Carol Gilligan on Becoming a Psychologist | Big Think | Summary and Q&A

TL;DR

This content discusses the author's journey from studying Shakespeare to realizing the gender bias in psychology and literature, leading her to write "In a Different Voice" and advocate for gender-inclusive conversations.

Key Insights

• 🌍 The author's journey from literature to psychology highlights the interconnectedness of these disciplines in understanding the human world.
• 🕵️‍♂️ Gender bias in psychology is often rooted in the assumption that the human experience is predominantly male.
• 🙂 The author's research on turning points in people's lives shed light on the need for diverse perspectives and experiences in psychological theories.
• 🧔‍♀️ Excluding women's voices from the public discussion hinders progress and perpetuates gender bias.
• 🥺 The author's realization of gender bias in psychology led her to question the validity of existing theories and advocate for more inclusive conversations.
• 🧔‍♀️ The experiences and perspectives of women have been historically overlooked in psychology.
• ❓ Gender bias in literature reflects and reinforces societal norms and expectations.

Transcript

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Questions & Answers

Q: What motivated the author to switch from studying literature to psychology?

The author's decision to study psychology was driven by her interest in understanding human behavior and her desire to become a therapist.

Q: What led the author to realize the gender bias in psychology?

Conducting research on abortion decisions made the author aware of the dissonance between women's voices and the psychological theories she had been teaching, which had been predominantly focused on men.

Q: How did the author's research on turning points in people's lives contribute to her awareness of gender bias?

By studying how individuals made difficult decisions, the author noticed that the psychology she was teaching failed to account for the experiences and perspectives of women, leading her to question the validity of the existing theories.

Q: What was the author's main contribution to addressing gender bias?

The author's book, "In a Different Voice," aimed to bring attention to the exclusion of women's voices in psychology and literature and advocated for more inclusive conversations that consider the experiences of all genders.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• The author initially pursued studying Shakespeare in England but instead went to graduate school for psychology, specializing in social psychology.

• The author's interest in studying turning points in people's lives led her to conduct research on how individuals thought about themselves during significant moments.

• The author's perspective shifted when she started listening to women's voices and realized the gender bias in the psychology she was teaching.