Discuss gender bias in psychological research:
AO1:
Gender bias –
Universality –
Alpha bias –
Beta bias –
Androcentrism -
AO3:
Gender bias – Androcentric diagnostic criteria – Longenecker et al. (2010) found that since the
1980’s men have been diagnosed more than women despite no prior difference – Loring and Powell
(1988) studied 290 psychiatrists and found that when given a description of a man 56% gave a Sz
diagnosis, compared to 20% for the description of a woman
Sex differences – Taylor et al. (2002) found that females have a ‘tend and befriend’ response when
confronted with a stressful situation, rather protect offspring and form alliances with other women,
lowers the population validity and demonstrates that the ‘fight or flight’ response can be beta biased
Gender Bias – Mainly focused on men, women produce less testosterone, Eisenegger et al. (2011)
greater levels of testosterone could make women act ‘nicer’ rather than more aggressively
, Culture Bias
Culture bias – Copeland (1971) gave the same patient description to both US and UK psychiatrists,
2% of UK diagnosed Sz, whereas 69% of US diagnosed Sz, low inter-rater reliability, no consistent
decisions, could lead to incorrect diagnosis which Ketter (2005) found can lead to suicide,
disproportionate effect on some cultures – trying to solve it using more categories in DSM-5
Cultural differences – Kung San people of the Kalahari Desert discourage aggressive behaviour, those
who are violent have a lower social status, which goes against the theory
Ethnocentrism – Different cultures have different beliefs as to what should be reinforced (e.g. Kang
San tribe in the Kalahari Desert – unlikely to model aggression)
Cultural differences – Social norms differ between cultures, in England finishing all the food on a
plate is a good thing, however, in India, it is a sign of hunger – not an objective and consistently
accurate measurement of abnormality
Ethnocentric – Focus on personal growth and autonomy may not be what is valued in more
collectivist cultures where community development is key, principles of teamwork and co-
operativity trump those of personal growth, reduces external validity of definition as a means of
diagnosing a psychological abnormality
Ethnocentric – Different cultures have different social expectations and therefore certain people
may be in certain parts of the graph which indicate an abnormality when in reality it’s the cultural
differences which have caused them to exhibit certain behaviours (e.g. taking extended rest periods
during the working day) – not generalisable to all cultures
AO1:
Gender bias –
Universality –
Alpha bias –
Beta bias –
Androcentrism -
AO3:
Gender bias – Androcentric diagnostic criteria – Longenecker et al. (2010) found that since the
1980’s men have been diagnosed more than women despite no prior difference – Loring and Powell
(1988) studied 290 psychiatrists and found that when given a description of a man 56% gave a Sz
diagnosis, compared to 20% for the description of a woman
Sex differences – Taylor et al. (2002) found that females have a ‘tend and befriend’ response when
confronted with a stressful situation, rather protect offspring and form alliances with other women,
lowers the population validity and demonstrates that the ‘fight or flight’ response can be beta biased
Gender Bias – Mainly focused on men, women produce less testosterone, Eisenegger et al. (2011)
greater levels of testosterone could make women act ‘nicer’ rather than more aggressively
, Culture Bias
Culture bias – Copeland (1971) gave the same patient description to both US and UK psychiatrists,
2% of UK diagnosed Sz, whereas 69% of US diagnosed Sz, low inter-rater reliability, no consistent
decisions, could lead to incorrect diagnosis which Ketter (2005) found can lead to suicide,
disproportionate effect on some cultures – trying to solve it using more categories in DSM-5
Cultural differences – Kung San people of the Kalahari Desert discourage aggressive behaviour, those
who are violent have a lower social status, which goes against the theory
Ethnocentrism – Different cultures have different beliefs as to what should be reinforced (e.g. Kang
San tribe in the Kalahari Desert – unlikely to model aggression)
Cultural differences – Social norms differ between cultures, in England finishing all the food on a
plate is a good thing, however, in India, it is a sign of hunger – not an objective and consistently
accurate measurement of abnormality
Ethnocentric – Focus on personal growth and autonomy may not be what is valued in more
collectivist cultures where community development is key, principles of teamwork and co-
operativity trump those of personal growth, reduces external validity of definition as a means of
diagnosing a psychological abnormality
Ethnocentric – Different cultures have different social expectations and therefore certain people
may be in certain parts of the graph which indicate an abnormality when in reality it’s the cultural
differences which have caused them to exhibit certain behaviours (e.g. taking extended rest periods
during the working day) – not generalisable to all cultures
