Discuss gender bias (alpha bias, beta bias and androcentrism) in psychological research?

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Discuss gender bias (alpha bias, beta bias and androcentrism) in psychological research? 30 marks

One of the main criticisms that have been levelled against psychology is that it does not produce objective, value-free science. The assumption here, of course, is that an absolute ‘truth’ actually exists and that psychologists should be pursuing it with vigour. The natural scientists such as biologists and chemists firmly believe in this positivist stance that an absolute truth exists and denial of this must weaken any science and scientist that ignores it. The importance of this question is central to the nature of bias in research because if a value-free science can be achieved, then, psychology should be able to embrace this and eradicate bias.

However, the very real possibility that there is no such thing as a totally value-free knowledge (i.e. one without prejudice or personal bias) means that gender bias as well as cultural and other biases will be impossible to remove, which is not to say that psychologists condone such practice, only the realisation that value-free knowledge represents a ‘holy grail’.

Psychology before the 1970s was riddled with gender biases.  Early male psychologists such as Stanley Hall claimed that women should not be allowed into higher education because education increases the blood flow to the brain and away from the uterus.  With the rise of the feminist movement in the 1970s feminist psychologist began to challenge limiting and demeaning views of women.  The classic paper written in 1971 by feminist psychologists Naomi Weisttein was a scathing attack on psychology’s theories about women.  Psychology she said portrays women as inconsistent, emotionally unstable and intuitive rather than intelligent.  In short the list adds up to a typical minority group stereotype of inferitory.  She pointed out that these kind of psychological theories were used to keep women out of education and professional occupations, to confine women to the kitchen, the bedroom and the nursery, inferior to men in all aspects.  Research examples of gender bias in psychology can be found where research only uses male participants and generalises results to women without question.  This type of research makes it unclear as to whether findings for men are equally same to women.

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If women behaviour differs from men’s, the former is often judged to be pathologically, abnormal or deficient in some way (sexism).  This is because men’s behaviour is taken (implicitly or explicitly) as the ‘standard’ or norm against which women’s behaviour is compared (andocentric – male centeredness, or the masculinity bias).

Psychological explanations of behaviour tend to emphasise biological (and other internal) causes as opposed to social (and other external) causes.  This emphasis on internal causes is called individualism.  This gives (and reinforces) the impression that psychological sex differences are inevitable and unchangeable.  In turn this reinforces widely held ...

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