Gender Bias
- Created by: lucyhannah86
- Created on: 09-01-22 09:21
Gender bias
In psychological research, often ‘male traits’ have been generalised as ‘human traits’. This is because many influential studies have been conducted solely with male participants. Any deviation from these traits is therefore seen as abnormal. The issues with gender bias are due to either the under or overestimation of differences between men and women.
Alpha and beta bias
Alpha bias is when differences between males and females are exaggerated, and men and women are seen as two completely different groups of people. Therefore, behaviours can be misrepresented due to exaggeration of differences. Alpha biased theories can have positives and negatives. While they pick up on important differences, they can be negative as they imply that one set of traits is better than the other.
An example of an alpha biased theory is Freud’s psychosexual stages. Freud believed that only males go through the Oedipus complex and so internalise their father’s morality, therefore developing the superego. Freud used this theory to suggest that as women do not go through this complex, they do not internalise their mother’s morality and so are morally weaker than men. This is an example of an alpha biased theory being used to imply that one set of behaviour is ‘better’ than the other.
Beta bias is when differences between males and females are underestimated or ignored. This tends to happen when results from studies conducted only on men are generalised to the whole population. Therefore, behaviours can be misrepresented due to the exaggeration of similarities. Most psychological theories are beta biased.
An example of a beta biased theory that is not problematic is social learning theory. Social learning theory assumes that men and women learn the same way. As there is no evidence to refute this, it does not create an issue. However, concepts such as the fight or flight response may not be applicable to…
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