gender bias

• What is gender biased

  evidence that gender is

  presented in a distorted way
• What does gender bias lead to?

  Differential treatment of males and females
• What is differential treatment of males and females based on?

  Stereotypes and not real differences
• What leads to gender bias?

  Failure to consider adequately differences between men and women
• What has historically been the case in psychology that has led to gender bias?

  Predominance of research based on samples of men
• What might researchers do that may affect research outcomes and lead to gender bias?

  Researchers might have different expectations of men and women
• Who argued for two types of gender bias?

  Hare-Mustin and Marecek (1988)
• What are the two types of gender bias?

  Alpha and beta bias
• What is alpha bias?

  Refers to theories that exaggerate the differences between males and females
• What is beta bias?

  Refers to theories that ignore or minimise sex differences. These theories often assume that the findings from studies using males can apply equally to females
• What is a consequence of beta bias?

  Androcentrism
• What is androcentrism?


  Androcentrism means being centred on males or the male viewpoint. This can be conscious or unconscious.
• What has historically been the case in psychology that has led to androcentrism?

  In the past most psychologists were male, and the theories they produced tended to represent a male view of the world.
• What does androcentrism lead to?

  "Normal" behaviour may be judged according to a male standard meaning that female behaviour is often judged to be abnormal or deficient.
• What are three discussion points for gender bias?

  How Gender Bias Happens

  Implications

  Ways of Avoiding Gender Bias
• What is the case with gender at undergraduate level?

  Female psychology students outnumber males
• What is the case with gender at senior teaching and research level?

  Men dominate
• How does gender bias happen?

  The research agenda follows male concerns, female concerns may be marginalised or ignored.
• What are most experimental methodologies based on?

  The standardised treatment of participants
• Why is it a problem that most experimental methodologies are based on the standardised treatment of participants?

  This assumes that men and women respond in the same ways to the experimental situation when women and men might respond differently to the research situation
• What is the publishing bias?

  There is a publishing bias towards positive results
• How does the publishing bias contribute to gender bias?

  Research that finds gender differences more likely to get published than that which doesn't which exaggerates the extent of gender differences
• What are the implications of gender bias?

  Gender-biased research may create misleading assumptions about female behaviour, fail to challenge negative stereotypes and validate discriminatory practices. It may provide a scientific "justification" to deny women opportunities within the workplace or wider society.
• What is an example of the implications of gender bias?

  Many feminist commentators have objected to the diagnostic category of pre-menstrual syndrome (PMS) on the grounds that it stereotypes and trivialises female experience.
• What does critics claims about PMS?

  That it is a social construction which medicalises women's emotions, especially anger, by explaining it in hormonal terms. Male anger, on the other hand, is often seen as a rational response to external pressures (Brescoll and Uhlman, 2008).
• How do some psychologists try to avoid gender bias?

  Attempt to develop theories that emphasise the importance or value of women
• What is an example of a theory that emphasise the importance or value of women?

  Cornwell et al. (2013) noted that females are better at learning, as they are more attentive and organised, thus emphasising both the value and the positive attributes of women
• What has contributed to reducing institutionalized gender bias and drawing attention to sources of bias and under-researched areas in psychology?

  Equal opportunity legislation and feminist psychology
• What are some under-researched areas in psychology?

  Childcare, sexual abuse, dual burden working, and prostitution