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Sorry to break it to you, but you are biased. And that's okay - we are all biased to some degree. But do we know what biases are and how they work? Is there a way to avoid it? First, let us start with the basics - the definition of bias.
However, not all biases are so obvious. Let's see why.
Unconscious or implicit bias is when our beliefs or attitudes are outside of our awareness. Unconscious or implicit bias exists without anyone knowing that they have these beliefs or attitudes.
We may associate a nurse as an adult female. Although we know that a nurse can be both a man and a woman, our unconscious bias may lead to this assumption without being aware of it.
An unconscious or implicit bias is not the same as an explicit bias, expressed in overt likes or dislikes of a person or group.
Perhaps you can think of many more examples of unconscious or implicit bias, either your own or someone else's.
It is important to acknowledge bias in psychological research because biased research results can undermine their universality.
Universality means that psychological findings and theories are applicable to all people.
Bias reduces the reliability of research. Psychological research can be biased in the following ways:
Let us consider some types of bias that may occur in psychological research. For each type of bias, you will find a separate article describing it in more detail.
Cultural bias involves applying research, findings, or theories from one culture to another. In psychological research, many results were made by Western psychologists and academics. Therefore, they cannot be applied universally to other cultures.
![Biases [+] Cultural Bias [+] StudySmarter](https://studysmarter-mediafiles.s3.amazonaws.com/media/1865576/summary_images/circle-ge6962ce23_1280.png?X-Amz-Algorithm=AWS4-HMAC-SHA256&X-Amz-Credential=AKIA4OLDUDE42UZHAIET%2F20220626%2Feu-central-1%2Fs3%2Faws4_request&X-Amz-Date=20220626T200614Z&X-Amz-Expires=90000&X-Amz-SignedHeaders=host&X-Amz-Signature=28c41f38aa624e462030b7653db8f3223b421b79c1223ed47f2b92390be20cc1)
Study of cultural differences reduces the cultural bias, Pixabay
Cultural bias can arise when researchers assume that there must be vast differences between cultures or when they fail to acknowledge the actual differences between cultures.
It would be culturally biased to generalize findings based on the social and emotional development of American working-class children to all working-class children. There are likely several cultural differences, and these should be explored to avoid cultural bias.
Subcultural bias is when research, findings, or theories from one subculture are applied to another. A subculture is a smaller culture within a larger culture. Within a culture, there may be many subcultures that are distinct and grouped in some way. Subcultures can be grouped by:
Subcultural bias is the assumption that outcomes apply equally to all members of a culture without considering the differences between subcultures.
Researchers conducted a study to examine the relationship between age and memory and concluded that it is indeed possible that memory improves with age. However, the researchers did not recruit participants older than 45. This could be due to subculture bias, as the study did not include older people, and therefore it may be inappropriate to generalize the results to them.
Cross-cultural psychology, also known as cross-cultural research, looks at the influence of cultural factors on behavior. Studying behaviors across cultures helps researchers understand which behaviors are innate and which are learned. Cross-cultural research can help researchers avoid cultural bias.
We will now look at the bias of ethnocentrism in psychological research.
Ethnocentrism is the belief or assumption that a culture's ideas, values, and practices are 'natural' or 'right'. The standards of one culture are used to judge other cultural groups or races. This can negatively portray other cultures' ideas or practices as they are compared to a 'correct' culture.
In psychological research, ethnocentrism limits universality as researchers may not consider cultural diversity.
Mary Ainsworth's Strange Situation Procedure
Ainsworth found that children's most common attachment type was also the 'healthiest' attachment type. Ainsworth's sample consisted of white, middle-class American mothers and infants. The study was criticized for not taking into account cultural differences in child-rearing and for assuming that the results, obtained only from white middle-class Americans, represented the 'normal' standard.
Psychologists can take specific steps to reduce ethnocentrism in their research. These include:
Gender bias means treating one gender more or less favorably based on gender stereotypes rather than actual differences. Gender bias can lead to misleading or inaccurate scientific results, perpetuate gender stereotypes, and justify gender discrimination.
Alpha bias, androcentrism and gynocentrism are types of gender bias, Pixabay
In psychology, there are three main types of gender bias. Let us take a look:
Alpha bias
Alpha bias is the exaggeration or emphasis on the differences between men and women. It makes one gender seem 'better' than the other. This usually involves devaluing the less 'superior' gender.
Beta bias
Beta bias is the downplaying of differences between men and women. It refers to research that applies equally to both genders without considering gender differences within the research.
There are two types of beta bias, androcentrism and gynocentrism.
Gender bias in psychological research has consequences. Among the negative consequences is the fact that the stereotypes perpetuated by psychological research can be used to justify or discourage certain behaviors in political, educational, and social contexts.
If there is a stereotype that women are less assertive, this may discourage women from behaving that way in the workplace, school, or family.
It is essential that you grasp the distinctions between the many sorts of gender bias so that you can determine why a specific theory or set of results may be problematic.
Examples of biases in psychological research are cultural bias, subcultural bias, ethnocentrism, and gender bias.
A bias is a false or inaccurate perception about a group of people or a set of beliefs. These perceptions are often based on stereotypes relating to characteristics such as race, gender, or sexual orientation.
Three biases in psychological research are cultural bias, ethnocentrism and gender bias.
Implicit bias, or an unconscious bias, is when our beliefs or attitudes are outside our awareness or control. Implicit bias is held without someone knowing they have it.
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