Gender bias

• Gender bias in psychological research or theory may offer a view that does not justifiably represent the experience of both men and women
• Gender bias comes in two forms: alpha bias and beta bias
• Alpha bias refers to research that exaggerates the differences between men and women. This normally devalues females in relation to males. (An example of this is Freud’s psychosexual stages of development. During the phallic stage both boys and girls develop a desire for the opposite sex parent. In a boy this creates castration anxiety which is resolved when he identifies with his father. In a girl eventual identification with her mother will be weaker, meaning that her superego is weaker. Suggesting that girls are more morally inferior to boys.)
• beta bias underestimates differences between men and women. This happens when psychologists assume that findings can be applied equally to both sexes.
• BETA BIAS : (for example, the fight or flight response. Biological research has favoured using make animals as female behaviour is affected by regular hormone changes. This ignores possible differences. More recently research has shown that female members of the species have actually evolved biologically to inhibit the fight or flight response. This is known as the tend and befriend response as in threatening situations they will focus on caring and looking after offspring or forming defensive networks. 
• Alpha and beta bias are the consequences of androcentrism. This is where ‘normal’ behaviour is judged according to a male standard. In the past psychologists and researchers were mostly male. This suggests that the theories produced were a representation of a male view of the world. Any behaviour that deviated from this was seen as abnormal or as a sign of illness. 
• Gender differences are presented as fixed when they are not. Maccoby and Jacklin concluded that girls have superior verbal ability whereas boys have better spatial ability. These differences are ‘hardwired’ into the brain. These findings become seen as facts.

  Joel et al. used brain scanning and found no such gender difference in brain structure. It may be that Maccoby and Jacklin’s data was popularised because it fitted existing stereotypes of girls as ‘speakers’ and boys as ‘doers’.

  We should be wary of accepting research findings as biological facts. 
• However, psychologists should not avoid studying gender differences in the brain. Ingalhalikar et al. suggests that the popular social stereotype that females are better at multitasking may have biological truth to it. Women’s brains benefit from better connections between the right and left hemisphere than a man's.

  Suggests that there are biological differences but we should be wary of exaggerating their effect. 
• Gender bias promotes sexism in the research process. 

  Women remain underrepresented in uni departments. Undergraduates taking psychology are more likely to be female but lectures are mainly male. Research is more likely to be conducted by males which disadvantages female participants. 

  E.g a male researcher may expect females to be unable to complete complex tasks meaning that females are likely to underperform in studies.

  Institutional methods produce findings that are gender bias. 
• Research challenging gender bias may not be published. Formanowicz et al. analysed more than 1000 articles relating to gender bias. Research on gender bias is funded less often and published in less prestigious journals. 

  Fewer scholars therefore apply it to their work.

  Gender bias may not be taken as seriously as other forms of bias