chapter 14 - sex differences and similarities, and gender role development Flashcards
sex
- a persons biological identity
- chromosomes, physical identity, and hormones
gender
a persons social and cultural identity
gender-role standards
behaviours, values or motives a society considers more appropriate for a specific sex
- ex. boys: strong, protective, confident
girls: kind
gender typing
process by which children acquire gender roles
psychological differences between sexes
- verbal ability (girls better at talking, speaking clearly and talk earlier)
- visual/spacial abilities (boys better at drawing & imagining)
- mathematical abilities (boys better)
- aggression (boys more physical and verbal, girls ignore/gossip)
possible sex differences
- activity level (boys more physically active)
- fear, timidity, risk taking (girls more fearful)
- developmental vulnerability (boys more vulnerable to prenatal problems)
- emotional expressivity/sensitivity (boys more angry)
- compliance (girls more compliant)
- self esteem (boys have an advantage)
what are the three components of gender typing
- gender identity
- gender-role stereotypes
- gender-typed patterns of behaviour
3 steps in gender identity development
- discriminate males and females
- label males and females
- sex is a permanent attribute
gender segregation
- play style/activity level
- girls like playing with girls and boys like playing with boys until it switches when they’re older
biosocial theory on gender typing and gender-role development
focus on biological forces that affect gender typing
- genetic influences
- hormonal influences
congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH)
- androgenized girls and social labelling
- masculine external genitalia
testicular feminization syndrome
when males have cells that don’t respond to androgens, leading to female traits
evolutionary theory of gender typing and gender role development
- natural selection
- adaptive pressures
- applies mainly to sex differences
- traditionally deterministic
halpern’s psychobiosocial view on theories of gender typing and gender-role development
- prenatal hormones influence brain organization
- early experience affects neural pathway organization
- biology and environment are intertwined
social learning theory of gender typing and gender role development
two ways gender identity acquired
- direct tuition (differential reinforcement) (taught and reinforced behaviours that align with their genders but are punished for doing things that don’t align with their genders
- observational learning from same-sex models
