Issues and Debates- Gender and Culture in Psychology

Alpha bias exaggerates the [blank_start]differences[blank_end] between the sexes. An example of this is the [blank_start]sociobiological theory[blank_end] of relationship formation which says that sexual promiscuity is [blank_start]natural[blank_end] in males and [blank_start]unnatural[blank_end] in females.

Essentialism says that gender differences are essential for [blank_start]passing on genes[blank_end], for example Bowlby’s [blank_start]maternal deprivation[blank_end].

Beta bias [blank_start]minimises[blank_end] the differences between sexes and occurs when there are [blank_start]no female participants[blank_end], for example in [blank_start]Taylor’s[blank_end] study where he found women [blank_start]friend and befriend[blank_end].

Androcentrism is when the norm is based on [blank_start]males[blank_end] and women are seen as [blank_start]abnormal[blank_end], for example [blank_start]PMS[blank_end].

A negative about gender bias is it may create misleading assumptions and validate [blank_start]discrimination[blank_end]. For example a scientific justification to [blank_start]deny women opportunities[blank_end] so it is unethical and [blank_start]damages[blank_end] the lives of real women.

Gender bias leads to a lack of women at higher research level, so [blank_start]female concerns[blank_end] are not expressed so research may [blank_start]support[blank_end] gender bias.

A strength is that researchers will realise the [blank_start]effects[blank_end] of gender bias and be careful, for example [blank_start]Dambrin and Lambert[blank_end] include how male experiences influence their research so there will be greater [blank_start]awareness[blank_end].

A strength is raised [blank_start]awareness[blank_end] to avoid gender bias, for example [blank_start]Worrell[blank_end] made a criteria which meant less [blank_start]gender bias[blank_end].

Worrell’s criteria said research should have [blank_start]meaningful[blank_end] context, [blank_start]women[blank_end] as participants and [blank_start]qualitative[blank_end] data.

Cultural differences are differences in [blank_start]norms[blank_end] and values which influence [blank_start]behaviour[blank_end] in different cultures.

Cultural bias is the tendency to ignore [blank_start]cultural differences[blank_end] and one culture’s findings are assumed to be [blank_start]universal[blank_end], so if another culture is different it is seen as [blank_start]abnormal[blank_end].

Examples of cultural bias include [blank_start]Asch’s[blank_end] studies on conformity and [blank_start]Milgram’s[blank_end] studies on obedience. Both of these were carried out on [blank_start]Americans[blank_end] and produced [blank_start]different[blank_end] results when carried out in different cultures.

Ethnocentrism is the belief in the [blank_start]superiority[blank_end] of your own [blank_start]culture[blank_end] and any behaviour which differs is seen as [blank_start]underdeveloped[blank_end].

An example of ethnocentrism is in [blank_start]Ainsworth’s strange situation[blank_end] where German mothers were labelled as [blank_start]cold and rejecting[blank_end] and Japanese mothers were seen as [blank_start]inconsistent[blank_end].

The etic approach is where psychologists work from [blank_start]outside[blank_end] a culture and look for things which are [blank_start]the same[blank_end] to find universal rules.

An example of an imposed etic is [blank_start]Ainsworth’s Strange Situation[blank_end] where she used a test designed for one culture on many others which lead to [blank_start]culturally[blank_end] biased conclusions.

The emic approach is where psychologists observe from [blank_start]inside[blank_end] a culture to look for things which are [blank_start]different[blank_end] to find behaviour which is [blank_start]specific to that culture[blank_end].

Cultural relativism is the [blank_start]recognition[blank_end] that psychological findings about human behaviour may only [blank_start]make sense[blank_end] from the [blank_start]perspective[blank_end] of the culture.

A strength of recognising cultural bias is that we now realise the collectivist vs individualist distinction May be [blank_start]outdated[blank_end], for example the term individualist represents [blank_start]Western countries[blank_end] who value [blank_start]independence[blank_end] and collectivist represents [blank_start]India and china[blank_end] who value [blank_start]groups[blank_end].

A positive impact is that we recognise the cultural differences may cause [blank_start]demand characteristics[blank_end], for example Americans are familiar with the research process while others may not be, so conclusions may lack [blank_start]internal validity[blank_end].

A negative impact of recognising cultural bias is that it says no behaviour is [blank_start]universal[blank_end] however Ekman found that [blank_start]facial expressions[blank_end] are universal, so it can’t be ruled out.