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Gender Flashcards

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1
Q

Sex

A

Whether you are male or female is determined by your biology

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2
Q

Gender Identity

A

Is whether you are masculine or feminine, and is determined by both biological and environmental factors

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3
Q

Sex role stereotypes

A

Expectations by society, change over time and between cultures, guide our behaviour- e.g masculine characteristics- main income, colour blue. Feminine characteristics- housewife, colour pink. Learnt by: social learning theory, direct tuition, direct reinforcement

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4
Q

AO3- Sex role stereotypes

A

POSITIVE:
- Make society easy- everybody knows what their roles are- both in family and at work

NEGATIVE:
- Support/ lead to inequality- disadvantage females- in recent times- females take on work- housewife, mum and job
- Females: don’t have an expectation of dressing- don’t have to wear dresses. Get a job- able to support yourself- get an education- less unusual to not have children
- Males: expected to contribute to family home- cooking, cleaning, childcare. Show emotion
- Cultural differences: In some Middle Eastern countries- women should be at home- traditional roles

Elaboration:
- Sex role stereotypes are shaped by society in all cultures
- Deterministic argument- accept sex role stereotypes- ignores we have free will to reject the culture
- Change sex role stereotypes: role modelling (not just from parent, TV + social media), children see both parents in both roles- more likely to be flexible

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5
Q

Chromosomes and hormones in sex and gender

A
  • Female has XX, Male has XY
  • Y chromosome determines the sex of a male
  • First 6 weeks after conception (fertilisation) there are no structural differences between genetically male and genetically female embryos
  • 6 weeks after conception the crucial window for sexual differentiation opens
  • Y chromosome triggers production of hormones
  • When the foetus is about 3 months old, the testes produce testosterone which causes external male genitalia to develop
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6
Q

Gender related behaviours linked to hormones

A

Testosterone:
- Aggression
- Sexual behaviours
- Playing with cars etc
Male brain is more primed towards systems

Lack of Testosterone:
- Empathising
- Maternal behaviours
Female brain is better at sympathising to link hormones to gender roles.

Gender role behaviours caused by hormones which link to chromosome suggests gender roles aren’t always learnt

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7
Q

Sex differences in brain development

A
  • Right hemisphere more developed in males- spatial awareness skills. Testosterone slows down the development of certain parts of the brain and speeds growth of other parts.
  • Left hemisphere more developed in females- conservative, less likely to take risks
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8
Q

Oestrogen

A
  • All embryos start off as female, therefore without the presence of testosterone, embryos will follow a female pathway
  • This is why certain athletes might of been labelled as female in the womb
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9
Q

Oxytocin

A
  • Females produce more oxytocin
  • Promotes bonding
  • Females are more likely to produce oxytocin in times of stress- helps produce milk
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10
Q

AO3- Supporting research + Contradictory evidence

A
  • Young showed that female monkeys exposed to male hormones during pre- natal development tended to engage in more rough and tumble play in their early years- exposed to testosterone in the womb. Support that it’s our genes and hormones that decide our gender
    Support the biological approach because animals aren’t being socialised highlighting gender difference in hormones as nothing is being learnt, e.g no role model, unlike humans who will be socialised since birth

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  • However, similar results have been found in humans
  • Researchers found that mothers who took male sex hormones during pregnancy to stop bleeding had girls who acted in a more masculine way and boys whose mothers had female hormones during pregnancy were less athletic
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11
Q

AO3 Supporting Evidence

A
  • Batista family- Some male family members were born appearing female and raised but became physically male at puberty and began living as males.
  • Supports biological approach- despite being socialised as girls, they felt male - wanted to cut their hair + player with boys
  • Gender is determined by chromosomes

………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………

  • David Reimer study- raised as a girl- supports biological approach as brain is male because despite his socialisation as female he did not accept the female gender role, as soon as it was revealed that he was born a boy, he went back to a boy.
  • This supports the argument that gender role is biological.
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12
Q

Contradictory evidence- O’ Connor Study

A
  • Double- blind study and placebo controlled- increase testosterone in young men- no difference in the frequency of sexual intercourse or sex drive + no difference in aggression or anger levels
  • Contradictory as it is not due to testosterone or hormones but socialised
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13
Q

Klinefelter’s syndrome

A
  • Occurs in men as a result of an extra X chromosome (XXY).
  • Might have female characteristics- not producing enough testosterone
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14
Q

How is Klinefelter’s syndrome diagnosed?

A
  • Not diagnosed until puberty because the boy’s testicles fail to grow normally
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15
Q

Physical characteristics of Klinefelter’s syndrome (5)

A
  • Reduced body hair
  • Breast development at puberty
  • Long gangly limbs
  • Underdeveloped genitals
  • Problems with co-ordination or clumsiness
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16
Q

Psychological characteristics of Klinefelter’s syndrome (5)

A
  • Poorly developed language skills
  • Poor reading ability
  • Lack of sexual activity- low testosterone
  • Passive and shy
  • Doesn’t cope well with stressful situations
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17
Q

How is Klinefelter’s syndrome treated?

A
  • Can be given testosterone through an injection
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18
Q

Turner’s syndrome

A
  • Genetic condition that only affects females and randomly happens in the womb
  • When a girl has only one normal X chromosome (XO)
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19
Q

Physical characteristics of Turner’s syndrome (4)

A
  • Shorter than average
  • Underdeveloped ovaries- no menstruation
  • Lower hairline
  • Smaller breasts
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20
Q

Psychological characteristics of Turner’s syndrome (4)

A
  • Socially immature
  • Higher than average reading ability
  • Trouble relating to their peers
  • May experience difficulty “fitting in”- difficulty making friendships
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21
Q

Treating Turner’s syndrome

A
  • Can be treated with Oestrogen and Progesterone
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22
Q

Evaluation Points of research- Klinefelter and Turner’s Syndrome

A
  1. A strength of research is that it helps us to depict nature- nurture debate as gender behaviours are to due nature and nature. E.g XXY boys have low sex drive showing its due to genetics not socialisation
  2. However, difference in behaviour could be due to social reasons. E.g girls with Turner’s Syndrome are shorter and could be treated as younger therefore they’re socially immature.
  3. A strength of research is that there are practical applications. E.g girls with Turner’s, if diagnosed early can extract eggs before puberty and then can implant fertilised egg. Showing better quality of life.
  4. A weakness is that there is socially sensitive research. E.g when society label people with a disorder, they need to be careful that when carrying out an experiment they are giving people a better quality of life instead of taking advantage of vulnerable people.
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23
Q

Androgyny

A
  • Displaying a balance of both masculine and feminine characteristics in one’s personality
  • Can adapt to requirements of different situations
  • Not limited by sex- role stereotypes - Is seen as a beneficial characteristic
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24
Q

Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI)- How she developed the scale? (5)

A
  • Done in 1974
  • 50 male and 50 female judges rated 200 traits in terms of how much they represented maleness and femaleness
  • The 20 that scored highest in each category were added to the scale
  • She also included 20 neutral traits (as a filler- reduce demand characteristics)
  • Participants rate themselves on a 7 point rating scale and are classified as masculine, feminine androgynous (score high in both) or undifferentiated (score low in both)

Masculine items:
- Aggressive
- Ambitious

Feminine items:
- Affectionate
- Cheerful

Neutral items:
- Happy
- Helpful

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25
Q

Evaluation of Androgyny

A

Strength:
- Good construct validity.
- E.g gave scale to 1000 students and asked them if they were masculine or feminine.
- Found people’s scores correlated with their own ideas of gender identity

Weakness:
- Scale has temporal validity
- E.g what was masculine and feminine has changed over time and is dated
- The distinction between males and females is blurred.

WEAKNESS:
- Judges were American leading to cultural bias
- Different cultures would put different traits on the scale
- People rate themselves so if they agree to everything = androgynous
- Leading to Acquiescence bias

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26
Q

DON’T NEED TO KNOW

Cognitive Development Theory

A
  • The way we think changes as we get older because of physical changes in the brain
  • Brain becomes capable of increasingly complicated and abstract thinking as the brain matures
  • Brain development occurs in stages
  • Children naturally progress from one stage to the next as their brain matures
  • Changes in gender- thinking are the outcome of age- related changes in a child’s cognitive abilities
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27
Q

DON’T NEED TO KNOW

Piaget’s idea of conservation

A
  • Conservation is one of the key cognitive abilities that develops as the brain matures at around the age of 6 or 7
  • The ability to understand that, despite changes in appearance, the basic properties of an object remain unchanged
28
Q

Kohlberg’s Gender Constancy Theory

A
  • Describes how gender constancy develops
  • Gender constancy is achieved when a child can conserve gender
  • 3 stages: 1. Gender Identity, 2. Gender Stability, 3. Gender Constancy
29
Q

Beginning of Kohlberg theory

A
  • Stage theory progression through the stages is based on brain maturity
  • Therefore it is biological, it is not dependent on education- all children go through the stages
30
Q

Stage 1: Gender Identity (5)

A
  • Around age of 2, Kohlberg proposed that children are able to correctly identify themselves as boy or girl- this is Gender Identity
  • At 3 years, most children are able to identify other people as boys/ men or girls/ women, and can correct respond to questions such as “Which one of these is like you?”- if they are shown a picture of a man or a woman.
  • Their understanding of gender tends not to stretch much beyond simple labelling
  • Often children of this age group do not view gender as fixed
  • E.g a 2 and 1/2 year old boy may be heard to say “When I grow up I will be a mummy”
31
Q

Stage 2: Gender Stability (4)

A
  • According to Kohlberg, at the age of 4, children acquire gender stability
  • With this comes the realisation that they will always stay the same gender
  • Children of this age cannot apply this logic to other people in other situations
  • They are often confused by external changes in appearance- e.g they may describe a man who has long hair as a woman and they also believe that people change gender if they engage in activities that are more often associated with a different gender
32
Q

Stage 3: Gender Constancy (8)

A
  • Appears in the final stage of development
  • Kohlberg claimed that around the age of 6, children recognise that gender remains constant across time and situations and this understanding is applied to other people’s gender as their own
  • As a consequence, they are no longer fooled by changes in outward appearance
  • Although they may regard a man wearing a dress as unusual, a child is able to understand that he is still a man “underneath”
  • Children of this age begin to seek out gender appropiate role models to identify with and imitate
  • (This connects closely with ideas in SLT (social learning theorists, in contrast, argue that these processes can occur at any age of rather than only after 6)
  • For Kohlberg, once a child has a fully developed and internalised concept of gender at the constancy stage, they embark upon an active search for evidence which confirms that concept
  • A tendency towards gender stereotyping begins to emerge at this age
33
Q

STRENGTH/ Evaluation of Kohlberg’s theory

A

STRENGTH:
- Munroe’s study supports that this is a biological approach
- E.g Munroe found that there were similar stages in gender development in other countries such as Kenya, Nepal;
- It is a biological approach based on brain maturity

STRENGTH:
- Damon told children a story about George, a boy who liked to play with dolls
- 4 year- olds said it was fine for George to play with dolls, 6 year olds thought it was wrong for George to play with dolls
- This suggests children who have achieved constancy have formed rigid stereotypes regarding gender- appropiate behaviour

34
Q

WEAKNESS/ Evaluation of Kohlberg’s theory

A

WEAKNESS:
- Poor temporal validity
- E.g it’s outdated.
- In todays society gender identity can change based on outward appearance

WEAKNESS:
- Supporting research relies on unsatisfactory methods to assess gender constancy
- Kohlberg may have overestimated the age at which children reach each stage
- Bem believed that children have an awareness of gender and gender specific behaviours from around 2 years, due to the development of gender schemas.
- Children can’t conserve until they have a genital knowledge test otherwise they use outward appearances
- This suggests that the typical way of testing gender constancy may misrepresent what younger children actually know

35
Q

Gender Schema Theory

A
  • Schema- Cognitive structure that contains all your information on a topic/ person/ event/ experience
  • Help us to navigate the world

WEAKNESS:
- Lead to stereotyping/ discrimination/ racism
- Can make mistakes
- Become rigid- stop us from accepting new information- hard for schemas to change

36
Q

The development of gender schemas: In/Out Groups

A
  • As soon as children learn that people are labelled as “males” and “females” they begin to form gender schemas
  • In- groups: Any group you feel you are part of- Don’t want to carry out any behaviour that’s like the other group
  • Out- group: Groups we don’t identify with/ don’t like
  • If you’re in one group, you oppose the other- want your group to be the best- INCREASE self- esteem
37
Q

Development of Gender Schemas- GENDER SCHEMA THEORY

A
  • Cognitive- development theory argues that children’s understanding of gender changes with age
  • Share Kohlberg’s view that children develop their understanding of gender by actively structuring their own learning, rather than passively observing and imitating role models
38
Q

Development of Gender Schemas- GENDER SCHEMA AFTER GENDER IDENTITY

A
  • Once a child has established gender identity around 2-3 years he or she will begin to search the environment for information that encourages development of gender schema
  • Contrasts with Kohlberg’s view that this process only begins after they have progressed through all 3 stages, around age 7, with gender constancy
39
Q

Development of Gender Schemas- GENDER SCHEMA DETERMINE BEHAVIOUR

A
  • For young children, schemas are likely to be formed around stereotypes and these provide a framework that directs experience as well as the child’s understanding of itself
  • By age 6, children have a rather fixed and stereotypical idea about what is appropriate for their gender
  • Children are likely to misremember or disregard information that does not fit with their existing schema
40
Q

Development of Gender Schemas- IN-GROUP INFORMATION BETTER REMEMBERED

A
  • Children tend to have a much better understanding of the schema that are appropiate to their own gender (In- group)
  • Consistent with the idea that children pay more attention to information, relevant to their gender identity, rather than that of the out- group
  • It is not until around 8 years, children develop elaborate schemas for both genders, as opposed to just their own
  • In- group identity also serves to bolster the child’s level of self- esteem
41
Q

Development of Gender Schemas- AO3- Martin and Little study

A
  • The study by Martin and Little supports the gender schema theory because they found that preschool children have gender stereotypes about what is appropriate for boys and girls before they develop much understanding about gender, supporting the idea that the formation of gender schemas comes before understanding of gender
42
Q

Development of Gender Schemas- AO3- Hoffman study

A
  • The study by Hoffman supports the gender schema theory because he found that children whose mothers work have less stereotyped views of what men do
  • E.g children are less likely to show rigid schemas, showing that children’s schemas may be flexible if information is modelled and shown consistently
43
Q

Development of Gender Schemas- AO3- WEAKNESS 1- BOYS

A
  • A weakness of gender schema theory is that boys show stronger and earlier preferences for typically male activities, due to the effects of testosterone
  • This shows that boys show stronger gender behaviour
44
Q

Development of Gender Schemas- AO3- WEAKNESS 2- Difficult to test

A
  • A weakness of gender schema theory is that schemas are difficult to test
  • E.g self- report will lead to answers that may not reveal true behaviours showing that the only way to test schemas is by asking questions
45
Q

Freud’s psychoanalytic theory

A
  • Prior to reaching the phallic stage, children have no concept of gender identity- at the end of phallic stage- gender identity occurs- notice physical differences between boys and girls
  • They have no understanding of “male” or “female” so do not categorise themselves or others in that way
  • In the phallic stage, the focus of pleasure for the child switches to the genitals, within this stage children experience Oedipus complex (boys) or Electra complex (girls)
  • Stages are crucial in formation of gender identity
46
Q

Oedipus complex

A
  • Phallic stage- boys develop incestuous feelings towards their mother
  • They harbour a jealous and murderous hatred for their father
  • Boy fears he may be castrated by his father for his feeling towards his mother
  • Conflict: Lust for mother and fear of father
  • To resolve the conflict, boy gives up his love for his mother and begins to identify with his father
47
Q

Electra complex

A
  • Phallic stage- girls experience penis envy- seeing themselves and mothers as being in competition for their father’s love
  • Girls develop a double- resentment towards their mother
    1. Mother is a love rival standing in the way of the father
    2. Mother is blamed by daughter for having no penis
  • Girls over time come to accept that they will never have a penis and substitute penis envy with desire to have children, identifying with mothers
  • Conflict: Between lust for father and fear of losing mother’s love
48
Q

Identification and Internalisation

A

Identification: Towards the end of the phallic stage, children resolve their conflicts by identifying with the same sex parent.
- Develops a superego (adopting that parent’s morals), gender identity and role

Internalisation: Involves children taking on board the gender identity of the same- sex parent

49
Q

STRENGTHS of Freud’s psychoanalytic theory

A
  1. Researchers found that boys whose fathers are absent during the Oedipus complex around age 5 will show less sex- typed behaviour. This supports Freud’s idea of identification with same- sex parent is key in the development of gender role
50
Q

WEAKNESSES of Freud’s psychoanalytic theory

A
  1. Lacks empirical data. E.g there is zero evidence. This shows that Freud’s theory is unscientific because it cannot be falsified
  2. There is temporal validity. E.g the role of the mother and father now is different than in Victorian times. This shows that there is a blur between roles of mother and father. Resulting in less strong gender role
  3. Freud ignored the impact of siblings on gender development. Showing that Freud is only centered around the impact of the mum and dad and isn’t taking siblings into account
51
Q

Social Learning of gender roles

A
  • Biology alone cannot fully account for the differences in masculinity and femininity
  • Gender concept is shaped mainly by observation and imitation of socialising agents
  • Socialising agents model examples of gender appropriate and inappropriate behaviours and the consequences of conforming or non- conforming to gender norms
52
Q

Observational Learning and Reciprocal Determinism

A

E.g a girl likes Barbie- she admires her because she is kind and pretty- 1st stage of observational learning- attention- she is focused on what Barbie does
She identifies with Barbie because she feels similar with Barbie, and she has achievable qualitites
She sees Barbie wearing make- up and having a boyfriend and a car- and sees Barbie being rewarded for this
The Girl expects the same reward
Motor reproduction- the girl will imitate Barbie after seeing her behaviour
Motivation- Girl must be motivated to repeat the behaviour

Reciprocal determinism:
- Children will put themselves in environments that reinforce their behaviour- e.g a “girly” girl will want to hang round with other girls- these friends become her role model
- One thing causes another- we can choose our role models and role models determine our behaviour

53
Q

AO3 Supporting Evidence of learning gender roles

A
  • Block found that boys are positively reinforced more for behaviours reflecting independence, self- reliance and emotional control.
  • Girls are reinforced for dependence, nurturance, empathy and emotional expression
  • Shows differential reinforcement- boys and girls reinforced for different things
    ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
  • Huston found that although parents believe they respond in the same way to aggressive acts committed by sons and daughters, they actually intervene more frequently and quickly when girls behave aggressively
  • Girls punished quicker than boys when they act aggressive because it isn’t part of their gender role
54
Q

Contradictory evidence of learning gender roles

A
  • Bianchi and Bakeman found that neither parents nor teachers encouraged aggressive behaviours in boys, yet boys, including those who didn’t have a male role model, were found to be more aggressive than girls- shows boys and girls are socialised the same but boys are still more aggressive- supports biology- goes against learning

David Reimer study- socialised as a girl but never accepted his female role- switched back to male

55
Q

Influence of Media on gender

A
  • Media is a key source of gender- related information
  • Role models provide information on how the different genders should behave
  • Child will see the role models reinforced or punished for their gender related behaviours
  • Child then has the expectation of the same outcome for similar behaviours
    E.g EMMA WATSON:
  • Influenced by media
  • Teenage girls likes/ admires her
    Identifies with her- similiar to her
  • She’s real- what she does is achievable
  • Does a feminist speech- loads of her praise
  • Vicarious reinforcement- expect the same reward- meditational processes (in between observing and carrying out behaviour)
  • Copy her behaviour- imitation- become feminist
56
Q

Supporting and contradictory studies of media portraying gender

A
    • Supporting study for media portraying gender is that commercials for boys and girls are produced differently
      E.g adverts aimed at boys were very loud and used the colour blue whereas adverts aimed at girls were very calm and used the colour pink
      - This highlights that media is showing the stereotypical expectations of society
    • Supporting study for media portraying gender is that, e.g men are more likely to be shown exercising control whereas women are shown to be at the mercy of others.
      - This highlights that women are normally portrayed as victims and men in a position of power, showing the stereotypical roles between males and females.
    • Contradictory study for media portraying gender is that there are methodological problems with the research.
      - E.g researchers found that heavy TV watchers holding stronger gender- stereotyped beliefs comes from correlational research
      - This shows that highly gendered children may like to watch more TV because it confirms their stereotyped views
57
Q

AO1: Gender dysphoria disorders

A
  • Mismatch between biological anatomy and gender identity
  • Identify more with opposite sex
  • Diagnostic Statistical Manual (4)- Desire to live and be accepted as a member of the opposite sex, persistent discomfort with one’s anatomical sex
58
Q

AO1: Biological explanations of gender dysphoria

A

Influence of sex hormones:
- Influence of sex hormones during foetal development can explain the higher prevalence of gender dysphoria amongst males
Males foetuses under- exposed to testosterone will show feminised behaviours and can explain gender dysphoria amongst males
- Can lead to a genetic male, labelled a male, with a “female” brain

59
Q

AO1 Brain- sex theory

A
  • Transgender brains do not match their genetic sex
  • The BSTc, located in the Thalamus, is twice as large in men than women and contains twice the number of neurons
  • The size of the BSTc correlates with the preferred sex rather than the biological sex
60
Q

AO3 Brain- sex theory

A
  • WEAKNESS: Chung noted that the differences in BSTc volume between men and women do not occur until adulthood, whereas most transgender people report their feelings of gender dysphoria in early childhood, before puberty showing they act in a different way
    ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
  • WEAKNESS: Pol found that transgender hormone therapy influences the size of the BSTc- could be that the hormone led to the difference in size in BSTc
61
Q

DON’T NEED TO KNOW

AO3 Transgender gene

A
  • Hare looked at the DNA of 112 Male to Female transgender individuals and found that they were more likely to have a longer version of the androgen receptor gene than in a normal sample
  • The effect of this abnormality is reduced action of the male hormone testosterone and this may have an effect on gender developed in the womb (e.g under- masculinisation of the male brain leading to feminised behaviours)
  • Reduced action of testosterone leads to a genetic male (labelled a male) without a male gender identity (female brain)
62
Q

AO1: Social explanation of Gender Dysphoria (5)

A
  • Boys with gender dysphoria may have had parents that reinforce traditionally female behaviour
  • Behavioural signs of gender dysphoria appear early
  • Parents may then reinforce the behaviour
  • Parents may reinforce the biological tendencies
  • Could also identify with female family members and internalise a female role model- SLT- want to be like role model
63
Q

AO3: Learning Theory

A
  • Stoller- studied the facial features of boys with gender dysphoria and found that these boys were physically attractive- Mothers were treating boys in a feminine way - thought babies were pretty- feminising babies
  • Stoller believed that the attractiveness of the boy triggered parental feminisation
  • Shows that the social environment may be shaping gender identity
  • Mother treats the boy “as a girl” and shapes feminine behaviour
64
Q

AO1 Psychoanalytic theory

A
  • Gender dysphoria is caused in males by the child experiencing extreme separation anxiety before gender identity has been established
  • The child fantasises of a symbiotic fusion with his mother to relieve the anxiety
  • So they can still experience comfort of mother when mother is absent
  • The child becomes the mother and adopts a female gender identity
65
Q

AO3 Psychoanalytic theory

A
  1. STRENGTH- Stoller found that gender dysphoric males display overly close mother- son relationships that would lead to greater female identification and confused gender identity -> linking attachment and gender dysphoria
  2. STRENGTH- Zucker found that boys eventually diagnosed with gender dysphoria were more likely to be also diagnosed with separation anxiety disorder- co- morbid which backs the psychoanalytic theory -> linking gender dysphoria and anxiety
  3. Cole found the range of psychiatric conditions displayed by gender dysphoria individuals was no different to a “normal” population- showing that gender dysphoria itself doesn’t cause any psychiatric or mental issues
66
Q

AO3 General Evaluation

A
  • Zucker performed a longitudinal study on gender dysphoric females between 2 and 3 years who had been referred to a clinic.
  • He found that only 12% of females were still gender dysphoric at age of 18 and only 20% of males were still gender dysphoric as adults
  • A BIOLOGICAL explanation for this is that once they hit puberty- a second flush of testosterone/ oestrogen/ progesterone is in line with behaviours of biological sex.

Psychology (15 decks)

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