PracRe1 Lecture 10

Language Bias

Topic General Guidelines Appropriate Terms Inappropriate Terms

Age Exact ages or age ranges are
more specific than broad
categories.
Any age: "person," "individual," etc.
<12 years: "infant," "child," "girl,"
"boy," "transgender girl,"
"transgender boy," "gender-fluid
child," etc.
13-17 years: "adolescent," "young
person," "youth," "young woman,"
"young man," "female adolescent,"
"male adolescent," "agender
adolescent," etc.
>18 years: "adult," "woman," "man,"
"transgender man," "trans man,"
"transgender woman," "trans
woman," "genderqueer adult,"
"cisgender adult," etc.
Older adults: "older persons," "older
people," "older adults," "older
Any age: Avoid using "males"
and "females" as nouns; instead
use "men" and "women" or
other age-appropriate words.
("Males" and "females" are
appropriate when groups
include individuals with a broad
age range.)
Older adults: Avoid using terms
such as "seniors," "elderly," "the
aged," "aging dependents," and
similar "othering" terms. Do not
use "senile." Use "dementia"
instead of "senility" specify type
of dementia when known.
Generational descriptors (e.g.,
"baby boomers," "Gen X,"
"millennials") should be used
only when discussing studies

Disabilit Names of conditions are more
y specific than categories of
conditions or general
references such as "people with
disabilities." The language to
use for disability is evolving.
Overall principle is to maintain
the integrity of all individuals as
human beings.
Gender When writing about gender
identity, descriptors with
modifiers (e.g., cisgender
women, transgender women)
are more specific than
descriptors without modifiers
(e.g., women) or general
nongendered terms (e.g.,
people, individuals). Explicitly
report information about
gender identities of participants
rather than assuming cisgender
identities. These terms are
patients," "older individuals,"
"persons 65 years and older," and
"the older population"; combination
terms for older age groups ("young-
old," "old-old," "oldest old"); contrast
older adults with other age groups
specifically, such as with decade-
specific descriptors ("octogenarian,"
"centenarian")
Person-first language: emphasize
person, not individual's disabling or
chronic condition (e.g., "person with
paraplegia," "people with substance
use disorders," "people with
intellectual disabilities")
Identity-first language: disability
becomes the focus, which allows
individual to claim the disability and
choose their identity rather than
permitting others to name it or select
terms with negative implications (e.g.,
"blind person," "autistic person,"
"amputee")
*It is permissible to use either
approach or to mix person-first and
identity-first language unless or until
you know that a group clearly prefers
one approach.
Refer to individuals with disabilities
as "patients" or "clients" within the
context of a health care setting.
Gender: refers to attitudes, feelings,
and behaviors that a given culture
associates with a person's biological
sex; use when referring to people as
social groups
Sex: refers to biological sex
assignment; use when biological
distinction of sex assignment is
predominant
Gender identity: a component of
gender that describes a person's
psychological sense of their gender;
related to the topic of
generations.
Avoid pictorial metaphorics or
negativistic terms that imply
restriction (e.g., "wheelchair
bound"), excessive and negative
labels (e.g., "AIDS victim"), and
slurs (e.g., "cripple").
Avoid euphemisms that are
condescending when describing
individuals with disabilities
(e.g., "special needs,"
"physically challenged," "handi-
capable"). Avoid reducing
people with disabilities to a
"bundle of deficiences."
Avoid cisgenderism/cissexism
(the belief that being cisgender
is normative) and genderism
(the belief that there are only
two genders and that gender is
automatically linked to an
individual's sex assigned at
birth.
Avoid the terms "birth sex,"
"natal sex," "tranny,"
"transvestite," and
"transsexual."
 generally used in an identity-
first way.
Participa Terms the indicate the context
tion in of the research (e.g., patients,
research participants, clients) are more
specific than general terms (e.g.,
people, children, women).
Structure your sentences in a
way that acknowledges
participants' contributions and
agency. Use the active voice
voice to describe your actions
and the actions of participants.
distinct from sexual orientation
Cisgender: individuals whose sex
assigned at birth aligns with their
gender identity
Transgender: used as an adjective to
refer to persons whose gender
identity, expression, and/or role does
not conform to what is culturally
associated with their sex assigned at
birth; other terms include "gender-
nonconforming," "genderqueer,"
"gender-nonbinary," "gender-
creative," "agender," or "two-spirit"
("two-spirit" is specific to Indigenous
and Native American communities)
Transgender and gender-
nonconforming (TGNC) people:
generally agreed-upon umbrella term
Sex assignment: use terms "assigned
sex" or "sex assigned at birth" Use
specific nouns to identify people or
groups of people (e.g., women, men,
transgender men, trans men,
transgender women, trans women,
cisgender women, cisgender men,
gender-fluid people). Use "male" and
"famale" as adjectives. To refer to all
human beings, use terms like
"individuals," "people," or persons."
Use the singular "they" to avoid
making assumptions about an
individual's gender.
Descriptive terms such as "college
students," "children," "respondents,"
"participants," "subjects," and
"sample" Use the term "patient" to
describe an individual diagnosed with
a mental health, behavioral health,
and/or medical disease, disorder, or
problem who is receiving services
from a health care provider. In
academic, business, school, or other
settings, the term "client" might be
preferred instead.
Case: an occurrence of a disorder or
When referring to all human
beings, avoid terms like "man"
or "mankind."
Avoid gendered endings such as
"man" in occupational titles
(e.g., use "police officer" instead
of "policeman").
Do not refer to pronouns as
"preferred pronouns" because
this implies a choice about
one's gender. Use the terms
"identified pronouns," "self-
identified pronouns," or
"pronouns" instead.
Avoid "he" or "she" as
alternatives to the singular
"they" because such
contractions imply an
exclusively binary nature of
gender.
Avoid referring to one sex or
gender as the "opposite sex" or
"opposite gender"; appropriate
wording may be "another sex"
or "another gender."
Avoid broad clinical terms such
as "borderline" and "at risk."
Avoid passive voice (e.g., "the
trial was completed by the
subjects" and "the participants
were run") and use active voice
instead (e.g., "the subjects
completed the trial" and "we
collected data from the
participants").
Avoid the term "failed" (e.g.,
"eight participants failed to

Racial or The nation or region of origin
ethnic (e.g., Chinese Americans,
groups Mexican Americans) is more
specific than a generalized
origin (e.g., Asian Americans,
Latin Americans).
illness
Person: affected by disorder or illness
and receiving care from a health care
professional
Race: physical differences that groups
and cultures consider socially
significant
Ethnicity: shared cultural
characteristics such as language,
ancestry, practices, and beliefs
Racial and ethnic groups are
designated by proper nouns and are
capitalized. Use "Black" and "White"
instead of "black" and "white."
When writing about people of Asian
ancestry from Asia, the term "Asian"
is appropriate. For people of Asian
descent from the United States, the
appropriate term is "Asian American"
or "Asian Canadian," respectively. To
provide more specificity, "Asian
origin" may be divided regionally, for
example into South Asia, Southeast
Asia, and East Asia. The
corresponding terms (e.g., East Asian)
can be used; however, refer to the
specific nation or region of origin
when possible.
When writing about people of
European ancestry, the terms "White"
and "European American" are
acceptable.
When writing about Indigenous
Peoples, use the names that they call
themselves. In general, refer to an
Indigenous group as a "people" or
"nation" rather than as a "tribe."
Appropriate terms listed by region,
but specify nation or people if
possible:
 North America: "Native
American" and "Native North
complete the Rorschach test")
and instead use "did not
complete."
Do not use hyphens in
multiword names (e.g., write
"Asian American participants,"
not "Asian-American
participants").
"African American" should not
be used as an umbrella term for
people of African ancestry
worldwide because it obscures
other ethnicities or national
origins; in these cases use
"Black." The terms "Negro" and
"Afro-American" are outdated.
It is problematic to group
"Asian" and "Asian American"
as if they are synonymous. The
older term "Oriental" is
primarily used to refer to
cultural objects and is
pejorative when used to refer to
people.
The use of the term "Caucasian"
as an alternative to "White" or
"European" is discouraged
because it originated as a way
of classifying White people as a
race to be favorably compared
with other races.
"Hispanic" is not necessarily an
all-encompassing term, and the
labels "Hispanic" and "Latino"
have different connotations.
Nonparallel designations (e.g.,
"African Americans and
Whites") should be avoided
because one group is described
by color, whereas the other
group is not. Instead, use
"Blacks and Whites" or "African
Americans and European
 Americans." Do not use the
American" (avoid the term phrase "White Americans and
"Indian") racial minorities."
 Hawaiian Natives: "Native
Avoid essentialism. For
American,"" "Hawaiian
example, phrases such as "the
Native," "Indigenous Peoples
Black race" and "the White
of the Hawaiian Islands,"
race" are essentialist in nature
and/or "Pacific Islander"
and considered inappropriate.
 Canada: "Indigenous Peoples"
or "Aboriginal Peoples" Avoid the term "minority."
-Alaska: "Alaska Natives"; Rather, Rather, a "minority
avoid the term "Eskimo" group" is a population
 Latin America and Caribbean: subgroup within ethnic, racial,
"Indigenous Peoples" social, religious, or other
-Australia: "Aboriginal characteristics different from
People" or "Aboriginal the majority of the population.
Australians" and "Torres If a distinction is needed, use a
Strait Islander People" or modifier when using the word
"Torres Strait Island "minority" (e.g., ethnic
Australians" minority, racial minority, racial-
 New Zealand: "Mā ori" or the ethnic minority."
"Mā ori people"
Do not assume members of
minority groups are
When writing about people of Middle underprivileged. Terms such as
Eastern and North African (MENA) "economically marginalized"
descent, state the nation of origin and "economically exploited"
when possible. In some cases, people may be used rather than
of MENA descent who claim Arab "underprivileged."
ancestry and reside in the United
States may be referred to as "Arab
Americans."
When writing about people who
identify as Hispanic, Latino/x,
Chicano, or another related
designation, authors should consult
with their participants to determine
the appropriate choice. The term
"Latino" might be preferred by those
originating from Latin America,
including Brazil. Some use the word
"Hispanic" to refer to those who
speak Spanish; however, not every
group in Latin America speaks
Spanish. The word "Latino" is
gendered, the use of the word
"Latin@" to mean both Latino and
Latina is now widely accepted.
"Latinx" can also be used as a gender-

Sexual When writing about sexual
orientati orientation, the names of
on people's orientations (e.g.,
lesbians, gay men, bisexual
people, straight people) are
more specific than broad group
labels.
neutral or nonbinary term inclusive of
all genders. There are compelling
reasons to use any of the terms
"Latino," "Latina," "Latino/a,"
"Latin@," and/or "Latinx."
To refer to non-White racial and
ethnic groups collectively, use terms
such as "people of color" or
"underrepresented groups" rather
than "minorities."
Sexual orientation: part of individual Do not use the terms "sexual
identity that includes a person's preference," "sexual identity,"
sexual and emotional attraction to or "sexual orientation identity."
another person and the behavior Instead, use the term "sexual
and/or social affiliation that may orientation."
result from this attraction.
Conceptualized first by the degree to The form "LGBT" is considered
which a person feels sexual and outdated, but there is not
emotional attraction and second as consensus about which
having a direction. abbreviation including or
beyond LGBTQ to use.
Sexual orientation terms: lesbian, gay,
heterosexual, straight, asexual, Avoid the terms "homosexual"
bisexual, queer, polysexual, and and "homosexuality." Instead,
pansexual (also called multisexual use specific, identity-first terms
and omnisexual). Sexual orientation to describe people's sexual
label is predicated on a perceived or orientation (e.g., bisexual
known gender identity of the other people, queer people).
person (e.g., lesbian women or gay
men), when possible.
Use umbrella term "sexual and gender
minorities" to refer to multiple sexual
and/or gender minority groups, or
write about "sexual orientation and
gender diversity." Abbreviations such
as LGBTQ, LGBTQ+, LGBTQIA, AND
LGBTQIA+ may also be used to refer
to multiple groups (if used, define
term and ensure it is representative
of the groups you are writing about).
The terms "straight" and
"heterosexual" are both acceptable to
use when referring to people who are
attracted to individuals of another
gender.
Socioeco When writing about SES,
nomic income ranges or specific
status designations (e.g., below the
federal poverty threshold for a
family of four) are more specific
than general labels (e.g., low
income). SES encompasses not
only income but also
educational attainment,
occupational prestige, and
subjective perceptions of social
status and social class.
Use specific, person-first language
such as "mothers who receive TANF
[Temporary Assitance for Needy
Families U.S. welfare program]
benefits" (rather than "welfare
mothers"). Include racial and/or
ethnic descriptors within SES
categories.
Avoid using broad, pejorative,
and generalizing terms, such as
"the homeless," "inner-city,"
"ghetto," "the projects,"
"poverty stricken," and "welfare
reliant."
Avoid deficit-based language.
Do not label people as "high
school dropouts," "being poorly
educated," or "having little
education." Provide more
sensitive and specific
descriptors such as "people
who do not have a grade school
education."
Instead of writing about an
"achievement gap," write about
an "opportunity gap."

Inclusive and bias-free language

Writing inclusively and without bias is the new standard, and APA’s new publication
manual contains a separate chapter on this topic.

The guidelines provided by APA help authors reduce bias around topics such as gender, age,
disability, racial and ethnic identity, and sexual orientation, as well as being sensitive to labels and
describing individuals at the appropriate level of specificity. Some examples include:

The singular “they” or “their” is endorsed as a gender-neutral pronoun.

o A researcher’s career depends on how often he or she is cited (not acceptable)

o A researcher’s career depends on how often they are cited (acceptable)

Instead of using adjectives as nouns to label groups of people, descriptive phrases are
preferred.

o The poor (not acceptable)

o People living in poverty (acceptable)

Instead of broad categories, you should use exact age ranges that are more relevant and
specific.

o People over 65 years old (not acceptable)

o People in the age range of 65 to 75 years old (acceptable)
Assignment:

1. Literature review (continuation/hindi kasama iyong naisubmit last week).

2. Reflection