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Fe m inism and M eth od olog y

2. judi th S tac ey and Ba rri e Thorn e, "Th e M iss in g F emin ist Re volu tion in So cio log y," S oc ia l P r o b l e l l l s32 , no. 4 (1 9 8 5 ) : 3 0 1 .

3. P aulin e Bar t, in co nv ers ati on.

4. K anter's bes t know n boo k is M e n a n d W  O II  IC I  I  o f th e C o r  p o r a t io n ( N ew Y o rk: Ba si c B ook s, 1979) .

M Il lm an 's m os t rec ent one is S uc h a P r e tt  y F a ce : B e in g F a t  in A lll e ri c a (B erk eley , Ca lif.: B e rk e l ey Publishi ngC o . , 1 986 ).

R EF ER ENC ES

Ba r t, Pauline .. 19 ~; . "Se xism and So cial S cienc e: From the G i lde d C a g e t o th e Iron C age, or, The P erilsof  Pa ulIne, j o u r n al o f  M a r r ia ge a n d  t h e F a lll i l y 3 3 (4 ):7 3 4 - 4 5 .

Be rn ard , jess ie. 197 3 . "M y Fou r Revo lu ti ons : An A uto biographical Hi story of  the A S A ," A ll l e r i c a n jo u rn a lo f  S o c I O lo g y 7 8 (4 ).

Ca rl son, R ae . 197 2. "U nders tan ding W ome n: Im pli ca tio ns f or Personality Theo ry and R ese arch" j o u r n a lo f S o c ia l I ss u e s 28(2) :17 -32 . .'

Hu b er, joa n . 1973. A llle r i ca n j o u rn a l o f S o c i o lo g y 7 8 ( 4).

I q S -7 Y  e J - n l h ; ;  Mk

Md:~J~I{)

 j J --------

IV .

B I A S I N P S Y C H O L O G Y

C a r o l y n W o o d S h e r if 

Ca ro lyn W ood Sh erif  is w ell know n as th e auth or of  m an y psycholog y tex ts an d rese arch repo rts .

I n t h is fir st par t of a long essa y, she po ints to the h is tori c al and so ciolog ica l reasons w hy psy-

chologists h av e preferred so m e research m ethods ov er others and held ce rt ain be li ef s ab out how

to pursue know ledge .

S he argues that by th e 1 9 40 s th er e w as a hi erarch y of research m e tho ds in psyc ho log y Iha l

w as int end ed to refle ct the hi ah valu e give n t o t he n atur al sc ience s by th e philosophe !2 lPow n

as ~.sic al po siti v ists.! On such a scale , e xp erim ent alisls, "m ental tes ters," an d s tati sti c i~s rankedhighes t , w hil e de velopm ent al, c lin ica l, an d social psychologlst~ ranke d lo .:::res l. Sh e poin ts out

thati n sub se qu ent deca d es "each of th e f ields an d specia liti es in psy chology sought to im prov e

it s stat us by adopling ... th e perspec ti ves , th eo ri e s, and methodolog ies as hi gh on th e hi erarchy

as poss ib le." H ow ev er, she argues that Ihi s pract ice only m im icked th e o r l l l of Ih e natu ral

sc ience s, not their s t dard s f or ev idenc e g at enn g. u n a m ental to th is s~ w e re beli ef s

a out th e appropr ia te su bj ec t m atlers, angua g s , a nd m ethods of  sc ien ce w "l il 'Ch ,in f ac t, w ildly

di sto rt ed th e beli e fs and pr ac tic es of  the natur al sc ien ce s th at they we re in tended to imita te.

The y also led direc tl y to ~ s aboul how to pur sue kn ow ledg e-and to ones tha i se riously

und e rmined psy chology 's abi lil y to ex plain m uch al all about w om en a nd ge nder .

Of  cou rse w e can give m o re th an histo r ica l and soc iolog ical ex planali ons f or w hy a cu ltur e (o r

a sub cul tu re such as pr of ess ional p syc holog y) adopt s ce rt ain beli ef s and p rac tices at a give n

tim e : som e beli e f s and practices a r e be tt er th an o th er s, and so cial co nditi ons pe rmi t th e cu llu re

to rec ognize thi s. H owever, th e s tories w hi ch di sc ip lin es th em selve s tell about w hy th eir rec -ommended b eli ef s and pr ac tice s sh o u ld  be reg ard ed as de sira bl e rarely m entio n the ki nds of rea l

de termi nants Sheri f m en tions. On e needs to keep th ese in mind as one li s tens 1 0 the critic ism s

of tradi tional research m ethods, m eth odolog ie s, and epistem ologies .

P res um ably, se x ists ar e noll he on ly psyc holo gists to f or mu la te id e a s about scienti f ic pr oblem s,

co nce pts, th eo ries , m eth ods, and purpo se s of  inquiry w hich clea r ly bea r th e f in ge rp rin ts of  Ihe

soc ial pr ojects of their cu lt ures. H ow mi ght the of f ending psyc holo gica l ag enda s Sherif  id en tif ies

(a nd oth e rs she m ay no t h av e id entif ied) hav e rac ist co nsequ ences? W hat are Ihe sociolog ica l,

h isto ri cal, and institu ti o nal pr o jec ts that are in ITU enclll g f ile w ay f em inist p syc holog ists thin k

about th eir subj ec t m a tl ers? W hi ch of th ese int e rests and va lues mi ghl b e i ncreasing an d w hi ch

decreasing th e sc ie n t i f i c v a lu e of  thi s rese arch?

A lm os t a deca de a go , Naom i W eiss tein f ir ed a f em in ist sho t th at ri co cheted dow n th e hall sbetw ee n psyc holog y 's laborato ri es and c linics , hitting it s targe t dea d ce nt e r. The sho t w as

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a paper, of  co u rs e, and th ank s to th e w om an 's m ovem ent, it la te r f ou nd it s w a y int o pr int

un der th e title "P sy chology Const ruc ts th e Fe m al e , or T he Fa nt asy Li f e o f  the M ale P sy -

cholog ist. " H er th es is w as th at "p sy cholog y has nothi ng to s ay ab out w hat w om en are

rea lly like, w hat th ey nee d and w hat th ey w ant , es se n ti all y b ec au se psy cho log y doe s not

kn ow ."1

W eiss te in 's c ritique f oc use d on th e m ale-cent eredn ess of p sy chology and upon th eo ri esth a t a ttr ibute w om en 's low er s ta tus in so c iety an d perso nal p ro blem s to p sy chologica l

qu aliti~ s th a t m ake bo th appe ar to be In ev itao le . She co rr ec tly di rec ted att~n tion ~ so c ia l-

p sy cholog ica l rese arc em onstr a tin g th e im pac t o f  so cial c irc um stance s up on an ind i-

v id ual's pr iva te experience s and ac tion s.

S ti ll earli e r, a w om an w hose a cadem ic s tu dy had b ee n in psy cho logy m a d e sim ila r cr iti ca l

po in ts in T h e F e m in in e M y s t i q u e .'  T he y e ar th a t b o o k app eared I sp ok e a t a sym posium at

R ice U ni ve rsity o n t he status o f t he "edu cated w om an ," dec larin g th at igno rance ab out

w om en p ervaded ac adem i c d i sc i p li nes i n h igh er e duca tion w her e the "requi rem ent s f o r

t h e deg re e se ld o m i nc lu de t hought f ul i nqu iry into th e sta tu s of w om en, as p art o f th e total

h u ma n condition ." 3 A rea di ng of  G eor ge ne Sew ar d 's S e x a n d  t h e S oc i a l O r d er '  had l o ng agoc o n vi nc e d m e tha t th e o rth od ox m eth ods of  studyin g an d i n terpreting sex diff e ren ce s w ere

cap abl e of de l iver ing onl y mischiev ou s an d m is leading tri v ia . A par t f rom th e hoary ~ -

diff e rence s tradit ion (eup hemistic a lly call ed'the "s tu d ).: of i nd iv id ual di f f erence s"), psy -

cn ology 's tr eat m ent o f th e sexes c o n ta in ed se ve r al b rand s of p sy ch oa na ly ti c th ough t a nd

a grow in g ac cumu la tion of res ear ch on so c ia li za tio n to "sex-ap pr opria te behav l2rs, " w hich

w as ac t u al ly t h e o ld s ex -diff erence m odel m ix ed w ith psyc hoa na lyti c not ions and se rv ed

in a new d is g u ise .

Since th e 1960 s, th e w om an 's m ov em ent has pr ov id ed th e needed co nt ext f o r cr it ical

ex am in ation o f b ias ed th eo retical as sump t ion s an d w orking pr actices in p sy cholo gy 's di -

ve rse areas . W h i le ref e rr ing to tha t c ritica l l i ter a ture an d t h e m ore po s iti ve eff ort s to pr ocee d

t o w ar d reconstructi on, I wi l l concent ra te here on examining th e follow in g qu es tions , w hi ch

I b e li ev e,m u~ an sw ered i f t he re is to b e an equi tabl e pu rsui t o f know ledge abo u t h u m an

_individu als in psy ch o logy: - -

1 . W hy h a v e dem onstr a tion s of theore ti ca l and res ear ch b ias, som e datin g to the ear l iest

d a y s o f academ ic psy cho logy, b ee n no m ore ef f ective th an th ey hav e bee n i n c o r rec tin g

th eory a n d rese arch pr ac t ic e ? Is th e pr ob lem simply that th ere hav e no t bee n enough

w om en i n p sychology , o r is th ere so m et hi ng i n psy cho log y 's ass umpt ions a n d w o r k -

ing practice s th a t a lso nee ds a tten tion?

2 . W hat are th e dom in ant b e li e f s in psych olo gy ab ou t t he pr oper w ay s to pur sue kn ow l-

edge? W he re do th ey com e f rom an d w h a t s uppo rt s th em , des pi te th e docum ent ed

fa c t t h a t t h ey can enco ur age bi ase d persp ectives ?

3 . W hat a s s ump t ions abou t t he h u m an in div id ual li e benea th the di versity o f p sych o-

log ica l t h eor ies a n d t he ir associa ted procedu res f o r stu dy in g th at i n d iv idual?

4 . W hat can w e lear n f rom an exam in ation of th e sta te o f p s ycholog y today that w ill

f h i bl i f k l d ?

Ethnocent r ism , Androcent r ism , an d S e x is t B i as

in P sy chology

T he grow th of  ac adem ic psy cho logy o ver the pas t ce n tury ha s bee n co m pellinglY ,a U ni ted

St a tes ' ph enom enon , des pi te E uropean origin s and the non- A m eri ca n backg roun ds o f  anumber o f i ts s t imula tin g theor ists and res ea rc her s. A f ew dec ad es af te r W i ll iam Jam es at

H ar va rd and W ilh elm W un dt at Leip z ig s tart ed psy cho log ica l laborator ies (1 875, ac co rdi ng

to B or in g 's hi story),s th e ir stu dents had started p sy cholog y de partm ents o r lab ora tories a t

m a jo r uni ve rsities , in c luding th e new ly f o rm ing w o m en's co lleges . W ork by w om en

Ph .D .'s began to app ear, and tw o of  th em (M ary C alk in s and M arga re t W ashburn) se rve d

early in this ce nt ur y as pr es id ent s of th e A m eric an Ps cho log ical So ~e ty, w hich h a d ( ( )rm e.. 9

to w ard the end of  th e ni net ee n th ce ntu ry . In C atte ll 's A m e r ic a n M e n o f S c i e n c e of  190 3,

thr ee w om en w ere in c lu ded am ong f if ty ps ych ologis ts sta rr ed as "e m in ent ," t w o rank ed

in tw elf t h a n d n inetee n th r an ks (M ary C alkins and C . Ladd-Frank lin , res pe c tiv el y) , and

th e th ird a m o ng th e las t tw ent y (M arga ret W ashburn). 6 N ot a hi gh proporti on , to be sur e.T he problem of bi as in p sy ch olog ica l rese a rc h w as encountered earl y in th e di sc ipline's

hi s tory , as E . G . B orin g 's H is t o r   y o f E x p e r im e n t a l P s y c h o lo g y m ak es c lea r. "Labora tory at-

m osph eres, " or th e little G ei ster w i th i n t he Zei tge is t (t o use hi s fa vorit e te r m ), w ere re-

p ea tedl y f ou nd to aff ec t th e re sul ts co m in g fr om d i f  f e rent lab o ratories on th e sam e p robl em ,

w het her th e pr obl em conce rn ed such issue s as th e pr es enc e or ab se nce o f im ages in

th ough t , i ns igh tf ul lear ning vs . s low tri a l- and-er ro r learn in g, or th e accumu la tin g research

on sex diff e rence . n IS IS or y, B O f in g Ism issed se x bi as onc e and f or a ll w hen assessin g

th e res u lt s o f   F ranc is G a lt o n' s psycho log ical ass es sm ent s on 9 ,337 persons a t t he 188 4

In tern ational H ea lth Exhibit ion : "N o im po rtant ge nerali za tions as reg ard s hu m an in di-

v idual d i ff e rences app ea red ; how ev er, un less w e shoul d note G alton 's e rroneou s co nc lu -s i on t ha t w o m en tend in al l the ir ca p aciti es to be in f erior to m en .'"

H elen T ho m pson W oo lley had criti ca ll y expose d th e bi as in sex-diff erence rese arch ,

di sm issin g m uch of  it as d r i ve l , i n 1903 an d 1 9 1 0 .8 Leta S . H ollingw orth co m p l et ed doc to ra l

re se arch at C ol umb ia on w heth er p erf orm anc e on se vera l tasks su f f e red du rin g m ens trua -

tion, f inding no decrem ent despi te th e co ntrary co nvic tion o f her m a jor pr o f essor, E . L.

T ho rndike. Li ke M ary C alkins ea rli e r, she repeatedl y w rote aga in st th e hypothes is th a t

w om en's in te ll ec tu a l ca pac iti es v aried les s th an m en 's. She pe nn ed an arti cle in 1916 call ed

"S oc ia l D evi ces f o r Im pe l li n g W om en to B ea r an d R ear C hildren " th a t ca n sti l l ro ck com -

pl ac en t h e el s9

A nd sure ly so m eo ne m ust ha ve rea d th e di sse rt a tion by M ary Put m !n Jac ob i t h a t w onth e di stin gui shed B oy lston P rize f rom H arvard U nive rsity in ~ on th e qu estion, "D o

w om en re ui re m ent a l and bodi ly res t du r ing m enstr ua tion, and to w hat extent ?" D r.

Ja cobi be gan her di ss ert a tion w it t e -roT loW In g caut Ion: " A n i nq U iry In to t'~ limits o f 

activ ity and att a in m ent s th at m ay be im pose d by s ex is ve ry f re qu entl y car ri ed on i n t he

sa m e sp i ri t as th a t w hi ch ha sten s to asc rib e to perm anen t d iff  e rence s in race al l th e pe-

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40 Fem inism and M ethodolog y

is nea rl y alw ays d iff erent from that o f  th e p e rson co nduct ing th e inqui ry. "10 T hen she

review ed h isto rica l ev idence bo th on m edi cal v iew s of m ens tr ua tion and on w om en as

wo rkers . S h e c ollected co mp lete c as e hi stor ies on 26 8 w om en , in c lud ing on the ir he a lth,

too k phys iolog ica l m ea sur es du rin g one to th ree m onth s, and co nduc ted a sm a ll p erf o r-

m an~e e xp~ im ent . S he co ncluded tha t, y es , short res t pe riods dU iT ng th e wo rkm g day

w ou ld be he lpf u l f or m enstr u ating w om en , as they a lso w ou ld be f o r wo m en and m en

du ri ng th e res t o f th e m ont h , a ll of  w hom wo u ld b enef it ev en m ore by an e igh t-hou r day

in p la c e of th e tw elve or m ore hour s they th en labo red .A dm ittedl y, I ha v e chos en c a s es of  w om en w ho w ere kee n ly a ware of  th e ac tu a lities o f 

sex bi as , and w ho w ere v igorou sly pr ote stin g its m anif e sta tion s. If, in stea d , w e we re to

look at th e w or k of  th e other f orty-seve n em inen t ps ycholog is ts on Ca tte ll's list in 1903 o r

a t the bu lk o f  w r itin gs on sex diff erence s during th e ear ly part of  th is ce ntu ry o r a t th e

w ritings o f S i gm un d F reud , w e w ou ld fi nd tons of  exe m pla rs f o r the co nclu sion reached

by m y co ll eag ue and f  o rm er s tu dent , S teph ani e Shie ld s , in her hi ghl y o rigina l p aper re -

v iew in g th e ea rly ye a rs to docum ent soc ia l m y th in p sy cho log y . H er co nclu sion w as as

f ol low s: "T hat science p lay ed handm aid en . to so cia l va lu es ca nn ot b e deni~ d. "" A sim ilar

co nclu sion ? o u f d b ' e reached by exam ini ng th e li tera tu re in psy cho log y on race . Ye t som e

m ent al tes te rs w ill deny th a t rac ism has any !h ing to do w ith con temp or ary con trove rsies

ove r i n tell ig ence te stin g .'2 -.

O ne co u ld go on and on w ith f u rt he r e xam p les o f  th eor etic al and resea rch co nt rov ersies

in vo lving bias in psy cho log y on large and on sm a ll probl em s. B ut I co m e to a m a jo r

qu es tion: If  th e pos sibi lity and th e ex is tence o f  se x ist bi a s w as reco gn ize d by the tu rn o f 

 \ 

th is centu ry, w hy and how c ould ac ademi c and nonac adem ic p sy cholo gy c ont inue to

perp e til a te Its m y th s up to th e pr es ent ?

It has been thi rty -f ou r yea rs sin ce I ent er ed p syc ho log y as a graduat e student , having

lea rned as an un de rgradua te at Pu rdue U ni vers it y that th ere w as such a thin g as soc ia l

p syc ho logy . ~y desire to be a social p sycholog is t wa s th en un orth odox . Never the less , I

w as a c c ept ed , even w elcom e d i nto the psy cho log y depa rt m ent o f  th e U n ive rsity of  Iow a

as a gradua te assistan t. I t w as 194 3, du ring W orld W ar II , w hen qualif ied m ale appli ca n ts

to g raduate pr og ram s w ere sc a rcer than hen 's tee th. A s w e shou ld know , w om en ar e

va lu ed m ore w hen m en are scarce, a s toda y 's v olunt ee r a rm y dem onstr a tes . M y f irst

les so ns at Iowa co nce rned th e sta tus c ri ter ia and nor m s va lued by ~ ycho log ists.

A t t he peak o f  the s ta tu s n lera rchy we re tnE {ex perim en tali s t~ A t th~1e and place,

b ein g an expe rim ent alist m ea nt be ing se lf · co nsc iou sly sci ent if ic , readi ng th e phi lo so ph y

o f  sc ience a s expounded by log ical positi v ists, and study in g hu ng ry rats learni ng the w ay

to f oo d, or hu m an s res ponding to a p u f f o f a ir to th e e y elid. O ne wa to m i e w ho

"co un ts" to an e lit e is to lea rn w hos e ar gum ent s the e lite attends to and w ho se view po in ts< J

 B ia s in P s y c h olo gy 4 1

th ey tr y to dem olish. A t the tim e, the on ly peo p le w or thy of att ention f rom experim en ta lists

w e r e o - m e r e x ri m en alsts .

T he nex t ru ng in the hi er a rchy w as occup ied by the 'm en tal te sters" nd ta tistica l buf f s - .. .1/ 

w ho rep res ent ed a quite d if f erent tr ad ition in p sy cho og y u t ad to be li stened to by

exper im en talis ts w ho w an te d to ana lyze their dat a in th e cu rren tly f ashi onab le w ax-Ihe

tes tin g tradition, w hi ch beg an in G rea t B r itain , had bee n f u eled by the p rac tica sl:leee ss

oU .he F renc ps ycho og ists B ine t and S im o.u .. in deve loping a w o rka b le te s t f or s ing lin g

out sch oo l chi ld ren w ith po tent ial lea rn ing p rob lem s. T he Sta n fo rd v ersion of th eir tes t,th e dev e lop m en t o f  g roup tes ts , and their use d u ring W or ld W ar I pu t tes te r s o f all kinds

in to an orbi t tha t is now a $1 20 mi lli on indu str y by co nse rvat ive es tim ate ." In te re s ting ly

eno ug h , a surv ey of th e in ter es ts of  w om en psy cho log ists ju st a f ter W orld W ar II revea led

th at p ropo rt io nall y m ore w ere in th e rank s of  th e tes ters than of the experim en talists ."

So pe rhap s it is no ac c ident th at the tw o w om en (A nne A nasta si and Leo na T y ler) w ho

w e r e elec ted pr esid en ts o f  the A m eri ca n P sy cho logical A sso c iati on in the pa st dec ad e w er e

rec ogn ize d as experts i n t he m en tal tes tin g trad ition of d i f f  er en ti al p syc ho logy as w ell as

act ive co nt rib u tors to the p rof ess ional orga ni za ti on . So me w hat m ore p redictab ly, the ir

term s f o llow ed im m edi a tely upon tha t o f  th e f irs t and onl y b lack pr es id ent of the as so -

c iati on (K enneth B . C lark ). X O n th e nex t low est run g o f  the hi e rar chy at Iow a in 194 3 w ere th e~ -ev -e -lo-p -m -e-n -ta -l-p -s "r :- / ' - \ ? r \ ' ~

1 : oogis t , w hos e w ork a t th e tim e fo cu se d hea vily on pr es choo l child ren . T hey w ere

hou sed in th e sa m e b uild in g , but und e r the se pa rat e ro o f o f  the In stit u te f o r C hil d W elfa re

(a le s s p res tigious loc ale, you m ay be sure ), and in c lud ed t he onl y wo m en f acul ty. A lthoug h

rega rded as th e "child stu dy pe op le, " th ey we re hea ded by an ex perim ent a lis t f rom th e

sam e m a jo r un iv erS I y as tf ie p sy cholog y cha irm an ; hence ~ a f ew of  th em w ere reg arded

as ac ce pt able by ex pe rim enta list s. B u t th e te sters and the deve lopm ent ali sts had m ore to

talk about , s ince Iowa ns w ere in the f or ef ron t of  th e att ac k on a fi xe d , inh erit ed "inte lli-

ge nce, " ba ttling M inn es o tan s and Ca lif o rn ians w ho def ended the all eg ed cons tancy o f  IQ .

O ne distin guished m emb er of  the C h i ld W elf are f acul ty wa s K u rt Lewi n . Lew in had

pub li shed th e f amo us studies on th e e ff ec ts of  adul t ~des of int e rac tion on th e behav io r

of  sm all boy s in lei su re-tim e grou ps , th e auth or itaria l~ emoc ratic , and laiss ez- f aire lead -

ersh ip ex pe rim ents . IS A t th e tim e, he w a s of ten in W ash ingt on, involv ed in the equally

w ell-know n s tudi es on group dec ision . (Th es e stu d ies dem onstr a ted that w om en volu n-

tee rs in R ed C ross ac tiv ities were not ea s ily persuaded by lec tu res to a lt er long -ing rained

f oo d cu s tom s, bu t w ere qu ~ cap ab le o f cha ng ing the f am ily d ie t to include un popula r 0 ' " - c o l C ;- .1 -- ' •

f oods to help th e w ar e f f o rt w hen pres en ted w ith th e pr oblem of f ood sho rtages and l' '<''-I~

en cou rage d to arr ive at a joi n t de cis ion to m ake the change. )" L ike m any of th eir ex pe ri- , , - t v f. J  jl/CJ-h.' i

m ent a l co llea gues in W ashi ngton, in m ilitary se rv ic e, o r w it h the O ff ice o f  W ar Inf o rm at ion , C "it ~f~ft~',;(,,)th e exper im ent a lis ts a t Io w a r e g a rd ed thes e as "a li ed" ac tiv iti es , neces sa ry at the tim e --- " '< A ,C ,o { , , - < J / .

bu t not th e stu f f  of  w hi ch a sci ence is m ade. A t the bo ttom of th~ Iow a lad de r and also IU 

~ lass ifi ed as " app li ed " w ere th e one o the r s~ ciirS cho log @ and th etiI n ic al 5 chO log ist;;> v ~ d H , t o • . . ."T he hi era rchy wa s m ale, of cou rse . T hirty ye ars a g o, it w as the ex perim ent alis ts a t th e)

top , the teste rs and s tatisticia ns nex t, then the dev e lopm ent a lists, and fm ally th e soc ial

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42 Fem in ism and M eth odo lo gy

psycho logi sts, inc luding so m e in teres ted in w hat w a s c alled personalit y, a long w i th t h e

c l inic ia ns. A ft er W or ld W ar II, th ere w ere notab le ch anges , th e m ost s triking b ein g th e

enorm ous increas e i n num ber o f  c lini ca l psy cho logi sts , w it h f edera l f un ds to s u ppor t thei r

ac tiv iti es an d stu den t tra ini ng. T oday, about 40 perce nt of A PA m em b er s are c lin ica l psy -

ch ologis ts. Th e nu m bers an d th e S tandi ng ~ f  soc ia l psy cholo gis ts change d, les s th rough

th eir f o llow in g th e exam p le of K u r t L ew in than t hrough th eir se lf -con sc ious ef fo rt s to be

V  accep ted as e x p e rim e n ta l so c ia l psy ch ologi sts a n d t h eir qu o tin g Lew in 's injun c tion again st

h is to ri ca lis~ , one o f h is lea st de f ensib le po in ts. A host o f n e w s pec ia lties w as bo rn of p os t wa r p rosperi ty . Y ou nam e it , w e hav e it , in c lu ding in 19 73 a d iv isi on o n p syc hology

o f w o m en an d by 1976 a d iv is ion "in teres ted in re lig ion. "

So w hy do I br in g u p t he hi erarc hy of t h ree dec ade s a go? I t is m y cont ent ion th at each

V  o f th e f ie ld s and spec ia li ties in psychology so ugh t to im prove its s ta tu s by ':9 .0p tin g (a s

w ell ~ lT s-" f )e "rmit ted) th e p erspec tives , th eO rIes, and ~ t'h odo log ies

as high on e ie rarc y as PO SS I Ie . le w a y 0 ''res pec tab ility ''ln t l iS sc hem e ha s b een

t h e a p earan ce ob ig or and sc ie nt if ic i nq u iry , bol stere ¥  -Lestr-/  .C -te no tion s of 

w ha Lg: ien ce is abou t. f ie pr om is e w as that the irs w as th e tru e path to ge~ l25 ¥ cho-

log ica l ri n c ip les, app l icab le w ith sli ght m o d if  ica tion to any hum an being and, in so m e

cases , to any orga ni sm , ev en r a ts , m o n k ey s, and ch im panzee s.

N ev er m in d t hat in pr ac ti ce, psy cholog y tr ea te d w om en, bl ac ks , an d oth er m in o rit ies ,a s w ell as res id en ts o f cer ta in o ther coun tri es, cr s-m ore "dif f erent" th an a well-behav ed

labor ato ry chimpanz ee . W e are ta lk ing o f m y th , or m or e ac cur ate ly , th e id eo log y o f p sy -

ch olog y 's e lit e . In that p ersp ec ti ve , work out sid e o f   th e labo ra tor y w as suspec t. R es earch

in natu ral isti c se tting s w as r eg ard ed as n ecessaril y les s "pu re, " ev en "co nt am in ated ."

Ef f o rt s t o ch ange s o ci al I e o r In IV I ua c ircumst ance s w er e r eg a r e as m ere y "ap pli ed"

w ork, typi ca lly as pr em atur e attem pts to a pply psyc holog ic al pr in c ip les .

(

Th e irony is th at t h e p res erva tio n o f p sy chology's hierarchy and th e expan sion o f  the

ent ire ent erpr ise w as s u pp o rted by thos e psychologis ts m aki ng i nr o ads in to m a jor ins ti-

tu tio n s- educational, bu sin es s, indu stria l, m ili ta ry, gove rnm ent al, th e grow in g m ass m e-

d ia, a nd t he " ment a l h ealth " in stit u tions and indu str y- in shor t, th e "a li ed "

psycho logist s . W ith ou t their in road s, psyc holog y w oul d hav e been sm all pot a toe s in aca-.---_ ...,..-e p __ ~_....,.._..,...-.-

I ] dem ia, b ut it nee d not ha ve w orr iea. he ~g um be r o f   sy cho log ls s i n m a jor

m s iution s nee de d th e academ ic _hi erarchy to sup port its c la im s at b ein g sc ient i fic .

C er tai n of i t s j9m inal}t beli ef s a b o u t the proper w ay s t o p u rsue know ledge hav e m ade

psychologi cal resea rc h pe C l~ li ar ly E lone to b ias in its conc epti on , execut ion , a nd in terpr e-

tat ion . It is on these th at I shall fo cus h ere- and I sh all be highly cri t ica l. If  I th ought th at

th es e w e re t h e only b elief s in ps y cholog y or that th ey charac t er ize d ev ery th ing with in its

bounds , I w o uld no t s till be a p s y cholog ist. B ut I hav e seen a num ber of battl es an d

 B ia s in P sy c h o lo g tJ  - '  ~

sk i rmish es ove r psy ch olog ic al f ind in gs , m any o f them pos sibl e be cau se of  f und am ent al

f law s in t he o rth odox m ode s of  se eki ng kn ow ledg e.

A hi stor ical pe rspe c ti ve is use f ul in un derstand in g th e iss u es . O ne y ear aft er psy cholo-

gy 's ent ry on to th e ac adem ic sce ne, th e C en~ ni a l E X j20siti on of  187 6 .. op .e .i. o o i n P h i la-

de .1£.hia . A s th e Sm ith sonian 's 1976 recr ea tio n viv idl y rem in d s u s, rh ap s? dic Q rai se of 

sc ience and tec hn ology w as a m a j o r them e. Jrom its b irt h , academ ic psycholo g y c ast it s- - - - - - - - " ' ~ - - - - - ' ' - - - - -

,lo t w ith in th e br ight prom ise of a s c i ent if ic f ut ure . S imi la rly , f oun ders o f th e noti on of 

psy chot herapy-all phys ici an s, in c luding S igm und F reud -w ere im m ersed in t hat sam eprom ise . Fr eud reserv ed spec ia l in dignat ion fo r th o se c riti cs , like Havelock E lli s, w ho

su ggested th at h e w as dealin g in alleg ory and m y t h r a th er th an in sc ien ce . 17 In thi s respec t

al one, F reud w as br o th er un der th e sk in to th e b es t-know n p sycho lo g ist of  our d a y , B . F .

Skinner.

I sh all no t b e explorin g th e large r hi s to rica l trend s to w ard fa i th i n sc ience . In s tead , I am

con ce rn ed w ith t he subsid iary im pu lse of  psyc holog is ts to see k a.c. c .e .p l e and I2 restige

fo r th ei r n ew d isc ip lin e th rough im ita ting the m ore estab lish ed sc ientif ic disc ip lin es. v er

tim e, th o se w ho b ec am e e m ost p rominent p sy c 0 og is ts w ere ose liO Tr f it{ ';lted th e

m os t b l ind l y , g r aspi ng w hat br ough t p r es tige in their soc ie ty ev en though it w as m o re a

.. ,c ar icature ~ the m ore es~b li sh ed sc ienc es. . f . N A ,,+ a .. ~ Ih i) L. r - ! ,:' -: '  

Un deni ab ly , th e pr est ig iou s and successfu l sc ien ce s in th e la te n in etee nt h and ear lyhve nt i et h c entu ry w ere th o s e s ecur ely fo cu se d on th e p hys ic al w or ld and th e p hys ical

p ro cesses o f the or ga nic w o r ld . Psy chologi s ts, in th eir s t ri v ings to gain sta tu s w ith oth er

sc ient ists, d id not pau se long on iss ues ra ise d b y th e d iff eren ce s be tw ee n stud yin g a roc k ,

a chemical c om p ou n d, o r an anim al, on on e hand , and a hum an individu al, on the oth er.

In st ead , m ~o ds th at h ad b ee~ suc ~~ ul in the phys ica l and b iolog ica l sc ienc es w er e

em b ra ce d a s m o dels f or s cho logy . ~ searchers w e r e soo n d ee p int o an alogy, co m l2a~ 'V'"

th e hum an indivi dua l to the chem ical co m poun d or to th e ani m al as t he sub jec t o f research ,

~h all of the p o w er th at su ch an analogy g ives to th e sc ientific inv es tigat o r, a t lea S t if  .

th e anima l i s c ap tiv e a n d sm all. U nl ike th e natu ra l sc ient is t, how eve r , th e p sy cho log is t

ha d o nly s o c ia l ow er o v e r th e researc h su b jec t, not th e g rea ter p ow e r t o ex pl o re , ob se rv e,

and an alyz e th at had un loc k ed so m any of n ature 's secre ts f or th e ph ys ical sc ience s .

T he m eth od ol g ¥ _PLQ Il lo .t e .cL in ... l2 S -ys h. o .!. O gy ,in it s s tri v in gs f o r soc ia l ac ce pt abi li ty and

pr es ti ge , r e st ed o n t he assump tio l t e ca uses o f a n eve nt c~_n b e determ ined by J br eaki n8 ::d .o_w . ev ent in _CO m p0nE m t_part s , or e lem ent s, a n d s tu dying th~ -

a. :: .d ~~ i r r e la ti on shi ps to on e ano t~e r. T he m ore "b as ic" th es e pa r s o r e lem en -t-s-il re, th e \ ' I \ A rS :"m ore "b as ic " is th e inq ui ry. a .- \J a

W ha t psycho logy def ine d as bas i c w a s d ic ta ted by s lav ish devo ti o n to the m or e pr es-

tig ious d isci p lin es. Th us, a phys io log ic al o r b ioc hem ical p art o r e lem ent w as def i ned as

m ore ba sic th a n a belief  th at Ev e w as cr eat ed fr om A d am 's rib, not b ec ause th e f orm er

ca n necessari ly te ll us m or e abou t a hu m an ind iv idual , b u t b ec au se ph ysiolog y and bi o-

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44 Fe m in ism an d M e thod o logy

chem istry w ere m ore p re stig iou s th an relig iou s hi .? to ry o r soc io l? ,W . O n the envi ronm ent a l

side, a ph ys ic al elem en t that ~ ld b e ~ d o r tha t one o f th e ph ys ica l sc iences had

a lr ead y m easur ed w as rega rded as m o r e "basic" th an pove r ty; thu s, th e s o c ia l d isc ip lines

tha lw -r< rte ab out pove r ty in any w a y o th er th an by coun ting inc om e had eve n le s s stand in g

tha n psych o logy . T urn ing to th e hu m ani ties f o r an u nde rst and ing o f  w ha t is bas ic in be in g

 \ 

' hu m an w a s c o nside red ab sur d . W ha t cou ld sc h o la rs in E ng li sh o r S pani sh , in hi s to ry o r

I c la ssics, p os sib ly tell p sy cho log ists? P sy cho log is ts di d loo k to hi sto ry and ph il os o ph y to. f ind ou t ab ou t the h isto ry and phi los oph y o f  sc ienc e, bu t th e n, tha t w as all ab out m a th -

 y ema t i cs, ph ys ics , an d chem istr y , and the ref o re re sp ec tabl e.

N a rro w in g th e S p a c e an d T im e Fr am ew o rk

T he ev ent to be s tud ied and th e e lem en ts to be co ns idere d bas ic o r p eriph era l w ere to

be th os e th a t oc cur red in the here -and-n ow of th e re searche r's ob ser vation o r of the o th e r

techn iqu es f or da ta co llec tion . In m an y res pec ts, K u rt Lew in 's ca ll fo r ah istoric a lism in

ps ych o lo gy -th at is, f or con ce rn in g ones elf w it h h isto ry on ly as it s f o r c es w ere revea led

. in t h e im m edia te si tu a tion a t th e tim e o f study- w as m erely con f i rma tion of ex is ting re -

se arch pr ac tic e. 's N on etheless, i t prov id ed ju sti f icat ion f o r dev e lopm en ta l, social , a n d pe r-so na lit y p sy cho log ists to v iew as "scient if ic: :- th e co nd uc t o f res ea rc h on hu m an ind iv id uals ~

'ab out w hos e pas t, p e rso na l loy alti e s, and so c ia l ti e s, about w ho se p lace in a l a rge r h is-

torica l-c ul tu ra l nex us, th ey kn ew nex t to no thIn g . C onse qu ent ly, they se ld om loo ked f o r

o r f o und ev idence o f h isto ry, cu lt ur e, o r or ga ni za tion al ties in th e spe cific res earch s itu a-

fu ns th ey s tu d ied . M ary P u tnam Jacob i's su rv ey s o f th e hi stor y o f cul tura l an d m ea iC a l

tho ught ab o~ t m enstr ua ti on and of  th e hi sto ri ca l e xperi en ce s o f wo r k ing w om en w ere

no w t o be co ns ide red excess baggage in a s tu dy o f pa rticu la r w o me n a t a par ticu lar pe ri od

o f tim e . E ve n he r cas e hi sto ries w o ul d co m e to be s e en as un nec essa ry , e xcep t in so far as

th ey co n tain ed ev id ence o f p hys io log ic m a lf un c tio n , s in ce phys io log ica l f acto rs w e re d e-

fi ned a s basic .

"O bj ec tive " Languag e as a D isg ui s e f or Igno rance o r B i a s

B y the m id -tw en tieth ce n tury th e e lem en tism pr ac tice d b y o rth odox psy ch o lo gy b ec am e

th or oughl y b lende d w i th t he langua ge o f appl ied m a th em a ti ca l s tat ist ic s, e spec ia lly as

a pp lied to b io log ic a l and ag ri cul tura l researc h . T h us, th e elem ent s beca m e abstr ac t :'va ri-

ybl es ." T he psy cho log is t in p ursui t o f  know ledg e w a s a tt empt ing to se ek ca u sa tio n by

di scove r ing l~ fu l relat ionshi p s am o ng va ri ab les . P a@ .£hra sin g E . L . T hor nd ~e psy -

cho log is t ca m e to be liev e th at "a ny th in g that ex is ts , e x ists in so m e qu an tJt y , h enc e c an be

m ea su reC l' an ence IS a va ri able .19=-

I n causa t ion , no t a ll va ri abl e s a re c rea ted equ al, h o we ve r. So m e a r e d esign ated "i nde -

p ende n t va ri abl e s," an d i t i s to thes e th at one look s f o r ca u sa lit y , des pi te te x tbook cautionsto the co nt rary. O ne m ay find the in dep end ent va riabl e in n atu re , a s w hen an ag ron om ist

se l ects ga rd en p lo ts w ith so il ri ch or poo r i n n itr ogen in w hich to p lan t co rn . T he y ie ld o r

B ias i n P s y c h o lo g y 4 5

hei gh t of the g ro w ing co rn is th e n t he "dependen t" v ar iab le c au se d by th e in depen den t

v ari ab le ( rich o r poor so il) , un les s the soi l o r th e s e ed o r the a ir co nt ain o th e r "cont am i-

natin g" variab les .

It go es w ithou t say in g th at a pe rso n 's s ex is con sid e red an ind epend en t va ria b le, no t a

. de pende nt on e, desp it e the f ac t th a t ev eryo ne and no o n e kno ws w ha t that m eans. P sy -

ch o log ists seem to thi nk they kn o w , w hen th ey pr onoun ce that th e s e x of  th e res ea rche r

or th e s e x o f   th e rese a rch sub jec t, or bo th , a re ind ependen t va riab les in res ea rch ; b u t i ts h ou l d no t ta ke a R enee R ic hards to de m o n stra te th at th e a ss u m pt ion of  c au sal ity by th e

"ind ep endent v ari able" o f sex is m isleadi n g. W hy ? B ecause the " v ari ab le " ca lled sex is

lik e a rai lroa d b ox ca r: ever y one kn o w s w h a t it is ca lled and w hat it is u se d f o r, bu t no on e

kn ow s w h at is in side . O lde r p sy ch o log ists had no do u bt th at it con ta in ed '~ b io log y. "

M od e rn psy cho log ists f o llow sui t , o r a d d cu ltu re , o r sub trac t b io logy as w e ll. R es u lt ) U tt e r

co n fu s ion i n a lm os t a ll di sc us si on s o f th e va ri abl e " se x" o r o f  s e x d ifference s.

".... j~

",

T he h igh ly ab~ li e f that ~ dge is to be ga ined b y stu ~ g _p. a.r.t~e nt s,

or veF iab les and by s e e~ g la w fu lnes s in the ir re la tionshi p s, is tr an slat ed in to rea lity

du rin g psy ch o log ica l res N ;ch . T h e m os t pr es tig iou s w a y t o m ake th is tr anslat ion is the

ex pe rim ent . In the ex pe rim en t, ce rta in se lec ted " in depend ent ," pr es um ab ly c au sa tiv e,

-e lem en ts a re de lib era te ly va ried , wh i le o th e r pos sib le ch o ic es are co nt ro lled o r kept in a

co nstan t sta te .

W hat t his des cription of  the ex pe rim ent m ea ns is th a t in the hu m an ex pe rim en t m uch

of  w ha t o e s on is s im I i no red . T he re se a rcher m ay choose ~ he in dependen t ~

y se lec ting pe rso ns acc o rd ing to sex , race , e tc ., or acco rdi ng to th e ir p e rf o rm ance o n a

ps ych o log ica l tes t. B u t the ex pe rim en t is co n side red m uch m ore v ali d if th e res ear cher

at tem pt s to cr ea te the in depend ent var iab le by "m an ipula tin g" th e c irc um stance s in the

re sea rch situ ation- fo r exam p le, by con t ro ll ing w ha t pe op le se e or hea r o r d o. T h us c re-

at ed , ! .be va r i ab le i s s om t:;how rig51~ ded a s pu rer , le s s " cont am in ated " by pas t ex pe ri ences .

H istor y is ignor ed , an d t he resea rc he r has th e il lu sio n of c rea tin g h is to ry a t the m om ent :

. W hile I w a s loo k in g f o r an ex am p le of  an expe r im ent , th e m ai l br ough t the cur re nt iss u e

o f the J a ta n a l o f  P e r s o n a l i t y a n d S o c i a l P sy c h o l o g y , th e m os t w id e ly read a n d c it ed jour nal in

that a rea o f p sy cho logy . T he se co n d a r tic le, by th e jour na l ed ito r and h is st ude nt s, co n -

ce rn ed th e eff ec ts o f th ree " indepen dent va riabl es " up on reac ti ons to m essages in tend ed

to pe rsu ade co lle ge stu dent s f o r o r a g a inst som e v iew po int , f o r e x am pl e, f o r o r ag ai n st

fa cul ty tenu re . O the r i ndependen t va ria b les w ere also introdu ce d in a se ri es o f  eight se p a-

ra te e x p e rim ent s. A ll o f th e s e e xpe rim ent s s tudi ed th e ra tin ~ f m essages o n th i r ty -six

diff  e ren t top ics m ade by pe rso ns des c rib ed as f o llow s : "S ub jec ts w e re eith e r u np aid u n-

derg radu a te vo lun tee rs w ho w ere enrolled in in tr odu c to ry psy ch o lo gy c ou rse s o r werep a id re spond ent s to c las sifi ed ad ve rtisem ent s in the u ni ve rsity new spaper. .. . Sub jects

w ere r ec ru ited w ith ou t rega rd to s e x a nd w ere as signed rand om ly to a pe rsuasion .. .

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46 Fe m in ism and M ethod ology

group and to an ide n ti f ica ti o n num ber w ith in th a t g ro up .... a to tal of 616 sub jec ts p ro -

v id ed data." 2o

Ei gh tee n of  th e m essages co nce rned pa st pr esid en ts of th e U ni ted S tate s, an d e ig h te en

o th ers co nce rn ed arbitrar il y se lec ted soc ia l is sues - th a t is, th e resear che rs sim p ly p icked

th em . The experi m ent s a re pr esent ed as a nove lty, w ith co nsid era b le p ride, because th e

m e s sa g es w ere pr es ent ed to sub jec ts by co m pu ter on v id eo screen , an d t he sub jec ts re-spond ed to th em by pushi ng th e c o m put er 's bu ttons. "l he c om put e rized m eth o d a ssur es

,_ a stand ard ized ex e ri m enta l p roce dur e fo r eac h sub jec t ... i t min im ize s-m te ra cti o l. ;Q f  th e

r: su~e c t w it h a hu m an experim enter . T hes e c h ar acte ristics a re res ponsib le fo r a des ir ab ly

hi gh de gree of  sit uat ion al con tro l and a s sur ance th at possib le sour c es o f  ex perim ent er bi as

a re m ini m ized ."" B ut it w as the re se ar chers w ho se lec ted th e top ics , pr ese nt ed th em in

ce rtain or ders, va ri ed th e co nt en ts o f  th e sc reen , etc . M oreov er , th e res ea rchers w er e f o rce d

Jto ad d t he cau t io n t hat "a lt hough th e re lati onshi p o f e x p eri m ent er to sub jec t is m ediated

by th e co mp u ter , t h at rela ti on sh ip non eth ele ss ex ists ."" Th ey m ak e le ss iss ue abou t t he

unden iab le pos sibility o f  significa nt ef f ec ts from int erac tin g w it h a co mp u te r.

Th e resea rchers pr es en t th ei r f i n d ings on t h e p ersua sive ef f ec ts o f th e m essages in ty pi calfa sh ion , as th e m ea ns o r a ve ra ges o f  al l t h e stu dent s' sin g le rati ngs on ea ch iss ue af te r

t h e y had re a d t h e m e ss a ge . Th e in d iv id ual d jf fe renc es am on g th e stu dent s, in c lud ing wha t

their op in ions ab ou t t he pr es id ent s o r th e so cia l iss ues w er e bef o re m es sa ge s w e re pr e -

se nted , w ere tr ea te d i n t he statistica l analysi s a s a " r and om -eff ect " f ac to r .

I n s hort , th is exp eri m ent typifies th e a s su mp t ion in a g rea t dea l o f  ex p eri m ent ati on th at

"g enera l law s" a bo ut the re lation shi ps am on g va riab le_~ can be ob tain ed by co mparin g

ave ra ge s o f th e res ponse s m a de by a siza b le n u m ber o f i n d iv iduals, w ho are reg ard ed as

be i n g w i thou t a b ack groun d , pe rso na l hi sto ry, o r ge nd er th a t m ight ha v e any thin g to do

w i th t he ir res ponse in t he situation . In th is case , th e situ a ti o n it se lf is d es cri bed onl y in

te rm s of th e equ ipm ent , w h ic h is show n in a ph otog raph . Its du ra tio n ap pears to h ave

bee n w e ll w i th i n t he ac ade m ic hour .

Doing "bas ic" re se a rch on "variabl es " th a t ar e g ive n n um ber s, and he n c e c an be tr ea ted

(:

tatisti ca ll Y , and , espec ia ll y, pe rf  o rming ex peri m ent s a re som eti m es ca ll ed th e "ha rd sc i-

r ;  enc e" w ays o f  se ekin g know ledg e in psy chology . W hat th es e b elie f s d e scr ibe, in stea d , ar e

effo r ts by so m e m em bers o f a new er, le s s e stab l ished di sc iplin e to im it ate w ha t th e y, a s

outsid ers, se e as th e w a y s th e ph ysica l sc ience s achi eved kn ow ledge suc ces sfu l ly . I t is t he

ph ys ic al sc ience s th at a r e ca ll ed "har d sc ience s," as w e a l l kno w , an d t he hu m an disciplin es

th a t a re " s oft ."

T h e a dopt ion o f the "hard " an d "s oft " an alo gy w i th i n psy chology and w ithin o th e r so -

c i a l d isc ip lin es ob sc ur es th e r e al iss ues, w hi ch a re abou t the wa y s to ex tend sc ientific

method s to th e stu dy of h um an be in gs by o th er h um a n bei ngs. T ho se w ho use th es e

adj ectiv es have al m os t alwa y s bee n m en tr y in g to p ut dow n oth er m en an d th e i r w ork ,

tt t i t h th i t t b i ti th i ff t ith th

pr es tigio us phys ical o r na tu ra l sc iences.lJ F o r th is rea son , I th i n k i t pa rt icu lar ly m islead in g

to suggest th at "har d" a lso im pli es "m as culin e ," w hi le "sof t" imp lies "f emin in e. " A ft er

all , in the ph ys ica l sci ence s the re hav e b een a f ew w o m en, a n d s om e of th e w o m en m ino rit y

in th e " s oft " d isc ip li nes fo ll ow the ha rd line .

W ithin psy chol ogy , the "ha rd" v s . "sof t" na m e-ca lling is a lso to be hea rd w hen iss ues

of "sc ientific " v s. "hu m ani sti c" psycholo gy are di scu ss ed . A gai n, t he co n troversies d o notdi v id e th e m e n f rom th e w o m en; th ey have bee n q ui te d iv isiv e o f   m ale psy cholog ists . But

;,.. "hum anistic" psy cho lo g ists nee d to ce a s e a cceptin g their opponen ts' de f inition s o f  w ha t

is "scientif ic " and start to assess sc ience as a hu m an endeavor. Th e se lf -co nsci ously 'sc i-

entif i c e xperim ent al p sy cholog ists need to start t h ink ing ab ou t t he un ique pr obl em s raise d

in the h is to ry of  sc ience w hen hum an ind ividuals t ur n to stu dy in g o th er in di v idua ls.

M ea nw hi le, th e eq uita b le pu rs u it o f   know ledge w i l l be be tter se rve d if  w e rec ogni ze

ps ych olog ists ' se lf- ann ointm ent a s "ha rd" res ea rche rs fo r w ha t i t is: a pu t-do w n of  c ritics

w h o d o n o t ac cep t t hei r o r thodox ies. Th o se w ho pr ocla im the hardness o f t h ei r m eth od s

a n d t h eir ha rd w are th e loude st ar e th e m ost guilty o f pr od uc in g resea rch fin dings w it h

th e d u rability o f a m ar shm allow . A nd now , w e shall se e w hy.

I have in tende d m y des c ription of th e stand ar d in psy cholog ical resea rch , w hich ad mit-

tedly w a s a lm os t a car ic atu re , to m ake clea r th a t th e st and ar d resea rch situ at ion is loa d ed

with opportun ity fo r bi as . T he op portunity start s w hen a resea rc her dec ides w ha t to stu dy

~ a n d i t co n tinue s to w iden d ur ing dec ision s about h ow to stu dy th e sub jec t. W hat ~ th e

i ? di v id u al be in g stud ied to d o d urin g th e r e sear ch? The res ea rche r dec id es , o f  co ur se,

~n Jn h ig hl y arb itr ary w ays di ctated by custom in prev Ious re sea,ch , no t b y w hat th e

'pe rso n doe~ r is doi ng in dai ly li f e : W ha t ar e to b e inc lu ded asth e aH :im port ant in de -

pend ent va ria bl es? W h ich aspects of  th e ind iv id ua l's be ha v ior are to be no ti ce d and w hi ch

, ignored d u ri ng th e r e s e a rc h ex peri ence? The re sea rche r m a ke s a l l o f thes e deci sions, o ft en

fo rge tting a t tim es th at he or she is a hu m an be ing w ho is pa rt of  th e res earch si tu a tion

to o .

N o w w e can see, I t ru st, w hy Rob ert R ose n th a l and m any o th ers a ft er hi m w e r e a b le to

dem onstr a te in th e la te 1 9 5 0s and th e 1960 s the phenom enon of resea rcher bi as -sp ec if i-

ca l ly, th at th e res ear che r's expec tati ons o f th e out com e in resea rch aff ec t w hat is ac tu a ll y

f ound .24 R os ent h al's findin gs shou ld have c om e as no su rp ri se. S tud ies o f i n terview in g

ha d a lr ea dy show n th a t m idd le-clas s in te rv iew ers ob tain e d a ns w ers fr o m w o rk in g-class

res ponde nt s th at d if fered fr om th o s e o b ta in ed by w ork in g-class in terv iew ers, that w hi te

i t i t f b l k d t di ff i f th b t i d b b l k

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in te rv iew ers, and th at w om en res po nd d if f  ere ntly to m en and to w om en, as m en res pond

d iff erent ly to w om en and to m en. 2S

W hy shoul d th e ef f ec t o f  one hu m an be in g upon an o ther be a surp ris e, e spe c ia lly th e

ef fe c t of a m uch m ore pow erfu l resear cher u po n a person w ho ha s a gre ed to coo perate in

an in sti tut ional se tting th at def in es the per son as "sub jec t"? Di d so m eone beli eve th at th e

ps ycho logy of  res ear cher and the psycho log y of  subj ect, b oth hu m an be in g s, are a ltog ether

dif fe rent ?T here w a s a lso th e f a ilu re to rec Qgn ize o th er so c ioc u l tura l as pec ts o f th e res ea rch situ a-

tion. T he }ese arc h setti ng, w hether ex p::-r iment o r in ter v iew , p ac ks a cul tu ra l w an -op

thr ough it s ph ys ica l lo ca tion , es pec ia ll y if de fin ed as a p lac e to do res earch , and th rough

th e p le thor a of  equi pm ent, cli pb oard s, f o rm s, tape recorders, and aud iov isual equi pm ent

th at resea rchers pack about . Tw o-w ay m irrors, int ended to hi de the re se archer, in fa c t

a l er t t he pe rso n obser ve d t h a t h is o r her ac ti ons are bein g w atche d a nd ev alu ated. A sim pl e

but ton p la ce d i n t he roo m i n t he even t t h at th e su bj ec t w ant s to lea ve b ecom es a signal

to "pani c" (" i f i t's th ere , it 's th ere to b e used"). Th e su ppos edl y neutral and ob jec tiv e

pap er- and-penc il test or i n f ormati on bl an k turn s out to be a s ignal to th e indi v id u al th at

som eo ne w ho kn ow s m ore th an she doe s is ev alua ting som ething about her, pe rh aps ev en

he r w or t h a s a person -an u nnerv ing th ough t a t best and at w orst a p rom o ter o f  app rehensio nor of  a! 2 ac tive eff or t to app ear "socia ll y deSl~able ." F in all y, ev idence has acc um u lated i nd i-

catin g t h a t peo pl e w ho voluntee r fo r rese arc h / te nd to b e th o se w i th m o re in teres t in psy-

chology, re se arch , an d sc ience , w ho do resp ond to the res ear ch situ ati on d iff erent ly f rom a

pers on so m ehow m ou setr app ed in the resear ch si tuat ion . T he di f f erenc e is ty pi ca lly in a

di recti on c onge ni a l t o t he re se archer's in terest, a lth ough it need not be , es pec ia ll y sin ce th e

re se arc her h as oft en bee n un aw are of th e im pact of th es e res ea rch im pedi m enta o r of  the

act ive a ttem pt s by sub jec ts to ev alu ate an d dea l w i t h t h e res ea rch situ ati on .26

Th e impact of th e rese arch situ ation is now here m ore co nv in c in gly show n th an in S tanl ey

M ilgram 's stu dy o f ob edi ence by research sub jects to a res earcher's c om m ands to deli ve r

in crea sin g ly m o re sev ere elec tri c shoc ks to another person w ho is os tensib ly ano th er in nocent

sub jec t. A ct uall y , th e la tt er pl ay ed a prescribed ro le , ex hibi t ing di sc om f ort an d o b jec tin g to

th e pr o cedu res , thou gh n ev er ac tu all y bei ng sh oc ked . O nce a "s ub jec t," m an or w om an,

ag ree d to part ic i p a te i n t he experim ent , typi ca ll y f or pay , th e hi ghl y in stituti on al se tting , th e

w hi te-coated experim ent er, an d th e stru c t ur ed p rocedu res too k pr ec edence, a t lea s t fo r 65

perce nt o f th e sub jec ts, so lo ng as th e appa rent v ic tim w as out of  s igh t i n t h e nex t room .

M ilgram u nderstood th e pow er o f th at in stituti onal se tt ing , it s equipm ent , an d t he au thor i-

tat ive rese archer . H e show ed th at obedi en ce dr oppe d sharp ly w hen th e pr oce du res ca ll ed

f or c los er pr ox imity to th e app ar ent v ic tim , an d t hat anot her person re fu sin g to co operate

bl ew th e ga m e. Th e stand ard personalit y tes ts purporting to m easur e pr oc li v iti es tow ard

ag gression pr ov ed w orthles s in p redict ing react ions to th e rese arch si tuat ion . O n t h e oth er

hand, cer t ai n p as t ex p eri ences in t he sub jec t's li f e di d app ea r to re la te to hi s o r h er dec ision

on w heth er to continu e shoc ki ng th e vi c tim o r w heth er to stop , a s 3 5 percent of  M ilgram 's

sub jec ts di d ev en i n h is m os t co m pelling situ ati on. T he s e p ast experien ces re la ted m uch m o re

 B ia s i l l P s y c h o lo g y 4 9

to th e indiv id ual's perspec tiv es on auth or ity , on sc ienc e , and on self th an they di d to ab str ac tly

def ined perso nali ty chara c teris tic s ."

M ore C ul tu re in S tudy o f P erson s

T he fin al cu ltu ra l w allop pac ked by a rese arch situ ation con ce rns th e ac tiv it y p erfo rm ed

by th e research subj ec t. W hat is the ind iv idu al to do f o r res earch ? H ow do es she o r herega r d t he tasks -as easy or di f f icu lt, f u n o r borin g , f am iliar or s trange ? T he resea rcher's

choice of  w hat is to be do ne, and hence , of  w hat behav iors are to b e ex am ined, is c rit ica l.

By now , we kn ow tha t t he s tan dard pr oc edur es d ev elo p ed in an influentia l line of 

re sear ch to stud y ac hi eve m ent m otiva tio n w ere bi ase d by th e choice of  tas ks and of in -

st ruct ions th at w ere male-orient ed. T hey w ere inappropr ia te f or s tud y ing achiev em ent

or ient a ti ons of  w om en w ho had be en b ro ught u p to beli ev e th at cert a in ac ti v iti es and

in stitut ions-e .g ., th e mil i tary -w ere off-l imits f or wo m en. 28 W e also k now th at th e ef fo rt

to pat ch up th at th eo ry on ac hi ev em ent by a d d in g a new m otiv ati on -av o id ance or f ea r

of  succ ess -pr odu ced over tw o hund red s tudies with co nfl ic tin g resul t s.29

B ot h e f  fo rt s f a il ed largely becau se the res earchers, i n d ef ining th e res ea rch situ ation ,

fo rgo t th at ou tsid e of  i t and f or ye ars , succ es s had bee n d efin ed by oth ers w ho co u n t i nou r ey es-our ref er enc e persons and group s-and th at w hat su cc es s m ea nt has bee n q u i te

 jiff erent jor th e ref erence persons and group s of  diff er ent m e n and ~om en in our soc iety .

In f act , su c c e ss has b een defin ed so d i f  fe rent ly th at b oth w om en and m en w ho hav e tri ed

to ac hi ev e success in w ay s ru led m or e app ropriate fo r th e o th er ge nd er-f o r ex am pl e,

caree r wo m en or m ale ball e t dancers-hav e been targets f o r d eroga tory lab els and nega ti ve

ad jec ti ve s so w id ely use d as to be so c ia l stereo types . E spe ci a lly in a so c ie ty w here som e

of t hese di v is ions h ave beg un to change , in dee d w here som e peopl e are ac tive ly re jec tin g

bo t h t he defini t ions an d t he poss ibi lity o f "suc ce ss " in t radi t ional term s, w hat k in d o f  a

th eo ry on m oti vat ion s to achi eve , or fe ars of  fa i lure , or m o tiv es to avo id su ccess, ca n ignore

th e i sue s o f w ho def in es suc ce ss or f a i lure f or w ho m, an d w heth er in div iduals accept

L

th os e defini t ions as th eir ow n?A little his tory, a little soc io logy and ec onom ics , a little a t-~e nt ion to th e hi stori c pl eas of  f eminis ts an d antirac ist m ov em ent s , w ou ld hav e help ed .

A noth er exam pl e o f b ia s i nduce d by th e se lec tion o f  ac ti v iti es is a w hole lin e of  re sea rch

on i nf l uence abil i ty or sugg esti b ility. O ne of th e old s aw s in m any soc ia l psych ology tex ts

u p t h rough 1974 (th ough not in any o f th e f our aut hor ed by th e Sher i f  s ) w a s th at wo m en

ar e m o re susc ep ti b le to persuas iv e inf lu ences or sugges ti ons th an m en. Th e res ear ch ev i·

den ce to lay th at old sa w to rest w as co ll ec ted by m y f o rm er stu dent Be n Ti ttl er ov er ten

ye ars ag o, w hen h e show ed th at both m en and w om en w ere m o re sugg est ible w hen th e

to p ic a t hand w a s o f  ve ry little concern to th em (e .g ., th e reput a ti on of  G eneral vo n

H in denburg ) th an w hen th e topi c w as de epl y and p ersonall y in vo lv in g (e.g ., the app ro-

pr ia te personal qualit ies f o r m en an d w om en) . M or e rece nt ly , Ju dy M orelo ck 's Ph .D .

rese arch at P enn sy lva ni a S ta te U ni ve rs ity has dem onstr a ted th at 'w heth er m en ~ r w om en

are easil y influenc ed by persuas ive suggestion s dep ends upo n th e g end er o f the researc her

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(0 ) Fe m ini sm and M eth odo log y

in re lation to the topi c-s pec if ica ll y, that w om en are m or e sugge sti b le w ith a m ale re -

se a rcher w he n the top ic is soci a ll y def ined as one of m ale in te res t, w h ile m en res pond in

parallel f a shi on w hen a w om an res ea rcher tries to in f luence them on a top ic so c ia ll y def ined

as int eres ting to w om en . F inall y , A lice Ea g le y has perform ed th e a rd uous ta s k o f  su rve y in g

al l av a il abl e rese a rch on short-te rm persuas ion and sugge s tion , and has f ound no bas is

w ha tsoever f o r the b lanke t co nclu sion th a t one sex is m ore suggestibl e th an the o the r.30

T here is, how ev er, a g reat dea l o f  ev idence that anyo ne m ay be suggestible or in f luencedw hen he o r she is p lace d in an am bi guous sit uation w here one' s res po nsive nes s to th e

situ a ti on itse lf  seem s m or e im por tan t a t the tim e than perso na l in teg rity or se lf -de f inition

as indi v id ua l m an or w om an . W h en som e aspec t of  the pe rson 's se lf bec om es h ighl y

invo lved or is at stake, neit her sex is rea di ly o r easily in f luenced by th e op in ions o r p er-

suas iveness o f  ano th e r pe rson du ring a b rief  enco un te r, e spec ia ll y if  tha t ot he r per son is

a strange r. 3 1

The les son fo r th ose w ho w an t to perpetu a te sex bi as in p sy cho log ica l resear ch is c lea r:R es tri c t the fram ew o rk f or s tu d y to a n arr ow span of  tim e. ~ ttend onl y to w ha t you decid e

, is im port ant , ignori ng as m uch e lse as po ss ib le . L abe l th ese im portant as pect s i n f he

, languag e of  "v a ri abl es," bo th to so un d obj ect ive and to m as k you r igno rance. A rrange

. th e r~ se ar ch s it ua ti on as you choose. If  you are bi as ed , th e s itua ti on w il l be. R ecord you r

se lef tive ly ch ose n d ata and d is cuss th em as th ough dea li ng w ith ete rn al ve rit ie s.

If anyo ne tr ies to re f e r to hi sto rical, cu lt ur a l, o r o rga n izati onal circum stance s ou tsid e of 

your ow n n a r row fr am ew or k , eit her (1 ) deroga te such ta lk as re f e rr ing to "s o f t" f ac ts and

"s of t" di sc ip lines w hi ch you see as be in g of  littl e re levance to you r ca refu lly co n tr o ll ed

va ri abl es and f ind ings ; or (2 ) suggest th at everyo ne has di f f e rent int e res ts, and that yo u rs

happens to be in p syc ho logy , w ha tever it s l imi ta ti ons, no t i n h istor y , cu l tu re, e tc . In e ithe r

case , you w il l hav e rem ov ed th e m ost effec tive and , ul tima te ly, th e on ly e ff ec ti ve m eans

by w hi ch your c riti c can ex pose your bi as and show w hat yo u hav e done w rong. Y ou w ill

hav e p u t t he criti c in the posit ion e ith e r o f  confin in g th e di sc uss io n to you r li m it ed f ra m e-

w ork , o r o f  goi ng out to do ano th er stu dy to show th a t you r res ea rch doe s no t ho ld up -

th a t it ca nn o t be repl ica ted or tha t it cr u mb les w hen ano th er va riab le is int roduced .

Sup pose th a t your c ritic does the la tt e r. The at tem pt to rep lica t~ s tu dy ~ it ~~ w ell -

c~ osen va riations is th e m ea ns m any psy cho log is ts choo se if  they w ant to do se rious battle

in or der to gai n v ic to ry w ith in th e es tab li sh m ent 's w a ll s. Th e h is tor y of ou r f ie ld and the

analys is o f  th e "social p sy cho log y of  the psy cho log ica l ex perim ent " tha t I ju st rev iew ed

bo th sugg es t th at th e cr iti c's chance of  sc o rin g a critica l po int is ve ry h igh . F in d in gs in the

ar ea w i l l bec om e "co nt rov ersial. "

N ow , w ha t shoul d yo u , th e re se ar cher, do to your c ri ti c? B y fa r th e best tac tic is to

w ithdraw fr om th e f ie ld , mu rmur ing ab out the w eakne ss es o f  the res earch des ign tha t has

. beco m e con tr ove rsial. F in d a,no th er w ay to sc ore your po in t w ith a res ear ch des ig~ so

di f f e ren t tha t the ongo in g co nt rov ers y is no longe r relev an t.

In fa c t, that is e x actl y w ha t has hap pened ove r and ov er aga in in p sy ch o log y on m any

· ·· top ics , bu t alm ost in var iab ly on topi cs w here s ex b ia s is char ge d . F or ex am ple, m os t re -

. sea rch f rom P ut n am -Jac obi 's and H ollingw orth 's to the pr es en t show s in s igni f ican t vari a -

ti ons in w om en 's pe rf or m ance att ribut ab le to the m ens tr ua l cyc le on a va rie ty o f  labo ra to ry

. ; tas ks. So p roponen ts o f th e v iew that m enstrua ti on is deb ili ta tin g by definition sw it ched. gr ound s. In stead of  loo ki ng at w hat w om en Ida : they started look in g a t the w ay w om en

,said th ey I f e i 0 - a t  their repo rted m oods and es pecia lly at th e ir bad ones . The sw itch

am oun ted to say in g , in eff ec t, that bad m ood s a r e deb ilit a ting , w hethe r w om en perf o rm

di ff e ren tl y o r no t. T hen new critics show ed qu ite con v in c ingl y that th e cul tu re is loa ded

w ith st e reo typed no ti ons ab ou t m ens trua tio n and bad m oods, so m e au thor s a lm os t se em -

in g to sa y th a t w om en report bad m oods because th ey thi nk th ey ar e supp os ed to . The

debilit ato r sc hoo l chu ckl es to ler ant ly an d po in ts to horm onal f luc tu a tions du ri ng th e cy c le .

C an such horm onal "s to rm s" be igno red?

M ean w hi le , w om en w ho experien ce d isco m f o rt dur ing m enstr ua tion ar e w onderi ng

w heth er to b lam e the experience on th e ir r e a ll y  being th e "weak er sex ," o r on th e ir so cie ty,

or

on them se lve s. W om en w ho ex peri ence no d isco m f o rt w on der w ha t a ll th e f u ss is ab out .For tunat ely , a sm all m inorit y o f  res ea rchers is beg innin g to real ize th a t an u n b ias ed v iew

of th is un ive rsa l, g reat ly neg lec ted cycli c ph enom enon can be deve loped onl y ove r co n-

Is ide rabl e tim e th rough enl arg in g th e f ram ew ork f o r stu dy. Th at fr am ew ork has to in c lud e

hi sto ri ca l persp ec tive and s tu dy , a s w ell as unb ias ed phys io log ic al stu dy that se es hor-

lIm on al va ria tions as norm al and un iversa l f o r bo th gend ers, ea ch w ith charac te ris tic pa t-

{tern s. It has to in c lude a va stl y ex panded perspec tive on w ha t w om en and m en do , th e ir

re la ti onshi p s to one ano ther and in a varie ty o f  pe ri od ic ac ti v iti es , a s th es e re la te to the

m ost u n derde ve lcp ed p robl em area in psy cho log ica l rese a rch -! !a m ely , how peo pl e f ee l

an experi en~ th em selves , and w hy, w hen , and how thes e se lf -ex peri ence s aff ec t the ir

ac tio ns.

If  th e iss ues o f  bi as in psy cho log ica l researc h w ere as s imp le a s t u rnin g th e m ethods

a nd ins tr um ent s p ri ze d by psycho logy in to th e se rvi ce of  def ea tin g b ias , m any batt le s

w ou ld hav e bee n w on long ago . M y short co ur se in how to perpe tu a te m yth s has a lrea dy

bee n lear ned too w ell by too m any to a ll ow such a def ea t. T he long cour se in how to

destr oy m yth s has to beg in w i th the esse nt ials: B w ad en the fr am ew ork w ith in w hich

kn ow ledge is so ught , th en per sist in the di f f ic ul t tas ks o f re lat ing event s w ith in tha t b road-#" -......-- -

ened fram ew or k thr ough a varie ty of m eth ods and researc h techn iques . Th is is th e onl y

cou rse tow ar d an unb iase d psyc ho log y . O therw ise , tho se w ho ho ld b iase d v iew poin ts,

ei th e r w itt in g ly o r unw itti ng ly, w ill retur n a decad e la ter, dr edge up th e o ld resea rc h

ev ide nce, re in te rp ret it by c lo th in g it in ne w w ord s, and s ta r t t he a rgum ent ag ain bef o re

pu b li c aud iences w ho like th e m essage . T hi s is w hat happ ened i n t he so -ca ll ed ra ce and

in te lli ge nce co n tro versy , w hich m any psy cho log is ts beli eved had bee n la id to res t a ge n-

erat io n ago .

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In v iew of  th e op enn es s of  psy cho log ica l re sea rch to b ias , w ho in so c ie ty bu tt res ses the

co n tinua ti o n of it s resea rch tr ad ition s by sup po rtin g them or b y dra w in g up on th e ir co n-

c lu s ion s? I t is p opu la r in aca dem ia to say "n o one"; bu t such sc ho la rly a lo ofn ess is f a rf rom tr u e, hi s to ri ca ll y. S in ce W orl d W ar I, the m ilita ry h as b ee n on e of the st ro ng~ so ur ce s

.Q 0 uP 1 2o rt fu r psyc ho log ica U es ts on w ha t psych o log ists ca ll eg~ int e ll i en ce ," th e ;:;c am e

to d efi n e as "w hat m y tes t m easur es." T es ts of  "a b i l itie s" and o f  var ious ly labe led ap ti tudes

f o ll ow ed . A no th e r so u rce of  su pp o rt h as bee n our va st edu catio na l sy stem , fr om pr es choo l

thr ou gh g radua te sc hool, in o r de r to pl ace stu dent s in to educa t ion a l tra cks and chann e l

them i nto di f f e re nt slo ts f o r f u tu re tra inin g or edu ca ti o n . In f ac t, th e g o a ls o f  ed uca ti o n

b eca m e defi ned in term s of t e s t p e rf or m ance , rathe r th an tes ts se rv in g as a m ean s o f  se e in g

w he th e r the edu ca ti o na l es ta b lishm ent w as m ee ti ng it s ow n go a ls o r th os e con sid e red

desir abl e in socie ty .

T he lo g ica l ex tens ion of th e so -c a lled in te lli ge nce o r ab il it y tes ts to th e assessm ent of 

va ri ous asp ects of th e pe rsona li ty and of m otiv ati on fo llow ed, es pec ia ll y a ft e r W orld W ar

II . T hes e tests becam e so s t an d a rd t ha t in com in g f res hm en a t th e U ni v e rsi ty o f M inn eso ta

ac cept ed the p rac ti ce o f  ta ki n g th e M inn e~o ta M u lt iphasic P ersona lity In v en tory alo ng

w i t h p l acem ent te sts in ac ad em ic su bj ect s. T hey w ere w ide ly u se d in gov ern m ent and

in dus try , wh ich a lso adop te d la rge b a tt eri e s of ap t i tude tes ts fo r use in select ing em ploy ees

and in p rom o t ion . D esirous of  an "in stan t c ri ter io n " f o r se lect ing abl e a n d d o c ile em -

pl oyee s, th ese in stituti on s d id no t, ty pi cal ly , d ev e lop tes ts d em on str abl y p red ict ive o f 

succ ess i n a j o b , bu t pu rcha sed co m merc ia l tes ts o ft en dev e lo ped f o r en t ire ly d iff  e rent

pu rposes. Th e u se o f  su ch te st s , b o t h i n e d u c at io na l p lacem ent and in f a te f u l d eci s ions

about em ploym ent , h av e f igur ed rece nt ly in seve ra l co u r t d eci s io n s o n aff irm ative ac tio n

ipr ac ti ces .32 I am to ld also tha t a w e ll kn ow n vo ca tiona l in terest t~s t f or hi gh sc~ ool stu dent shas cea se d p r in ti ng it s sepa ra te tes ts f or w om en and m en , w hI ch w ere on p m k a n d b l ue

f o rm s.

A s id e f r om t he testi ng indus tr y , th e m ilita ry and ot he r a gen ci es of  gov ern m ent h ave

pou re d h ug e sum s in t o r e sea rch on p robl em s th a t conce rn ed th em at th e m om ent . D u rin g

and af te r W o rl d W ar II , the p opu lar top ic w as p rop ag and a ; th en ca m e s tud ie s o f sm all

g ro up s and lea de rshi p ; a n d by th e ear ly six t ie s a l l th e m oney w a s f o r c ro ss-cu lt ur al resea rch

and st ud ies on how to cha ng e peopl e' s a ttitud es . T he rela ti o nsh ip b e tw ee n w ha t w as

sup po rt ed , w ha t p sy cho log is ts i n t hos e p eriods st ud ied , an d w ha t p ro bl em s w ere co n -

ce rni n g g ov ern m ent an d t h e m i l itar y is c lear , th ough se ld om d iscuss ed . S im ila rl y, th e

record of w ha t is sup po rt ed in the st ud y of ch i ld de v elo pm ent m irror s the soc ia l p ro bl em sof conc er n to aut h or it ie s a t th e ti m e an d t he p ro gra m s th ey ho p e to ju sti f y by resea rch .

A w hole ne w research i nd ustry w ho se so le a im is to eva lu at e soc ia l pr og ra m s by the

~governm e~ thas recent ly l5een 150 rn ~ ade~d in co m merci a l f ir ms. S uch ev a lu a ti o nc; _ - ,

re sea rc h is pr on e to bi as m th e d ir ec ti on of l(on fi rm ing w ha t po li cy m ak ers w an t to p e r-

pe tu a te an d w ha t th ey hope fa il s , a s o ne of  th e ear li es t p ap e rs o n th e to p ic m a kes ab u n-

 B ia s in P s y ch o lo g y 5 3

dantly c lea r.33 M ore rece nt ly , w e lear n f rom da il y pa pers th a t, al l t he w hi le, th e C IA has

be en suppor ti ng re sear ch th ro ugh a va rie ty o f  pho n y f ou nda ti o ns and so c ia l ag en c ies .

Fi na ll y , the em ergen ce o f  c lin ica l psy chology as the la rge st sp ec ialt y by psy cholog is ts

af ter W or ld W ar II ref lec ts th e f ac t th a t w ars a re ve ry hard on peo p le , c re ati ng pr obl em s

. th at la st f ar bey ond the ir du ratio n . C li n ica l p sy chology grew fr om th e lac k of enou gh

p sy ch iatr ist s to h and le w ar -re lated hu m a~ \ 2 I.0b lem s and f r om t he g row ing num bers o f  v.  /

hum an c asua lties at th e com m u nity lev e l w ho raise d co m m unity , h en ce gove rn m ent al

is su e s . A nd onc e w e had th e p ro b lem s and ~ g row ing arm y o f p rof es sio na ls, the d e f in iti on- -, o f w hat is t o be don e ~ it h h~m an y rob le m siD li v in g changed : m _any now req u ired ,-no t"

, f r iends, not be tte r w or ki ng co nd iti on s, no t a so c ia l w o rk er , no t a job int erv iew , no t «' .• m in is te r o r lov ing p aren t, but a th er ap ist. B enefi tti ng fr om th e au ra a lrea dy c rea ted b y the 1

m ed ic a l pr of es sio n , c li n ic al psy cholog is ts ca m e in to dem and , in p re f er ence to a m ini ste r

o r a so c ia l w or k e r o r a cou nse lo r , bec ause th e ir c la im s to ex p ert ise res ted on a d isc ip lin e

th at sa i d i t w as sc ien t if ic , th a t ba sed it s pr ocedu res on res ear ch f i nd i ngs .

It has becom e cu stom ary f o r w om en to depl ore th e pr ac tic es o f tes ti ng fo r psy ch olog ica l

-a s s es s m e n t , p lac em ent , and h i r ing, b u t t o r e ga r d t hes e p ract ice s a s no t especia lly bi ase d

~ 'ag a in st t he ir g end er . T hi s m isco n ce pt ion p ro babl y ar o se be ca use th e ear ly in te lli ge n ce

tester s in th is co un try m ade th e de lib e ra te d eci s ion n o t to constru c t tes ts ind ica ti ng ove ra ll

m ale -f em a l e d i f f  e rences in i n te ll ige nce . Th e d ec is ion w as d ict a ted pe rh aps les s by lac k o f 

s e x b i as (t hou gh in deed , it w as m ade w hen th e su ffrag e m ove m ent w as a t it s h eig ht ),

t h an by th e nec es sit y o f h a v in g a tes t th a t c o r re la ted w i th t h e on ly a v a ilab le cr i te ri on o f 

'va l idity -p e rfo rm ance in e lem enta ry sc hoo l, in w hi ch th e se x es d i d no t d iff e r sy stem ati -

ca l ly . N everthe less, th is sag ac io u s d ecis io n by th e ear ly tester s d id no t app ly to th os e

w om en , or m en , w ho happen ed to have been bo r n i nto a poor f am ily or ca m e f rom a

m inori ty grou p w i t h p rob lem s and opp or tu n iti e s d iff  e rin g m ark edl y fr om th os e m ore fo r-

tuna te.

T h e ex tension of  th e ea rly teste rs ' log ic to is sues o f  apt itudes, pe rson al m otiv a tion , an din te rests h a s bee n loa ded w it h ge nd er b ias . S o~e ty has pe rsisted in a tt em p ti ng to d e f in e

'" w om en and m en as cr ea tu res w ith entir e ly di f f e ren t capabiliti es and f a tes , despi te tlie

,hi s to ri c soc ia l tren ds in em pl oym ent , f am ily, an d o th e r ac ti v it ies o f th e k in d do cu m ent ed

S O w ell by Jess ie B ern a r d i n d isc u ss in g " ti pp in g p oin ts. "34 The in d isc ri m in a te u se o f tes ts

d eve lop ed p ri marily f o r m ales is bo th b ias ed and in app ropr ia te a s s o c iety change s. Ne c -

es sa ri ly th e ir u se assum es th a t th e stand ard s b ase d on m ale pe rfo rm ance in t h e pas t w il l

be re tai ned w hen the ve ry in sti tut ion s in w hi ch pe rfo rm ance is to o c cur w ill ha v e change d •..

by adm ittin g w om en . The sit u ati on is rem ark abl y sim ilar to th a t in poss -cu l tu ra l re search

w hen th e res ea rc h e r a ttem pts to use th e m eth od s a n d p ro cedu res d ev e lop ed in th e U ni ted

St a tes to s tud y , s ay , In d ia .T h e Ind ian psy cholog is t D u rga nand S in ha has com ment ed o n th is p rac ti ce pe rce pt ive ly.

"Psyc ho logy, " h e sa id , "app ea rs to be m ethod -bou nd . S om eti m es it is r idi cul ed as a sc ien ce

w ith ou t co nt ent bu t w it h p lent y of m e th odo log y . M ode li ng it se lf  aft e r p hy sica l sc ien ce s

and in its zea l f or pr ecision a n d u n ive rsa li ty o f it s pr in cip les , it has no t on ly ad op ted a

m ic ro app ro ac h b u t h as fo ught shy o f  h ig h ly com ple x s oc ia l pr ocesses . W hen th e stu dy

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5 4

f  a soc ia l henom eno n is no t ea sil y am enab le to it s m et ho ds , it is ignored ." S inha th eno p . ow n e x e rienc e in att em p ting to ap pl y s tanda rd research m eth od s

~ ~ ~ s ~: c: ~ ~ :~st~nhII~d ia n v il\~ge s , g iv in g e x a m pl es o f th e nee d f or "c ul turally ap prop riat e

p d h ' "35 W ith t he sam e log ic , w e m a y s e e th at pa rti cu lar m et hodsm odels too ls an tec m ques . .' I d' ..

d'd h' ch m ay hav e bee n u se f ul to a soc ie ty co nt ent w ith I ts un equa IVl p lO n

an p r oc e u re s w I ~. - .••~__ C--- h . tof  labo r an d u ne ual opp or tunities in edu ca ti on are m is le ad ing w hen t e s a m e S O C ley

'f in d s its in stit ut iO ~S ch ang in g to inc lu de thos e hith ert o re le g a te d t o d If fere n t o r m arke dl y

in~~ io r ~ a ~ usS 'oc ie ty cont ai n s m any m a jo r and ce nt ral in s ti tu ti on s w ith in terests bo ls te ri ng

p sy c~ ~ ;o g ~'~ c la im s to be sc ient i f  ic and bo ls teri ng th e par ti c ul a r v e rsi on o f sC len~ lh~ ~ eth -

odo log y adop ted as its m os t p re sti g iou s res ou rce . I do no t in tend at a ll to pose ~ ~ c 0 ~m y

betw een so-cal led ba sic and so- cal led a p pl ie d res ear ch . O n t he contrarY 'hbo t

. a t~ ef ' e llen. th d ' nd how to d o t a t SC len I Ic a y.

co nstrain ed by a par t icular v is i o n o f  w ha t IS w or om g a b ' d d f 'f nTha t p a r ticu lar vi s i o n i s no t t he on ly on e avai lable , n or d oes i t le a d t o un l a~ e e 1~1~0 s

o f  roblem s re sul ts , o r conclu sio ns. I ts m ost p o w e rful w eapons aga m st c . a rg es 0 la

h a ~ e bee n n ~ t d azz l in g sci en t i fi c a ccom plishm ent s, b u t i ts su p po r t by eli tes m p sy cholog y

an d t he larger soc ie ty ba se d o n c on sens u s o f op i n i on .

E DI T O R 'S N O TE

W E I Y a n d  t h e S c ie n t if i c R e v o l u tio n ( N e w Y ork :1. S e e C aro lyn M erchan t , T h e D e a t h o f N a t u r e : o m f e ln , co o~ n the fo rm atio n of  m odern science its elf .

H arp e r & Ro w , 19 80 ), f o r a h isto ry o f m Isogy n ou s I n u ence s

N O T ES

h F m ale o r T he Fant a sy L if e o f the M ale P sy cho lo -1. N aom i W eiss tein, "P sy cho lo gy C onstr u cts t, e L · b e t "  d M iche le H G ars ko f  (B e lm on t, C ali f .,

g ist," in R o l e s W o m e n P la y : R e a d in g s to w ar d W o m e n s Ie ra I O n , e . .

19 71 ), pp . 68 -8 3 . . . ' 9 63 )2. B ett y Fr iedan, T h e F e n lln ln e 0 y s li q u e (N hew H Y ork , 1

Rlat ion s o f a C h a n gin g W o rld ," in T h e Role o f 

3 . C a ro lyn W . She rIf, "W om en s Ro le In t e um an eth e E d u c a te d W o m an , ed. C . M . C la ss (H ouston , 19 64 ), pp . 29 -41.

~ : ~e~ .g~ ~~ i~ ~~ ~ r~ i S ;~ ; y a; / ; ;; e ;; ~ I :~ t~ r~ :~c~~~o ; /~~c i ; ~4 6( N ew Y o r k, 1 95 0) , p . 5 09 .

6. Ibid ., p . 5 4 8 .

7. Ibid ., p . 487 . . (C h ' 1903 ) ' H e len T W oo ll ey "P sy cho log ica l8. H e len B . Th om pson , T h e M e n ta l T r a i t s o f   Se tx

hP IC a ;~ ~g y is ex " P sy c h o lo g ic a l 'B u l le t in 7 (1910) :

Li tera tu re : A R e view o f th e R ecent L it e ratu re on e s yc 0 ,

33 5-4 2. . h ' re e r and th e v ie w s o f prom ine nt m ale p sy cho logis ts9 . F o r an accoun t o f  Le ta S. H o lh ngwor t 5ca . d " M s P il rim ' s P rog res s : T he C on tr ib ut ions

durin g th e e a rly per iod o f h e r w or k , p se eS~ e)h am ef ~ Shl :~ ;,' A m e ;ic a ng

P sy c h o lo g is t  30 (1975) : 852 -57 . Th eo f  Le ta S te tt er Ho llingw orth to th e s yc 0 ogy 0 om '2 2 1 91 6' 19 -29 .

title quo ted wa s pub l ished in h A n Q l e r lC a tn J o u fr~ l ~ f f ; ro ~ ~ ~ In d U ~ in g ~ e n s tru a t io n (N e w Y o r k , 1 8 7 7 ) , p p.10 . M ary Put na m Jacobi , T e u e s IOn 0 e s

1-2.

11 . S te p h a ni e A . S h ie lds , "Func tio n al is m , D a rw in is m , a n d t h e P sy c ho lo g y o f W o m e n ," A me ri c a nP sy c h o lo g ist  30 (1975) : 739 -54 .

12 . S e e L e e J . C ro n b ac h , " F iv e D e c ad e s o f  Pu b li c C o n tro v er s y o v er M en t a l T e s t ing," A m e r ic a n P sy-c h o lo g ist  30 (1975) : 1-14 .

1 3 . A A P A d v a n c e , Augus t-S ep t ember 1 9 7 7 , p . 2 .

14 . Bo r i ng , A H isto ry o f E xp e rim e n ta l P sy c h o lo g y , p . 583 .15 . Se e R on ald L i p pitt a n d R a l p h K . W h i t e , "A n Exper im e n ta l S tu d y o f L e ad ers h ip a n d G r o up L ife,"

in B a s ic S tu d ie s in S o c ia l P sy c h o lo g y , e d . H a r o ld P r os h an s ky a n d B ern a rd S eid e n b er g (N e w Y o r k , 19 6 5 ) ,

pp . 523 -37 . Le w in ' s f i rs t pub li ca ti on o n th i s r e se a r c h a p p e ared in 1939 .16. K u r t L ew i n , " S t u di e s in G ro up D e c is i on , " r e p ri n ted in G ro u p D y n a m ic s: R e se a rc h a n d T h e ory , ed .

D or w in Car tw r i gh t a nd A l vi n Zand e r, 2 n d e d . ( N ew Y o r k, 1 9 5 6 ).17 . S e e C aro l T a v r is a n d C a r o le O f f ir , T h e L o n g e s t  W a r  (N e w Y o r k , 1 9 7 7 ), p p . 1 5 1 -52 .

@ A p ene tra tin g c ri ti q u e o f a h istor ic a li sm a nd it s p sycho logiz in g o f t he s oc ia l en v i ro n m en t w a sW rI tten by one o f Lew in 's m o st a rden t a d m ir e rs , R o g er G . Barke r, " O n the N a tu re o f  t h e Env i ronmen t ,"

 Jo u rn a l o f S o c ia l Iss u e s 19 (1963 ) : 15 -38 .19 . M ascul in ity -fe m inini ty as a "v a ri ab le " o r p olari ze d d im ension is one e x am p le of  th e m i s ch ief 

c rea ted in p sycho log y by "thinking in va ri ab le s" and acce pt ing th e imp l ied di c tu m about m ea sur emen t .S ee A n ne C ons tant inopl e , " M a scu li n ity -Fe m ini ty : A n Exce pt ion to a F am ous Di ctu m ?" P sy c h o lo g i c a l

 B u ll e ti n 80 (1973 ) : 389 -40 7 ; and Law rence K ohl berg " A C o gnit ive -D ev e lopm ent a l A na lys is of  C hi ldren 'sS ex -Ro le C on ce pt s a nd A tt itu des," in T h e D e v elo p m e n t o f S e x D iffe re n c e s, ed. E lean o r E . M accoby (S tanf o rd,

C al if. , 1 966 ) , pp . 82 - 1 7 3 . V e r y di f fe ren t v iew s o n t h e p r o p e r w ay to se ek kn ow ledge are ac hi ev ed w henthe def ini t ion o f w ha t is "m asc u lin e" an d "fe m in in e" is sou ght by ana lyz in g d iv is ion s o f  p eople and

the i r ac t iv ities i n h u m a n soc ial l i f  e . Se e M uz a fe r She r i f a nd C aro lyn W . Sher if, S o c ia l P sy c h o lo g y (NewYork , 19 69 ) .

20 . D . L. R oni s, M . H . B aum ga rd ne r, M . R . L e ippe, J . J . C ac io p po , an d A . G . G ree nw ald , "In Se a rch

o f Re l iab le P ersuas ion Ef f ects, I: A C o m pu te r- C on tro ll ed Pr oc edur e f o r S tu dy ing Persuas ion ," Jo u rn a lo f  P e r so n a li t  y a n d S o c ia l P sy c h o lo g y 35 (1 977 ): 55 1.

2 1 . I b id ., p . 567 .

22 . Ib id .

23. F o r a soc iolo g ia l ana lys is o f  co nd iti o n s p r om o tin g su ch e f forts by p sycho logis ts , s ee J . B en-David. a n d R . Co lli n s , " S ocia l F ac to rs in the O rig in o f  a N ew S cienc e: Th e C a s e o f  P sycho logy , " A m e ric a n. S o c io lo g ic a l R e v ie w 31 (1966 ) : 451 -65 .

24 . R obe rt R osen thal, E xp e rim e n te r E ffe c ts in B e h a v io ra l R e se a rc h ( N e w Y ork, 1966 ) .

25. S ee H adl e y C antri l, G a u g in g P u b lic O p in io n (P rin ceton , 1944) ; H owa rd S chum an and Sh irl e y H a t ch-et t , B la c k R a c ia l A ttitu d e s : T re n d s a n d C o m p le xit ie s (A nn A rbo r , 1974 ) ; C har les F. C ann e ll and R ob er t L.K ahn , "In ter v iew ing," in H a n d b o o k o f S o c ia l P sy c h o lo g y , ed. G ar dne r L ind z ey and E lli ot t A ro nso n , (R ea d -in g , M as s ., 1968 ) ; vo l. 2 .

2 6 . S om e of  th e v a st li te ra tur e on the " social p sycho lo g y o f th e re search s itu a tio n" i s s u m m a r iz ed in

. R o b e r t R o s e n th a l and R alph L. R os no w , e d s ., A rtifa c t in B e h a v io ra l R e se a rc h (N e w Y o r k , 1969 ). A m o r ere cent a n d r e a da ble introduc tion is Ja m e s G . A d a ir , T h e H u m a n S u b je c t: T h e S o c ia l P sy c h o lo g y o f th e P sy -c h o l o g ic a l E xp e ri m e n t  (Bos ton , 1 9 73 ). B ot h te nd to igno re th e e a r li e r w o rk on " social des irab ili t y " e f f ec t s;se e A ll en L. E d w ards ; T h e S o c ia l D e s ira b i l i ty V a r ia b le in P e rso n a l it  y A sse ssm e n t a n d R e se a rc h (N e w Y o r k ,

19 57 ) . B ot h also te n d t o w a r d t r ying to "e l im in a te " o r redu ce th e e ff ec ts th e y h a v e s tu d i ed , r a th er tha nu s in g th e ir u n de rstand ing to w a r d r e c onstruct ion o f p sycholo gy 'S m eth od o lo gy . F or alt er nat iv e pe r-sp ect i ve s w i th t he la tt e r aim , s e e S h eri f and Sher if , S o c ia l P sy c h o lo g y , es p . cha p. 6 , an d C a ro ly n W .Sherif , O rie n ta tio n in S o c ia l P sy c h o lo g y (N e w Y o r k , 1976 ) .

27. T he m o s t c o m plete r e vi ew o f the o b e di e n ce r e s ea rch is in St anl ey M il gram , O b e d ie n c e to A u th o rit y(N ew Y o r k , 1974 ) . C ros s -cul tura l co m paris ion s lea di ng to sim i la r c onc lu si ons are sum m ar ize d in M .E.Shanab and K haw la A . Y ahy a , " A B e h a v io ra l S tu d y o f Obed ience in C hi ldren ," Jo u rn a l o f  P e rso n a lit  yQ n d  S o c ia l P sy c h o lo g y 35 (1977 ) : 530 -36 .

28. A le tha H . S tei n an d M arga re t M . Ba i le y , " T he S o c iali z a ti o n o f A c hiev em en t O rien t a tion in Fe -ma les," P sy c h o lo g ic a l B u lle tin 80 (1973 ) : 345-66 . S e e also M a r tha T . S . M ednic k , Sa nd ra J . Tang r i, andLo is W . H o f fm a n , e d s ., W o m e n a n d A c h ie v e m e n t: S o c ia l a n d M o tiv a tio n a l A n a ly s is . (W ashi ngt on , D .C .,1975 ); Virg in ia O 'Lea ry , "Some A t t i t ud i nal Ba r r ie rs t o Occupa tion al Asp iratio n s in W o men ," P sy c h o l o gic a l

 B u l le t in 81 (19 7 4 ) 8 0 9 - 26 .

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