Gender bias in psychology Types of bias Bias
Gender bias in psychology • • Types of bias Bias in theory Bias in research ww. psychlotron. or •
Gender bias Range of consequences including: • • Scientifically misleading Upholding stereotypical assumptions Validating sex discrimination Avoiding gender bias does not mean pretending that men and women are the same ww. psychlotron. or •
Gender bias Alpha bias • • Exaggerating the differences between men & women Beta bias • • Exaggerating the similarity between men & women Often happens when findings obtained from men and applied to women without additional validation ww. psychlotron. or •
Gender bias Androcentrism • • Similar idea to ethnocentrism Taking male thinking/behaviour as normal, regarding female thinking/behaviour as deviant, inferior, abnormal, ‘other’ when it is different ww. psychlotron. or •
Examples of gender bias Kohlberg & moral development • • • Based stages of moral development around male moral reasoning Inappropriate generalisation to women (beta bias) Claimed women generally reached lower level of development (androcentrism) ww. psychlotron. or •
Examples of gender bias Gilligan & moral development • • • Highlighted bias inherent in Kohlberg’s work Suggested women make moral decisions in a different way to men (care ethic vs. justice ethic) Arguably also (alpha) biased, as M & F moral reasoning is more similar than her work suggests ww. psychlotron. or •
Examples of gender bias Freud & psychosexual development • • ‘Biology is destiny’ – women’s roles are prescribed & predetermined ‘Penis envy’ – women are defined psychologically by the fact that they aren’t men ww. psychlotron. or •
Examples of gender bias Consequences of Freud’s ideas: • • • Reinforcing stereotypes e. g. of women’s moral inferiority Treating deviations from traditional sex-role behaviour as pathological (career ambition = penis envy) Androcentric (phallocentric) ww. psychlotron. or •
Examples of gender bias Biomedical theories of abnormality • • • Abnormal behaviour explained in terms of neurochemical/hormonal processes Higher prevalence of depression in women explained in hormonal terms, not social/environmental (e. g. violence, unpaid labour, discrimination) ‘Is it your hormones, love? ’ ww. psychlotron. or •
Gender bias in research Institutional sexism • • Men predominate at senior researcher level Research agenda follows male concerns, female concerns may be marginalised or ignored ww. psychlotron. or •
Gender bias in research Use of standardised procedures in research studies • • • Women and men might respond differently to research situation Women and men might be treated differently by researchers Could create artificial differences or mask real ones ww. psychlotron. or •
Gender bias in research Dissemination of research results • • • Publishing bias towards positive results Research that finds gender differences more likely to get published than that which doesn’t Exaggerates extent of gender differences ww. psychlotron. or •
Addressing gender bias Feminist perspective • • • Re-examining the ‘facts’ about gender View of women as normal humans, not deficient men Scepticism towards biological determinism Research agenda focusing on womens’ concerns A psychology for women, rather than a psychology of women ww. psychlotron. or •
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