Gender bias

• Universality: Any underlying characteristic of humans that is capable of being applied to all, despite differences of experience or upbringing. Gender bias and culture bias threaten the universality of findings in psychology.
• Gender bias: When considering human behavior, bias is a tendency to treat one individual or group in a different way from others. In the context of gender, a therory may offer a veiw which is only compatible with one gender and doesnt represent the experience of another gender (usually women).
• Androcentrism: Male-centered, when 'normal behavior' is judged according to a male standard, causing women's behavior to be seen as abnormal by comparison.
• Alpha bias: Research that focuses on differences between men and women, therefore tends to present a view that exaggerates these differences.
• Beta bias: Research that focuses on similarities between men and women, therefore tends to present a view that ignores or minimizes the differences.
• • An example of alpha bias is Freud's (1905) theory of psychosexual development.
  • During the phallic stage both genders develop a desire for their opposite-gender parent.
  • In a boy this creates castration anxiety (fear his father will cut his penis off) but this is resolved when the boy identifies with his father.
  • In a girl their identification with their mother is not as strong causing her to have a weaker superego. This makes girls inferior to boys.
• Alpha bias can also favor women. Nancy Chodorow (1968) suggested that mothers and daughters have a greater connection because of biological similarities. This causes women to be better at bonding and empathizing with others.
• • An example of beta bias comes from research on the flight or fight response.
  • Biological research has favored using male animals due to women's regular hormonal changes.
  • This ignores any differences women and men may have and assumes all women also have a flight or fight response.
• • Taylor et al (2000) claimed that in women they have a tend and befriend response.
  • This is due to the hormone 'oxytocin' which is produced in women during stressful situations.
• • Asch assumed conformity was universal for all genders.
  • This however was disproved when it was later found out that women are more likely to conform to men.
• • Beta bias also affected men due to research on attachment.
  • It is assumed that emotional care is provided by the mothers but research on the role of the farther shows men can also take on that role.
• • Both alpha and beta bias is due to androcentrism as psychology is a largely male dominated subject.
  • There was only six women on the most influential psychologists of the 20th century which proves that psychology is a subject made for men by men.
• • Brescoll and Uhlmann (2008) found that in psychology women's emotions are largely passed off as just being emotional and hormonal when men's emotions are defended and are often seen as a rational response to external pressures.