Gender Flashcards
Sex and gender AO1
Sex is biological - determined by biological makeup - chromosomes that influence hormonal and anatomical differences
Gender reflects the behaviours we associate with being male or female - individual can become more masculine or feminine
Gender identity disorder when sex doesnt reflect they feel inside and the gender they identify as - gender reassignment surgery
Sexrole stereotypes are social expectations - shared by culture and consist of expectations transmitted thru society
Sex role stereotypes may or may not be valid - many lead to sexist and damaging attitudes
Research confirms sex role stereotypes in media - tv adverts found men more likely to be shown in professional roles whereas women in domestic settings
Androgyny and the BSRI AO1
Androgyny is balance of masculine and feminine traits
Bem suggested high androgyny is associated with psychological well being - different to over representation of androgyny ie too feminine
Bem Sex Role inventory - masculine items are dominant, female items are gentle, neutral items dont apply to only one sex
60 questions and a 7 point scale to rate each trait, bsri has 20 feminine 20 masculine and 20 neutral
Masculine categorisation is from a high score on masculine items and vice versa
Androgynous categorisation is high score on both, undifferentiated is low score on both
Androgyny and the BSRI AO3
-links between wellbeing and androgyny challenged - androgynous individuals more psychologically healthy cos they can adapt to range of situations - critics argued ppl who display greater proportion of masculine traits better adjusted cos valued more in western society - bems assumption didnt take account of social and cultural context
-gender identity cant be reduced to single score - personal attribute questionnaire is alternative measures instrumentality and expressionism but still quantified - fivush et al suggested gender identity is global concept and must consider personal interests and abilities - bsri too simple or too difficult to measure gender identity
-temporal and cultural validity of bsri - bsri developed long time ago, expectations changed - original judges who expressed ideas about masculine and feminine from us - low temporal and cultural validity
-questionnaire is subjective and biased - self reporting - bias and social desirability bias - answer which is more favourable - subjective and biased bsri
Role of chromosomes and hormones AO1
23 pairs of chromosomes, 23rd pair determines sex female chromosomes xx and male xy
Y chromosome has SRY gene causing testes and androgens to develop in male embryo
Gender development governed by hormones e.g. secondary sex characteristics in puberty
Testosterone - controls development of male sex organs and linked to aggression
Oestrogen - controls female sexual characteristics ie menstruation
Oxytocin - stimulates lactation and facilitiates bonding - women produce more maybe why more interested in intimate relationships
Role of chromosomes and hormones AO3
+Research support - dabbs et al found offenders with highest levels of testosterone more likely to have commited violent crimes, van goozen et al found having oestrogen treatment decreased aggression - support role of sex hormones in gender related behaviours ie aggression
-some evidence contradictory - tricker et al gave males testosterone injections or placebo and found no significant diff in aggression, other research also shown sex hormones have no consistent effect on gender related behaviour - doesnt support role of sex hormones in behaviour
-overemphasis on nature - social learning theory points to social context in learning of gender identity role - biological explanation cant easily explain cross cultural differences ie western society more androgynous - overexaggerates nature
-biological accounts oversimplify complexity - reduce to level of chromosomes and hormones accused of ignoring alternatives, ie cognitive and psychodynamic - ignores other possible influences which point to a complex process
Atypical sex chromosome patterns AO1
Klinefelter’s syndrome - XXY chromosome extra x chromosome but biological males, lack of body hair, underdeveloped genitals, other health problems, poor language skills, shy, lack interest in sexual activity are psychological problems
Turners syndrome - X0 chromosome absence of one x chromosome - females - sterility, immature body shape, underdeveloped breasts, high reading ability, social immaturity are psychological problems
Atypical sex chromosome patterns AO3
+contribution to nature nurture - comparing typical and atypical chromosomal patterns highlights psychological and behavioural differences - biological basis - adds to understanding of nature nurture and innate influences
+practical applications - herlihy et al showed individuals identified and treated early have more benefits - research increases early diagnosis and more understanding - direct benefits and increasing our understanding
-lack of causal relationship - social immaturity in turners syndrome may be due to way others respond to their physical immaturity than biological cause - cant assume from research alone whether observed differences due to nature
-samples unrepresentative and atypical - individuals with conditions impacting physical appearance unlikely to be treated same as peers - difficult to predict contribution of nature and nurture - hard to generalise from cases studied to all ppl who may have the conditions - life experiences can have impact
Cognitive explanations: Kohlberg’s theory AO1
Cognitive developmental theory by Piaget suggests children go thru stages of development where there thoughts and view of world change as they develop, cognitive understanding of world improves
Kohlbergs Theory of gender constancy:
1. gender identity - child becomes aware whether theyre male or female and begins to categorise ppl, judge gender on superficial characteristics ie by clothing, usually age 2 and 3
- gender stability - gender fixed over time, can change in diff situations usually age 4 and 6
- gender constancy - gender remains fixed in diff situations ie cross dressing doesnt change gender, develop their gender role by looking to role models, usually age 7
Cognitive explanations: Kohlberg’s theory AO3
+supporting research - frey et al showed children images of males and females doing same tasks, young children spent equal time watching males and females - spent longer in gender constancy stage as they identified with them - children change views about same and opposite sex over time
+support from biological approach - kohlbergs stages influenced by changes in childs devloping brain and intellectual maturation - cross cultural evidence of kohlbergs stages in many countries - gender development has considerable maturational element and universality - supports biological approach
-validity of original interviews questionable - conducted with young children, kohlberg might not have acknowledged their ideas about gender more complex than they could articulate - limited support, low validity
-social learning theory challenges maturation - evidence show boys have less flexible gender role concept - cant be explained by maturity - social influences play more role - understanding thru thinking to simple, role of socialisation more appropriate
Gender schema theory AO1
Martin and Halverson combined cognitive developmental theory and social learning theory
By 3, children developed basic gender identity - also have gender schema containing ideas of gender appropriate behaviour
Learns more and adds more through observation
In group- behaviours associated with own sex, out groups- behaviours associated with opp sex
Gender schema helps to process info related to in group and filter out out group info - however stereotypes can arise limiting their opportunities and discrimination BUT AS THEY GET OLDER THEY ARE CAPABLE OF MORE COMPLEX COGNITION understand theyre not limited to ingroup
Gender schema theory AO3
+GST explains young childrens rigid gender beliefs - ingroup schema explains why children discount info that conflicts with existing schema - display ingroup bias when paying more attention to info relevant to that schema
+complements kohlberg theory - ruble et al suggests gender schema and gender constancy are diff processes, 1 more about schema and other more about consistency where theyre more motivated to act in gender appropriate ways - two provide detailed account on gender development
-schema overexaggerated - overlooking of social factors ie parental influence and reinforcement - doesnt explain why schema forms - oversimplified gender development theory
-no link between schema and behaviour - gender behaviour changed by challenging schema, but schema doesnt always determine behaviour ie couples assigning stereotypical chores even with view of sex equality - challenges gst
Psychodynamic explanation of gender development AO1
Freud’s psychoanalytic theory - phallic stage key time in gender development where oedipus/electra complex experienced, before this they have no concept of gender identity
Oedipus complex - desire for mother hatred for father - realise father more powerful and get castration anxiety
Electra complex - girls conflict with mother for fathers love - penis envy, resent mother cos believe theyre responsible for their lack of penis
Resolution through identification with same sex parent leading to internalisation so boys adopt values of father and girls of mother
Little hans - 5 year old boy with fear of being bitten by horse, freud said it was cos of castration anxiety and love for mother, transferred his fear of father to horses thru displacement (defence mechanism)
Psychodynamic explanation of gender development AO3
-lack of support for oedipus complex - more punishing father is, more robust his sons sense of gender identity - hill et al found that boys w more liberal father more secure gender identity - lacks validity
-doesnt explain female development - penis envy criticised for reflecting era he lived in where males held power - horney argued mens womb envy more prominent - challenges electra complex, androcentric bias that female gender development due to desire to be like men
-lack scientific rigour - untestable theory - popper said its pseudoscientific as it cant be falsified - considered of less value than other theories
-disagrees with other gender identity theories - freud claimed before age of 6, child is bisexual, and at the end of phallic, identification takes place - kohlberg in contrast describe process where gender identity acquired at around two, gender stability at 4 and constancy at 6 - freud underestimated gradual process that occurs in developmen
Social learning theory AO1
Learn by observation and imitation especially of ppl we identify w
Can be passive and just watched or active by reinforcement
Gender typical behaviours learnt by identifying with and imitating models of own gender ie girls to mother
Learning through reinforcement for diff behaviours which can be reproduced
Vicarious reinforcement: if consequences of behaviour more favourable, that behaviour is likely to be imitated vice versa - vicarious punishment
Mediational processes
attention
retention
motivation
reproduction
Social learning theory AO3
+SLT can explain changing gender roles - stereotypically masculine and feminine behaviour less rigid now slt explains it by changed in social norms leading to changes in reinforcement even tho no biological change so biological approach cant explain over time changes and slt offers more complete explanation
-slt doesnt explain develop developmental process - implies modelling occurs at any age - research suggests despite observation of model at early age, imitation comes later - influence of age and maturation not properly considered
-slt doesnt fully consider biological factors - david reimer biological male castrated at birth raised as both identity - biological influence cant be ignored - innate differences reinforced so slt doesnt provide complete explanation - interactionist approach is more complete
-slt cant explain unconscious influences - slt and freud use identification but differ in consciousness, slt suggests medational processes are conscious whereas freud says unconscious - not complete explanation
