Gender & Culture Bias in Psychology (AQA A Level Psychology): Flashcards
Exam code: 7182
1/320Still learning
Know0
- FrontGender Bias
Define bias.
Was this flashcard helpful?
Cards in this collection (32)
Define bias.
Bias is any systematic factor, such as researcher attitudes, participant behaviours or design flaws, that interferes with the validity (the 'truth') of the research process.
Why does universality lead to biased research?
Universality assumes there is a 'one size fits all' account of human behaviour and experience, so conclusions drawn from a narrow sample are wrongly applied to everyone.
What can happen when researchers adopt a universal approach?
Adopting a universal approach can result in research that is subjective and laden with value judgements, such as calling a behaviour abnormal because it differs from what the researcher is familiar with.
Define gender bias.
Gender bias occurs when one gender is favoured over another, or one gender is discriminated against through prejudicial attitudes or behaviour.
True or False?
Bowlby's attachment theory is an example of gender bias.
True.
Bowlby's theory assumes the mother is the primary caregiver, so his maternal deprivation hypothesis places the burden of dysfunctional attachment on women rather than on both parents.
Define alpha bias.
Alpha bias occurs when researchers over-emphasise the differences between males and females, presenting those differences as fixed, stable and inevitable.
Give two examples of alpha-biased assumptions about males and females.
Alpha-biased assumptions include:
males are competitive; females are caring
males are aggressive; females are nurturing
males like a variety of sexual partners; females want to bond with one mate
males like youth and beauty; females want a male with resources
True or False?
Alpha bias always favours males over females.
False.
Alpha bias usually favours males and de-values females, possibly because most research has been conducted by males, but this is not always the case.
Freud's theory is an example of alpha bias because it insists that women are essentially inferior to men.
Freud's psychodynamic theory is an example of alpha bias because it insists that women are essentially inferior to men.
How does alpha bias affect the diagnosis of schizophrenia in women?
Schizophrenia is diagnosed more frequently in men, so women may have to try harder to mask their symptoms, or may believe nothing is wrong and they are simply being 'hysterical'.
Define beta bias.
Beta bias occurs when researchers ignore or downplay the differences between males and females, so conclusions drawn from one gender are applied to both alike.
True or False?
The fight-or-flight response is based on the male experience.
True.
The fight-or-flight response is based on the male experience, so it can only explain male biological mechanisms, which makes it an example of beta bias.
How does the complete absence of females from a sample lead to beta bias?
When females are completely absent from a sample, the conclusions are applied to both males and females alike, with no awareness that females may respond differently.
Define androcentrism.
Androcentrism means male-centred: the male viewpoint or behaviour becomes the 'norm' for behaviour generally, so female behaviour may be viewed as 'abnormal'.
Name two classic studies criticised as androcentric for using all-male samples.
Milgram (1963) on destructive obedience and Asch (1951) on normative conformity both used all-male samples, leaving 50% of the population unrepresented.
How might anger be labelled differently when shown by a man versus a woman?
A man expressing anger is likely to be seen as 'impressive, assertive or rational', whereas a woman expressing the same emotion may be labelled 'bossy, shrill or hormonal'.
Researchers who are aware of gender bias may practise , which can lead to good practice and the modelling of an ideal for other researchers.
Researchers who are aware of gender bias may practise reflexivity, which can lead to good practice and the modelling of an ideal for other researchers.
State two negative consequences of gender bias in psychological research.
Consequences of gender bias include:
female researchers may receive less funding, as their role as serious psychologists is questioned
prejudice, discrimination and sexism come to be seen as normal and acceptable
a lack of female representation suggests women are not as important or high-status as men
Define culture bias.
Culture bias is the tendency to ignore cultural differences and interpret all phenomena from the perspective of one's own culture.
Why is Ainsworth's (1970) attachment research an example of universality?
Ainsworth assumed attachment could be measured and categorised using the norms and values of her own culture, so she expected all children, regardless of culture, to show one of the attachment styles she defined.
True or False?
Most psychology research has used samples from Western individualistic countries.
True.
The overwhelming majority of research has investigated samples from the USA or other wealthy Western individualistic countries, giving a skewed and unrepresentative view of human behaviour.
Define ethnocentrism.
Ethnocentrism is the belief that one's own culture is superior to other cultures, which renders other cultures as 'strange, abnormal, odd or primitive'.
True or False?
Ethnocentrism is always a conscious belief.
False.
Ethnocentrism can be conscious or unconscious, so a researcher may impose their own cultural assumptions without realising it.
Which attachment behaviours did Ainsworth's Strange Situation label as abnormal?
Ainsworth labelled as abnormal:
showing too much separation anxiety (insecure-resistant)
showing independence from the caregiver (insecure-avoidant)
Only some separation anxiety was treated as normal (secure attachment).
What did Van Ijzendoorn and Kroonenberg (1988) find that challenges Ainsworth?
Japanese children show high separation anxiety because of the time spent with their mothers before school, whereas German children show far less because independence is instilled in them, so labelling these behaviours 'insecure' ignores culture.
When ethnocentrism goes unchecked it can produce an etic.
When ethnocentrism goes unchecked it can produce an imposed etic.
Define cultural relativism.
Cultural relativism is the idea that behaviour can only be understood within the context of the norms and values of the culture in which it occurs.
How might researchers reduce culture bias in their research?
Researchers can reduce culture bias by:
taking an emic approach, studying behaviour from inside the culture itself
not making assumptions based on their own restricted cultural view
avoiding single-ethnicity samples, e.g. Caucasian-only, whose findings generalise to one group only
replicating studies in other cultures rather than assuming American findings apply everywhere
adapting methods such as self-report to local practices, literacy and religious protocols
What did Smith and Bond (1996) find when replicating Asch's conformity study?
Smith and Bond found great cultural variation in conformity, highlighting differences between individualistic and collectivist cultures.
How can awareness of culture bias be a strength?
Awareness of culture bias can highlight inequalities in the research process and in society, and research that acknowledges the role of culture helps to challenge ethnocentrism.
Why is dividing cultures into 'individualistic' and 'collectivist' a limitation?
These categories may be too broad, giving a generalised, homogenous view that ignores finer nuances, e.g. the USA alone contains huge variation such as the Latino population in California and the Amish in Pennsylvania.
What practical problems affect cross-cultural research?
Problems include:
self-report methods may need adapting per culture for local practices, literacy and religious protocols
operationalised variables may carry different meanings per culture, e.g. episodic memory
This makes the research process uneven and inconsistent, lowering reliability.
Sign up to unlock flashcards
or