Gender

Question 1

gender - definition

Answer 1

psychological, social and cultural differences between boys/men and girls/women including attitudes, behaviours and social roles, as distinct from biological sex

Question 2

sex - definition

Answer 2

biological differences between males and females including anatomy, hormones and chromosomes, assigned at birth and distinct from gender

Question 3

masculinity

Answer 3

characteristics that are traditionally associated with being male

Question 4

femininity

Answer 4

characteristics that are traditionally associated with being female

Question 5

androgyny

Answer 5

having characteristics traditionally associated with being male and those associated with being female

Question 6

binary

Answer 6

describes a choice of two states (eg. something can be either on or off, a person can only be a woman or a man)

Question 7

non-binary

Answer 7

a gender choice that is neither male or female

Question 8

transgender

Answer 8

the experience of changing gender undergoing treatment

Question 9

gender dysphoria

Answer 9

distress caused by a mismatch between biological and psychological gender

Question 10

gender fluid

Answer 10

having different gender identities at different times

Question 11

gender identity

Answer 11

a person’s sense of their own gender

Question 12

gender schema

Answer 12

an organised set of beliefs and expectations related to gender that are derived from experience

Question 13

typical

Answer 13

biological gender matches traditional characteristics of that gender (men are aggressive, women wear dresses)

Question 14

atypical

Answer 14

biological gender doesn’t match the traditional characteristics of that gender

Question 15

alpha bias

Answer 15

the tendency to exaggerate differences between groups

Question 16

beta bias

Answer 16

minimises differences between the genders

Question 17

confirmation bias

Answer 17

• we disregard or distort behaviour that doesn’t fit our beliefs of gender/appropriate behaviour or characteristics
• we’re more likely to recognise behaviours and characteristics that are consistent with our beliefs about gender

Question 18

gender schema theory

Answer 18

young children build schema around gender that become increasingly complex as they get older

Question 19

gender schema theory - order

Answer 19

1. young children have a simpler gender schema
2. the pay more attention to those that are ‘like them; - influencing their schema around gender
3. based on the schema they develop, this influences their understanding of gender and what they are supposed to be like
4. they then have a full schema of what to expect from the same-sex

Question 20

sex-role stereotypes

Answer 20

a set of beliefs and preconceived views about what is expected or appropriate for women and men in a given society or social group

Question 21

gender roles

Answer 21

distinct behaviours and attitudes taken on by women and men and usually thought to be ‘appropriate’ to one gender or another

Question 22

gender priming

Answer 22

a form of cognitive primming in which reminding someone of their gender identity triggers gender-related behaviours

Question 23

conformity to gender roles

Answer 23

the extent to which a person identifies with a gender-typical role

Question 24

dominant male theory - evolutionary explanations for masculinity/ femininity

Answer 24

‘successful’ males evolved to fight, hunt and protect. so they survived and mated, passing on their genes

Question 25

division of labour - evolutionary explanations for masculinity/ femininity

Answer 25

‘successful’ females reared children, gathered supplies and did not hunt. so they survived and mated, passing on their genes