Why Do Trained Psychologists More Quickly Interpret Male Behavior as Pathological and Dangerous?
Question by J D: Why do trained psychologists more quickly interpret male behavior as pathological and dangerous?
And what effects might this have, e.g. in family court, in expert testimony in criminal cases, and in other contexts where psyhchologists are called on to make objective assessments?
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15726937
Psychologists’ judgments of psychologically aggressive actions when perpetrated by a husband versus a wife.
Follingstad DR, Dehart DD, Green EP.
Research literature suggests that clinical judgments of men’s versus women’s behavior and symptoms typically rate the men as more pathological and dangerous. To determine whether this view would extend to assessments of psychologically aggressive actions, two separate versions of a survey listing potentially psychologically abusive behaviors perpetrated by either a wife toward her husband or the identical actions perpetrated by a husband toward his wife were sent to a nationwide sampling of practicing psychologists. Results indicated that psychologists, irrespective of demographics, rated the husband’s behavior as more likely to be psychologically abusive and more severe in nature than the wife’s use of the same actions. Psychologists did not differentially rely on any of the three contextual factors (i.e., frequency/duration, intent of the perpetrator, and perception of the recipient) to influence their determination that a behavior was “psychological abuse” dependent upon whether the initiator of the psychological actions was the husband or the wife. Future research could assess more directly the rationale for the psychologists’ differing views of male versus female behavior. In addition, more normative information is needed to inform mental health professionals as to the prevalence and severity of psychologically aggressive actions in the general population.
Best answer:
Answer by Cat
I’m studying psychology at uni and one day will be a psychologist and let me reassure you there is no misandry in any course I have done. Or generalizations :)
Give your answer to this question below!