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Summary Knowledge Organiser for AQA A-Level Psychology Issues and Debates
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Gender Bias = differential treatment or representation of men and women based on stereotypes not real differences EVALUATION:Hare-Mustin and Marecek (1988): proposed that there are two different ways theories may be biased Bias in Research Methods
• Alpha Bias = refers to theories that assume there are real and enduring differences between men and women • psychological theories and studies in that they are gender-biased because the methods used are bias
• Beta Bias = refers to theories that ignore of minimise gender difference • Rosenthal (1966): found male experiments are more pleasant, friendly, and encouraging to female participants -
→ assume all people are the same, so therefore it is reasonable to apply same theories to men and women ------------------------ than to male participants
→ the aim is to produce theories that can claim to have universality
→ the result was that the male participants appeared to perform less well on the tasks assigned
Androcentrism = centred or focused on men, often to the neglect or exclusion of women • furthermore, feminists argue that lab experiments disadvantage women because findings created in the
→ for most of its life psychology (and society in general) has been very much male-dominated controlled world of the lab tell us very little about the experiences of women outside these settings
→ almost all psychologists are men, therefore the theories they produce tend to represent a male world view • Eagly and Johnson (1990): meta-analysis noted that studies in real settings found women and men were judged
→ this may result in either an alpha or a beta bias ------------------------------------as more similar in styles of leadership than in lab settings
• these criticisms suggest that there are serious issues with the way data is collected, which creates a false picture
Alpha Bias = a tendency to exaggerate difference between men and women, the consequence is that theories devalue one ------ of male-female differences
-----------------gender in comparison to the other
Example: Freud’s Research – the Oedipus Complex Reverse Alpha Bias
• Freud viewed femininity as failed masculinity – he exaggerated the difference between men and women • one strategy to counter gender bias is to develop theories which show the differences between men and
→ women are seen as being inferior to men because they have penis envy and because they cannot undergo the same women but that emphasis the value of women
Oedipus conflict as boys do (which involves castration anxiety) • this can be seen in feminist research which shows instances where women are better
→ this is also androcentric as Freud disagreed with Jung’s Electra complex – an attempt to add a theory for females, • Cornwell et al (2013): women are better at learning because they are more attentive, flexible, and organised
instead suggesting that females for through a female Oedipus complex
• such research challenges the stereotype that in any gender differences the male position must be better, and
• however, due to the lack of castration anxiety, this is less strong for females which is important as the Oedipus complex is
changes people’s preconceptions
vital in forming the superego
• Josselon (1988): “Because the superego develops from the Oedipus complex, women must therefore be morally inferior Avoiding A Beta Bias
------------------------as they have weaker identification with their mothers”
• equal treatment has given women greater opportunities (beta bias), but this may be a disadvantage
Other Examples:
• Hare-Mustin and Marecek (1988): point out arguing for equality draws attention away from women’s special ---
• hormonal explanations of aggression
------------------------------------------- ---needs and from differences in power between men and women
• evolutionary explanations of aggression
• attachment research emphasising the role of the mother , e.g. Bowlby’s theories
• in a society where 1 group holds most power, seemingly neutral actions end up benefiting group with power
• for example, equal parental leave ignores the biological demands of pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding,
Beta Bias = a tendency to ignore or minimise difference between men and women and the special needs of women, therefore disadvantaging women
→ tend to ignore questions about lives of women, or assume insights derived from studies of men apply equally to women • this suggests we should avoid beta bias in order to ensure that significant differences are taken account of
Example: Stress Research – the Fight or Flight Response Assumptions Need To Be Examined
• biological research is usually conducted with male animals because in females the variations in hormone levels would • another issue is that examples of gender bias continue unchallenged in theories
make the research more difficult
• e.g. Darwin’s sexual selection theory portrays women as choosy, males as ones who compete to be chosen
• is assumed that male only samples wouldn’t matter because what is true for males would be true for females
• it pays, in terms of ultimate reproductive success, for females to be more selective because the costs (to
• in stress research it was assumed that the fight or flight response was universal – until this was challenged
produce eggs) are high
• Taylor et al (2000): provided evidence that females produce a tend and befriend response at times of stress -----------------
----------------which is adaptive because it ensures the survival of their offspring • in contrast, males area more explicit in pursuit of the opposite sex because they are in competition
• the beta-biased approach of ignoring the possibility of a difference meant that female behaviour went undiscovered and • this view has recently been challenged as being rooted in Victorian ideas about gender role
meant that the stress response was not fully understood • it has been recognised that women are equally competitive and aggressive when the need arises
Other Examples:
• Vernimmen (2015): DNA evidence supports the idea that it is a good adaptive strategy for females to mate with
• ToM as an explanation of autism ---------------------------more than one mane, which puts females in competition with other females
• Milgram and Asch’s research into obedience and conformity • highlights importance of challenging gender research to ensure research portrays a valid picture of women
• Life changes and Daily Hassles scales ignoring gender differences
Universality = the aim to develop theories that apply to all people, which may include real differences
→ it would be wrong to try to eradicate gender differences as a way to resolve the gender bias issue
→ that approach is in itself beta bias
→ the solution lies in recognising differences but not the superiority of one gender over another
, Culture = rules, customs, morals, and ways of interacting that bind together members of a society EVALUATION:
Cultural Bias = tendency to judge all people in terms of your own cultural assumptions –distorts/biases judgement
The Emic-Etic Distinction
Alpha Bias: refers to theories that assume they are real and enduring differences between cultural groups • the approach described above is an ‘emic’ approach, one which emphasises the uniqueness of
• Example: distinction often made between individualist and collectivist cultures (e.g. US and Japan)
every culture by focusing on culturally specific phenomena
→ for instance, we would expect members of individualist cultures to be less conformist because they are less
orientated towards that compared the US and Japan in terms of individualism/collectivism • the problem with such approaches is that the findings tend to be significant only to the
→ 14 of the 15 studies did not support the common view about differences in conformity understanding of behaviour within that culture
→ this finding suggests that the individualism/collectivism dimension may not be a real distinction, suggesting that the • on the other hand, an ‘etic’ approach seeks universals of behaviour
distinction between ‘individualist’ and ‘collectivist’ cultures is no longer a useful one → can achieve, while avoiding cultural bias, by using indigenous researchers in each cultural setting
Beta Bias: refers to theories that ignore or minimise cultural differences
• David Buss et al (1989): did a classic study of mate preferences
• they assume all people are same and therefore it is reasonable to use same theories and methods with all cultural groups - the data for the study was collected from people in 37 different cultures, using local researchers
to ensure accurate translations and resolve discrepancies
• Example: intelligence testing
→ psychologists use IQ tests devised by Western psychologists to study intelligence in different cultures • this kind of approach lets researchers investigate universal behaviour, while avoiding cultural bias
→ the psychologists assume that their view of intelligence applies to all cultures equally Bias in Research Methods
• Wober (1974): Western societies see intelligence as something within the individual • cultural bias in psychology can also be dealt with simply by using studies with samples from
→ in contrast, a collectivist culture such as Ugandan society sees intelligence as a functional relationship depending on different cultural groups – this was not the situation at the end of the last century
shared knowledge between the individual and society
→ when Western IQ tests are used on non-Western cultures, non-Western people may appear less intelligent
• Smith and Bond (1988): surveyed research in one European textbook on social psychology
→ found 66% of the studies were American, 32% European, and 2% came from rest of the world
• such tests are described as an imposed etic
• Impose Etic = a research method or psychological test developed by one group is imposed on other groups • Sears (1986): reported that 82% of research studies used undergraduates as the participants in
• Etic = the belief that perceptions, behaviours, etc, are shared by all cultural groups psychology studies and 51% were psychology students
• Henrich et al (2010): a more recent study found that 67% were American psychology students
Ethnocentrism = refers to the use of our won ethnic or cultural group as a basis for judgements about other groups → the researchers calculated that a randomly selected American student was 4000 times more
→ there is a tendency to view the beliefs, customs, and behaviours of our own group as ‘normal’ and even superior, likely to be a participant in a psychology study than a random non-Westerner
whereas those of other groups are ‘strange’ or deviant
• suggests psychology findings are not only unrepresentative on global scale, but also within Western
Alpha Bias: ethnocentrism is an example of alpha bias because one’s own culture is considered to be different and better, and -- culture and there is a pressing need for more research with samples from different cultural groups
----------------the consequence of this is that other cultures and their practices are devalued
→ e.g. individualist attitude towards attachment – independence is valued, and dependence is seen as undesirable Consequences Of Cultural Bias
→ in collectivist cultures, dependence tends to more highly valued • a real danger of culturally biased research is that it helps to create or reinforce stereotypes
Beta Bias: ethnocentrism can also lead to beta bias, if psychologists believe their world view is the only view • an infamous example of the damage done by psychologists through cultural bias was the US Army
→ e.g. case of IQ testing above results from ethnocentrism where it was believed it was appropriate to use American IQ IQ, used just before the First World War
tests all over the world because there was an assumption the American standard was universal
→ the tests showed that European immigrants fell slightly below white Americans in terms of IQ,
Cultural Relativism = view behaviour cannot be judged properly unless viewed in the context of the culture it originates and African Americans were at the bottom of the scale with the lowest mental age
Alpha Bias: cultural relativism can also lead to alpha bias where the assumption of real differences leads psychologists to -------- → the data from these tests had a profound effect on the attitudes held by Americans towards
----------------overlook universals certain groups of people – black people and people from south eastern Europe
• e.g. Margaret Mead’s research in Papua New Guinea where she initially concluded there were significant gender • therefore the consequence was enduring stereotypes concerning certain ethnic groups and their IQ
differences due to culture, but later recognised that there were universals (probably related to biology) – that the men in
all cultures were more aggressive than the women The Worldwide Psychology Community
Beta Bias: cultural relativism is often discussed on the context of defining mental disorder • researchers in psychology, like most people, travel much more now than they did 50 years ago
• in the case of the statistical infrequency definition of abnormality, behaviours that are statistically infrequent in one • means they have an increased understanding of other cultures at a personal and professional level
culture may be statistically more frequent in another
• academics hold international conferences where researchers from many different countries and
• for example, one of the symptoms of schizophrenia is claiming to hear voices
• however, this is an experience that is common in some cultures
cultures regularly meet to discuss and exchange ideas
• by assuming that the same rules apply universally (a beta bias), we may diagnose some people as mentally ill, but that • means there’s a much greater exchange of ideas, which should reduce ethnocentrism in psychology,
diagnosis is relative to our culture enabled an understanding of cultural relativism and means real differences are identified and valued
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