Category: Blog

By Geoff Hewitt

Working with young males in learning environments for some time has allowed me to experience aspects of violence, joviality, random acts of kindness and much more.

We all want to do the best for our clients and most people believe in gender equality, but what if I told you that the motivation to see men and women as the same might be limiting your ability as a therapist?

John Barry, Male Psychology Network

The phenomenon of ingroup favouritism and outgroup bias is a cornerstone of social psychology. The strength of such biases vary by group e.g. it is well-established that higher-status groups invoke more ingroup bias (e.g. Nosek et al, 2002). Men in general (historically and cross-culturally) have higher status than women in the public realm (politics, finance etc), so one would expect that male identity invokes a high level of ingroup bias. However research shows that – uniquely in social identity theory – male identity, unlike female identity, invokes no significant ingroup bias (e.g. Richeson & Ambady, 2001).

By Jenny Young

My PhD study explores what it is like to be a man and care for a partner due to their cancer diagnosis. However, it took some twists and turns through the literature before I decided to focus solely on the male perspective.

My interest in male psychology began when I was the only woman working with a crew engaged in salvage diving: divers, deckhands, researcher and ship’s cook. That was before I trained as a psychologist.

What impressed me most about that experience was the way in which the men depended on one another...