A2 Gender Flashcards
how is the sex of a baby determined
all eggs carry an x chromosome and half of sperm carry a y and half carry an x chromosome.
if and X sperm fertilises the egg= girl
if Y sperm fertilised the egg = boy
what is the sex determining region Y and where does it come from?
The y chromosome carries the SRY gene and it causes testes to develop in xy embryo.
this produces androgens (male sex hormones) causing the embryo to become male
what 2 stages are hormones produced?
- prenatally for brain development and sex development
- in adolescence a surge of hormone during puberty leads to secondary sexual characteristics like pubic hair
what is Testosterone and how is it linked to agression
male hormone which contols the development of male sex organs during Foetal development.
agression towards rivals allowed men to compete with others to get the most fertile female
outline oestrogen
a female hormone that determines female sexual characteristics and menstruation
O can cause women to be more emotional and irritable on their cycle - premenstrual tension
explain oxytocin
women produce it more especially after giving birth
stimulates lactation and makes mums feel in love with their new baby.
men lack this hormone creating the sterotype that men hate intimacy in relationships
How does SLT work for determining our gender
we learn gender appropriate behaviour by observing and imitating others.
we identify with the same sex role model and internalise and imitate their gender appropriate behvaiour.
A03 evaluation of the role of chromosomes and hormones
1.1evidence to support. david reimer penis burnt off,parents raised him as a girl, got depressed when older, found the truth, immediately changed back to male. though he was nurtured as female couldnt deny his biology as male
2.research against. Mead found tribe in papua NG W/ opposite gender roles to males were domestic and decorative and women were hunters. Gender must not have a biological basis as its not culturally consistent
- Reductionist. reduces gender to the level of chromosomes and hormones. when theres other factors that can explain gender
How does vicarious reinforcement work for gender?
we are more likely to imitate gender appropriate behaviour if we have seen it be rewarded. if gender inappropriate behaviour is punished we wont recreate
what are the mediational processes
Attention
retention
motor reproduction
motivation
A03 evaluation of social learning theory approach of gender
- Smith and lloyd 4-6 month old baby dressed in boy clothes half the time and girl clothes the other half. Adults gave babies they thought were boys hammer and girls a doll and were told they were pretty and passive
2.no longer a clear cut between stereotypically masculine and feminine roles like there was in the 1950’s . can be explained by a shift in social norms. theres been no change in peoples biology so SLT is better explanation
- Slt doesnt explain how learning changes with age. SLt states modelling of gender app. behaviours occur from birth onwards . THis is illogical as children who are two dont learn like children who are 9.contradicts kohlberg who says children dont become active in their gender until gender constancy
What is the difference between sex and gender?
Sex is recognised by different chromosomes which determine reproductive organs
Gender is the psychological status of either masculine or feminine
What are sex role sterotypes
A set of ideas about behaviours that are appropriate for males and females. Agreed upon in society
How are sex role stereotypes developed
SLT: observation and imitation of same sex role models and then vicarious reinforcement
Give 3 examples of where sex role stereotypes come from
Media
Parents
Institutions
Why is being androgynous healthier than just masculine or feminine
They are better equipped to adapt to a range of situations. Non androgynous people have a narrow range of traits to draw from.
Outline one way of measuring androgyny
Bem devised the sex role inventory as a measure of androgyny
60 part questionnaire with 20masc , 20 fem, 20 neutral
And respondents rate themselves on a 7 point scale. And divide both the masc and fem sets by 20
above 4.9 for both means they are androgenous
A03 evaluation of androgyny and the bsri
1.lacks temporal validity. devised using gender norms of the 1970’s. societys perception of whats masc and fem has altered over the last 40 years. not applicable
2.BSRI is culturally bias. categories were devised by American judges so it represents their perception of masc/fem. e.g dominance is a masc trait but maybe fem in other cultures
- bem states androgynous people aremor psychologically healthy but this has been challenged as researchers found people with more masculine traits are better adjusted and more valued in western society
kohlbergs theory stage 1:
age 2
gender identity
children know they are a boy or girl and can identify others as male or female
they are unaware that gender is permanent
kohlbergs theory stage 2
at age 4 they have gender stability.
they realise that they will stay the same gender over time but cant apply this logic to others.
they are confused by external changes in appearance
Kohlbergs theory stage 3
at age 6 they reach gender constancy
gender remains consistent over time for everyone
they are no longer fooled by outward changes in appearance.
they look for gender appropriate role models to identify with
A03 evaluation of kohlbergs theory
- slaby and frey showed a split screen of males and females performing tasks. youngers spent equal time looking at male and females whereas kids age 6 spent more time looking at the same sex
- research against gender constancy. Bussey and bandura found children as young as 4 felt good about playing with gender appropriate toys and bad with gender inappropriate. kohlberg says this is too early
- methodological issues w kohlbergs research.
he did a structured interview with children as young 2, about their understanding of gender. they may have complex ideas of gender but not the verbal capacity to express it
whats the difference between children taking an active and passive role in their gender?
active: active interest in discovering gender appropriate behaviour
passive: childrens understanding develops without their effort
what is a gender schema?
a package of beliefs someone holds about gender appropriate and inappropriate behaviour based on experience
difference between ingroups and outgroups
their group is the ingroup
the opposite sex is the outgroup
how and when do children develop their gender schema
at age 2 children have gender identity and actively seek out information about how members of their group should behave e.g toys and activities
the child ignores those who do not relate to their group e.g boys ignore girly toys
what a schemas formed around and how does this effect experience?
young children’s schemas are formed around stereotypes and serve as a framework for their experiences
e.g the boys know that boys play with trucks so he must too
A03 evaluation of gender schema theory
- evidence to support. halverson found kids under 6 were more likely to remember pics of stereotypical gender app behaviour than inappropriate. when asked to recall inapp behaviour they changed the gender
- gender identity may occur earlier. a longitudinal study of 82s found they could label themselves as a boy or girl at 18 months as soon as they learnt to communicate. they have it b4 but cant express it
3.accounts for cultural differences in stereotypical behaviour. trad cultures with woman and homemaker and man as breadwinner different gender schema so difference in behaviours being performes
outline klinefelters syndrome
they are biologically male but have an extra x chromosome
structure : XXY
2/3 of people who have it unaware
name 2 physical and 2 psychological symptoms of klinefelters syndrome
reduced body hair
underdeveloped genitals or problems with clumsiness
poorly developed language skills and reading abilitiy
passive and lack interest in sexual activity
outline turners syndrome
turners syndrome is caused by an absence of one of the 2 allotted chromosomes
structure is xo
they are biologically female and have 45 chromosomes instead of 46
outline 2 physical and 2 psychological features of turners syndrome
no menstrual cycle as their ovaries failed to develop
low set ears and webbed neck
higher than average reading ability
socially immature: have problems fitting in
A03 evaluation of atypical chromosomal patterns
- contributes to N vs N debate. Without looking at ATCP we cant compare behaviours specific to males and females that have a biological basis e.g turners syndrome higher than average reading ability. these have a chromosomal basis
- issues with cause and effect, it may be environmental differences that are responsible for behavioural differences. e.g social immaturity found in turner syndrome may be because people treat them immaturely due to the pre pubescent body
- people who suffere from these conditions are rare: turner : 1/5000 females. this makes it hard to study and make meaningful generalisations
why do we study atypical chromosome patterns
for comparisons with individuals with typical sex chromosome patterns
can make inferences about nature vs nurture of gender development as there should be differences between atypical and typical.
what age does freud suggest that gender development occurs
in the phallic stage between 3-6
how does gender development occur in the phallic stage
the focus of pleasure is the genitals
gender identity starts when they pay attention to others genitals and notice physical differences between men and women.
they develop and Oedipus and electra complex and the overcome it
A03 evaluation of the psychodynamic approach to gender
- socially sensitive. Freud said nuclear family is required to manage the complex effectively otherwise an adverse effect on the child’s gender development. this was proven false and creates negative stereotypes on lone parents
- freud theory is androcentric. developed using little hans to explain male gender development and someone else applied it to females. behaviour judged according to male norms ignore differences between men and women.
- psychodynamic approach is pseudoscientific, uses case studies. the data is subjective and open to interpretation so its not accurate. concepts like oedipus complex are untestable due to unconscious nature
how might culture affect gender
it determines what norms and values are appropriate for males and females which is the observed and imitated.
if a particular gender role behaviour appears to be consistent in different cultures what can we conclude?
this represents innate biological differences between men and women
if gender roles behaviour are culturally specific we can assume the influence of shared norms
outline one study of cultural differences
Mead examined tribes in Papua new Guinea
and found they had reversed gender roles to the west. the men were more domestic and decorative and the women were hunters
outline one study of cultural similarities in gender roles
Buss found consistent patterns in mate preferences in 37 countries across all continents
women sought men who could offer wealth
men south women with youth and physical attractiveness.
A03 evaluation of the role of culture and gender on media
cross cultural research cannot solve the nature vs nurture debate. as soon as a child is born into a society, socialisation into their roles begins so its hard to see what gender behaviours are innate.
difficult to establish cause and effect about the influence of media on gender role stereotypes. maybe media has led to output of gender norms or gender norms in the media are a reflection of existing society.
Williams investigated a small canadian towns. NOtel (no tv), UNItel(one tv) and MULTItel. to begin NOtel and UNItel had less gender role stereotypes than Multitel but once they got signal they developed stereotyopes
How might the media affect gender roles
they provide role models that children want to identify with and imitate
they imitate same sex role models that engage in gender appropriate behaviour
how does the media affect self efficacy
seeing other people perform gender appropriate behaviour increases the belief that they are able to perform such behaviour in the future
new detective drama in india designed to challenge stereotypes was made the study found girls who watched the drama were more likely to see themselves working outside of the home
explain what is meant by gender dysphoria
persistent feelings of identification with the opposite gender and discomfort with one’s own assigned sex.
they desire to live as members of the opposite sex and act like the opposite gender
Name 2 biological explanations of gender dysphoria
brain sex theory
genetic factors
Name 2 social explanations of gender dysphoria
psychoanalytic theory
social constructionism
outline the genetic factors of gender dysphoria
theres a strong heritable component to gender dysphoria. Heylens et al compared 23 Mz twins with 23 Dz twins where one of each was diagnosed with gender dysphoria.
9 MZ twins shared gender dysphoria whereas 0 DZ shared it
explain the brain sex theory of gender dysphoria
zhou et al studied the bed nucleus of the stria terminals which is fully developedat age 5 and 40% larger in males than females.
In post mortems of 6 MTF transgenders the BSTc was found to be the size of that in females
gender dysphoria is caused by brain structures thatare incompatible with someones bio sex
Ao3 evaluations of the biological explanations of gender dysphoria
one weakness if there’s other brain differences. Rametti studied white matter (deeper tissues of the brain). he analysed the brains of transgenders before they began hormone therapy. the distribution of white matter corresponded more closely to the gender that the individuals wanted to be than their biogical sex.
weakness is contradictory evidence for the BSTc. Zhou claimed it was fully developed at age 5 so hormone therapy wouldn’t affect it. but chung et al found transgender hormone therapy did affect the size of the BSTc
explain the psychoanalytic theory as an explanation of gender dysphoria
oversey and person say its caused in little boys when they experience extreme separation anxiety before gender identity has been established. the child fantasises about symbiotic fusion with his mother to relieve the anxiety leading to the child adopting a female identity
explain the social constructionism explanation of gender dysphoria
this says gender dysphoria doesn’t represent underlying physical differences between people but is invented by society.
confusion arises when society forces people to be either a man or a woman. gender dysphoria isnt a pathological condition but a social phenomenon that arises when people must pick a side
A03 evaluation of psychoanalytic theory
gender dysphoria theory is incomplete. oversey and person does explain GD in females, only applies to MTF. rekers found that gender dysphoria in AMAB is associated with absence of a father rather than fear of separation from a mother
