Paper 3
Issues and debates
Question: Discuss gender bias in psychology.
AO1: • Gender bias --> difference of treatment or representation of males
6 and females based on stereotypes rather than any real evidence.
There are two types of gender bias: alpha and beta.
- Alpha bias --> when the differences between males and females are
exaggerated. An example is Freud’s psychodynamic theory, which
suggests females do not experience the Oedipus complex due to being
inferior to men and the idea of ‘failed masculinity’. This is
because they experience penis envy and cannot fully develop their
superego because of the lack of Oedipus complex. Women are morally
inferior as they have a weaker identification with their mothers.
- Beta bias --> potential differences between genders are ignored or
minimised. An example is Asch’s conformity study. All participants
were male, and Asch assumed men and women would respond in the same
way.
- Beta bias can lead to androcentrism which says male psychology and
behaviours are seen as default and normal. Any other behaviour that
deviates from the standard is abnormal. As a result, female
behaviour may end up being pathologized. An example is the pre-
menstrual syndrome (PSM), a social construct that medicates female
emotions by reducing them to hormonal explanations.
- Universality --> aims to develop theories that apply to all people
which may include real differences.
AO3: • Psychological theories are gender biased because the methodology is
10 biased
- Rosenthal (1966) found male experimenters are more pleasant,
friendly, and encouraging towards female participants than to male
participants. This resulted in male participants to perform less
well on the tasks assigned. Furthermore, feminists argue lab
experiments disadvantages women because findings created in a
controlled lab tell us very little about the experiences of women
outside these settings. This suggests there are issues with the way
data is collected which creates a false picture of male-female
differences.
• Led to feminist psychology as a way to counter gender bias
- Feminist psychology agrees there are biological differences between
men and women and finds a way to readdress the imbalance in
research. An example is Eagly’s study which acknowledges that women
may be less effective leaders than men, however this information
should be used to develop training courses for them to be better.
This bias has led to effective applications to counter the bias.
• Sexism within the research process
- There is a low proportion of female researchers at a senior
research level which means there is a risk of failing to address
concerns raised by gender biased research. Male researchers are
likely to have their work published and studies which find evidence
of gender differences are likely to be published than those that do
not. Gender differences are exaggerated (reinforces alpha bias)
making it more difficult to challenge gender stereotypes that
result from gender bias.
• Contemporary studies have looked for ways to reduce gender bias
2
, - Some psychologists have attempted to develop theories that
emphasise the importance and value of women. For example, Cornwell
et al. (2013) noted that females are better at learning as they’re
more attentive and organised, emphasising the value and positive
attributes of women. Research like this helps to reduce and
challenge gender stereotypes which is important in reducing gender
bias.
3
Issues and debates
Question: Discuss gender bias in psychology.
AO1: • Gender bias --> difference of treatment or representation of males
6 and females based on stereotypes rather than any real evidence.
There are two types of gender bias: alpha and beta.
- Alpha bias --> when the differences between males and females are
exaggerated. An example is Freud’s psychodynamic theory, which
suggests females do not experience the Oedipus complex due to being
inferior to men and the idea of ‘failed masculinity’. This is
because they experience penis envy and cannot fully develop their
superego because of the lack of Oedipus complex. Women are morally
inferior as they have a weaker identification with their mothers.
- Beta bias --> potential differences between genders are ignored or
minimised. An example is Asch’s conformity study. All participants
were male, and Asch assumed men and women would respond in the same
way.
- Beta bias can lead to androcentrism which says male psychology and
behaviours are seen as default and normal. Any other behaviour that
deviates from the standard is abnormal. As a result, female
behaviour may end up being pathologized. An example is the pre-
menstrual syndrome (PSM), a social construct that medicates female
emotions by reducing them to hormonal explanations.
- Universality --> aims to develop theories that apply to all people
which may include real differences.
AO3: • Psychological theories are gender biased because the methodology is
10 biased
- Rosenthal (1966) found male experimenters are more pleasant,
friendly, and encouraging towards female participants than to male
participants. This resulted in male participants to perform less
well on the tasks assigned. Furthermore, feminists argue lab
experiments disadvantages women because findings created in a
controlled lab tell us very little about the experiences of women
outside these settings. This suggests there are issues with the way
data is collected which creates a false picture of male-female
differences.
• Led to feminist psychology as a way to counter gender bias
- Feminist psychology agrees there are biological differences between
men and women and finds a way to readdress the imbalance in
research. An example is Eagly’s study which acknowledges that women
may be less effective leaders than men, however this information
should be used to develop training courses for them to be better.
This bias has led to effective applications to counter the bias.
• Sexism within the research process
- There is a low proportion of female researchers at a senior
research level which means there is a risk of failing to address
concerns raised by gender biased research. Male researchers are
likely to have their work published and studies which find evidence
of gender differences are likely to be published than those that do
not. Gender differences are exaggerated (reinforces alpha bias)
making it more difficult to challenge gender stereotypes that
result from gender bias.
• Contemporary studies have looked for ways to reduce gender bias
2
, - Some psychologists have attempted to develop theories that
emphasise the importance and value of women. For example, Cornwell
et al. (2013) noted that females are better at learning as they’re
more attentive and organised, emphasising the value and positive
attributes of women. Research like this helps to reduce and
challenge gender stereotypes which is important in reducing gender
bias.
3
