PS390 Chapter Notes - Chapter 12: Empiricism, Androcentrism, Psych
Document Summary
Criticize psych as lacking relevance to women bc of empirical deficiencies. View sexist claims, biases, and errors regarding women (and men) as the result of inadequate science. Feminist empiricists" solution is rigorous and systematic application of the highest standards of science. Believe research methods (incl lab experiments and statistical analyses) are basically sound, but must be followed more objectively. Argue androcentric science is not objective, bc it is biased against women; therefore, it is. Eliminate sexist bias at each stage of research process. They criticize some feminist scholars for alleged lack of scientific objectivity and essentialism in their work. Argue that feminism can be assimilated into traditional methodology and all methods can be feminist. Ex helen thompson woolley was feminist empiricist bc she used accepted lab techniques for challenging contemporary, sexist beliefs about women. Gender has become less relevant as explanatory variable, and over time many have had difficulty finding statistically significant gender differences due to better methods/more research.
