Gender Flashcards
What is sex?
The biological differences between men and women including chromosomes and hormones
What is Gender?
The psychological, social and cultural differences between boys/men and girls/ women including attitudes, behaviours and social roles.
What are sex-role stereotypes?
A set of beliefs and preconceived ideas about what is expected or appropriate for men and women in a given society or social group.
What is Gender dysphoria?
When biologically assigned sex does not match a persons experience/ identity of their own gender.
What is androgyny?
a person characterised by a balance of masculine and feminine traits. attitudes and behaviours.
Bem suggested that Androgyny is associated with better psychological health as you are better equipped to deal with a range of situations.
What is the Bem sex role inventory?
A scale presenting 20 characteristics for each of masculine, feminine and neutral. Respondents rate themselves on a 7 point scale for how much each characteristic can describe them. scores are then differentiated based on two dimensions: masculine-feminine, Androgynous-undifferentiated:
- High Masc, Low fem = masc
- High fem, Low masc = fem
- High Masc, high fem = Androgenous
- Low fem, low masc = undifferentiated
Evaluate androgyny
+ Quantitative approach
> Bem measures androgyny quantitively making it useful for research
CA: Spence argues there is more to gender than behaviour so qualitative methods are better
> a compromise is combinations like the personal attribute questionnaire that adds another dimension to Bem’s approach
+ Valid and reliable
> The scale was developed by asking 50 male and 5- female judges to rate 200 traits in terms of ‘male’ and ‘female’ ness. thraits scoring highest for each catagory became the 20 traits.
> The BSRI was then piloted with over 1000 students and results broadly corresponded with the students perceived gender identity
CA: Lacks temporal validity
> The scale was made over 40 years ago so view on ‘typical’ or ‘appropriate’ behaviour has changed
> Lacks cultural validity: was made and tested in the US
- Self awareness
> the questionnaire relies on people having an understanding of their own behaviour they don’t necessarily have
What are chromosomes?
in the nucleus of living cells carrying information in the form of genes. the 23rd pair determines bio sex
What is the role of hormones in gender?
Chromosomes determine biological sex but hormones influence gender development. Males and females produce the same hormones in different concentrations.
Testosterone:
- present in females in small quantities
- controls development of male sex organs during foetal development
- according to evolutionary explanation, linked to aggression allowing men to compete and take the hunter role
Oestrogen
- determines female characteristics, menstruation and physical changes
- causes heightened emotionality and irritability (extreme cases become PMS)
Oxytocin
- women produce more
- stimulates lactation
- released a lot in and after childbirth
Evaluate chromosomes and hormones in gender
+ Research support: testosterone
> Wang et al found a link between increased testosterone and sexual behaviour
> Gave men with hypogonadism (who don’t produce enough testosterone) testosterone therapy and noted increase in sexual function, mood and muscle strength
CA: Daryl O’Connor gave young healthy men testosterone and noted no change in their sexual behaviour or aggression
- Ignores role of social factors
> Hofstede et al gender roles around the world are more a consequence of social norms than biology
> collectivist and individualist countries have different notions of femininity and masculinity
> Social norms may be more important
- Reductionist
> reduces gender to hormones and chromosomes
> ignores other explanations/ gender is more complex than that
What is Klinefelter’s syndrome
- Affects 1/600 males
- when biological males have an extra x chromosome
Physical characteristics - reduced body hair
- breast development
- curves
- clumsiness and susceptibility to health problems more commonly associated with women
Psychological characteristics - poorly developed language and reading ability
- tendency towards shyness
- reduced sexual interest
- may not react well to stressful situations
- may exhibit problems with ‘executive function’ like memory or problem solving
Turners syndrome
- affects 1/5000 women
- absence of one x chromosome
Physical: - no menstrual cycle
- ovaries do not develop
- breasts do not develop
- ‘webbed’ neck
- hips not much bigger than waist
Psychological - higher than average reading ability
- poor visual/ spatial memory
- lower than average maths
- socially immature
Evaluate A typical chromosomes
+ contribution to the nature nurture debate
> shows chromosomes affect behaviour suggesting behaviour is biological
CA: There may be environmental factors caused by physical differences e.g. people with Turner’s syndrome being seen as immature so being treated in a way that encourages immature behaviour.
+ real world application
> research into atypical sex chromosomes patterns may lead to more accurate diagnosis of the syndromes and more positive outcomes
>Herlihy et al: 87 Australians diagnosed with Klinefelter’s syndrome at a young age had better management of it than people diagnosed in adulthood
- Sampling issue
only people with the most severe symptoms are identified which may skew data
Kohlberg’s theory
- understanding of gender matures with age because of experience and brain maturation
- progresses through 3 stages:
- Gender identity: 2-3yrs
- children can identify their own identity and other but don’t understand gender stays the same across time and context
- Gender stability: 4yrs
- children understand gender stays the same across time but not context
- Gender consistency: 6yrs
- understand gender stays the same across time and context
- begin to seek out same sex role models to confirm stereotypes
Evaluate Kohlberg’s theory
+ Research support
> Damon told children a story about ‘George’ who played with dolls and asked them to comment on the story
> Four year olds said it was fine, 6 year olds said it was wrong (understood and stereotyped)
> suggests they have achieved constancy
CA: Other research challenges
> Bussey and Bandura, children as young as 4 ‘felt good’ playing with gender appropriate toys and ‘felt bad’ playing with gender inappropriate toys suggesting they have stereotypes already
- methodological problems
> children may not be able to express their behaviour
- different degrees of gender consistency
> Martin et al praise Kohlberg’s theory for recognising that children’s understanding of there and others gender guides their though of behaviour
What is the gender schema theory
- Martin and Halverson
- the gender schema is a generalised representation of everything we know in relation to gender and gender appropriate behaviour
- Gender identity is established 2-3 yrs old
- children actively search for info about gender
- stereotypes are fixed at around 6yrs old and may only remember information that agrees with their schema of gender
- they have a better understanding of their own gender (their ingroup) and only at 8 start to pay attention to /understand other genders (the outgroup)
- ingroup identity improves self esteem
Evaluate gender schema theory
+ research support
> Martin and Halverson: children under 6 were more likely to remember photographs of stereotypically gender appropriate behaviour than gender inappropriate behaviour
> shows ignoring info that goes against their schema
- Gender identity likely develops earlier than Martin and Halverson suggest
> Zosuls et al’s longitudinal study of 82 children found that children on average labelled their gender identity at 19 months, as soon as they could communicate, suggesting they may have a gender identity they just cant communicate.
CA: Martin and Halverson talk about averages rather than absolutes, the sequence of events may be more important
> Zosuls didn’t find a fundamental criticism
+ Accounts for cultural differences
> Cherry et al: gender schema influences how people process info and what counts as culturally appropriate gender behaviour
SLT: Direct reinforcement
children are more likely to be praised for gender appropriate behaviour.
Differential reinforcement: boys and girls tend to get praised differently
SLT: Vicarious reinforcement
If the consequence of another child’s behaviour is favourable, it is more likely to be imitated
SLT: Identification and modelling
Children find role models in people they are like or want to be. tend to be higher status and same gender.
Modelling is the precise demonstration of the behaviour that may be immitated
SLT: Mediational processes
Attention: Paying attention to what the model does
Retention: remembering what the model does
Motivation: why they want to reproduce the behaviour (identification)
Motor reproduction: if they can physically reproduce the behaviour
Evaluate the SLT of gender
+ research support
> Smith and Lloyd dressed babies as the opposite gender and had adults play with them
> Babies assumed to be boys were encouraged to be adventurous and active and girls told they were ‘pretty’ and had passiveness reinforced
CA: adults may just be responding to innate differences
+ Explains cultural differences
> different cultures have different gender roles and stereotypes. This makes sense as there are different ‘models’
- doesn’t explain how learning processes change with age
> children of different ages learn differently this is likely true of gender
Psychodynamic theory of gender: pre phallic
Children progress through the psychosexual stages: oral, anus, phallic, latency and genital.
Gender development begins during the phallic stage and before this, they have no concept of gender and don’t categorise themselves or others in this way.
At the phallic stage, the focus of pleasure changes to the genitals and the Oedipus or Electra complex occurs
Psychodynamic theory of gender: Oedipus and Electra complex
Oedipus: Boys are in love with their mother and jealous of their father but recognise their father is stronger than them and fear castration so give up their love for their mother and identify with their father.
Electra: Girls see their mother as competition for their mother love and have penis envy causing double resentment towards the mother (for standing in the way of the fathers love and castrating them). They substitute penis envy with the desire to have children so identify with the mother
