Gender

Question 1

Define sex

Answer 1

Biological differences between males and females

Question 2

Define gender

Answer 2

Psychological and cultural differences between males and females (ways of thinking, feeling, acting)

Question 3

Define sex-role stereotyping

Answer 3

A set of shared beliefs and expectations about what is typical behaviour for males and females

Question 4

What is a stereotype

Give an example

Answer 4

An expectation of how men and women should behave

Women cannot drive a car

Question 5

Describe the supporting evidence for sex-role stereotyping

Answer 5

✅furnham and farragher
- content analysis of British tv adverts
-over 200 were analysed
- results: males portrayed as professional/ celebs
Females portrayed as mothers/ homemakers

Question 6

What is a problem of furnham and farraghers study

Answer 6

Subjective interpretation in content analysis

• same behaviour may be perceived differently
• we cannot assume that viewers passively respond to them

Question 7

Describe the Baby X experiment

Criticise this study

Answer 7

✅seavey

• 1/3 told baby was female
• 1/3 told baby was Male
• 1/3 not told gender
• found a skewing of choice of toy to fit the stereotype
• when not told gender, women handled the child more than me

❌artificial task
✅high control, methodical

Question 8

Define androgyny

Who introduced this term

Answer 8

A combination of masculine and feminine characteristics

Sandra Bem

Question 9

Was it considered healthy to be androgynous

Answer 9

Considered it is psychologically healthier to avoid fixed gender role stereotypes

Question 10

How is androgyny measured

Answer 10

The bem sex role inventory:
-list of 20 masculine traits, 20 feminine traits, 20 neutral traits

Participants rate themselves on a 7 point scale for each trait, scores are added up for M + F traits

Participants given a score:
A higher score of androgyny is associated with higher levels of psychological health

Question 11

Evaluate Bems sex role inventory

Answer 11

Issues with self report:
❌socially desirable answers
❌subjective- might get a different score every time
❌assumes u have an accurate perception of your personality and behaviour

*❌temporal validity:
The adjectives used in the BSRI were selected back in the 1970s and people’s attitudes have changed since then, eg not only men have strong personalities anymore, women do too

❌ethnocentric/ based on one culture alone

Question 12

❌What did Hoffman and borders find: BSRI

Answer 12

Asked a group of 400 undergraduates to rate items on BSRI as masculine/ feminine

Found only two terms were still exclusively Masculine/ feminine

Question 13

What does the differences in behaviour assumed to be down to in the biological explanation

Answer 13

Due to chromosomal and anatomical differences rather than the environmental influence

Question 14

What is the difference between typical and non typical chromosomes

Answer 14

Typical- sex chromosomes

Atypical- sex chromosomes which are not norma (eg kleinfelters)

Question 15

What are the 23rd chromosome pair for men/ women

Answer 15

Men- XY

Women- XX

Question 16

What happens if the differences in gender behaviours between atypical and typical sex chromosome people

Answer 16

Then the behaviour may suggest a genetic basis for the differences

Question 17

Describe klinfelters syndrome

Answer 17

Caused by the presence of an extra X chromosome

• XXY
• affects men
• leads to poorly developed language skills, passive and shyness, Long limbs, reduced body hairs

Question 18

Describe turners syndrome

Answer 18

Caused by the absence of an X chromosome

• XO
• biologically female
• higher than average reading skills, socially immature, broad chest, no menstrual cycle

Question 19

Evaluate the chromosomal explanation

Answer 19

❌environmental explanation

• may be environmental and social influences are more responsible for the behaviour differences
• for instance social immaturity may arise because they are treated immaturely by those around them

Question 20

Define hormones

Answer 20

The body’s chemical messengers that travel through the bloodstream after being secreted by glands

Question 21

What is the effect of oestrogen

Answer 21

A female hormone responsible for the development of female sexual characteristics and menstruation

Question 22

What is the effect of oxytocin

Answer 22

Oestrogen has been found to increase oxytocin secretion

Oxytocin is responsible for increases sociability and the formation of bonds and attachments

Feelings of contentment and calmness

Produced by pituitary gland

Question 23

What is the effect of testosterone

Answer 23

More dominant in males, testosterone causes the Male foetus to develop Male external sex organs

-aggression

Question 24

✅Describe the supporting evidence for the role of hormones

Answer 24

• testosterone levels were analysed using saliva samples from 692 male prisoners, then related the sample to the type of crime committed
• inmates should had committed personal crimes of sex and violence had higher testosterone than those who committed crimes about theft/ burglary

Question 25

Evaluate Dabbs study

Answer 25

❌correlation
Study involves covariables, there are too many extraneous variables to explicitly say testosterone
❌contradictory evidence: Tricker
-gave two groups either testosterone injection or a placebo
-it was double blind
-self reported aggression levels
-no difference between groups and levels of aggression

❌biologically reductionism

Question 26

How does SLT suggest that gender behaviour is learnt

Answer 26

Observational learning

Paying attention to role models- imitate them