2.1 Gender

Question 1

What is sex?

Answer 1

Sex refers to a persons biological status as either male or female determined by chromosomes, hormones and anatomy

Question 2

What is gender?

Answer 2

Gender refers to a persons psychological status as either masculine or feminine (includes attitudes, behaviours and social roles)

Question 3

What are sex-role stereotypes?

Answer 3

A set of beliefs and preconceived ideas about what is expected or appropriate for men and women in a given society/social group

Question 4

What is gender dysphoria?

Answer 4

When their biologically prescribed sex does not reflect the way they feel inside and the gender they identify as

Question 5

How are sex-role stereotypes reinforced?

Answer 5

Communicated/transmitted through society and reinforced by peers, parents, the media and institutions e.g school

Question 6

Describe Imperato-McGinley et al’s (1974) research into gender

Answer 6

• Studied Batista family in Dominican Republic, 4 of the children within the family identified as females at birth
• The children were born with apparently female genitals and were brought up as girls
• When they reached puberty, the surge In testosterone led to the production of dihydrotestosterone (male hormone) and biological sex was revealed
• Found that boys abandoned their female gender identity with very few problems of adjustment
• Suggests gender identity may be flexible rather than fixed

Question 7

Describe Ingalhalikar’s (2014) research into sex-role stereotyping

Answer 7

• Scanned brains of 949 young men and women, using MRI imaging they mapped the connections between different parts of the brain
• Found women’s brains have far better connections between left and right side of brain
• Found men’s brains display more intense activity within the brains individual parts (especially in cerebellum which controls motor skills)
• Suggests women’s brains hardwired to cope with several tasks at once whereas men’s brain prefers to focus on a single complex task

Question 8

What is androgyny?

Answer 8

A personality type characterised by a balance of masculine and feminine traits, attitudes and behaviours

Question 9

What is the method used to measure androgyny?

Answer 9

The Bem sex role inventory

Question 10

What does not qualify as androgyny?

Answer 10

An over-representation of opposite gender characteristics, does not exhibit the necessary balance (e.g a woman who is very masculine)

Question 11

What did Bem suggest about a high androgynous personality?

Answer 11

It is associated with psychological well-being, as individuals who are both masculine and feminine in equal measure are better equipped to adapt to a range of situations

Question 12

Describe ‘The Bem sex role inventory’

Answer 12

• Presents 20 common male, 20 common female and 20 neutral characterisitics
• Respondents rate themselves on a seven-point rating scale for each item
• Scores classified across two dimensions: masculine-feminine and androgynous-undifferentiated

Question 13

AO3 for androgyny

Answer 13

1. Quantitative approach: androgyny measured quantitatively, Bem’s numerical approach is useful for research, Spence (1984) argues there is more to gender than set of typical behaviours so qualitative methods offer a better way of analysing gender, e.g personal attribute questionnaire adds another dimension (instrumentality and expressivity) to Bem’s approach, suggests that a combination of both qualitative and quantitative methods more beneficial

2. Valid and reliable: the scale was developed by asking 50 male and female judges to rate 200 traits in terms of how they represented masculinity and femininity, the traits that scored the highest in each category became the 20 masculine and feminine traits, the BSRI was piloted with over 1000 students and the results broadly corresponded with their own gender identity (validity), follow-up study with a smaller sample of the same students produced similar scores (test-retest reliability)

3. Self-awareness: people may not have insight into their degree of androgyny, masculinity or femininity, asking people to rate themselves relies on them having an understanding of their behaviour/personality, gender is a social construct which is open to interpretation, the scoring system is subjective and people application may differ, BSRI not an objective ans scientific way of measuring gender/androgyny

Question 14

Describe the role of chromosomes in sex and gender

Answer 14

• A normal egg cell produced by the ovary carries an X chromosome
• Sperm carry an X or Y chromosome
• The baby’s sex is determined by the sperm which fertilises the egg (female if sperm carries X and male if sperm carries Y)

Question 15

Describe the role of hormones in sex and gender

Answer 15

• Most gender development comes about through the influence of hormones
• At puberty, a burst of hormonal activity triggers the development of secondary sexual characteristics e.g pubic hair

Question 16

What are the 3 hormones which influence sex and gender?

Answer 16

- Testosterone: a male hormone which controls the development of male sex organs during foetal development
- Oestrogen: a primary female hormone that determines female sexual characteristics and menstruation
- Oxytocin (‘love hormone’): causes the contraction of the uterus during labour and stimulates lactation

Question 17

What is the influence of the Y chromosome on sex?

Answer 17

• The Y chromosome carries the ‘sex-determining region Y’ (SRY) gene
• SRY gene causes testes to develop in an XY embryo, which produces androgens (male sex hormones)

Question 18

How can testosterone influence sex?

Answer 18

• If a genetic male produces no testosterone during foetal development, no male sex organs appear
• If a genetic female produces high levels of testosterone during this time, male sex organs may appear

Question 19

AO3 for the role of chromosomes and hormones in sex and gender

Answer 19

1. Evidence for testosterone: Wang et al (2000) confirmed the link between testosterone and sexual aggression, gave 227 hypogonadal men (testes failure to produce testosterone) testosterone therapy for 180 days, observed changes in body shape, significant increases in muscle strength throughout sample, sexual function and libido/mood, shows that testosterone exerts a powerful and direct influence on male sexual arousal and physical development

2. Social factors ignored: Hofstede et al (2010) claimed that gender roles around the world a result of social norms rather than biology, equate masculinity and femininity with whether cultures individualistic or collectivist, countries that focus more on individual competition and independence above the community are more masculine in outlook e.g US and UK, traditional masculine traits more valued in these societies, suggests social factors can shape gender/attitudes

3. Reductionist: reducing gender to the level of chromosomes and hormones ignores/underplays alternative explanations, e.g cognitive approach draw attention to influence of thought processes such as schema which are not adequately explained by the biological model, psychodynamic approach would point to the importance of childhood experiences e.g family interaction, suggests gender more complex than biological influences

Question 20

What are atypical sex chromosome patterns?

Answer 20

Any sex chromosome pattern that deviates from the usual XX/XY formation, which tends to be associated with a distinct pattern of physical and psychological symptoms

Question 21

What is Klinefelter’s syndrome and how many people does it affect?

Answer 21

• A syndrome affecting biological males in which their genotype has an additional X chromosome (XXY)
• Affects 1 in 600 males

Question 22

What is Turner’s syndrome and how many people does it affect?

Answer 22

• A chromosomal disorder in which affected biological females have an absent X chromosome (XO)
• Affects approximately 1 in 5000 females

Question 23

What are 4 physical characteristics of Klinefelter’s syndrome?

Answer 23

• Gynaecomastia (breast development)
• Softening/rounding of body contours
• Long, gangly limbs
• Reduced body hair

Question 24

What are 4 psychological characteristics of Klinefelter’s syndrome?

Answer 24

• Poorly developed language skills
• Poor reading ability
• Passive/shy
• Do not respond well to stressful situations

Question 25

What are 5 physical characteristics of Turner’s syndrome?

Answer 25

• Amenorrhoea (absence of menstrual cycle)
• Low-set ears
• Webbed neck
• High waist-to-hip ratio
• Physically immature (appearance of prepubescent girl)

Question 26

What are 3 psychological characteristics of Turner’s syndrome?

Answer 26

• Higher than average reading ability
• Socially immature (difficulty fitting in)
• Low performance on spatial, visual memory and mathematical tasks

Question 27

AO3 for atypical sex chromosome patterns

Answer 27

1. Nature-nurture debate: comparing people with syndromes to chromosome-typical people makes it possible to see psychological and behavioural differences, can infer if the differences have a biological basis/direct result of chromosome structure, supports influence of innate nature influences
Counterpoint: differences in behaviour not casual, environmental and social influences may be responsible, e.g social immaturity from Turner’s syndrome due to them being treated immaturely by the people around them

2. Real-world application: can be applied to managing syndromes, continued research into sex chromosome patterns can lead to earlier and accurate diagnoses, leads to positive outcomes, Herlihy et al (2011) australian study of 87 people with Kinefelter’s showed that those identified and treated from young age experienced significant benefits in terms of managing syndrome compared to those diagnosed in adulthood, increased awareness has positive application

3. Sampling issue: in order to identify characteristics of the syndrome, must identify large number of individuals with the disorders and build a database, only people with most severe symptoms are identified, so picture of typical symptoms may be distorted, Boada et al (2009) identified that prospective studies, following individuals from birth, produced more accurate picture of the characteristics, many with Klinefelter’s do not experience significant cognitive/psychological problems, suggests that typical picture of the syndromes may be exaggerated