Gender Issues in Psychology (PSY-512) Lecture Notes PDF

Gender Issues In Psychology (PSY - 512) VU Lesson 04 GENDER- RELATED RESEARCH Research focu...

Gender Issues In Psychology (PSY - 512) VU Lesson 04 GENDER- RELATED RESEARCH Research focusing upon: a) The socio-psychological, economic, biological, and cultural-societal impact of gender stratification and gender roles. b) It also explores the various aspects of gender relations and gender differences. Gender research covers all sorts of issues pertaining to gender, especially the social and psychological life of women. Feminist Research: Research exploring the social, psychological, economic, biological, and cultural-societal aspects of women’s life. The focus of research is the status and condition of women in the society. The basic premise of gender research is the idea that women generally experience subordination. The objective of feminist research is to identify female’s problems so that resolutions can be found. The ultimate goal is the improvement in the condition and status of women in the society. Threats to Gender–related Research: Margrit Eichler (1988) identified threats to sound research pertaining to gender: a.. Androcentricity b.Over generalizing c.Gender blindness d. Double standards e. Interference Andocentricity: Most gender research, especially the initial one, had been andocentric i.e., looking at issues from the male perspective. For example: for many years the researchers studying occupations concentrated upon men’s formal work and ignored female’s domestic work and childcare. The other extreme may be gynocentricity (female centered) i.e., evaluating things from women’s point of view alone. Overgeneralizing: In this type of bias the researchers take data from one segment of the population i.e., men, and generalize it to the rest of the population, including women. By doing so they are trying to support conclusions about both sexes. In some cases it may be the right and the only feasible approach. But in many cases it becomes a source of bias. Psychologists and sociologists, in many studies in the past, studied only male samples but generalized the findings to all mankind. They have been claiming that their findings and conclusions stood true about “humanity” rather than just men alone. Similarly, at times researchers study certain phenomenon in just female subjects and then later on apply the conclusions to men as well, whereas the phenomenon was more relevant to women but not to men. For example a study of “mothering” practices may not represent a true picture of “parenting” practices, but the researcher will have a tendency to quote the findings to be true about all parents. Overgeneralizing may also become a problem when findings about samples of all white, educated, and middle class females in a western society are applied to women from all over the world, belonging to different cultural backgrounds. ©copyright Virtual University of Pakistan 1 Gender Issues In Psychology (PSY - 512) VU Gender Blindness: Many researchers fail to see that gender differences exist in almost all spheres of life. For example many studies on the life of elderly people tended to ignore the fact that most elderly women live without husbands, whereas most elderly men live with wives. Double Standards: Researchers’ personal attitudes, thinking, and prejudices lead to double standards. When they talk about a couple, in terms of a man and women, they tend to assume that the man is the head of the family, runs it, and the woman does only support work in the household. Interference: At times the subject’s perception of the sex of the researcher interferes with the accurate fact finding process. Maureen Giovannini (1992) experienced this phenomenon while studying a small community in Sicily. The very fact that she was a single woman caused problems for her in having private conversations with men, besides the fact that she was denied access to many places. Gender research uses the scientific methodology: Psychology is a science because it uses the scientific approach and methodology. Scientific methodology: The procedure for data collection employs a systematic, pre defined, series of steps for attaining optimal efficiency, accuracy, and objectivity in investigating the problem of interest Steps in Scientific Method. Identifying a research Review of related Formulation of a hypothesis Designing & Conducting Analysis of data Drawing conclusion ©copyright Virtual University of Pakistan 2 Gender Issues In Psychology (PSY - 512) VU Identifying a Research Problem in Gender Research Personal interest& observation Popular issues Newly emerging needs/ new projects Events Review of Related Literature Quantitative Feminist/ methods Gender Research Methods Qualitative methods Descriptive methods Quantitative methods Experimental methods Ex Post Facto Studies ©copyright Virtual University of Pakistan 3 Gender Issues In Psychology (PSY - 512) VU Descriptive Research Methods available to psychologists: Observation Correlational Research Surveys Unobtrusive Methods Case Studies Focus groups, Meta analysis Descriptive methods commonly used in Gender Research Surveys Correlational Descriptive studies Research Methods Observation Content Analysis Qualitative Research Methods Case studies Interviews Ethnography Focus Groups 1. SURVEYS: ‰ Surveys are the best approach when quick information is required from a large number of people in limited time e.g., survey of how female students choose their future career path. ‰ In surveys the participants are presented with a series of questions or statements to which they have to respond. ‰ Surveys are most appropriate when the goal of the study is to find out about opinions, attitudes, prejudices, preferences, values, lifestyles etc. ‰ Surveys, at times, are the only resort for the researcher, especially when the phenomenon under study can not be observed directly, either due to ethical constraints or because of procedural problems. Data/ Information Sources in Surveys ‰ Questionnaires: given in person, mailed, or e- mailed. ©copyright Virtual University of Pakistan 4 Gender Issues In Psychology (PSY - 512) VU ‰ Interviews; face-to-face, personal, electronic, or Telephonic: ‰ Newspaper or magazine surveys Essentials for surveys: ‰ Trained, skillful, experienced interviewers. ‰ Careful and appropriate wording. Limitations of surveys: In-depth study is not possible. Surveys ask questions rather than making direct measurement. Instead of direct observation we depend upon self-reports. Self-reports rely upon the respondents’ memory. Co relational Research: Used for identifying predictive relation-ships among naturally occurring variables Sources of Data in Co relational Research Psychological tests: I.Q, personality, aptitude etc. Questionnaires: in person, mailed, e-mailed. Interviews: personal, telephonic. Official Record: statistics, archival data. Correlation: Basically a statistical concept. We can say a correlation exists between two variables when two different measures of the same individuals, objects, or events vary together e.g. relationship between aggressiveness score and stressful life events in recent past, or age and the number miles a person can walk. Pearson Product Moment Correlation Coefficient (r) is the most commonly used procedure. It yields a value ranging between +1.00 and -1.00, showing the magnitude as well as the direction of the relationship. Nature of Correlation Positive Positive Correlation Correlation Negative Negative Correlation Correlation Zero Zero Correlation Correlation Remember! Correlation is not “causation” !!! 3. Observation: ¾ Systematic observation is one of the popular research methods employed method by anthropologists, sociologists, and ethnologists. ¾ The procedure involves observation, study, and careful recording of the phenomenon of interest. ¾ The recorded observations are analyzed later on. ¾ The analysis yields conclusions. ©copyright Virtual University of Pakistan 5 Gender Issues In Psychology (PSY - 512) VU Types of Observation: Observation Observation without with intervention intervention ¾ Observation without intervention refers to naturalistic observation ¾ Observation with intervention includes: Participant observation, structured observation, and field experiments. ©copyright Virtual University of Pakistan 6