they suggest that there are enormous, permanent psychological differences between men and women, and that female traits were abnormal and inferior
• When research focuses on women, it’s called gynocentrism
• When research like Moscovici’s makes invalid conclusions by using mainly female participants but drawing conclusions about everybody, it’s called gynocentric beta bias
• Instead of fight or flight in response to stress, further research has shown females show a tend and befriend response
• Gender bias

  When the assumptions about the differences between genders are mistaken
• Androcentric bias

  When there is a lack of reliability or validity in the research because of a focus on males
• Androcentrism in experimental psychology has led to psychologists displaying androcentric bias in their research. By having a focus on just men’s behaviours, researchers have a higher likelihood to reach invalid conclusions about the behaviour of women, leaving unhelpful or inaccurate ideas of women being unchallenged.
• Gynocentrism may lead to gynocentric bias if it is assumed that men and women would act the same
• Examples of gynocentric studies

  • Moscovici
  • Ainsworth