Gender Flashcards
Kohlberg’s gender constancy theory is made up of 3 stages, which are…
Gender labelling. Gender stability. Gender constancy.
What is the Paigetian theory?
The belief that the way we think changes as we get older because of physical changes in the brain.
What is gender labelling?
(Happens between the ages of 2-3 years.) Child making judgements on someone as a result of their outward appearances only. (then leads to them labelling themselves.)
What is gender stability?
(Happens age 4.) When a child realises that gender is consistent over time.
What is gender constancy?
(Happens age 6.) Realise that gender is constant across different situations.
Thompson (supportive evidence for Kohlberg’s theory)
Found that 2 year olds were 76% correct in identifying their sex, whereas 3 year olds were 90% correct.
Slaby and Frey (gender differences with Kohlberg’s theory)
Found that boys tended to achieve gender consistency before girls. Could be due to SLT? Male and female role models.
Huston
Pointed out that it seemed that boys find it easier to label themselves as males, due to the much more powerful role models than men portray themselves as. Girls find it easier to do ‘masculine-type activities’ than boys do with ‘feminine-type activities’.
Slaby and Frey (supportive evidence for Kohlberg’s theory)
Found that when they asked children questions such as: “When you grow up will you be a Mummy or a Daddy?”, the children showed that they did not recognise that these traits were stable over time until they were about 3/4 years old. (as Kohlberg suggested.)
What is gender dysphoria?
A condition which people experience when they feel like their biological sex and gender don’t match up. (trapped inside wrong body.)
Coates (psychological explanation for G.D.)
Looked at a case history of a boy who developed GID, which Coates discovered could have been a development as a defensive reaction to his mother’s depression after an abortion. (when he was 3.)
Cole
Studied 435 individuals who were experiencing gender dysphoria, yet he found that the number of people showing any signs of psychiatric condition were no more than the ‘normal’ population.
Biological explanations to GD
If the prenatal hormone levels are affected by genetic conditions it can therefore lead to confusion between hormones and genes.
Hare (investigated that there may be such a thing as a transsexual gene)
Looked at the DNA of 112 male to female transsexuals and found that they were more likely to have a longer version of androgen receptor gene than in a ‘normal’ sample. (Therefore they have less testosterone.)
Martin and Halverson’s gender schema theory consists of…
Building schemas. The idea of in-groups and out-groups. Resilience of gender beliefs.
Martin and Halverson’s supportive evidence for learning through schemas
Asked children to recall pictures of people that they had just been shown. Children under 6 remembered gender-consistent people rather than inconsistent people.
Bradbard
Boy’s tended to show greater interest in toys labelled ‘boy’s toy’, than those labelled ‘girl’s toy’, even though they were gender neutral toys. Found that a week later when asked the same children aged 4-9 to recall some of the toys, could remember details of in-group toys better than out-group toys.
Who proposed the bio-social theory?
Money and Ehrhardt
Bio-social theory overemphasises…?
Nurture rather than nature. Social rather than bio. Labelling rather than sex.
Money and Ehrhardt argued:
If a male for example was mislabelled as a girl at birth and therefore treated as one before the age of 3, he would acquire the gender identity of a girl.
David Reimer
Penis was burned off in surgery at 6 months old. Never settled to his female identity he was given, as biological make-up of a male was too strong.
Who suggested the social-role theory?
Eagly and Wood
The social-role theory argues:
The evolutionary theory is not fully correct, as it proposes that selective pressures (differences in men and women) are both physical and psychological and that causes their differences in roles. Whereas the social-role theory argues that it is the physical differences alone which cause the difference and the psychological differences come as a result of their different job roles.
Luxen (comes under social-role theory bit)
Suggests that sex differences can in fact occur without any nurturing/socialisation. Found that in very young children and even animals, sex differences in their toy preferences. Therefore biological rather than psychological?- as sex role association is unlikely to have occurred yet.
Who proposed the social cognitive theory?
Bandura
What is the social cognitive theory?
Developed from the social learning theory of learning gender roles, but focuses more on the cognition involved.
What are the 3 concepts involved in the social cognitive theory?
Indirect reinforcement (vicarious learning from role models) Direct reinforcement (learnt behaviour from observing both sexes but only follow own sex) Direct tuition (mixture of vicarious reinforcement and direct instructions- learn what’s appropriate/inappropriate)
Perry and Bussey
Looked at children aged 8-9. Showed film clips of boys and girls either selecting an apple or a pear. (both gender-neutral) Later offered apple or pear, found chose same as their sex in video. Didn’t follow inconsistent behaviours to sex stereotypes however.
Bussey and Bandura
Found that women are shown in the media to be more dependent, unambitious and emotional than males.
McGhee and Freuh
Came to the conclusion that those who are more highly exposed to types of media which show the difference in gender roles are therefore more likely to have stereotypical gender role conceptions than those who aren’t exposed.
Pingee
Did a study which showed the difference that altering messages from the media can have on children. He found that stereo-typing was reduced when children were shown commercials of women in non-traditional roles. Wasn’t the case for everyone though- opposite for pre-adolescent boys who showed stronger stereotypical behaviour afterwards. (reason- opp. to adults, or as Martin and Halverson suggested- gender inconsistent info= disregarded and not remembered.)
If a male have AIS (androgen insensitivity syndrome) it means…
they are less exposed to testosterone which may result in them being born with female external genitalia.
What is AIS?
Androgen insensitivity syndrome
Batista family
4 children all born with female genitalia. Large amounts of testosterone at puberty and grew penises. Had an inherited gene that caused AIS.
Gershwind and Galaburda
Were the first to suggest that sex differences may be caused by the effects of testosterone levels on the developing brain. (David Reimer) Dr. Money challenged this explanation- not biological.
Kuhn and Stiner
Suggest that gender division of labour explains why humans have survived.
Buss
Did a large cross-cultural study, involving 10,000 pps from 37 cultures. Found that in the modern day, what partners tend to look for in their mate is universal. Women look for good financial prospects- (resources/ambition/safety) Men look for physical attractiveness- (health/fertility) often younger women too! :( Both look for caring though. long-term relationship.
Baron- Cohen
Proposed the E-S theory, which suggests that women are naturally better at empathising whereas males are better at systematising. -explains autism?
Taylor
Shows how the E-S theory could be used in the EEA- therefore good evolutionary explanation? Fight or flight response- men attack, women protect their young from the threat.
Ennis
Tested Taylor’s study in the modern day world. Sampled levels of the stress hormone cortisol a week before and then immediately before students took an exam. For females the levels of cortisol decreased, whereas in males it increased. gender’s respond differently- nature?
Munroe and Munroe
Carried our studies which found that women tend to take on roles of food preparation and childcare traditionally than males and this is the same across all societies.
Sughihara and Katsurada
Found that Japanese men in general tend to not seek to be ‘macho’ males like American’s do, but instead prefer to be well-rounded in the arts, which in other cultures is more of a ‘feminine’ trait.
Margaret Mead
Did studies in Papua New Guinea, found that gender differences are due to cultural relativism. Found that some social groups were more aggressive than others, for example, but within these social groups men always tended to be more aggressive than women. cultures vary in degree of behaviour, but the differences are the same.
