Evaluation

• biological vs social explanations

  • maccoby and jacklin- presented findings of studies which colluded that girls have superior verbal ability whereas boys have better spatial ability. Such findings become widely reported and seen as facts
  • Joel et al- found no sex differecnes in brain structure
• counterpoint to biological vs social explanations

  • Madura et al- stereotype that women are better multitasking may have some truth.
  • ut seems that a womans brain may benefit from better connections between the hemispheres than in a mans.
  • there may be biological differences that’s we should br wary of
• sexism in research

  • gender bias promotes sexism in research.
  • women are underrepresented in university departments
  • research is more likely to be conducted by men which may disadvantage women participants
  • male research may expect women to be irrational which can mean they underperform.
  • methods of psychology may produce gender-biased findings