Gender development

Question 1

sex

Answer 1

is xx or xy
chromosomes, biological status, hormones influence anatomy
fixed (no matter what surgery or therapy)
innate and driven by nature

Question 2

gender

Answer 2

gender is a social construct, your psychosocial status, how you identify, attitudes, values, behaviour
masculine or feminine - influenced by parents, media, culture, social norms fluid - driven partly by environment innate and driven by nature

Question 3

gender dysphoria

Answer 3

if sex and gender not aligned or correlated
psychiatric diagnoses find it in the DSM

Question 4

sex role stereotypes

Answer 4

beliefs/ views/expectations about roles/behaviour of each gender

Question 5

androgyny

Answer 5

display a balance of masculine and feminine characteristics in ones personality, often involves a look that is not always or identifiable as masc or fem
a psychological term to define someone who cannot clearly be defined as masc or fem
traits, attitudes + behaviour

Question 6

what is androgyny seen in the media as

Answer 6

seen as an asset
Sandra Bem - 1974

Question 7

Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI)

Answer 7

Bem’s scale in 1974 presents 20 characteristics that would be commonly identified as feminine, 20 as masculine and 20 neutral traits
respondents are required to rank themselves on a seven point rating scale for each item (where 1 is never true and 7 is always true of me), scores are then classified on the basis of two dimensions - masculinity-femininity and androgynous-undifferentiated - as follows
high masculine, low feminine - masculine
high feminine, low masculine - feminine
high masculine, high feminine - androgynous
low feminine, low masculine - undifferentiated

Question 8

A03 - androgyny and BSRI - scale would appear to be valid and reliable

Answer 8

the BSRI scale was developed by asking 50 male and 50 female judges to rate 200 traits in terms of how desirable they were for men and women, the traits that were the highest scores in each category became the 20 masculine and 20 feminine traits on a scale and the BSRI was piloted with over 100 students and results broadly corresponded with the ppts own gender identity
follow up study involving a smaller sample of the same students found that similar scores when the students retested a month later

Question 9

A03 - androgyny and BSRI - association between androgyny and psychological well being

Answer 9

BEM placed great emphasis on the fact that androgynous individuals were more psychologically healthy as they are best placed to deal with situations that demand a masculine, feminine or androgynous response, this assumption has since been challenged, some researchers have argued that people who display a greater proportion of masculine traits are better adjusted as that are more highly valued in western society
this suggests that Bem’s research didn’t take into account the social and cultural context in which it was developed

Question 10

A03 - androgyny and BSRI - oversimplifies a complex concept

Answer 10

gender identitiy is too complex to be reduced to a single score, alternatives to the BRSI have been developed like PAQ however like BSRI, PAQ is still based on the idea that gender identity can be quantified
Golombock and Fivush have claimed that gender identity is a much more global concept that is suggested by these scales, in order to understand gender identity more fully, the broader issues should be considered, such as the persons interest and perception of their own abilities

Question 11

A03 - androgyny and BSRI - cultural and historical bias

Answer 11

the BSRI was developed over 40 years ago and behaviours that are regarded as typical and acceptable - particularly in relation to gender - have changed significantly since then, Bem’s scale is made up of stereotypical ideas of masculinity and femininity that be outdated and lacking in temporal validity
in addition the scale was devised using a panel of judges who were all from the US Western notions of maleness and femaleness may not be shared across all cultures and societies

Question 12

role of chromosomes

Answer 12

chromosomes are made from DNA, genes are short sections of DNA that determine the characteristics of a living thing
there are 46 chromosomes in the human body arranged into 23 pairs - with the last of these the 23rd determining the biological sex
chromosomal structure for females is XX
chromosomal structure for males is XY
baby’s sex is determined the by the sperms chromosomes
the Y chromosome carries a gene called the sex determining region Y or SRY for short, the SRY gene causes testes to develop in an XY embryo
these produce androgens: male sex hormones, androgens cause embryo to become male without them the embryo develops into a female

Question 13

the role of hormones

Answer 13

chromosomes initially determine a persons sex but most gender development comes about through the influence of hormones
potentially in the womb, hormones act upon brain development and cause development of the reproductive organs
at puberty during adolescence a burst of hormonal activity triggers the development of secondary sexual characteristics such as pubic hair
male and females produce many of the same hormones but in different concentrations, of primary importance in male development are a number of hormones called androgens, the most widely known is testosterone

Question 14

testosterone

Answer 14

is a male hormone which controls the development of male sex organs, which begins to be produced at around 8 weeks of foetal development, much research has focused on the behavioural effects of testosterone, most notably in terms of its link with aggression, human and animal studies have demonstrated the influence of increased testosterone on aggressive behaviour in an animal study female rates were injected with testosterone and become more physically and sexually aggressive

Question 15

oestrogen

Answer 15

oestrogen is a female hormone that determines female sexual characteristics and menstruation, alongside the physical changes, oestrogen causes some women to experience heightened emotionally and irritability during their menstrual cycle
this is referred to as pre-menstrual syndrome (PMS) when these effects become a diagnosable disorder, PMS has been used successfully as a defence in cases of shoplifting and even murder

Question 16

oxytocin

Answer 16

women typically produce oxytocin in much larger amounts than men, particularly as a result of giving birth, the hormone stimulates lactation, making it possible for mothers to breastfeed their children, it also reduces the stress hormone cortisol and facilitates bonding for this reason it has been referred to as the love hormone
oxytocin is released in massive quantities during labour and after childbirth and makes new mothers fall in love with their babies
the fact that men produce less of this hormone has fuelled the stereotype that the men are less interested in intimacy and closeness within a relationship, however evidence suggests that both sexes produces oxytocin in roughly equal amounts during amorous activities such as kissing and sexual intercourse

Question 17

A03 - role of chromosomes and hormones - evidence support

Answer 17

David Reimer
James Dabbs et al (1995) found in a prison population that offenders with the highest levels of testosterone were more likely to have committed violent or sexually motivated crimes
Stephanie Van Goozen et al (1995) studied transgender individuals who were undergoing hormone treatment and being injected with hormone of the opposite sex, transgender women showed decrease in aggression and visuo-spatial skills while transgender men showed the opposite, this research seems to suggest that sex hormones do exert some influence on gender related behaviours

Question 18

A03 - role of chromosomes and hormones - contradictory evidence

Answer 18

in a double bind study conducted by Ray Tricker et al (1996) 43 males were given either w weekly injection of testosterone or a placebo, no significant difference in aggression were found after the ten week period between the two groups
it is also the case that many studies of biological factors in gender involve small samples of unusual people or are conducted on animals, limiting the extent to which meaningful generalisations can be made

Question 19

A03 - role of chromosomes and hormones - objections to pre menstrual syndrome

Answer 19

many have questioned the effects of oestrogen levels on a womens mood and object to the medical category of pre-menstrual syndrome on the grounds that it stereotypes female experience and emotion. Feminist critiques claim that PMS is a social construction - not a biological fact but a way of privileging certain groups over others, feminists have pointed to the medicalisation of womens lives and the dismissal of womens emotions

Question 20

A03 - role of chromosomes and hormones - oversimplifies a complex concept

Answer 20

biological accounts that reduce gender to the level of chromosomes and hormones have been accused of ignoring alternative explanations for gender development, the cognitive approach would draw attention to the changing thought processes that underpin gender development
even though these may come about through the maturation of the developing brain they are not adequately explained by the biological model

Question 21

Atypical sex chromosomes patterns

Answer 21

Klinefelters syndrome
Turners syndrome

Question 22

Klinefelters outline

Answer 22

XXY
Trisomy
1 in 650 are affected (struggle to get accurate figures)
Most individuals never diagnosed only 25% are actually diagnoses
90% of those diagnosed is after puberty

Question 23

Turners outline

Answer 23

XO
Females with only one x chromosomes affects one in 2500

Question 24

Klinefelter’s causes

Answer 24

Occur as random error there is a higher risk for older mothers

Question 25

Turner’s causes

Answer 25

Mosaicism - some cells have 46 chromosomes while some have only 45 chromosomes
Impartial x chromosomes

Question 26

Kleinefelter’s symptoms

Answer 26

Symptoms vary on age
Longer to crawl and sit up as a baby
Have problems with coordination muscle strength, worse motor skills development
Typically taller than average, have very long limbs even for their height
Delayed speech and language and can find reading quite challenging
Individuals have lower levels of testosterone, they have smaller testes, decrease facial hair, underdeveloped genitals
Gynecomastia - development of breast tissue
Described as having rounded body contours irrespective of gym habits.
Infertility in 90%
Increased risk for type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases and osteoporosis, higher risk for breast cancer

Question 27

Turner’s symptoms

Answer 27

Low set ear
Wide weblike neck
Broad chest with wide set nipples, shield chested
Swelling of hands and feet
Low hairline
Short fingers and toes
And short stature
Slow growth, shorter than average adult height, failure to have sexual changes associated with puberty
Infertility due to premature ovarian
Susceptible to other issues like hypothyroidism, renal diseases, G.I. issues, osteoporosis, increased of CVD (narrow coronary arteries)
At risk of aortic dissection, tear in wall of aorta

Question 28

Kleinefelter’s treatments

Answer 28

Varies on age of individual
Speech therapists, psychologists, fertility specialists, physical therapists, counsellors
Testosterone replacement therapy, increased mood, helps in relationships, don’t respond well to stressful situations don’t have great executive functions like problem solving
Quite shy and reserved character
TRT is a life-long therapy can be given via pill, injection or gel
The earlier you start treatment the greater the impact of the treatment

Question 29

Turner’s treatments

Answer 29

No cure for turners symptoms, can be helped with oestrogen replacement therapy and human growth hormone. ERT can aid in sexual secondary development, give these things around the age of puberty they are more effective then. HGH, is a growth hormone needs to be given in a young age.

Question 30

A03 - atypical chromosomes patterns - nature and nurture

Answer 30

Individuals with atypical chromosome patterns support nature, they support that some behaviours are innate, for example girls with turners syndrome tend to have higher verbal ability than normal girls it can be inferred that these differences have a biological basis and are a direct result of the abnormal chromosome structure.
However it is overly reductionist too assume the gender is just a result of nature, because this ignores the influence of the environment and the childhood.

Question 31

A03 - atypical chromosomes patterns - small sample size

Answer 31

We must be cautious not only because it’s a small sample but also because it’s a sample where most members of the population look different appearance wise and our therefore quite likely to be treated differently to others, therefore its not just the chromosome pattern that is different it is also their environment as a result of what they look like that is also different, therefore we have to be cautious to not standardise cause and effect early on.

Question 32

A03 - atypical chromosomes patterns - stereotypes

Answer 32

The assumption that there are typical male and female behaviours could be stereotypes and therefore comparing these individuals behaviours with this is too simple, because if these behaviours are stereotypes and these behaviour don’t even exist then we can’t compare the behaviour of these individuals to behaviour that might not even exist.

Question 33

A03 - atypical chromosomes patterns - greater difference within sexes

Answer 33

Macoby and Jacklin (1974) found significantly greater differences within the sexes than between sexes, means that behaviour within the sexes has a great variation therefore we can’t compare the behaviour of the atypical sex chromosomes to those with typical sex chromosomes because of how different behaviour can be within the sexes.

Question 34

Kohlbergs theory outline

Answer 34

Kohlberg proposed this theory in 1966
it is based on the idea that child’s understanding of gender runs parallel to their biological maturation and becomes more sophisticated with age. Gender development is thought to progress through three stages, the ages suggested by Kohlberg are approximate and reflect that the transition from stage to stage is gradual rather than sudden.

Question 35

Kohlberg and Piaget

Answer 35

Kohlberg took inspiration from Piaget’s finding’s, for example Piaget proposed the children are egocentric and as they become older they begin too decentre
he also proposed the notion of conservation where the properties of an object remain the same even as the outward appearance of that object changes

Question 36

Name the three stages

Answer 36

gender identity
gender stability
gender constancy

Question 37

gender identity

Answer 37

gender identity happens around 2, children are able to correctly identify themselves ad boy or girl, however they don’t understand that gender is permanent over time or situation for themselves and others.

Question 38

gender stability

Answer 38

at age 4 they acquire gender stability; they realise that they will always stay the same gender over time. However, they cant apply this logic to other people e.g. man with long hair is a woman.

Question 39

gender constancy

Answer 39

at age 6 they reach gender constancy here they recognise that gender remains constant over time and situation not just for themselves but for everyone.

Question 40

A03 - Kohlberg’s - methodological issues

Answer 40

Kohlberg’s work was developed using interviews that were done on very young children like 2 or 3, even though the questions were tailored to a younger age group there are possibilities that Kohlberg didn’t acknowledge the level of vocabulary needed to express understanding, children may have more complex ideas about gender but the inability to express themselves.

Question 41

A03 - Kohlberg’s - Evidence supports the sequence of stages

Answer 41

In the study done by Slaby and Frey children were presented with split screen images of males and females performing the same task, younger children spent roughly the same amount of time watching both sexes. However, children who had reached the gender constancy stage spent more time watching the model who was the same sex as them. This support Kohlberg’s theory that children who have acquired constancy will actively seek gender

Question 42

A03 - Kohlberg’s - constancy not supported

Answer 42

Kohlberg’s theory is undermined by the observation that many children begin to demonstrate gender-appropriate behaviour before gender constancy is achieved. Bussey and Bandura found that children as young as 4 reported feeling good about playing with gender appropriate toys and feeling bad about doing the opposite, this contradicts what Kohlberg said.

Question 43

Gender schema theory

Answer 43

Martin and Halverson proposed the gender schema theory a cognitive explanation of gender development which argues that children’s understanding of gender increases with age.

Question 44

what is a gender schema

Answer 44

a mental framework of our ideas about gender, male and female including attitudes, behaviours and values, they grow and become more sophisticated over time. Martin and Halverson proposed that when a child identifies with appropriate gender at the age of two they then actively start searching environment for information.

Question 45

how to gain schemas and why

Answer 45

gain their schemas by paying attention, retaining information, this information comes from the environment and helps children process a lot of information at once and not become overwhelmed.

Question 46

ingroup and outgroup

Answer 46

children pay much more attention to those in their ingroup rather than their outgroup, their ingroup is their own gender and the outgroup is everyone else, information from the outgroup they ignore and reject it because its not schema consistent. at around 7-8 they develop an out-group schema as well

Question 47

A03 - gender schema - evidence supporting

Answer 47

Bradbard (1986) - The study showed how gender schemas related to memory, they told 4-9 years old that certain gender-neutral items were boy or girl items, participants took greater interest in the items that were labelled as their own ingroup, also one week later they were able to remember more details about ingroups objects. This is a strength however we don’t know if the children had seen these objects before, pizza slicer, burglar alarm. However, their children did ignore the gender inconsistent items which supports the gender schema theory.

Question 48

A03 - gender schema - gender identity happens before two

Answer 48

Zosuls et al - Longitudinal study of 82 children looked at the onset of gender identity, data was obtained from twice weekly reports from mothers on their children’s language from 9 to 21 months and videotaped analysis of the children at play. They found that at around 19 months the children labelled themselves as a boy or a girl this normally happened as soon as they began to communicate telling us that they children have a gender identity before, but they can’t communicate it. Mothers might not be truthful and because it’s a self-report measure hard to be consistent with other people’s views. Martin and Halverson cant explain it before two years old therefore it’s a limitation of the theory.

Question 49

A03 - gender schema - Martin and Halverson’s own photograph study

Answer 49

Study done by Martina and Halverson found that children under the age of six were more likely to remember photographs of gender consistent behaviour that photographs of gender inconsistent behaviour, children tended to change the gender of the person in the gender inconsistent situation when asked to recall them a week later. Despite this we don’t know if children had been exposed to photographs before so could be due to shock. But it does show that memory was better when photographs showed gender consistent behaviours.

Question 50

Social learning theory explanation of gender example

Answer 50

The child observes their father who is mowing the lawn, the child identifies with their father because they are both male and he models himself after his father and the actions of his father. Therefore he imitates his father’s actions in this scenario mowing the lawn. This process by which the child copies his father’s actions is called vicarious reinforcement. The boy pays attention to his father mowing the lawn, he then retains this information this picture that men mow the lawn, he is then motivated to the mow the lawn because his father has received direct reinforcement from mowing the lawn and he copies his father, by motor reproduction and also mows the lawn. This all takes place because he is modelling his father because he is also a man.

Question 51

direct reinforcement

Answer 51

Children are more likely to be directly reinforced for displaying behaviour that is deemed gender appropriate - e.g. Boys encouraged to be active, girls encouraged to be gentle. These differences in the styles of reinforcement represents differential reinforcement and this is how children learn their gender identity. Behaviour that is reinforced is more likely to be repeated.

Question 52

indirect (vicarious) reinforcement

Answer 52

a child will copy another child’s behaviour when they wish to model after that child and that child has received positive reinforcement for a certain behaviour
if the consequences are unfavourable then the child will pay attention and not copy this behaviour, they will remember that the actions of this behaviour lead top unsavoury consequences.

Question 53

A03 - social learning theory - smith and lloyd (1978)

Answer 53

used 4-6 months old babies and dressed half the time in boys clothes and half the time in girls clothes, the children who were thought to be boys were encouraged to be adventurous and active and given hammers and boy themed toys. Children who were thought to be girls were given a cuddly toy and reinforced for being passive and gentle this shows that gender appropriate behaviours are reinforced and stamped in at an early age. This can’t be explained using innate differences between boys and girls for that to happen we would have needed monozygotic twins who were different genders but that isn’t possible

Question 54

A03 - social learning theory - not an adequate explanation

Answer 54

SLT doesn’t tell us how the process of gender development changes with age for all we know one day we wake up and know everything there is to know about gender, a cognitive theory would say that that as the ideas of gender development become more advanced biological maturation runs parallel to this advancement.

Question 55

A03 - social learning theory - opposing evidence from Buss

Answer 55

Buss (1988) showed that the traits men and women desire in a partner are similar. this is a limitation of the SLT explanation, because SLT tells us that children model after people who they identify with normally the same gender as them and imitate and model themselves after these people. However if the traits that men and women desire are similar

Question 56

A03 - social learning theory - banduras original study

Answer 56

doesn’t take into account biological differences
also methodological issues

Question 57

oedipus complex

Answer 57

Boy in love with mom, boy feared that dad will find out love for mum, jealous of dads strength, internal conflict between love for mother and fear that father will find out
Boy fear that if dad finds out he will cut his penis of, castration anxiety
Internal conflict, love for mum fights the castration anxiety
Key to resolving the conflict, identifying and internalising with the same sex parent
Resolves conflict by stopping love for mother and identifying with father, internalises his fathers behaviour

Question 58

electra complex

Answer 58

The girl thinks that her penis has been chopped of by her mothers, penis envy, realises that both her and mother don’t have a penis, mum castrate her as she loves the dad
Loves dad because he has a penis and this is powerful, penis envy
Internal conflict between fear of losing mothers love and love for dad
The conflict is resolved instead of desiring a penis, desires a child instead

Question 59

A03 - psychodynamic - research doesn’t support implications of the oedipus complex

Answer 59

Many commenters have criticised the use of Freuds concept of the Oedipus complex as well as the use of the Little Hans study
Freuds theory implies that sone of very punitive and harsh fathers should go on to develop a more robust sense of gender identity than other boys because of the high levels of anxiety should produce stronger identification with the aggressor
However this is not supported by evidence and in fact the reverse would seem to be true - boys with more liberal fathers tend to be more secure in their masculine identity (Blakemore and Hill 2008)

Question 60

A03 - psychodynamic theory - doesn’t explain female gender identity development

Answer 60

Much of the research onto girls parallel development was conducted by Carl Jung rather than Freud
Freud admitted that women were a mystery to him and his notion of penis envy has been criticised as reflecting the patriarchal Victorian era which he lived in and worked. It has been argued that a more powerful emotion than penis envy is the male experience of womb envy, a reactions to women’s ability to sustain and create life. It has been argued that penis envy was a cultural concept, rather than an innate trait and challenged the idea that female gender development was founded on a desire to want to be like men and androcentric assumption.

Question 61

A03 - psychodynamic theory - do not explain gender development in non-nuclear families

Answer 61

Freuds theories relies on the child having two parents of different genders so they are able to manage the Oedipus or Electra complex effectively. It is logical to assume from the conclusions that Freud said that being raised in a non-nuclear family would have adverse effects on a child’s gender development. Evidence does not support the assumption, though. For example Golombok et al (1983) demonstrated how children from single parent families went on to develop normal gender identities. Similarly Green (1978) studied a sample of 37 children who were raised by gay or transgender parents, and discovered that only one had a gender identity that was described as non-typical.

Question 62

A03 - psychodynamic theory - poor evidence + lack of scientific rigour

Answer 62

Based on just Little Hans which was a very unique case study, therefore has poor generalisability
lack of rigour in his methods, methods are untestable and unscientific

Question 63

Meads research

Answer 63

Mundugamor - Both sexes were aggressive and hostile (similar to the western stereotypes of masculinity), neither liked childcare so the baby was put out of the way in a dark place
Arapesh - Both men and women were gentle and responsive (similar to the western stereotype of femininity, both were very expressive caring and cooperative and both took to bed when the females was pregnant
Tchambuli - The Tchambuli women were dominant and they organised village life, men were passive and considered to be decorative

Question 64

Meads conclusion

Answer 64

Later on Mead said that she had underestimated the universal nature of many gender-typical behaviours. And she argued that the extent to which innate behaviours are expressed is largely the result of cultural norms

Question 65

culture and gender roles - Buss research

Answer 65

Buss, survey in 37 countries, ppts rated the importance of certain characteristics in potential mate, males rated good looks and youth as important because it is a good indicator of health and ability to be a mother, chastity was also important
Women rated financial prospects, industriousness and dependability, this supports that that there are cross-cultural similarities in gender role, many women and men instinctively seek similar traits

Question 66

culture and gender roles - Malinowski

Answer 66

1929 studied the Trobriand islanders (situated off the coast of new guinea)
In documenting their sexual behaviour, Malinowski reported that the Trobriand women were sometimes highly sexually aggressive
Gangs of women would capture and rape men from other times, often quite brutally, and they would boast about it and considered that it boosted their reputation

Question 67

A03 - culture and gender roles - why is cross-cultural research criticised

Answer 67

Reactivity - the researchers presence may alter the behaviour of those being studied
Communication - the researcher may be misinformed by or may misunderstand their informants
Imposed etic - the researcher may impose their own preconceptions on the data

Question 68

A03 - culture and gender roles - Meads research

Answer 68

Mead was criticised for becoming too involved with the tribes and therefore her findings were criticised for being subjective
There are suggestions that she exaggerated the difference based on her own preconceived ideas
Buss got around the above issue by including a member of the local population in his research team
Studying different languages in different countries can make communication difficult - interpretation may be inaccurate
Meads presence within the tribes may have caused an impact that resulted in demand characteristics
These types of studies are time consuming and expensive
It would have been good if there were other observers as well, she should have had a non participant observation, should not have been involved directly in the study

Question 69

media and gender roles - Furnham and Farragher (2000)

Answer 69

Investigated the sex role stereotypes in advertising, men tended to be used in power positions and women in familial roles within domestic settings
The voiceovers tended to be males suggesting that males are deemed to speak with more authority
This suggests that media may play a role in reinforcing widespread social stereotypes concerning male and female behaviours

Question 70

media and gender roles - Bussey and Bandura

Answer 70

Bussey and Bandura showed that the media do provide very clear stereotypes this suggests that the media do reinforce rigid gender stereotypes which contribute to gender schema
The media provide role models with whom children may identify and want to imitate, especially these models of the same sex and who are reinforced for gender appropriate behaviour
this links to the social learning theory

Question 71

media and gender roles how is self efficacy linked

Answer 71

The media does more than confirm gender typical behaviours, it may also give information to males and females on terms of the likely success or otherwise of adopting these behaviours
Seeing other people perform gender-appropriate behaviour increases the child’s beliefs that they are capable of carrying out such behaviours in the future

Question 72

A03 - media and gender roles - cause and effect

Answer 72

Difficult to find cause and effect. Just because the media has considerable influence on the formation and maintenance of children gender stereotypes it doesn’t mean that the media outright creates them
Also it is difficult to establish the medias effect without control group, most children are constantly exposed to tv and media therefore its hard to find a group of children that haven’t been exposed

Question 73

A03 - media and gender roles - counter stereotypes

Answer 73

Counter stereotypes, these stereotypes challenge traditional notions of masculinity and femininity
Pingree (1978) found that gender stereotyping was reduced when children were shown adverts featuring women in non-stereotypical roles
However also found that pre-adolescents boys stereotypes became stronger following exposure to the non-traditional models
Such a notion may be explained by boys desire to maintain a view that goes against adults views

Question 74

A03 - media and gender roles - McGhee and Frueh, tv

Answer 74

McGhee and Frueh in 1980 found that people who view a lot of tv tend to display more gender stereotypical views in their behaviour and attitudes that people who view little

Question 75

gender dysphoria

Answer 75

strong persistent feelings of identification with the opposite gender and discomfort with ones own assigned sex. People who have gender dysphoria have a desire to live as a member of the opposite sex and often dress and use mannerisms of the opposite sex.

Question 76

gender dysphoria or gender identity disorder

Answer 76

Gender dysphoria is classified as a psychological disorder in the DSM-5 due to the distress it causes, previously called gender identity disorder, was changed due to the connotations surrounding disorder.

Question 77

statistic for gender dysphoria

Answer 77

Across England and Wales, there were responses from 45.7 million people (94.0% of the population aged 16 years and over). A total of 45.4 million (93.5%) answered “Yes”, indicating that their gender identity was the same as their sex registered at birth. A total of 262,000 people (0.5%) answered “No”, indicating that their gender identity was different from their sex registered at birth

Question 78

problems with statistics for gender dysphoria

Answer 78

unknown how many people have gender dysphoria, how many people have been referred or diagnosed, hard to assume.

Question 79

brain sex theory for gender dysphoria

Answer 79

Looks at areas of the brain that are dimorphic (dimorphic says that there is a different form in males and females)
Zhou et al (195) - BSTc - brain area, right in the middle of the brain near the thalamus
Assumed to be fully developed at 5 (can’t change after this) and 40% larger in males than females
Post mortem studies of 6 male to female transgender individuals found the BSTc to be a similar size to that of a typical female brain
Kruijver et al (2000) - number of neurones in the BSTc rather than volume, the 6 individuals showed a sex reversed identity pattern with an average neurone number in the female range

Question 80

A03 - gender dysphoria - brain sex theory

Answer 80

Claimed BSTc is fully developed at 5 so hormones treatment for transgender individuals may be ineffective - plasticity goes against
Hulshoff Pol et al (2006) challenged this, finding hormone therapy did affect the size of the BSTc, differences in size may be due to hormone therapy rather than the cause of the GD (hormones - brain change = GD or brain structure = GD)
Chung et al (2002) claimed pre-natal hormonal influences which affect the size of the BSTc are not triggered until adulthood, suggests BSTc is the effect of transgenderism rather than the cause e.g. congenital adrenal hyperplasia
The research concluded that the BSTc provides evidence for a neurobiological basis of gender dysphoria and proposed that such a difference was determined before birth, beyond individuals control

Question 81

genetics for gender dysphria

Answer 81

Genetics
Hare et al (2009) - DNA of male to female transgender individuals
Found longer version of the androgen receptor gene than in a ‘normal’ sample (statistically average male)
Results in reduced action of the male sex hormone testosterone, could lead to under masculinisation of the brain

Question 82

A03 - gender dysphoria - genetics

Answer 82

Inconclusive twin studies, if genetic should see high concordance in mz twins - rates only at 39% (Heylens et al 2012)
Hard to separate nature and nurture
Small sample sizes

Question 83

phantom limb theory for gender dysphoria

Answer 83

gender dysphoria has been proposed to be an innate form of phantom limb syndrome, brain has wired itself in the opposite way to the biological sex the person is. They feel like they have wrong sex organs - 2/3 of the FtM report sensation of phantom penis from childhood

Question 84

A03 - gender dysphoria - phantom limb

Answer 84

Ramachandran and McGeoch (2007) - support for cross wiring when comparing GD patients and non GD who have had surgery to remove sex organs.
Non GD males - 60% amputees experience a phantom penis
GD men - 30% experience phantoms so suggests not wired to be there initially.10% FtM experience phantom breast sensation post-surgery, suggests different brain wiring

Question 85

pesticides for gender dysphoria

Answer 85

Pesticides not internal or genetic biological causes, but an environmental element of biology. Pesticide DDT contains oestrogen which exposes pre-nataly to high levels of female hormones. Suggestion the exposure causes mismatch between sex and hormone influences

Question 86

A03 - pesticides

Answer 86

oversimplified concepts, biological explanations reduce complex behaviour to an anatomical/genetic/hormonal level.
Other factors occurring at a higher psychological or social level can be ignored
Therefore a more appropriate explanation would be an interactionist explanation

Question 87

social explanation McClintock for gender dysphoria

Answer 87

these refer to the perception that GD is a condition learned via socialisation processes
Male/female stereotypes are societal inventions and forced people to pick one and conform to it.
Would suggest that GD is social and not pathological

Question 88

A03 - gender dysphoria - social explanation McClintock

Answer 88

Fafafini - samoa mead - 3 tribes, behaviour for male and female were different
McClintock (2015) - genetic condition in sambia tribe of new guinea
Biological boys categorised as female at birth based on genitals
Puberty = testosterone = change in genitals - male
Culture accepts males, female kwolu - aatmwol (females than males)
Since western contact, kwolu - aatmwol now judged as a pathological form of GD

Question 89

psychodynamic theory for gender dysphoria

Answer 89

Mother and son relationship
Ovesey and Person (1973) suggest GD in males is caused by extreme separation anxiety before gender identity is established, the child fantasises of a symbiotic fusion with the mother to relieve anxiety and the danger of separation is removed
The consequence is the child adopts a female gender identity to be like their mother

Question 90

A03 - gender dysphoria - psychodynamic theory

Answer 90

Stoller (1973) offers some support for this theory - in interviews with GD males, they were seen to display overly close mother-son relationships, leading to greater female identification/confusion long term
Zucker (2004) - FtM transexuals - sever paternal rejection in early childhood leads to identification as male, unconscious drive to gain acceptance from father
Ignores females, unfalsifiable and unscientific, how can we assess separation anxiety, absence of after more likely explanation than separation anxiety

Question 91

gender dysphoria - social constructivism

Answer 91

social constructionism - study in science that emphasises the role of culture and society and context, generates understanding and meaning. Supports the view that not all cultures have two genders. Increase in those identifying as non-binary suggests cultural understanding is starting to catch up with lived experience. Suggests gender identity/dysphoria are socially constructed rather than biological facts. Knowledge is socially constructed, truth is dependent on consensus, views of community and society. No absolute’s and no universals. Different cultures view gender differently historically, history has ignored the feelings of people that don’t fit the mould of male and female. History has ignored the lived experience of many people