Gender Flashcards
Define sex
The biological difference between men & women
Define gender
The psychological & cultural differences between men & women
Define androgyny
Displaying a balance of feminine & masculine traits in one’s personality
What are some sex role stereotypes for women?
Timid & shy personalities
Having long hair
Wearing lighter/brighter colours
What are some sex role stereotypes for men?
Aggressive & confident personalities
Being the breadwinner
Avoiding emotions
What study acts as research support for sex role stereotypes having a biological basis?
Ingalhalikar et al’s study
What did Ingalhalikar et al do in their study?
MRI’d the brains of just under a 1000 (949) young men & women
What were the findings of Ingalhalikar et al’s study?
Women had greater connections between their hemispheres
Men had greater connections within a hemisphere
What did the findings of Ingalhalikar et al’s study suggest?
Women are biologically suited to multitasking and men may be better at one more complicated task at a time
Which couple raised their child to have no set gender?
Beck Laxton & Kieran Cooper - didnt reveal their child’s sex, no TV and letting the child play with/wear whatever they chose for the first 5 years of their life
What did Beck Laxton and Kieran Cooper’s child alternate between?
The child alternated between ‘masculine’ and ‘feminine’ clothes and activities - not displaying either strongly (androgynous)
What did Bem develop?
The bem sex role inventory to measure androgyny
What was Bem’s procedure in developing the BSRI?
20 masc, 20 fem & 20 neutral traits 1000 students asked to self report - it was found at the end that the participants own description of their gender corresponded with the results
What are some examples of the ‘masculine’ traits included in the BSRI
Aggressive
Athletic
Dominant
What are some examples of ‘feminine’ traits included in the BSRI?
Affectionate
Cheerful
Loves children
What are some examples of ‘neutral’ traits included in the BSRI?
Friendly
Happy
Secretive
Likeable
What were the 4 possible classifications from the BSRI?
Undifferentiated - displaying a low balance of masculine and feminine traits in one’s personality
Androgynous - displaying a high balance of masculine and feminine traits in one’s personality
Masculine - high masc low fem
Feminine - high fem low masc
What is strength of research into sex role stereotypes?
Scientific: majority of research within this area uses scientific methods e.g. Ingalhalikar et al used brain scanning techniques which are objective and show biological mechanisms involved in sex - adds scientific credibility to research into sex role stereotypes - boosts validity
What is a limitation of research into sex role stereotypes?
Socially sensitive: potentially consequences for men & women e.g. Ingalhalikar et al’s research suggests that men and women are better at different tasks which could influence ideas surrounding suitability of jobs for men and women - unintentionally promoting workplace discrimination- therefore psychologists must ensure their findings arent used to justify gender discrimination
What are two strengths of Bem’s BSRI?
Reliability & validity: when Bem piloted the BSRI it was with over 1000 students - their classification matched their self identification (enhances validity of the BSRI) - when she repeated this trial run with the same students they got the same classification (test-retest reliability) - the BSRI meets scientific criteria and therefore has scientific credibility
Unbiased: there was a panel of 50 men and 50 women who were asked to rank over 200 qualities associated with masculinity and femininity in terms of how desirable they were for men & women - the traits with the highest score in each category were used for the BSRI - lack of researcher bias increases validity of results
What are 3 limitations of the BSRI?
Self report/lack of insight: asking ppts to rate themselves relies on them having a comprehensive understanding & acceptance of their own personality and behaviours which they may not have e.g. the scoring system is subjective and so ppts interpretation of the meaning of the scores differs meaning it may be difficult to judge how “cheerful” & “aggressive” you are using a scale of numbers - therefore self report techniques may not be the most effective way of measuring androgyny and could distort the results (diminishing validity)
Historical bias: the BSRI is low in temporal validity as it was developed over 40 years ago so ‘typical’ gender behaviours and norms have developed/changed since then - the scale is based on stereotypical ideas of masculine & femininity that may now be outdated e.g. the ‘dependent’ trait (related to masc) as women are now perceived as more independent and majority work - whereas at the time women in the workplace was rare
Cultural bias: an American researcher, students and notions of masculinity and femininity rooted in western gender ideals/expectations - potentially at risk of imposed etic if universality is claimed without conducting cross cultural research to solidify the validity of the BSRI across cultures
What is the chromosomal pattern for women?
XX
What is the chromosomal pattern for men?
XY
Chromosomes are in the ______ of our cells and are made up of _____ split into sections called _____
Nuclei
DNA
Genes
Genes have _______ functions
Different
All egg cells carry an __ chromosome
X
Half of sperm cells carry the __ chromosome and the other half carry the __ chromosome
Y
X
Humans generally have ____ chromosomes in ___ pairs
46
23
The ___rd pair of chromosomes determines sex
23
What does the Y chromosome carry?
Sex determining region (SRY gene)
What does the SRY gene cause?
Causes testes to develop and is where androgens are produced
What are androgens?
Male hormones
The ___________ approach believes sex determines gender
Biological
Which hormones are most predominantly associated with sex and gender development?
Testosterone
Oxytocin
Oestrogen
What is the role of testosterone in sex and gender development?
An androgen predominantly found and produced in men - controls development of male sex organs which are produced at around 8 weeks - responsible for ‘masculine’ features such as facial hair
What is the role of oestrogen in sex and gender development?
Predominantly female released from the ovaries - controls development of female sex organs & menstruation during puberty
What is the role of oxytocin in sex and gender development?
Higher levels found in women - produced in the hypothalamus gland - known as the ‘love hormone’ - produced during labour/childbirth which reduces stress hormone cortisol and stimulates lactation - suggested men produce less but evidence shows equal amounts during intimacy
The biological approach claims that all things psychological have a _________ basis
Biological basis
What are two strengths of the biological approach to gender development?
Case study support: David Reimer - a botched circumcision left him without a penis - psychologist John Money claimed environment was more important than biology and the parents should raise David as a girl - by his teens ‘Brenda’ was suffering with emotional and psychological problems and when eventually told the truth reverted to life as a man - this suggests environment cant override an individuals biological basis and attempting to do so leads to psychological distress - boosts validity of BE
Research support - Van Goozen found that biological females who were transitioning to males reported they were becoming more aggressive (taking testosterone supplements) and bio males transitioning to females reported they were less aggressive (taking test blockers) - outlines that there are biological differences in men & women e.g. aggression and that sex hormones do have influence on gender related behaviours - boosts validity of BE
What are two limitations of the biological approach to gender development?
Contradictory evidence: evidence suggests that gender development is not related to hormones & chromosomes - Tricker et al had 43 male ppts given either a weekly injection of testosterone or a placebo (unaware as to which they are given) - he found there was no difference in aggression after two weeks between the groups - suggests hormones do not influence gender behaviours as aggression is stereotyped as a masculine trait - diminishing the validity of the BE and limiting its application to specific traits not all gendered behaviours
Reductionist: ignores nurture (SLT) and psychodynamic explanations - the psychodynamic explanation believes our unconscious mind has an effect on development and behaviour e.g. Freud states the Oedipus and Electra complexes lead to our gender development and the way to resolve this conflict is to identify with the same sex parents and internalise their traits - the BE is incomplete and therefore cant be accurately applied as the full reason for gender development
Too simplistic - classifying sex and gender may not be as straightforward as it seems e.g. congenital adrenal hyperplasia and androgen insensitivity syndrome
What is congenital adrenal hyperplasia?
A prenatal genetic condition where sufferers have high levels of androgens - it leads to girls being born with ambiguous genitalia due to masculinising androgens (flooded with androgens)
What is androgen sensitivity syndrome (IAS)?
A prenatal genetic condition where the sufferers body doesn’t respond to androgens - leads to boys being born with ambiguous genitalia as male sex organ development doesn’t occur as it should
Klinefelter’s is characterised by a male sex chromosome pattern of _____
XXY
Klinefelters affects _____ who have a total of _____ chromosomes
Men
47
Turner’s syndrome affects _________ who have a total of ____ chromosomes - the 23rd pattern being ____
Women
45
XO (O being the missing one)
What are the physical characteristics of Klinefelter’s syndrome?
Reduced body hair
Breast development
Round/ softened mid sections
Long limbs
Underdeveloped genitals (sterile)
Clumsiness
What are the psychological characteristics of Klinefelter’s?
Poor language & reading skills
Shy/lack of interest in sexual activity
Don’t respond well to stress
What are the physical characteristics of Turner’s syndrome?
No menstrual cycle
Sterile (ovaries fail to develop)
Broad ‘shield’ chest
Webbed neck
Low set ears
Physically immature (pre-pubescent)
What are the psychological characteristics of Turner’s syndrome?
Higher than average reading (generally good literacy skills)
Spatial visual & math ability lower than average
Socially immature, difficulty relating to others
Those with Klinefelter’s syndrome are more susceptible to ‘female’ health issues such as….
Breast cancer
How is Klinefelter’s treated?
Testosterone supplements - help muscle development, deepens voice and stimulates body hair growth
How is Turner’s treated?
Oestrogen supplements e.g. HGH - increases height and taken during puberty to stimulate breast development to begin a menstrual cycle