Historical + social context

• 1

  • Many opinions = gender is shaped by society (as a social context) + psychological studies have uncovered how this happens
  • Smith and Lloyd (1978) - classic study
  • Found that mothers playing with boys or girls would choose gender appropriate toys for the infant
  • E.G. - girls would play with dolls and boys would play with tools like hammers
  • Reinforces gender roles to infants very early on + this depiction creates an expectation for children to behave ‘correctly’ based off of their gender
• 2

  • Moss-Racusin (2012) sent job applications out to academics.
  • If the application was received from ‘Jennifer’ it was perceived less competent than when labelled ‘John’
  • Stereotypes continue to bias the ways we treat men and women
  • Clear gender bias towards women
• 3 - counter

  • Psychological research is influenced by the social + cultural context in which it takes place
  • The questions researchers ask, the methods they use + the interpretations of their findings may be shaped by prevailing societal attitudes
  • Studies conducted at the past may have focused primarily on male participants or may have been framed within gender stereotypes that were prevalent at the time
  • Not psychology which is biased, it is the historical context at the time and psychology has developed with time
• 4

  • Schope (2008) study on the positive impact of paternal involvement and the importance of father-child relationships. This highlights that psychological research isn’t biased. Old research is out of date and not keeping up with modern views.