Examine the arc of scientific conceptions of gender and how they have changed over time. Introduction and Important Terms

Examine the arc of scientific conceptions of gender and how they have changed over time.
Introduction and Important Terms

Theories and research on women, men, and gender have evolved dramatically over the past century. This module will examine the arc of scientific conceptions of gender and how they have changed over time.

In this module, we will be introducing and discussing a number of concepts. Let’s begin by defining some key terms.

An alpha bias, also called a maximalist bias, is a focus on differences, or the view that men and women are more different than similar. Theories with an alpha bias were very common beginning in the late nineteenth century. They reflected cultural beliefs about men and women occupying very different roles in the home and in public life.

A beta bias, also called a minimalist bias, is a focus on similarities, or the view that men and women are more alike than different. This perspective, ascendant during the early years of the second wave on feminism in the 1960s and 1970s, challenged and supplanted the bias of alpha theories.

Androcentrism refers to perceptions of the world from a male perspective. Gynocentrism describes a view of the world from a female perspective. Many modern researchers contend that early scientists brought an androcentric perspective to their understanding of women.

The fundamental attribution error is “the tendency to overestimate the internal and underestimate the external factors when explaining the behaviors of others” (AllPsych Online, 2004). We tend to explain our failures as the result of external factors but attribute other peoples’ misfortunes to faults of their own. As we’ll see in this module, the fundamental attribution error explains why we sometimes use simple explanations for such complex behaviors as jealousy.

red check mark Objective Check

You should now be able to define alpha (maximalist) bias, beta (minimalist) bias, androcentrism, gynocentrism, and fundamental attribution error.

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Alpha and Maximalist Theories: Gender as Dichotomous and Fixed

From the late nineteenth century until the middle of the twentieth century, psychology scholars generally claimed that men and women were innately different from each other and that these differences dictated their roles in the family and society. According to psychologist Sandra Bem (2000), the focus on innate biological differences between men and women emerged soon after late-1800s feminists, including Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony, started pushing for basic women’s rights: the right to vote, own property, speak in public, and have access to higher education. Those opposing women’s rights tried to argue against this push by raising the specter of biological differences (Bem, 2000). For example, opponents of women’s rights claimed that a woman’s maternal instinct prepared her for the demands of home and family life but not for the public arena. Bem contends that although the obsession with the question of biological differences on the part of those opposed to women’s rights died down somewhat after women finally won the vote in 1920, it exploded onto the scene again after the second wave of American feminism in the late 1960s and ’70s, continuing to some extent into contemporary times. That is, the second wave of feminism prompted a backlash that is still with us. Today’s popular media provide many examples of the view that men and women are essentially different. For instance, magazine articles offer different types of relationship advice to men and women, and workshops teach us how to communicate across the “great gender divide.”

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