ATYPICAL GENDER DEVELOPMENT (GENDER DYSPHORIA): SOCIAL EXPLANATIONS

Question 1

Psychoanalytic theory

Answer 1

• that argues that GD arises due to a child experiencing extreme separation anxiety before their gender identity has formed.
• To alleviate this anxiety, they fantasise a symbolic fusion with their mother effectively becoming her, leading to the adoption of a female gender identity.

Question 2

Liben and Bigler

Answer 2

• proposed the dual pathway theory, whereby one pathway is gender development being
  affected by schema (gender schema theory).
• The second pathway is gender development being affected by the child’s own activities and interests
• If a child’s personal pursuits are more significant to them than their gender, their gender schemas will be affected, leading to androgyny or GD in children.

Question 3

One limitation of psychoanalytic theory is that there is opposing research.

Answer 3

• For example, Rekers argues that gender disturbances in boys are more likely to be associated with the absence of the father.
• This contradicts the ideas of the psychoanalytic theory which suggests that boys suffer disturbances due to separation anxiety with their mothers, and instead suggests that it is due to the father.
• Therefore, decreasing the validity of the theory.
• Furthermore, we can’t measure separation anxiety therefore meaning that the theory lacks scientific credibility as it is non-falsifiable, and socially sensitive as it suggests that it is caused by biological factors, and puts pressure on mothers for the child to have typical GD

Question 4

One limitation of cognitive explanation is that it lacks explanatory power.

Answer 4

• For example, Liben and Bigler
  theory describes how someone becomes interested in activities that are not consistent with their sex, not how GD actually comes about.
• This means that the cognitive explanation can not actually explain how GD is caused and only explains how people act with GD.
• This is a disadvantage as the theory is highly descriptive, unlike the biological explanation for GD which actually explains how GD is caused by candidate genes and brain structures.