Gender Bias

• Gender bias


  Differential treatment or representation of men/women
• Androcentrism


  Male world view. (can lead to alpha/beta bias)
• Universality 


  Aim to develop theories that apply to all people. Acknowledge real differences without claiming superiority of one gender.
• Alpha bias 


  Exaggerates or overestimates the differences between the sexes. (Differences = inevitable/fixed). Devalues females?
• Beta bias


  Minimises/underestimates the differences between male/females. Females = underrepresented in research and findings are often assumed to apply to all sexes.
• 3 main ways gender bias occurs 


  Male samples -> Asch, Zimbardo

  Biological differences emphasis -> females = promiscuous

  Male behaviour = standard -> fight/flight
• Evaluation of gender bias (1 of 3)


  Can create misleading assumptions about female behaviour. Men used in research, seen as norm. Can have damaging consequence in real life, fails to acknowledge negative stereotypes.
• Evaluation of gender bias (2 of 3)


  Reflexivity: the process of reflecting on the relationship between researcher and research. Acknowledging bias and the fact it may play a role in the interpretation of results
• Evaluation of gender bias (3 of 3)


  Sexism with the research process: a lack of women in high positions at research level. The questions they may want to research will not be acknowledged. Males = more likely to have research published and may find evidence of gender differences.