4.3.3 - Gender

Question 1

Define sex

Answer 1

The biological differences between males and females.
It is innate and cannot be changed.

e.g. chromosomes, hormones, anatomy

Question 2

Define gender

Answer 2

The psychological and cultural differences between males and females.
May be a learned concept, and is more fluid and can change.

e.g. attitudes, behaviours, social role

Question 3

Define gender dysphoria

Answer 3

When an individuals biological sex does not reflect how they feel on the inside and the gender they identify as being.

Question 4

What did Imperato-Mcginley (1974) find?

Answer 4

He investigated the Batista boys and found that:
→ 4 of the children were identified as girls at birth but ‘changed’ into males at puberty (their vaginas closed up, testicles appeared and they grew normal sized penis’).
→ A crucial chemical step was missed (hormone dihydrotestosterone) which would normally externalise the male genitalia.
→ The boys originally had a female gender identity but had few problems abandoning this and quickly adapted to new male roles.
→ This suggests gender identity could be flexible rather than fixed.

Question 5

Define sex role stereotypes

Answer 5

A set of beliefs and preconceived ideas about what is expected or appropriate for males or females within a society or culture.

Question 6

Gender dysphoria research support?

Answer 6

Julie Bakker:
→ MRI scanned 160 transgender people diagnosed with gender dysphoria who were children and teens.
→ Used diffusion tensor imaging.
→ Brain scans were compared to people of a similar age who did not have gender dysphoria.
→ The study found that transgender boys’ brain activity resembled cisgender boys’, and transgender girls’ brains resembled cisgender girls’.

Could help transgender children at an earlier age.

Question 7

Define androgyny

Answer 7

A balance of both masculine and feminine traits, attitudes and behaviours.

“Androgyny is not trying to manage the relationship between the opposites, it is simply flowing between them”

Question 8

What did Sandra Bem suggest about androgyny?

Answer 8

High androgyny is associated with psychological well-being as individuals who are (psychologically)

Question 9

What is the inventory called for measuring gender?

Answer 9

The Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI)

Question 10

What is the Bem Sex Role Inventory?

Answer 10

→The first systematic attempt to measure androgyny using a rating sale of 60 traits (20 masculine, 20 feminine, 20 neutral).
→Respondants rated themselves on a seven-point rating scale for each item (1 is “Never true of me” and 7 is “Always true of me”).
→This produced scores across 2 dimensions:
1. masculinity-femininity
2. androgynous-undifferentiated

Over 1000 students tested.
Bem found that more people were androgynous than at the extremes.

Question 11

Evaluation of BEM?

Answer 11

:) - The scale appears to be valid and reliable (test-retest reliability)
:) - Quantitative data is easy to analyse
:( - Issues with using questionnaires (social desirability bias)
:( - Bem oversimplifies a complex concept

Question 12

What is a chromosome?

Answer 12

Found in the nucleus of living cells and carrying information in the form of genes.

Question 13

What is a hormone?

Answer 13

A biochemical substance that circulates in the blood but only affects target organs.

Question 14

What is testosterone?

Answer 14

A hormone from the androgen group that is produced mainly in the male testes. Associated with aggressiveness.

Question 15

What is oestrogen?

Answer 15

The primary female hormone, playing an important role in the menstrual cycle and reproductive system.

• Causes some women to experience heightened emotionality and irritability during their menstrual cycle - this is referred to as PMS (premenstrual syndrome) when these effects become a diagnosable disorder.

Question 16

What is oxytocin?

Answer 16

A hormone which causes contraction of the uterus during labour and stimulates lactation.

• reduces the stress hormone cortisol and facilitates bonding (named the ‘love’ hormone).
• the fact men produce less of this hormone fuelled the popular stereotype that men are less interested in intimacy and closeness.

Question 17

What is the role of chromosomes?

Answer 17

46 chromosomes in body (23 pairs)
The last pair determines the sex (XX XY)

Question 18

What is the role of hormones?

Answer 18

• Prenatally in the womb, hormones act upon brain development and cause development of the reproductive organs.
• At puberty, a burst of hormonal activity triggers the development of secondary sexual characteristics such as pubic hair.
• Males and females produce many of the same hormones but in different concentrations.

Question 19

What is the case of David Reimer?

Answer 19

-Following a horrifically botched circumcision operation at 6 months, Bruce Reimer was left without a penis.
-As he grew up, Bruce’s progress was monitored by John Money, but was never told about his gender re-assignment.
-When told, Brenda (as Bruce was known) immediately went back to living as a man (and renamed himself David) as she had never adjusted to female life.
-David committed suicide in 2014 due to the trauma.

Question 20

Evaluation of the role of chromosomes and hormones in gender

Answer 20

:) Evidence for testosterone (Christina Wang et al. 2000 )
:( Other evidence for testosterone is less convincing (Daryl O’Connor et al. 2004 - found that in ‘normal’ adults, additional testosterone has no effects on their sexual or aggressive behaviour).

:( Biological accounts ignore the role of social factors in gender-related behaviour

:( Biological explanations of gender can be reductionist - for example the cognitive approach would suggest schemas have an influence on gender, which have been ignored (suggests gender is more complex than just biological influences).

Question 21

What are atypical chromosome patterns?

Answer 21

Any pattern deviating from the usual xx / xy formation.

Question 22

What is Klinefelter’s syndrome?

Answer 22

A syndrome affecting males in which their genotype has an extra X chromosome (XXY instead of XY). Affects around 1 in 600 males.

Question 23

What are the physical characteristics of Klinefelter’s syndrome?

Answer 23

-Breast development at puberty
-Softening or rounding of body contours
-Long gangly limbs
-Under-developed genitals
-Reduced body hair
-Problems with co-ordination and clumsiness
-Susceptible to more female prone problems, e.g. breast cancer

Question 24

What are the Psychological characteristics of Klinefelter’s syndrome?

Answer 24

-Poorly developed language skills
-Poor reading ability
-Passive and shy
-Lack interest in sexual activity
-Problems with ‘executive functions’ e.g. memory & problem solving

Question 25

What is Turners syndrome?

Answer 25

A chromosomal disorder in which affected women have only one X chromosome (XO instead of XX). Affects around 1 in 5000 women.

Question 26

What are the physical characteristics of Turner’s syndrome?

Answer 26

-Do not have a menstrual cycle (amenorrhoea)
-Infertile
-Do not develop breasts (broad shield chest)
-Webbed neck
-High waist-to-hip ratio. Hips are not much bigger than waist
-Physically immature, look like prepubescent girls

Question 27

What are the psychological characteristics of Turner’s syndrome?

Answer 27

-Higher than average reading ability
-Spatial, visual memory and mathematic performance is lower than usual
-Socially immature

Question 28

Evaluation of Atypical sex chromosomes

Answer 28

:) Contributes to the nature-nurture debate - By comparing those with atypical chromosomes and those with typical, it becomes possible to see the psychological and behavioural differences between the two groups. Supports the nature side of the argument.
:( Counterpoint ↑ Issues leading to this conclusion. Those with Turner’s syndrome may be socially immature because they’re treated immaturely by society. Supports the nurture side of the argument.
:) Real world application - Continued research into it is likely to lead to earlier diagnoses of the conditions as well as more positive outcomes in the future. Herlihy et al 2011 found that those diagnosed earlier have more significant benefits.
:( Sampling issues - There isn’t a large number of people who suffer with these conditions therefore it is a small sample size. Some typical symptoms may be distorted, Richard Boada et al 2009. Typical picture of the syndromes may be exaggerated.

Question 29

What is Kohlberg’s theory?

Answer 29

Lawrence Kohlberg (1966) cognitive-development theory of gender is based on the idea that a child’s understanding of gender becomes more sophisticated with age. It comes as a result of a biological maturation, as the brain matures, so does thinking.

Question 30

What is Gender Identity? (stage 1)

Answer 30

Around the age of 2, Kohlberg proposed that children are able to correctly identify themselves boy or girl. They are not aware it is permanent. It is just basic labelling from a picture.

Question 31

What is Gender Stability? (stage 2)

Answer 31

Around age 4, This comes with the realisation that they will always stay the same gender. They cannot apply this logic to other people. They are often confused of external changes in appearance.

Question 32

What is Gender Constancy? (stage 3)

Answer 32

Final stage of development, around the age of 6. They recognise gender stays constant across time and situations, this understanding is applied to other people as well. They are no longer fooled by changes in outward appearance. Children begin to seek out gender-appropriate role models to identify with and imitate. Gender stereotyping occurs at this age.

Question 33

Evaluation of Kohlberg’s Gender Theory

Answer 33

:) Research support - William Damon (1977) told children a story about a boy who played with dolls, 4 year olds said it was fine that he played with dolls, 6 year olds said it was wrong. This supports gender constancy
:( Counterpoint - Kay Bussey & Albert Bandura found that children as young as 4 stated they ‘felt good’ about playing with gender appropriate toys and ‘bad’ about playing with not gender appropriate toys
:( Methodological problems - supporting research relies on unsatisfactory methods to assess gender constancy. Sandra Bem has criticised the methodology used in many studies of the link between gender and cognitive development. In her own study 40% of children aged 3-5 years were able to demonstrate constancy if they were shown naked photos of children. This suggests Kohlberg’s research may misrepresent younger children.
:( There may be different levels of gender constancy according to Carol Martin et al.

Question 34

What is a gender schema?

Answer 34

An organised set of beliefs and expectations related to gender that are deprived from experience. Such schema guide a person’s understanding of their own gender and gender-appropriate behaviour

Question 35

What did Martin and Halverson say about the gender schema after gender identity?

Answer 35

Once a child around 2 or 3 has established gender identity, schema are likely to be formed around stereotypes. These provide a framework that directs experience.
By 6 years old, children have a fixed and stereotypical idea about what is appropriate for their gender.

Question 36

What does the ‘ingroup’ mean?

Answer 36

A group to which a person identifies as being a member.
Children tend to have a better understanding of the schema that are appropriate to their own gender. This is the idea that children pay attention to their own gender identity not the opposite.

Question 37

What does the ‘outgroup’ mean?

Answer 37

A group to which an individual does not identify.
The opposite gender. Children only develop an elaborate schema for both genders around 8 years old

Question 38

Evaluation of the Gender Schema Theory

Answer 38

:) - Its key principles are supported by evidence. Martin and Halverson (1983) found children are more likely to remember photographs of gender-consistent behaviour than photographs of gender-inconsistent behaviour which shows their memory may be distorted to fit with existing gender schema.
:) - Accounts for the fact young children tend to hold very rigid gender attitudes - can explain many aspects of young children’s thinking about gender which in turn 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐯𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐢𝐭𝐲.
:) - Contradicts with Kohlberg’s theory - a number of studies don’t support Kohlberg suggesting the gender schema theory may be a more accurate explanation of a child’s gender development.
:( - Overemphasis on cognitive factors - ignores the role of social factors.
:( - Key assumptions not supported - lacks validity.

Question 39

What is the Gender Schema Theory?

Answer 39

• A cognitive-developmental theory.
• Children’s understanding of gender increases with age.
• Children develop their understanding of gender by actively structuring their own learning, rather than passively observing and imitating role models.

Question 40

What are the 5 psychosexual stages?

Answer 40

1. Oral
2. Anal
3. Phallic
4. Latency
5. Genital

Question 41

What psychosexual stage does gender development occur in?

Answer 41

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐡𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐜 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐠𝐞 - Focus of pleasure is on genitals. Children experience Oedipus or Electra Complex.

Pre-phallic children do not have concept of Gender Identity
They are ‘Bi-sexual’ -Neither masculine nor feminine.

Question 42

What is the Oedipus complex?

Answer 42

• Little boys have incestuous feelings for their mother.
• A resentment of their father as he is their rival.
• Boy realises father is more powerful and may castrate him (castration anxiety).
• Conflict is resolved by giving up love for mother and identifying with his father (identifying with the aggressor).

Question 43

What is the Electra complex?

Answer 43

• Little girls have penis envy and are in competition for their father’s love.
• Have a resentment of her mother as they are her rival.
• Blame mother for lack of penis (believes their mother castrated them).
• Over time girls come to accept they will never have a penis and substitute penis envy for desire to have children.
• Identify with mother as a result.

Question 44

What is identification in the psychodynamic theory?

Answer 44

At the end of the phallic stage, children identify with the same-sex parent through internalisation.

Question 45

What is internalisation in the psychodynamic theory?

Answer 45

At the end of the phallic stage, they take on gender identity of same-sex parent through internalisation e.g. daughter identifies as a girl.

Question 46

Case study of Little Hans?

Answer 46

Provides evidence for Oedipus complex.

• 5 year old boy with phobia of horses was scared of being bitten after seeing one collapse in the street.
• Freud suggested the phobia was a form of displacement and his actual fear was his father.
• Horses were merely a symbolic representation of Hans’ real unconscious fear of castration during the Oedipus complex.

Question 47

Evaluation of psychodynamic explanation of gender?

Answer 47

:( - Little research support - Blakemore and Jill (2008) found that boys with more liberal fathers tend to be more secure in their masculine identity.
:( - Lack of explanation of female development - Karen Horney’s suggestion of ‘womb envy’ for males ignored by Freud even though ‘penis envy’ is criticised as reflecting the patriarchal society Freud lived in. Suggests it is an androcentric assumption (Gender/Alpha Bias).
:( - Does not account for non-nuclear families - relies on the child having 2 parents of different genders.
:( - Lack of scientific rigour.

Question 48

What is SLT and gender?

Answer 48

SLT emphases the role that social context plays and states that all behaviour, including gender, is learnt from observing others.
It therefore focuses upon the role of nurture.

Question 49

Types of reinforcement in SLT?

Answer 49

Direct reinforcement
Indirect reinforcement

Question 50

What is direct reinforcement?

Answer 50

Children are more likely to be reinforced (praised and encouraged) for demonstrating gender-appropriate behaviour.

Behaviours that are reinforced are then imitated - children are more likely to imitate behaviour that has been reinforced.

Question 51

What is differential reinforcement?

Answer 51

How children learn gender identity - the way in which boys and girls are encouraged to show distinct gender-appropriate behaviour.

Can be direct or indirect.

Question 52

What is indirect reinforcement?

Answer 52

Also known as vicarious reinforcement.

• If consequences of another’s behaviour are favourable, that behaviour is more likely to be imitated by a child. (motivation)
  e.g. a girl seeing a mother receive compliments for wearing nice makeup.
• If consequences are unfavourable (punishment) behaviour is less likely to be imitated.
  e.g. seeing a classmate being teased for being sensitive.

Question 53

What is identification in SLT?

Answer 53

Process where a child attaches themselves to a person who is seen to be ‘like me’ or because a person is like someone ‘I want to be’.

• these people are role models.
• may be in immediate environment or media.
• attractive, high status and and usually same sex as child.

Question 54

What is modelling in SLT?

Answer 54

The demonstration of a behaviour that may be initiated by an observer.
e.g. a mother may model stereotypically feminine behaviour whilst cleaning the house.

Question 55

What are the 4 mediational processes?

Answer 55

Central to the learning of gendered behaviour:

1. Attention - how much the child noticed the gendered behaviour.
2. Retention - how well the child remembered the gendered behaviour.
3. Motivation - If the gendered behaviour is seen to be rewarding.
4. Motor Reproduction - If the child physically capable of carrying out the model’s behaviour.

Question 56

Evaluation of SLT and gender?

Answer 56

:) - Supporting evidence - (Smith and Lloyd 1978) Found that gendered-appropriate behaviour is stamped in at an early age through differential reinforcement.
:) - Explains changing gender roles - In current Western society there is less distinction between stereotypical masculine and feminine behaviour. This shows that new forms of gender-appropriate behaviour have been enforced which can’t be explained by biological factors.
:( - Not developmental - Does not provide adequate explanation of how learning processes change with age.
:( - Doesn’t consider biological approach - little emphasis on genes and hormones.

Question 57

Define culture

Answer 57

The ideas, customs and social behaviour of a particular group of people or society.

Question 58

Define media

Answer 58

Communication channels, such as TV, film and books, through which news, entertainment, education and data are made available.

Question 59

Define gender roles

Answer 59

A set of behaviours and attitudes that are considered appropriate for one gender and inappropriate for another.

Question 60

How does cross-cultural research impact the nature-nurture debate?

Answer 60

Universal similarities in gender-role behaviour support Nature (suggests gender is innate).

Universal differences in gender-role behaviour support Nurture (suggest gender is learned).

Question 61

What did Margaret Mead (1935) find?

Answer 61

Studied gender roles of cultural groups on the island of Samoa:

➙ The Arapesh were gentle and responsive (similar to the stereotype of femininity in industrialised societies).
➙ The Mundugumor were aggressive and hostile (similar to the stereotype of masculinity in industrialised societies).
➙ The Tchambuli women were dominant and they organised village life, men were passive and considered to be ‘decorative’ (the reverse of the stereotype of masculinity in industrialised areas).

Question 62

What cultural differences did Margaret Mead’s study suggest?

Answer 62

That there might not be a direct biological relationship between sex and gender and that gender roles may be culturally determined.

Question 63

What cultural similarities did David Buss (1995) find ?

Answer 63

He found consistent patterns in mate preference (a kind of gender role behaviour) in 37 countries across all continents.
In all cultures, women sought men who could offer wealth and resources, whilst men looked for youth and physical attractiveness in a potential partner.

Question 64

What cultural similarities did Munroe and Munroe (1975) find?

Answer 64

Revealed that in most societies, division of labour is organised along gender lines (with males typically the ‘breadwinners’ and the females often the ‘nurturers’).

Question 65

What evidence is there to show that the media provide very clear rigid gender stereotypes?

Answer 65

In the media, men are independent, ambitious ‘advice-givers’, whereas women are depicted as dependent, unambitious ‘advice seekers’. (Bussey and Bandura 1999)

A study of TV adverts by Adrian Furnham and Elena Farragher (2000) found that men were more likely to be shown in autonomous roles with professional contexts whereas women were often seen occupying familial roles with domestic settings.

This suggests the media may play a role in reinforcing widespread social stereotypes concerning male and female behaviour.

Question 66

How does self-efficacy link to the media?

Answer 66

• Media does not just confirm gender-typical behaviour.
• It also gives information to males and females in terms of the likely success of adopting these behaviours.
• Seeing other people perform gender-appropriate behaviours increase the child’s belief that they are capable of carrying out such behaviours.

This is also known as self-efficacy (Bandura)

Question 67

Evaluation of culture and gender roles?

Answer 67

:( - Cross cultural research and Imposed Etic - Cross-cultural research is usually undertaken by western researchers who take indigenous populations as the object of their study. They may impose their own cultural interests and understanding on those they are studying.
:( - Mead’s research - Has been criticised for observer bias. Freeman (1983) said that Mead had been influenced by her own preconceptions and had been misled by some ppts.
:( - Nature or nurture - Nature and nurture are always interacting and it could be argued that they both play a role in gender development (interactionist approach).

Question 68

Evaluation of the media and gender roles?

Answer 68

:) - Cultivation theory - Has a theoretical basis. Cultivation theory argues the more time people spend ‘living’ in the media world, the more likely they are to believe that is reflects social reality. Bond and Drogos (2014) found this to be true suggesting the media ‘cultivates’ perception of reality and this effects gender behaviour.
:( - May not be causal - Kevin Durkin (1985) Believed that if media representations confirm existing gender norms held by family, then these are likely to be reinforced in the child’s mind. If not, then such representations are likely to be rejected. Suggests that media influences are secondary to other influences such as family.

Question 69

Biological explanations for gender dysphoria?

Answer 69

𝐁𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐱 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐲: suggests that dysphoria is caused by specific brain structures that are incompatible with a person’s biological sex.

Zhou (1995) studied the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BSTc) which is dimorphic, and found through post-mortems that individuals who had received feminising hormones had a similar sized BSTc to one of a heterosexual woman.
The BSTc provides evidence for a neurobiological basis of gender dysphoria and proposed that such was determined before birth.

𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐟𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐬:
Coolidge et al (2002) assessed 157 twin pairs for evidence of gender identity disorder using the clinical diagnosis of criteria in DSM-4. They found that 62% of the variance could be accounted for by genetic variance.
This suggests that there is a strong heritable component to GID.

Question 70

What is the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis?

Answer 70

A part of the limbic system in the brain involved in anxiety in response to threat monitoring.

Question 71

Evaluation of biological explanations for gender dysphoria?

Answer 71

:( Contradictory evidence for BSTc
- 𝐇𝐮𝐥𝐬𝐡𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐏𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐥 (𝟐𝟎𝟎𝟔) studied changes in transgender individuals’ brains using MRI scans taken during hormone treatment. The scans showed that the size of the BST changed significantly over that period. This suggests changes in the BSTc may have been an effect of hormone therapy rather than the cause of Gender Dysphoria.
- 𝐂𝐡𝐮𝐧𝐠 (𝟐𝟎𝟎𝟐) claims that the pre-natal hormone influences (that affect the size of the BSTc) are not triggered until adulthood.

:) Other brain differences
- 𝐑𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐢 (𝟐𝟎𝟏𝟏) studied another sexually dimorphic aspect of the brain (white matter). He studied the brains of both male and female transgender individuals before they began hormone treatment. Found that the amount and distribution of white matter corresponded closer to the gender they identified themselves as rather than their biological sex.

:( Twin studies inconclusive - small sample size, hard to separate impact of nature and nurture.
:( Biological explanations inconclusive - biological determinism, interactionist explanation may be more relevent in gender dysphoria.

Question 72

Social-psychological explanations for gender dysphoria?

Answer 72

𝐏𝐬𝐲𝐜𝐡𝐨𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐲𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐨𝐫𝐲
𝐒𝐨𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐦

Question 73

Psychoanalytic explanation of gender dysphoria?

Answer 73

𝑶𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒆𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑷𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒐𝒏 (1973) have argued that GID in males is caused by the child experiencing extreme separation anxiety before gender identity is established.
- The child fantasies a symbolic fusion with his mother to relieve the anxiety, and the danger of separation is removed.
- The consequence of this is that the child, in a very real sense, becomes the mother so adopts a female gender identity.]

𝑺𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒓 (1973) offers support for this theory - in interviews with GID males, they were seen to display overly close mother-son relationships that would lead to greater female identification + confused gender identity in the long-term.

Question 74

Social constructionism as an explanation of gender dysphoria?

Answer 74

Gender identity does not reflect underlying biological differences between people. Differences in gender are ‘invented’ by societies (Social Constructs).
For those with gender dysphoria ‘confusion’ arises as society forces people to be either male or female and act accordingly.
Dysphoria is not a biological condition but a social one which arises when people are required to choose one of two paths.

McClintock(2015) - Case of individuals in Sambia, New Guinea with genetic condition. Biological males categorised as girls at birth because they had female genitals but changed at puberty due to increase in testosterone. Common among the Sambia and was accepted that some people are men, some are women, and some are kwolu-aatmwol (females then males).
Since this culture has had contact with the West however, kwolu-aatmol are now judged as having a pathological form of gender dysphoria.

Question 75

Evaluation of psychoanalytic explanation?

Answer 75

:( Does not provide adequate account of GD in females - androcentric.
:( Cannot be scientifically observed or tested - unfalsifiable.
:( No way of verifying if a repressed fantasy that triggers GID has occurred unless independent evidence is available.

Question 76

Evaluation of social constructionism?

Answer 76

:) Face validity.
:) Not all cultures have 2 genders which challenges traditional notions of male and female.
→ Increasing non-binary individuals suggesting cultural understanding is beginning to ‘catch up’ with the lived experience of many suggesting that gender identity (and dysphoria) is best seen as a social construction rather than a biological fact.
:( Environmentally deterministic.
:( Ethnocentric.

Question 77

What did Sandra Bem suggest about androgyny?

Answer 77

• High androgyny is associated with psychological well-being as individuals who are (psychologically) both masculine and feminine in roughly equal measure, are better equipped to adapt to a range of situations.
• Non-androgynous people find this more difficult as they have a narrower range of traits to draw on.