Issues and debates in Psychology

• Alpha bias refers to theories that exaggerate the differences between males and females.

  • Such research is likely to devalue females in relation to their male counterparts.
• Beta bias Refers to theories that ignore or minimise sex differences.

  • This often occurs when female participants are not included as part of the research process and then it is assumed that research findings apply equally to both sexes.
• One possible consequence of beta bias in androcentrism.

  • If our understanding of what is considered ‘normal’ behaviour is being drawn from research that involves all-male sample, than any behaviour that deviates from this standard is likely to be judged as ‘abnormal’, ‘inferior’ or ‘deficient’ by comparison. This can lead to female behaviour being misunderstood or worse, pathologised (seen as a sign of psychological instability or disorder).
• What are the potential consequences of gender-biased research?

  It may create misleading assumptions about female behavior and validate discriminatory practices.
• How can gender-biased research affect women's opportunities?

  It can provide a scientific justification to deny women opportunities in the workplace or society.
• Who stated that men setting the standard of normalcy makes women feel abnormal?

  Carol Tavris
• What is the limitation of gender bias in research?

  • It is not just a methodological problem.
  • It may have damaging consequences for real women.
  • Example: Females are around twice as likely to be diagnosed with depression than men.
• What statistic illustrates the impact of gender bias on mental health diagnoses?

  Females are around twice as likely to be diagnosed with depression than men.
• What is a consequence of the lack of women appointed at the senior research level in psychology?

  Female concerns may not be reflected in the research questions asked.
• Why are male researchers more likely to have their work published?

  Studies that find evidence of gender differences are more likely to appear in journal articles than those that do not.
• How do laboratory experiments in psychology potentially disadvantage women?

  Female participants may be placed in an inadequate relationship with a usually male researcher who can label them negatively.
• Who noted that female participants may be labelled as unreasonable or irrational in psychological research?

  Nicholson (1995)
• What limitation does psychology face regarding gender representation in research?

  • Psychology may support institutional sexism.
  • This creates bias in theory and research.
  • Reference: Denmark et al. (1988)
• What are modern researchers beginning to recognize about their work?


  The effect of their own values and assumptions
• How do modern researchers view bias in their work?

  As a crucial and critical aspect of the research process
• In the study by Dambrin & Lambert (2008), what aspect of the researchers' experiences is reflected upon?


  Their gender-related experiences
• What is the significance of reflexivity in research according to the study material?

  • Reflexivity leads to greater awareness of personal biases
  • It is an important development in psychology
  • It may shape future research practices
• What specific study is mentioned in the material regarding women in executive positions?

  The study by Dambrin & Lambert (2008)
• What potential outcome does the strength of reflexivity in research suggest for the future of psychology?

  It may lead to greater awareness of personal biases in shaping research
• What perspective do many gender differences reported by psychologists rely on?

  Essentialist perspective
• What does the essentialist perspective imply about gender differences?


  That the gender difference is inevitable and 'fixed' in nature
• What did Walkerdine (1990) report about research in the 1930s regarding women and intellectual activity?

  That it was claimed attending university would harm a woman's chances of giving birth
• How are essentialist accounts in psychology often characterized according to the study material?

  They are often politically motivated arguments disguised as biological facts
• What is a limitation of the essentialist perspective on gender differences?

  • It creates a 'double-standard' in how the same behavior is viewed for males and females.
• Who proposed criteria to avoid gender bias in research?

  Worrell (1992)
• What is one criterion for avoiding gender bias in research according to Worrell?

  Women should be studied within meaningful real-life contexts and genuinely participate in research.
• Why is it important to examine diversity within groups of women in research?


  To avoid making comparisons between women and men.
• What type of data should be emphasized in collaborative research methods according to Worrell?

  Qualitative data, as opposed to numerical data.
• What is a strength of adopting a feminist view in research?

  • Androcentrism can be countered
  • The balance in research can be readdressed
• Cultural bias is the tendency to interpret all phenomena through the lens of one’s own culture, ignoring the effects that cultural differences might have on behaviour
• Joseph Henrick et al (2010) reviewed hundreds of studied in leading psychology journals and found that 68% of research pps came from the US and 96% from industrial nations
• Ethnocentrism refers to judging other cultures by the standards of one’s own culture. In its extreme form this is the belief in the superiority of one’s own culture
• Cultural relativism is the idea that norms and values, as well as ethics and moral standards, can only be meaningful and understood within specific cultural contexts
• Berry (1969) has drawn a distinction between etic and emic approaches in the study of human behaviour:

  An etic approach looks at behaviour from outside of a given culture and attempts to describe those behaviours that are universal. An emic approach functions from within certain cultures and identifies behaviours that are specific to that culture
• Ainsworth’s research is an example of imposed etic- she studied behaviour within a single culture (America) than assumed her ideal attachment type could be applied universally
• Berry argues that psychology has often been guilty of imposing an etic approach (arguing that theories/models/concepts are universal when they actually came about through emic research within in a single culture)
• Psychologists should be more mindful of the cultural relativism of their research- that their findings may only make sense from the perspective of the culture within which they were discovered.
• What distinction have psychologists often made when referencing 'culture'?

  Individualist-collectivist distinction
• Which type of culture is associated with Western countries like the US?

  Individualistic culture
• What do collectivist cultures, such as India and China, emphasize more than individualistic cultures?

  Interdependence and the needs of the group