AO3

• Bias in research:

  • One critism of psychological theories and studies is that they are gender - biased because if the methods used
  • Feminist argue that lab experiments disadvantage women because findings created in the controlled world of that lab tell us very little about the experiences of women outside those settings
  • These criticisms suggest that there are serious issues with the way data is collected, which creates a false picture of men-female difference
• Beta Bias:

  • Makes people see men and women as the same, which has led to equal treatment in legal terms and equal access to, for example, education and employment.
• Reverse alpha bias One strategy to counter gender bias is to develop theories which show the differences between men and women but that emphasise the value of women. This can be seen in feminist research which shows instances where women are better. For example, research shows that women are better at learning because they are more attentive, flexible and organised (Cornwell et al., 2013) Such research challenges the stereotype that in any gender differences the male position must be better, and changes people's preconceptions.