Discuss Gender Bias in Psychological Research (16 marks)
When considering human behaviour, bias is the tendency to treat one individual or group in a
different way from others. In the context of gender bias, psychological research may present a view
that does not justifiably represent the experience and behaviour of men or women, usually in regard
to women.
One form of gender bias is Alpha Bias. Alpha Bias occurs when the differences between men and
women are exaggerated. This is often in a direction that devalues women, but it can devalue men
too. For example, the socio-biological theory of mate selection is an essentialist argument that
benefits men. It is an example of Alpha Bias because it exaggerates the differences in how men and
women choose their partners. It focuses on how males are genetically determined to be
promiscuous as this gives them an adaptive advantage of passing on their genes, whereas females
who are sexually promiscuous are going against their nature as they should be seeking a secure and
stable male to help her raise offspring successfully.
Another form of gender bias is Beta Bias. Beta Bias occurs when the differences between men and
women are minimised. This often occurs in studies where only men are included in the sample and
then the findings are assumed to apply to women. An example of Beta Bias is how all early research
on fight or flight was based on evidence from all male animal samples. Males were used because
female animals were deemed to be influenced too heavily by hormones. As a result, the male
response to stress was taken as the norm and assumed to also apply and be generalised to females,
which could be a misrepresentation.
A consequence of Alpha Bias and Beta Bias is androcentrism. Androcentrism can be conscious or
unconscious, and it describes behaviours, societies or situations that centre, focus or empathise on a
male perspective, so masculinity is a normative and all things outside of masculinity are defined as
other or abnormal. Androcentric societies lack a female perspective and do not value the importance
of female contributions. Brescoll and Uhlman (2008) demonstrated androcentrism through their
example that when men get angry it is often seen as a rational response to external pressures,
however when women become angry, they are often described as hormonal and irrational. This
comparison illustrates how female behaviour can be pathologized and misunderstood.
Psychology claims to be universal, meaning it applies to everyone. However, gender bias such as
androcentrism compromises the validity and credibility of this. Essentialism helps us understand the
world, and it is a belief that things have a set of characteristics which make them what they are. In
terms of gender bias, this theory suggests that gender differences are inevitable and fixed in nature.
Essentialist arguments tend to be politically motivated, but they are disguised as scientific facts.
From a psychological perspective, essentialism is an early cogntive bias.
One limitation is that gender differences are often presented as fixed and enduring when they are
not. Maccoby and Jacklin (1974) presented the findings from several gender studies which
concluded that girls have superior verbal ability, whereas boys have better spatial ability. They
suggested that these differences are “hardwired” into the brain before birth. As a consequence,
these findings became widely reported and seen as scientific facts. Joel et al (2015) used brain
scanning and found that no such sex differences in brain structure or processing. It is likely that the
data from Maccoby and Jacklin was popularised, and the gender stereotype was perpetuated,
because it fitted existing stereotypes of girls as “speakers” and boys as “doers”. This is a limitation of
gender biases as it reveals the need to be wary of accepting research findings as biological facts
when there is no objective data, and they may instead be better explained as social stereotypes.
When considering human behaviour, bias is the tendency to treat one individual or group in a
different way from others. In the context of gender bias, psychological research may present a view
that does not justifiably represent the experience and behaviour of men or women, usually in regard
to women.
One form of gender bias is Alpha Bias. Alpha Bias occurs when the differences between men and
women are exaggerated. This is often in a direction that devalues women, but it can devalue men
too. For example, the socio-biological theory of mate selection is an essentialist argument that
benefits men. It is an example of Alpha Bias because it exaggerates the differences in how men and
women choose their partners. It focuses on how males are genetically determined to be
promiscuous as this gives them an adaptive advantage of passing on their genes, whereas females
who are sexually promiscuous are going against their nature as they should be seeking a secure and
stable male to help her raise offspring successfully.
Another form of gender bias is Beta Bias. Beta Bias occurs when the differences between men and
women are minimised. This often occurs in studies where only men are included in the sample and
then the findings are assumed to apply to women. An example of Beta Bias is how all early research
on fight or flight was based on evidence from all male animal samples. Males were used because
female animals were deemed to be influenced too heavily by hormones. As a result, the male
response to stress was taken as the norm and assumed to also apply and be generalised to females,
which could be a misrepresentation.
A consequence of Alpha Bias and Beta Bias is androcentrism. Androcentrism can be conscious or
unconscious, and it describes behaviours, societies or situations that centre, focus or empathise on a
male perspective, so masculinity is a normative and all things outside of masculinity are defined as
other or abnormal. Androcentric societies lack a female perspective and do not value the importance
of female contributions. Brescoll and Uhlman (2008) demonstrated androcentrism through their
example that when men get angry it is often seen as a rational response to external pressures,
however when women become angry, they are often described as hormonal and irrational. This
comparison illustrates how female behaviour can be pathologized and misunderstood.
Psychology claims to be universal, meaning it applies to everyone. However, gender bias such as
androcentrism compromises the validity and credibility of this. Essentialism helps us understand the
world, and it is a belief that things have a set of characteristics which make them what they are. In
terms of gender bias, this theory suggests that gender differences are inevitable and fixed in nature.
Essentialist arguments tend to be politically motivated, but they are disguised as scientific facts.
From a psychological perspective, essentialism is an early cogntive bias.
One limitation is that gender differences are often presented as fixed and enduring when they are
not. Maccoby and Jacklin (1974) presented the findings from several gender studies which
concluded that girls have superior verbal ability, whereas boys have better spatial ability. They
suggested that these differences are “hardwired” into the brain before birth. As a consequence,
these findings became widely reported and seen as scientific facts. Joel et al (2015) used brain
scanning and found that no such sex differences in brain structure or processing. It is likely that the
data from Maccoby and Jacklin was popularised, and the gender stereotype was perpetuated,
because it fitted existing stereotypes of girls as “speakers” and boys as “doers”. This is a limitation of
gender biases as it reveals the need to be wary of accepting research findings as biological facts
when there is no objective data, and they may instead be better explained as social stereotypes.
