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P3: issues and debates
the issue of gender in psychology
what is universality?
-any characteristic of human beings that is capable of being applied to
all despite differences in experience and upbringing
what is gender bias?
-a view that does not represent the experience or behaviour of men and
women equally
-misrepresents experience of men and women
what is androcentrism?
-male centred view
-when normal behaviour is judged according to male standard so
female behaviour is judged as abnormal in comparison
what is alpha bias?
-exaggerating the differences between males and females
what is beta bias?
-minimising or ignoring the differences between males and females
give an example of research which shows androcentrism and alpha bias
-Freuds research as he saw masculinity as superior to femininity
-girls form a weaker superego due to lack of castration anxiety so they
have a weaker gender identity
-development of superego in females is different to males and judged
as abnormal or deficient
give an example of research which shows beta bias
-Asch line study (1951)
-found that 75% conformed at least once and 37% conformed over all
P3: issues and debates 1
, -25% never conformed
-he assumed that males and females would conform in the same way
and show similar conformity rates= beta bias as he ignores differences
between males and females
explain 2 limitations of research in psychology related to gender bias
P= one limitation of psych research is that it it gender biased
E= e.g. Asch did line study with 123 males. 75% conformed at least
once and 25% never conformed to unambiguous task
E= shows gender bias because he only used male participants
which shows beta bias as he assumed that males and females
conform in same way
D= females heavily underrepresented which has many negative
implications
L= psychological research doesnt demonstrate universality so we
should be wary of accepting research which shows gender bias
P= one issue surrounding gender bias in psych is that gender
biased research leads to negative stereotypes about female behaviour
E= Macoby and Jacklin (1974) presented findings that girls have a
superior verbal ability whereas males have better spatial ability
E= research perpetuates the stereotype that girls are ‘speakers’ and
boys are ‘doers’ which brings about stereotypes such as guys are
better drivers
L= therefore we should be wary when accepting research which
demonstrates gender bias as its socially sensitive
explain 2 strengths of gender biased research in psych
P= there may be a biological basis to research demonstrating alpha
bias
E= Ingalhalikar et al (2014) completed brain scans of 949 males and
females and found that female brains have better connection
between 2 HS and male brains have displayed more activity in
individual parts such as cerebellum (motor skills)
E= shows alpha bias as it exaggerates differences in brain structure
between males and females but it has a biological basis and its
P3: issues and debates 2
, scientific
L= although we should be wary of exaggerating differences
between males and females research may still be useful as its
scientific and has biological basis
P= ways of dealing with beta bias
E= can use more female participants or even include more female
researchers
E= normally research should be objective but in topic of gender
female researchers use their own personal experiences of bias to
add to their research = reflexivity
L= leads to greater awareness of role of personal biases in shaping
research in future
the issue of culture in psychology
what did Henrich et al (2010) do and find?
-reviewed studies and found that 68% of participants came from US
and 96% from industrialised nations
-suggests that we know about human behaviour has a strong cultural
bias
-if the norm/standard is set by western educated rich people then there
is danger that behaviour from people from other backgrounds are not
represented or labelled abnormal
what is culture relativism?
-idea that norms and values as well as ethics and moral standards can
only be meaningful and understood within specific social and cultural
contexts
what is culture bias?
-the tendency to interpret all behaviour through lens of ones own
culture ignoring the effects that cultural differences may have on
behaviour
what is ethnocentrism and research which demonstrates it?
P3: issues and debates 3
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