Gender Flashcards
introduction
The sex of a person is determined by the anatomy of an individual’s reproductive system, and secondary sex characteristics. Gender on the other hand, is the state of being male or female typically used with reference to social and cultural differences rather than biological ones. Members of the general public, influenced by bestsellers such as John Gray’s ‘Men Are from Mars, Women Are from Venus’, believe that men and women are fundamentally different. However, research suggest that rather small gender differences exist among men and women. This view will further be discussed in terms of the gender similarities hypothesis. The few remaining gender differences will be explained in term of the social-role theory and alternative approach of gender will be discussed in terms of gender being a social-stimulus variable as well.
the Gender Similarities Hypothesis
Hyde (2005), propose the Gender Similarities Hypothesis, which states that males and females are similar on most, but not all, psychological variables. This view is strikingly different from the prevailing assumptions of difference found among the general public and even among researchers. Hyde, identified 46 different meta-analyses that assessed psychological gender differences, from a recent review. They spanned a wide range of domains, including cognitive abilities, communication, social behavior and personality, psychological well-being, and other miscellaneous areas. The surprising result was that 78% of the effect sizes for gender differences were small or close to zero. Stated another way, within-gender variability is typically much larger than between-gender variability. Exceptions to the pattern of gender similarities do exist, but they are few in number. Across several meta-analyses, aggression showed a moderate gender difference, with males being more aggressive such findings may be related to social role theory.
the social-role theory
According to the social-role theory (SRT), sex differences in social behavior arose from the historical division of labor into homemaker and worker outside the home (Eagly, 1987). Roles produce expectancies about gendered characteristics, leading to different patterns of behavior that are transmitted to future generations through socialization processes. These patterns involve masculine agentic (instrumental) traits and feminine communal (expressive) traits. Expectancies associated with the masculine role maintain aggression as part of an instrumental set of responses, and expectancies associated with the feminine role inhibit it as part of an expressive set of responses.
evidence for the social-role theory : aggression
Archer, 2004 has reported comprehensive meta-analyses of sex differences in aggression from real-world studies. Sex differences in direct aggression were consistent across those nations for which there was evidence, supporting the SRT position that gender roles are consistent across cultures.
evidence for the social-role theory : helping
Eagly and Crowley’s (1986) conducted a meta-analysis of research on gender differences in helping behavior. The average of over-all studies indicate that men helped more. However, for studies in which onlookers were present and participants were aware of it, and when no onlookers were present. These findings were consistent with Eagly and Crowley’s predictions based on social-role theory; chivalrous and heroic helping is part of the male role and is facilitated when onlookers are present, resulting in a large gender difference.
what are the consequences of Society changing rapidly?
Society is changing rapidly. Women are becoming more instrumental, assertive and self-reliant. Household responsibilities are divided more equally, less traditional roles for men and women are acceptable. For instance, more women in the workforce and pursuing higher education and more women in leadership roles and becoming ‘breadwinners’. Western societies as a whole becoming less traditional in idea about what constitutes
‘family’ (e.g., more people choosing not to get married, gay marriages, step-families, etc.) So a lot of research findings, centred on ‘traditional family’ may be outdated.
gender is a social-stimulus variable
In the preponderance of psychological research, gender is considered to be an individual-difference or person variable. An alternative approach recognizes that gender is a social-stimulus variable as well. An example comes from a classic experiment by Condry and Condry (1976). Participants viewed a videotape of a baby’s emotional responses to a jack-in-the-box popping open. The baby stared and then cried. Half the adult viewers were told that the baby was a boy and half were told it was a girl. Those who thought the baby was a boy labeled the emotions ‘‘anger’’; the other half called the ‘‘girl’s’’ emotions ‘‘fear.’’ In short, the adults read the emotions differently depending on the baby’s gender. Numerous studies using this Baby X paradigm have replicated the finding that adults respond differently to an infant depending on whether they think the child is a boy or a girl (Stern & Karraker, 1989). The broader implication here is that, both in laboratory experiments and in real life, an individual’s gender acts as a stimulus that influences people’s responses to the person.
