Chapter 12 Flashcards
Genetic/genotypic sex
And phenotypic/biological sex
And gender/ psychological sex
Genetic/genotypic sex
Determined by the presences or absences of the X and Y
chromosome
Phenotypic/biological sex
• Refers to the presences of internal and external genitalia, as well as the expression of other secondary sex characteristics.
Gender/psychological sex
Gender refers to the characteristics of women, men, girls and boys that are socially constructed. This includes norms, behaviours and roles associated with being a woman, man, girl or boy, as well as relationships with each other. As a social construct, gender varies from society to society and can change over time.
Biological, Social, and Cognitive Influences on Gender
What is gender, gender identity, gender roles, gender typing?
Gender: characteristics of people as males and females.
Gender identity: a sense of one’s own gender, including knowledge, understanding, and acceptance of being male or female.
Gender roles: sets of expectations that prescribe how females or males should think, act, and feel.
Gender typing: acquisition of a traditional masculine or feminine role.
What age does gender identity likely emerge?
Use of gender labels linked to…
Gender identity likely emerges before 2 years old.
Use of gender labels was linked to gender-typed play, suggesting that knowledge of gender categories may affect gender typing earlier than 2 years old.
Gender is most influenced by two classes of hormones: what are they
Gender is most influenced by two classes of hormones: estrogens and androgens.
• Both occur in both females and males, in different concentrations.
Estrogens: sex hormones that influence female physical sex characteristics and help to regulate the menstrual cycle.
Androgens: sex hormones that promote development of male genitals and secondary sex characteristics.
One important androgen is testosterone.
Make and female embryos initially…
-in males gene in what chromosome directs the formation of testes which secrete testosterone
What results when there’s exposure to unusual levels of sex hormones prenatally.
Researchers have found links between sex hormones and behavior even tho it doesn’t dictate behavior. What are they
-Male and female embryos initially look alike and diverge as a result of hormonal secretions.
-In males, a gene on the Y chromosome directs the formation of testes, which secrete testosterone.
-Serious problems can result from exposure to unusual levels of sex hormones prenatally.
-Sex hormones alone do not dictate behavior, but researchers have found links.
•Effects of testosterone involve aggressive behavior and sexual behavior.
Natural selection favored males who adopted
Females favored those who devoted effort to… and chose males who could
What did critics argue
Natural selection favored males who adopted short-term mating strategies.
• In competition with other males, they evolved dispositions that favor violence, competition, and risk taking.
-Females favored those who devoted effort to parenting and chose males who could provide offspring with resources and protection.
-Critics argue these hypotheses are backed by speculation, not evidence; and that they pay little attention to cultural and individual variations.
What’s social role theory?
Social role theory: psychological gender differences result from the contrasting roles of women and men.
In most world cultures, women have less power and status than men, and they control fewer resources
Social hierarchy and division of labor are important causes of gender differences in power, assertiveness, and nurturing,
Psychoanalytic theory of gender and what do developments note
Psychoanalytic theory of gender stems from Freud’s view that preschool children develop a sexual attraction to the opposite-sex parent.
• At 5-6 years old, children renounce this attraction because of anxious feelings.
• Oedipus Complex
• Oedipus Complex
• Children subsequently identify with the same-sex parent and unconsciously adopt the same-sex parent’s characteristics.
• Developmentalists note that children become gender-typed much earlier than 5 or 6 years, and they become masculine or feminine even when the same-sex parent is not present in the family.
Social cognitive theory of gender proposes
that children’s gender development occurs through:
-Observation and imitation.
• Rewards and punishments children experience for gender-appropriate and gender-inappropriate behavior.
Parents influence their children’s and adolescents’ gender development by
action and example.
• Rewards and punishments.
-Mothers and fathers often interact differently with children and adolescents.
-Mothers are more involved than their fathers
• When they have sons, fathers spend more time in parenting and are less likely to become divorced.
How do parents interact differently with sons and daughters.l
Fathers do what
Parents interact differently with sons and daughters.
• In many cultures, mothers socialize their daughters to be more obedient and responsible.
Fathers pay more attention to sons, engage more with them, and promote sons’ intellectual development.
Children also learn about gender from
observing other adults in the neighborhood and in the media.
As children age, peers become increasingly more important, rewarding and punishing gender behavior.
• Girls acting like boys is generally more accepted than boys acting like girls.
At ages 4-12 and often well beyond, children spend most of their play time with others of their own sex.
• Engage in different play behaviors and activities.
• playground may be thought of as “gender school.”
What is gender schema theory
-Gender schema theory: gender-typing emerges as children gradually develop gender schemas of what is gender-appropriate and gender-inappropriate in their culture.
(Mental idea)
-Gender schemas organize the world in terms of male and female
-Children are motivated to act in ways that conform to gender schemas.
What is gender stereotyping
Gender stereotypes: general impressions and beliefs about females and males.
• Still present in today’s world, in the lives of both children and adults.
• Boys’ gender stereotypes are more rigid than girls’.
Gender differences
Even when they occur…
Differences may be due to
Gender differences are averages and do not apply to all females or all males.
Even when gender differences occur, there often is considerable overlap between males and females.
Differences may be due primarily to biological factors, sociocultural factors, or both.
Women have how much body fat compared to men
Twice the amount of fat
On average, males grow to be 10% taller than females.
• Androgens promote the growth of long bones; estrogens stop such growth at puberty.
Females have a longer life expectancy, are less likely to develop disorders, are more resistant to infection, and have more elastic blood vessels.
Males have higher levels of stress hormones, which cause faster clotting and higher blood pressure.
In brain structure and activity:
Part of the hypothalamus involved in sexual behavior is larger in…
Area of the parietal lobe that functions in visuospatial skills tends…
Areas of the brain involved in emotional expression tend to
Female brains are about
-hippocampus: involved in sexual behavior is larger in men.
-special awareness: to be larger in males.
-show more metabolic activity in females.
-Female brains are about 10% smaller than males’, but with more folds, which allow for more surface brain tissue.
Gender Similarities and Differences: Cognitive
Differences found in intellectual ability ?
Do boys or girls have better visuospatial skills
Which gender has negative math attitudes
-which gender scores higher in reading and writing
No differences have been found in overall intellectual ability, but some do appear in cognitive areas.
• Differences may (and likely) have been exaggerated.
• Boys have better visuospatial skills than girls.
• No differences in math scores.
• Girls have more negative math attitudes; and adults’ expectations are biased in favor of boys.
• Girls score higher than boys in reading and writing.
• Girls earn better grades overall and complete high school at a higher rate.
Boys are more… than girls
It appears in what development
Girls verbal and relational agggression increases in
Boys are more physically aggressive than girls.
• Occurs in all cultures and appears early in child development.
• Difference in physical aggression is pronounced when children are provoked.
Girls use the same amount of or more verbal and relational aggression.
• Manipulating social relationships.
• Increases in middle and late childhood.
• Relational aggression comprises a greater percentage of overall aggression for girls than for boys.
Gender differences in child’s emotional expression is small or big?
Gender differences in children’s emotional expression is very
Small.
• Females express emotions more openly than males.
•Males experience and express more anger than females.
• Adolescent girls express more emotional concern for others.
• Boys are more likely to value self-assertion.
Boys show less self-regulation than girls.
• Can translate into behavior problems.
Girls are more “people-oriented,” while boys are more
“things-oriented.”
Gender differences being greatly exaggerated. Largest differences appear to be….
Gender behavior occurs in contexts
Culture background influences gender socialization
Gender differences may be greatly exaggerated.
Largest differences appear to be in motor skills, sexuality, and physical aggression.
Gender behavior occurs in contexts.
• Helping behavior; display of emotions.
Cultural background influences gender socialization.
Traditional gender roles continue to guide the behavior of females and males.
Many Western cultures are today more flexible about gender behavior and allow more diversity.
Androgyny
Androgny is the presence of positive masculine and feminine characteristics in the same person.
• Androgynous boy might be assertive (masculine) and nurturing (feminine).
• Androgynous girl might be powerful (masculine) and sensitive to others’ feelings (feminine).
Sandra Bem, gender expert, argues
• androgynous individuals are more flexible, competent, and mentally healthy than masculine or feminine individuals.
Transgender
Transgender: individuals who adopt a gender identity that differs from the one assigned at birth.
• Some argue trans or gender diverse is a better umbrella term for a variety of gender identities and expressions.
Cisgender. those whose gender identity and expression corresponds to the gender identity assigned at birth.
Long existing concept of gender as having two categories male and female is being challenged.
-Neuroscience research indicates a
-Endocrinology research reveals more hormonal similarities
in males and females than was envisioned previously.
• Neuroscience research indicates a gender mosaic rather than “his or her” brains that are highly different.
Endocrinology research reveals more hormonal similarities
in males and females than was envisioned previously.
• Recent conceptual changes go far beyond characterizing individuals as masculine or feminine including new categories such as transgender, cisgender, and others.
Developmental research indicates culture strongly influences the tendency to view gender as binary.
Gender categories are fluid.
Amount, timing, and intensity of gender socialization varies for boys and girls
What gender receives earlier and more intense gender socialization
Social cost of deviating is higher for
Why do boys have hard time learning their masculine role
•Boys receive earlier and more intense gender socialization.
Social cost of deviating is higher for boys.
• Boys don’t cry isn’t just a song!
Boys might have a more difficult time learning their masculine gender role because male models are less accessible, and the messages are not always consistent.
Flexibility in gender roles applies more for girls.
Instrumental, masculine traits may be evolving into new norms for everyone
Gender- intensification hypothesis
-Gender-intensification hypothesis: psychological and behavioral differences increase in early adolescence.
-Increased pressure to conform to traditional masculine and feminine gender roles.
-Adopting a strong masculine role in adolescence is associated with problem behaviors.
-For both boys and girls, extreme gender-typed behaviors are linked to low school engagement and attachment.
Rapport talk and report talk
Rapport talk: -the language of conversation; a way of establishing connections and negotiating relationships.
Report talk: designed to give information.
Women enjoy rapport talk more than report talk.
• Men prefer report talk and display a lack of interest in rapport talk.
Research has yielded mixed results on how extensive these differences may be.
Women prefer which talk
Experts stress what importance in women
Women may prefer rapport talk because they place a high value on relationships and focus on nurturing connections.
•Miller: women often try to interact in ways that foster others’ development.
Experts stress the importance of women not only maintaining relationship competency but also being self-motivated.
Relationship orientation should be more highly valued in our culture.
In men’s development:
According to Pleck’s role-strain view,
Men experience stress when…
Levant: how to become emotionally intelligent
male roles are contradictory and inconsistent.
Men experience stress when they violate men’s roles and are harmed when acting in accordance with men’s roles.
Men’s roles can cause considerable strain in terms of their health; their male-female relationships; and their male-male relationships.
Levant: men can become more “emotionally intelligent.”
Reexamine their beliefs about manhood.
Separate out the valuable aspects of the male role.
Get rid of those parts that are destructive.
What about gender roles among older adults?
•
Some suggest that in late adulthood, femininity and masculinity is decreased.
As they age, women face both ageism and sexism.
In developing countries, the poverty rate for older adult females is almost double that of older adult males.
Some ethnic minority groups define an older woman’s role as unimportant, whereas in others, older women’s social status improves with age.
