Gender

Question 1

Define biological sex

Answer 1

Whether we are biologically male or female

Question 2

Define gender

Answer 2

Gender is whether we see ourselves as male or female and includes our understanding of what is expected of us

Question 3

What are the two biological theories?

Answer 3

The influence of hormones and genes

Evolutionary explanations

Question 4

Describe the role of chromosomes in determining sex

Answer 4

An embryo has 23 pairs of chromosomes.
The 23rd pair of chromosomes determines determines the sex of the embryo. If the embryo inhering an X chromosome from both parents it will be a girl, and if it takes an X from the mother and Y from the father it will develop as a male.

Question 5

Describe the role of hormones in determining sex

Answer 5

Between 4 and 8 weeks after conception, the gene on the 23rd chromosome instructs the gonads to release hormones. In the male embryo, the testes are instructed to release testosterone which acts on the hypothalamus. Without testosterone, the brain would develop in the female form.

Question 6

Describe the neural differences in determining sex

Answer 6

The testosterone released or lack of affects the brain. An area of the hypothalamus called the sexually dimorphic nucleus which Swaab and Fliers found the volume of to be 2.5 times larger and 2.2 times the amount of cells in men.

Question 7

Evaluate the role of genes and hormones in terms of issues and debates

Answer 7

Socially sensitive- sends out the message that men cannot do things as well as women and vice versa due to our predetermined biology which could deprive individuals opportunity.
Reductionist- wholly takes the nature side of the nature nurture debate as ignores cultural and psychological factors.
Deterministic-ignores the role of free will that some males may choose to act in a feminine way and vice versa.

Question 8

What is the main research you need to know for the influence of genes and hormones on gender?

Answer 8

Money and Erhardt

Question 9

Describe Money and Erhardt’s study

Answer 9

In 1965 in Canada, twins Bruce and Brian Reimer were born. At 6 months the boys had a circumcision which went wrong and Bruce’s penis was completely burnt off. John Money was a pioneer in sex change surgery for intersex children. He believed a child’s brain was malleable until 3 years and could be overridden by socialisation. At 22 months Bruce’s testes were removed and she was bought up as Brenda after hormone treatment. However, by age 13 Brenda felt deeply troubled by her gender. Her parents finally told her the truth and she decided to transition to be male. This supports that nature overrides nurture.

Question 10

Why should conclusions from Money and Erhardt’s study be drawn with caution?

Answer 10

David Reimer was a case study and so is ungeneralisable. There could be other reasons to do with his upbringing that lead to the failure of his female upbringing such as his parents could have potentially treated him differently as they knew the situation.

Question 11

What other study do you need to know for the role of genes and hormones? Give details

Answer 11

Reiner and Gearhart studied 16 genetic males born with almost no penis. 14 were raised as females and 8 of these reassigned to males by the age of 16 showing biological factors have a key role. However, the % wasn’t that high as 6 remained female.

Question 12

Describe the evolutionary explanation of gender- promiscuity

Answer 12

It’s more common for men to be promiscuous. The reason for this lies with the parental investment. Men theoretically can impregnate several women a day from puberty until they die. It is therefore not as important for them to be overly picky when choosing a partner. Also, by impregnating many women has the evolutionary benefit as means it’s more likely for your genes to be passed on. Women need to be more careful as they are only fertile once a month for a limited period of their life meaning they need to choose a man who can provide for them and the child. These differences could explain why it’s more socially acceptable for men to be more promiscuous than women.

Question 13

Give a limitation of the theory of promiscuity

Answer 13

It is deterministic- It suggests we cannot exert free will but many men choose not to act promiscuous.
However, Clark and Hatfield found that when approached by a stranger of the opposite sex, men will consent 75% of the time compared to 0% for women showing this difference does exist.

Question 14

Give a strength of the theory of promiscuity

Answer 14

There’s research evidence to support this theory. As well as Clark and Hatfield, Buss looked at what males and females wanted in a marriage partner in 10, 000 participants from 37 cultures. He found that women more than men desired mates who were ‘good financial prospects’ (rich.)

Question 15

Describe the evolutionary explanation- aggressive

Answer 15

Men are generally more aggressive than females and that the aggression is generally aimed towards other males. This could be because males were once in competition with one another to reproduce. It would therefore be beneficial for men to act aggressively to one another as typically the strongest male gets pick of the potential mates.

Question 16

Give two limitations of why men would be aggressive- evolutionary explanation

Answer 16

Socially sensitive in that it legitimises acts of aggression by saying that they are due to a man’s genetic make up.
Takes the nature side of the nature nurture debate- there are many environmental factors that could account for males showing more aggression such as more aggressive role models or what is seen as socially acceptable for males.

Question 17

Give one strength of why men would be aggressive- evolutionary explanation

Answer 17

Daly and Wilson reviewed conflicts resulting in murder in Detroit in 1972. They found that the majority of murder cases involved elements of status and competition between young men. Reasons for killing often seemed trivial. The majority of these murders appeared to be spontaneous and the individuals seemed to be willing to risk death rather than lose face. This supports the evolutionary explanation as it shows that male aggression is motivated by competition.

Question 18

Describe evolutionary explanation of gender differences in cognition

Answer 18

Men are better at visuo-spatial tasks (using the right hemisphere of the brain) compared to females who are better at language analytical tasks (using the left hemisphere of the brain.) These can be explained by traditional gender roles as men were responsible for hunting but women needed to be able to communicate to nurture their families.

Question 19

Give two limitations of gender differences in cognition

Answer 19

Nature side of the nature nurture debate. There could be environmental reasons for these differences because from a young age are encouraged to do activities involving the left hemisphere such as subjects like maths are encouraged as male subjects.
Unfalsifiable as there’s no evidence to suggest the reasons these differences exist is because of evolutionary differences in roles.

Question 20

Describe social learning theory in terms of gender

Answer 20

Observing the gendered behaviour
Retaining the gendered behaviour
Imitating the gendered behaviour
Being positively reinforced if the gendered behaviour is seen as appropriate and punished if not leading to the behaviour being ceased or continued

Question 21

What did Bandura’s bobo doll study tell us about gender?

Answer 21

Children were more likely to imitate the behaviours seen by same sex role models.

Question 22

What are the four sets of role models who play a part in influencing gender?

Answer 22

Parents
Peers
Schools
The media

Question 23

What role do parents play in determining gender behaviour?

Answer 23

It falls to the parents to provide positive reinforcement for gender appropriate behaviour or punishment if the behaviours isn’t said to be gender appropriate.

Question 24

What role do peers play in determining gender behaviour?

Answer 24

As well as providing reinforcement or punishment they demonstrate gender appropriate behaviour.

Question 25

What role do schools play in determining gender behaviour?

Answer 25

Reinforce appropriate behaviour.
Demonstrates a ‘hidden curriculum’ which is of subtle messages children will pick up on and use to inform their understanding of gender roles. For example, fewer females having roles of power such as head teacher.

Question 26

What role does the media play in determining gender behaviour?

Answer 26

Doesn’t reinforce behaviours but provides a very powerful influence in terms of providing material that is strongly gender stereotyped.

Question 27

Give two limitations in terms of issues and debates of the SLT and role models in determining gender behaviour

Answer 27

Nurture side of the nature nurture debate and so ignores important biological factors that have been shown to have a direct impact. The case of David Reimer goes against this theory.
Deterministic because it ignores the role of free will. It suggests if reinforced positively for feminine behaviour and have female role models you will become feminine. Many people rebel from their role models.

Question 28

Evaluate the role of parents in gender behaviour

Answer 28

Fagot and Leinbach support the role of parents. They carried out a longitudinal study that showed parents encouraged gender appropriate behaviour and discouraged gender inappropriate behaviour even before the age of 2. By age 20-24 months daughters were consistently reinforced for dancing, dressing up, asking for help and playing with dolls. Sons were reprimanded for these behaviours and encouraged to play with blocks and trucks, running, jumping, climbing. This supports that parents teach children’s behaviour to be what is expected of them for their behaviour.

Question 29

Evaluate the role of schools in gender behaviour

Answer 29

Serbin et al supports the role of schools. 9 female pre school teachers were asked to introduce a new toy each day to a class of 3-4 year old children. They were observed asking children to demonstrate the new toy. The toys were either a fishing set (typically male) or a sewing set (typically female.) The teachers were found to get girls to demonstrate the typically female toys and vice versa. This shows teachers pre existing beliefs about gender appropriate behaviour and transmit these to their students through their actions.

Question 30

Evaluate the role of the media in gender behaviour

Answer 30

Williams examined gender role stereotypes in three towns in Canada nicknamed: Notel (No TV), Unitel (1 channel) and Multitel (4 channels) and found gender role stereotyping was much greater in multitel. During the study notel gained access to one channel and this led to an increase in gender role stereotyping. This shows the media had an impact on the understanding of gender roles of the viewers. However, causation cannot be given with certainty.

Question 31

Give details of how Margarita illustrates cultural influences on gender role

Answer 31

On this island off the coast of Venezuela women show unusual behaviour for their gender compared to Western roles. They are extremely aggressive, physically fighting with other women and sometimes men. The reason for this is their culture. The women are frequently left by the men to fend for themselves and their children in a harsh environment. High levels of aggression would help them to survive and so have become a part of the female gender role in this culture.

Question 32

Give details of how The Former Soviet Union illustrates cultural influences on gender role

Answer 32

Riska reported that in The Former Soviet Union, 77% of doctors are female which is unusual compared to Western roles as medicine is often associated with men. Culture can explain this as here industrial employment is viewed more positively in terms of status and salary than healthcare and so men prefer to work here, leaving more roles in healthcare for women to fill.

Question 33

Give details of how Australia vs Estonia illustrates cultural influences on gender role

Answer 33

Tiggeman and Ruutel compared 394 Australian participants with 415 Estonian participants. They completed ‘Sex Role Concerns Inventory’ measuring 9 attributes according to how important they are to women to achieve satisfaction. The Estonians rated being a mother and homemaker as more important than the Australians. Culture can explain this as Estonia had a culture shift having broken away from the Soviet Union. Once this occurred Estonia experienced a move towards more traditional gender roles.

Question 34

Evaluate cultural influences on gender role in terms of issues and debates

Answer 34

Nurture side of the nature nurture debate. Assumes that gender roles can be explained fully by cultural factors and so ignores biological explanations. There’s evidence to suggest biological factors impact gender roles such as a woman taking care of children because they give birth to them.
Deterministic as ignored the role of free will as many people do not conform to the gender roles assigned to them by their culture.

Question 35

What two studies do you need to evaluate the cultural influences on gender role?

Answer 35

Margaret Mead

Whiting and Edwards

Question 36

Describe Margaret Mead’s study to evaluate the cultural explanation

Answer 36

She carried out an ethnographic study into three tribes from New Guinea. She found that the tribes all had different gender roles supporting the idea that gender roles are transmitted through our culture rather than being due to biological factors.

Question 37

Why has Margaret Mead’s study been criticised?

Answer 37

Dubious validity as it is suggested that Mead only recorded data that fitted her hypothesis and so demonstrated researcher bias.
Mead didn’t consider extraneous factors. One of the tribes, the Tchambuli had recently gone through a social transition where it was now being governed by the Australian government. Mead recorded that the women of this tribe were aggressive and dominant which is likely to be due to uncertainty that the males felt following the social transition as previous researchers didn’t find this.

Question 38

Describe Whiting and Edwards study to evaluate the cultural explanation of gender roles

Answer 38

Whiting and Edwards looked at 11 non western societies and found that girls were given more domestic and household roles whereas boys were more likely to be assigned roles outside the house. When cultures show similar gender roles in this way it strongly suggests that gender roles are determined by biology rather than culture.

Question 39

Describe the biosocial theory to gender development

Answer 39

The biosocial approach believes nature and nurture interact to cause gender development.
Money and Ehrhardt proposed there are a number of critical event that affect the early development of the child. Following birth (biological), social factors kick in to shape a child’s gender. Once a child is labelled as a boy or girl they are treated very differently which interact with biology to determine the child’s gender identity.
Some individuals known as intersex children are born with ambiguous genitals. Money believes that social factors are so influential that if chosen before their 3rd birthday will override biology. In other words, intersex children have no had their gender determined by biology so they need to rely on social factors.

Question 40

Illustrate the biosocial approach to gender development with a study

Answer 40

Smith and Lloyd dressed babies aged 6 months as males or females. It was then recorded how a group of women responded to them. They were sat at a table with toys which were either stereotypically male (hammer), female (doll) or neutral (rattle). It was found the perceived biological sex of the child influences the way the women played with them. The ‘boys’ were also given more verbal encouragement to physical activity and expected to be more vigorous in their play.

Question 41

Evaluate the biosocial approach to gender development in terms of issues and debates

Answer 41

A strength is that it’s a lot less deterministic as sees a role for biology and social factors.
Also, a lot less socially sensitive as doesn’t see roles as destiny and so doesn’t imply that women will be inevitably better or worse at certain things than men.
Not at all reductionist as takes both the nature and nurture side of the debate.

Question 42

What two studies do you need to know to evaluate the biosocial approach to gender development?

Answer 42

Money and Erhardt
Van Goozen et al
Any study showing a link between biology and gender roles such as aggression can be used to criticise the biosocial approach.

Question 43

Use Money and Erhardt’s study to evaluate the biosocial approach to gender development

Answer 43

Money and Erhardt’s theory has been criticised as David Reimer provides compelling evidence that the biosocial approach is wrong and that biology determines our gender alone.
However, case study findings cannot be generalised though.

Question 44

Describe Van Goozen et al’s study to evaluate the biosocial approach to gender development

Answer 44

35 female to male and 15 male to female transsexuals completed questionnaires to assess proneness to aggression before and after receiving hormone treatment. Female to male transsexuals were given testosterone and male to female transsexuals were given anti-androgens. Female to male transsexuals reported an increase in aggression proneness whereas male to female transsexuals reported a decrease. This shows a role for biology alone and so is a limitation of the biosocial approach.

Question 45

What is gender dysphoria?

Answer 45

Gender dysphoria, sometimes known as transsexualism is when a person has a desire to live as the opposite sex to which they have been registered at birth.

Question 46

What is the biological explanation to gender dysphoria? Include the names of the two brain structures associated

Answer 46

Assumes that a person with gender dysphoria has a brain that developed as what you would expect of the opposite sex but the rest of their body developed as you would expect.
The two structures in the hypothalamus linked to gender dysphoria are the BST and somatostatin neurons.

Question 47

Describe the role of the BST in gender dysphoria

Answer 47

Zhou et al studies the hypothalamus of 6 male to female transsexuals. The Bed of the Stria Terminalis regulated sex hormones and is involved in sexual behaviour. Men normally have 44% more volume in their BST to men compared to women. The volume of the 6 participants were found to be much closer in volume to the average of a women’s BST.

Question 48

Describe the role of somatostatin neurons in gender dysphoria

Answer 48

Kruijiver et al sudied somatostatin neurons in 42 participants which regulate the thyroid gland and growth hormone. Men normally have 2 times as many somatostatin neurons than women. The researchers found that the transsexuals had the number of somatostatin neurons that corresponded to their preferred sex rather than their biological sex.

Question 49

Evaluate the biological explanation in terms of issues and debates

Answer 49

Takes the nature side of the nature nurture debate therefore making it reductionist as ignores the role of psychological factors and upbringing in gender dysphoria.
Deterministic as they present the argument that gender dysphoria is inevitable if parts of your brain are made up in certain ways.

Question 50

Evaluate the biological explanation in general for gender dysphoria

Answer 50

Research in this field is fairly unreliable as they have not been consistently found.
The studies that the biological explanation is based on by Zhou et al and Kruijiver et al use very small sample sizes of 6 and 42 respectively making the results ungeneralisable.
The brain is complex and researchers haven’t yet managed to narrow down the opponents which may cause gender dysphoria as the two structures of BST and somatostatin neurons interact with each other.

Question 51

Describe the psychological explanation of gender dysphoria

Answer 51

Ovesey and Person say that male gender dysphoria is caused by intense separation anxiety. The theory says that in order to alleviate the distress caused by the separation anxiety, the young boy will start to act in a feminine way because he craves a female presence. Eventually the boy will confuse being his mother with having her near and continually act as the cause of gender dysphoria.

Question 52

Evaluate the psychological explanation of gender dysphoria in terms of issues and debates

Answer 52

Nurture side of the nature nurture debate by ignoring biological factors and other psychological factors.
Gender biased as only explains why males develop gender dysphoria and offers no explanation as to why females develop gender dysphoria.

Question 53

What studies do you need to know to evaluate the psychological explanation of gender dysphoria?

Answer 53

Coates and Person

Lowry and Zucker

Question 54

Use Coates and Person’s study to evaluate the psychological explanation of gender dysphoria

Answer 54

Studied 25 extremely feminine boys with gender identity disorder and found that 15 of them (60%) also met the criteria for separation anxiety disorder.

Question 55

Use Lowry and Zucker’s study to evaluate the psychological explanation of gender dysphoria

Answer 55

Research seems reliable because Lowry and Zucker found that from a sample of 29 boys with gender dysphoria 16 (55%) were diagnosed with separation anxiety.

Question 56

Describe the biosocial explanation to gender dysphoria

Answer 56

Neither the biological or psychological explanation for gender dysphoria offer a full explanation as the biological explanation doesn’t explain how these areas cause dysphoria and the psychological explanation doesn’t explain why some participants didn’t have separation anxiety disorder or why females develop gender dysphoria. It may be possible that people are born with a predisposition for gender dysphoria (faulty hypothalamuus) may need to be triggered by an environmental factor (separation anxiety.)

Question 57

What are the two possible psychological explanations of gender develpment?

Answer 57

Cognitive developmental theory: Kohlberg’s theory

Gender schema theory

Question 58

Describe Kohlberg’s cognitive developmental theory

Answer 58

A child’s concept of gender develops as they actively try to make sense of their environment in light of new cognitive capabilities and experiences.
Stage 1: Gender Identity, 2-3 years, children can label boys and girls based on physical appearances.
Stage 2: Gender Stability, 4-5 years, children realise gender stays stable over time.
Stage 3: Gender Constancy, 5-7 years, children know an individual’s gender is consistent in whatever they do. Kohlberg believed children need to be in this stage to look for and engage in gender appropriate behaviour. In this stage children start paying attention to same sex role models and start to imitate.

Question 59

Evaluate Kohlberg’s cognitive developmental theory in terms of issues and debates

Answer 59

Culture bias- makes the assumption that children from all cultures develop in the same way. However, there is evidence to support that Kohlberg was right in his assumption. (Munroe et al studied gender development in Kenya, Nepal, Belize and Samoa and found that the three stages were the same in these cultures.
Sees a role for psychological and social factors- says that the psychological cognitive factors don’t happen without the social events and so is a strength because isn’t as narrow minded as biological or social approach.

Question 60

What study is the main evaluation of Kohlberg’s cognitive developmental theory?

Answer 60

Slaby and Frey

Question 61

Describe Slaby and Frey’s study evaluating Kohlberg

Answer 61

55 children aged 2-5.5 years were given an interview to test the stages of gender development.
To measure gender identity they were shown images of people or dolls and asked ‘is this a boy or girl?’
To measure gender stability they were asked ‘when you were a baby were you a girl or a boy?’ and ‘when you grow up will you be a mummy or a daddy?’
To measure gender constancy they were asked ‘if you wore a dress would you be a boy or girl?’ ‘if you played football…?’ ‘If you wanted to be a b/g could you?’
2-6 weeks later they were retested as they were shown a 5 minute silent film split into two screens depicting a male or female image on each side each doing the same activity. The researcher recorded the amount of time the child spent looking at each side.

Question 62

What were the findings of Slaby and Frey’s study to support Kohlberg’s theory?

Answer 62

97% had achieved gender identity, 75% gender stability and 50% gender constancy. All achieved the previous stage before progressing to the next stage.
Children who achieved gender constancy were more likely to spend time watching the same sex models in the film.
This supports Kohlberg’s study in terms of the order they go through stages and that the children are more interested in same sex role models.

Question 63

What is the main limitation of Kohlberg’s theory?

Answer 63

Research has demonstrated that children prefer sex appropriate toys as early as 2 years old and prefer same sex play mates from around 3 years old. Gender role behaviour is shown by most children by the time they’re 3. This is several years before Kohlberg suggested gender constancy would be reached.

Question 64

What are schemas?

Answer 64

Schemas are pockets of information that help us to make sense of the world and help make life more predictable. These are developed by noticing common patterns in the world around us.

Question 65

What are gender schemas?

Answer 65

Collections of information that tell us what it means to be male and female. We all have slightly different schemas but they will have core themes in common which depend on the culture we live in.

Question 66

What do gender schemas do?

Answer 66

Provide us information about how to label things as masculine or feminine which affect our actions and decisions. The main prediction about gender schemas is that older children should show more gender appropriate behaviour because older children should have more information in their gender schemas and so have a better understanding of what it means to be male or female.

Question 67

Evaluate Gender Schema theory in terms of issues and debates

Answer 67

Recognises a role for psychological and social process and so is a strength as sees a role for more than one factor. Psychological process is the construction of schemas but would not occur without the social element.

Question 68

Give a research study that supports Gender Schema Theory

Answer 68

Bradbard et al studied 4-9 year olds who were given neutral objects (burglar alarms, pizza cutters) and were told they were either boys or girls toys. Boys as a result explored ‘boys items’ more than girls and vice versa. One week later boys recalled more information about the ‘boys items’ than girls and vice versa.

Question 69

What is the main strength of gender schema theory when compared to Kohlberg’s theory?

Answer 69

Can explain why children demonstrate gender appropriate behaviour before the age at which gender constancy is reached. This is because the theory says that all is required for gender appropriate behaviour is an understanding of if we are male or female and not an understanding of gender being stable or consistent.

Question 70

What is a limitation of gender schema theory?

Answer 70

The theory is based using scales to measure the extent of a person’s gender schema. Such studies usually find that the larger a person’s schema the more stereotypical behaviour a person will show and expect to see in others. The problem with this is it can’t be a subjective procedure as everyone’s idea of gender behaviours differs.

Question 71

Describe a study that is a limitation of gender schema theory

Answer 71

Bussey and Bandura argue that gender knowledge alone doesn’t always lead to the display or gender appropriate behaviour. Just because a child knows the cultural stereotypes about gender doesn’t guarantee that they will want to conform to the stereotype.