Issues and Debates

• What is gender bias?

  Differential treatment based on stereotypes
• What does alpha bias suggest about men and women?

  It exaggerates differences between the sexes
• What is a consequence of alpha bias?

  Theories devalue one gender compared to another
• How does Wilson’s sociobiological theory view promiscuity in males and females?

  Males are genetically determined, females are not
• What does Cotton et al. suggest about the diagnosis of schizophrenia in women?

  Symptoms may be masked or less severe
• What is androcentrism?

  Behavior compared to a male standard
• How is PMS viewed in terms of androcentrism?

  It trivializes female emotion, especially anger
• What did Shelley Taylor challenge regarding the fight or flight response?

  Females also exhibit a tend and befriend response
• What is beta bias?

  Minimizing differences between men and women
• How did Kohlberg’s theory exemplify beta bias?

  It generalized male moral reasoning to women
• What is universality in psychology?

  Theories that apply to all individuals
• What does feminist psychology argue about perceived differences?

  Socially determined stereotypes contribute more
• How can androcentrism be countered?

  By adopting a feminist perspective
• What did Rosenthal find about male experimenters?

  They are more pleasant to female participants
• What is the implication of fewer women in senior research positions?

  Female concerns are less likely to be reflected
• How does Eagly and Johnson's research differ from lab settings?

  Found men and women judged more similarly
• What does reverse alpha bias emphasize?

  Greater emphasis on women's abilities
• What did Cornwell et al. find about women's learning?

  Women are better learners due to attentiveness
• What is a potential disadvantage of beta bias for women?

  Ignores women's special biological needs
• What does Darwin's theory of sexual selection suggest?

  Women are choosy, men are competitive
• What is cultural bias?

  Judging cultures by one's own standards
• What is cultural relativism?

  Behavior judged in cultural context
• How did Milgram's study demonstrate cultural relativism?

  Results varied significantly across cultures
• What does alpha bias in cultural relativism lead to?

  Overlooking universals due to perceived differences
• How does beta bias relate to defining mental disorders?

  Assumes universal rules for all cultures
• What did Takano and Osaka find regarding individualistic and collectivist cultures?

  Less of a divide than previously thought
• What does the emic-etic distinction refer to?

  Unique cultural findings versus universal aspects
• What did Smith and Bond find about cultural bias in psychology research?

  66% of studies were American
• What was the consequence of the US army IQ test?

  Led to stereotyping and discrimination
• What did Ekman et al. demonstrate about facial expressions?

  They are universally recognized across cultures
• What is the significance of worldwide psychology?

  Increased understanding of diverse cultures
• What is determinism in psychology?

  Behavior controlled by external or internal factors
• What are the three types of determinism?

  Biological, environmental, and psychic
• What is biological determinism?

  Behavior caused by internal biological forces
• What is environmental determinism?

  Behavior caused by previous experiences
• How do phobias relate to environmental determinism?

  They result from classical and operant conditioning
• What is psychic determination?

  Behavior determined by innate drives and experiences
• What do Freud's psychosexual stages suggest?

  Unresolved conflicts lead to adult fixation
• What is free will in psychology?

  Power to make choices about behavior
• What is hard determinism?

  All behavior can be predicted by forces