Gender bias

• Universality


  The belief that all humans are alike, so what is true for one person is true for everyone
• Universality (when applied to gender)

  All research is assumed to apply equally to both genders
• Bias


  A person's or a society's views are distorted in some way
• In Psychology there is evidence that gender is presented in a biased way
• Gender bias refers to the differential treatment and/or representation of males and females, based on stereotypes and not real differences. In the context of gender bias, psychological research or theory may offer a view that does not justifiably represent the experience and behaviour of men or women (usually women). This could be the result of a sampling bias if studies are conducted predominantly on males, and then the findings are presumed to apply to females as well.
• Androcentrism


  Research which is male centred or provides a male-biased view of the world
• Androcentrism results in male behaviour and masculine traits being judged to be the norm/acceptable or desirable, and female behaviour and feminine traits are judged to be abnormal/less acceptable or less desirable
• Psychological research tends to have an androcentric or male bias
• Alpha Bias


  The tendency to exaggerate or overestimate differences between men and women
• Alpha Bias


  • Differences are typically presented as real, enduring, fixed and inevitable
  • Differences may occasionally heighten the value of women, but are more likely to devalue females in relation to their male counterparts
• Beta Bias

  The tendency to minimise or ignore the differences between men and women
• Beta Bias


  • Occurs when an androcentric sample is taken, therefore female participants are not included as part of the research process
  • Theories often assume that the findings from males can apply equally to females
• Gender bias often goes unopposed
• Assumptions need to be examined and challenged
• Although gender bias is improving, there are still examples of gender bias that go unchallenged
• The Evolutionary theory of sexual selection portrays women as choosy and males as the ones who compete to be chosen
• This is because it pays, in terms of ultimate reproductive success, for females to be more selective because the costs (to produce eggs) are high
• These views have recently been challenged by DNA evidence suggesting that women are equally as competitive as men, when economics allow
• This highlights the importance of continually challenging earlier gender research, in order to reduce gender bias, to ensure that a valid picture of women is portrayed in contemporary studies
• Contemporary psychologists have looked for ways to reduce gender bias
• Some psychologists attempt to develop theories that emphasise both the value, and the positive attributes of women
• Cornwell et al found that women are better at learning because they are more attentive
• This idea goes against the view that in any gender differences the male position must be better, and due to this, this may help to change people's misconceptions about gender differences
• This helps to challenge gender stereotypes which is important in reducing gender bias
• There are a number of negative implications of gender- biased research, such as failing to challenge negative stereotypes and providing a scientific justification to deny women opportunities within the workplace or in wider society
• Many feminist writers have objected to the diagnostic category of pre-menstrual syndrome on the grounds that it stereotypes and trivialises female experience
• Critics claim that PMS is a social construction which medicalises female emotions, especially anger, by explaining these in hormonal terms
• Male anger, on the other hand, is often seen as a rational response to external pressures
• Gender bias in research may have damaging consequences which affect the lives and prospects of women
• A lack of women appointed as senior researchers means that female concerns may not be reflected in the research questions asked
• It may be that it is the methods used to test or observe genders that are biased, not that the actual genders are different
• The laboratory experiment – seen as the cornerstone of 'scientific' enquiry in psychology – may disadvantage women, according to some psychologists, because findings created in this controlled world tells us very little about the experiences of women outside of these settings
• A meta-analysis by Eagly and Johnson (1990) noted that studies in real settings found women and men were judged as more similar in styles of leadership than in lab settings
• This suggests that Psychology may be guilty of supporting a form of institutionalism sexism that creates bias in theory and research