Gender bias

• In the past, psychological research was typically carried out by males on males, reflecting societal attitudes and resulting in bias. This research was then assumed to apply equally to both males and females.
• The idea that there were no differences between males and females is known as universality- behaviour that is found in one person is true for all.
• Androcentrism:

  • Male bias
  • Male behaviour is taken as the norm
  • Female behaviour that is different from this norm may be constructed as unimportant or even deficient
  • Some women's behaviour is 'pathologised' (seen as being an illness)
• Example of androcentrism:

  Premenstrual syndrome (PMS) is in the DSM-5 and is seen as a condition to be treated instead of a normal factor of women's behaviour
• Alpha bias:

  • Exaggerates gender differences
  • A misrepresentation of behaviour that exaggerates the differences between males and females
  • Some theories have been used to devalue women
• Example of alpha bias:

  Freud's theory of psychosexual development suggested that girls do not identify so strongly with their mothers and therefore have a weaker superego, suggesting that they are less moral.
• Beta bias:

  • Minimises gender differences
  • A misrepresentation of behaviour that minimises the differences between males and females
  • Studies that use only men or women and then suggest that the findings should be applied to everyone are beta biased
• Example of beta bias:

  Milgram used an all-male sample for his original obedience study but applied the findings to both males and females