[G] Biosocial theory Flashcards
Who developed the biosocial theory?
Money and Ehrhardt.
How does biosocial theory explain gender?
Biology determines physical appearance to determine sex, and labelling and upbringing determine gender.
What did Money and Ehrhardt find?
A genetic male who is mislabelled as a girl and treated as a girl before the age of three would acquire the gender identity of a girl.
What did Smith and Lloyd find?
Babies who were dressed in non-gender specific clothes and assigned either a male or female name were treated differently by adults.
What did Bradley et al find?
A biological male with a damaged penis had gender reassignment surgery, and was raised happily as a female.
What did Schaffer find?
Adults label the behaviour of a baby differently depending on whether they perceive the baby to be male or female.
What did Reiner and Gearhart find?
16 biological males born without a penis were reassigned and raised as female. 10 reverted back to male by the age of 16 and all exhibited male tendencies.
What did Luxen find?
Young children and animals display sex differences in toy preferences.
What happened to David Reimer?
He was born as a boy but had his penis burnt off, so was raised as a girl and was deeply unhappy. When he found out he was meant to be a boy he had surgery and became a man.
Give two strengths of the biosocial theory of gender development.
- Has real world applicability uses.
2. Considers both nature and nurture.
Give two weaknesses of the biosocial theory of gender development.
- Much research comes from those who are abnormal, making the results inapplicable to the general public.
- Ignores individual differences.
Who developed the social role theory of gender development?
Eagly and Wood.
What did selective pressures between the sexes create?
Physical differences leading to the production of gender roles.
What did the division of labour create?
Expectancies of behaviour.
How are expectancies of behaviour passed down?
Through teachers and other authority figures.
