Gender Differences Flashcards
Gender in Silicon Valley?
- Some men said they feel “subjugated” by feminists
- Radical sub-group wanted to start a separatist men-in-tech movement
- Many agreed with Damore’s memo
- Also widespread anger; Damore was fired
Why is gender differences such a dangerous topic?
- Acceptance of gender differences in ability could promote discrimination
- If young children believe in differences, could inhibit success/hard work -> self-fulfilling prophecy
Gender difference in math and science?
Varies by culture
- Most prominent in USA, where culture distastes that math is not “cool” for girls
In the 1980s, American middle-school
boys outperformed girls, at the highest
ability level, by 13 to 1. Now, it’s 3 to 1.
Gender difference only emerges after
elementary school
– When math gets harder, boys are
encouraged to push through
But, what about the progress of science?
- Do we need to talk about the possibility of gender differences in order to learn the scientific truth?
- Or, does this kind of conversation inherently promote problematic gender differences?
UBC research addressed scientific gender differences issue? (Dar-Nimrod & Heine, 2006 (Science))
Question: Does telling women that they
are genetically worse at math lower their
math performance?
– If so, can we counteract this effect by telling
them:
A) no real gender difference
B) there is a difference, but it’s due to environmental causes
- Female pp read an essay
– Condition 1: Essays argue for a gender difference in
math, due to genetic factors (Summers condition)
– Condition 2: Essays argue for gender difference in
math, due to experiential factors (Spelke condition)
– Condition 3: No essay, but prime gender (standard
stereotype threat)
– Condition 4: Essays argue for no gender
difference
* 2. Pp do math test, performance assessed
Gender Difference Study: Results?
Telling women that gender differences is due to genes hurts their performance
- Lack of control
Why does telling them that it’s due to life experiences solve the problem?
- Agency, rise above the circumstances
Gender Differences in Personality? (postive effects mean men > women)
Extraversion
- Gregariousness -.15
- Assertiveness .50
- Activity .09
Agreeableness
- Trust -.25
- Tender-mindedness -.97
- Aggressiveness 0.40-.89 (depending on measure)
Conscientiousness
- Order -.13
Emotional Stability
- Anxiety -.28
- Impulsiveness 0.06
Openness
- Ideas 0.3
Gender Differences in Emotion?
Women experience more negative emotions
- Greater frequency
- Greater intensity
Women score higher on measures of empathy
Is there a gender difference in aggression?
Until age 2, No!
– In fact, some evidence that aggression is more
common in play groups dominated by girls
- By age 4 or 5, boys show higher aggression
- By adolescence, boys are much more aggressive
– And more conduct problems, higher delinquency - Conduct disorders are 6-10 times more common in boys
- Men commit more crime across cultures
Homicide trends in the US?
Males were almost 10 times more likely
than females to commit murder in 2002
- Male offender/Male victim 65.1%
- Male offender/Female victim 22.6%
- Female offender/Male victim 9.9%
- Female offender/Female victim 2.4%
TV viewing and aggression?
Men view more violent TV than women, and there is a correlation between how much violent TV is consumed by age 8 the seriousness of the criminal act by age 30
Explaining the gender difference in aggression?
Girls show aggression differently than boys
Overt aggression (male)
- Physical assaults (hitting) and verbal assaults (yelling, insulting)
Relational aggression (female)
- Excluding others; withdrawing acceptance; spreading false rumors
- Mean Girls Model
Gender Differences in self-esteem?
Overall men have higher self-esteem overall.
No gender difference in kids, but in puberty both drop but women’s drop much more, and pretty much stay that way their whole life, until old age where both genders self-esteem go up
Why do girls show a greater self-esteem decline than boys?
Girls’ self-confidence fairly high until age 11 or 12
- Assertive about feelings
During adolescence, many girls accept stereotyped notions of how they should be
- Repress true feelings
- Adopt a “nice: and women-like-self-presentation
Gender Difference in Body Image?
Idealized standards of beauty may contribute to girls’ declining self-esteem
Girls’ bodies change with puberty, making it much harder to maintain the idealized body type presented by the media
Body image and girl’s self-esteem decline, experimental and quasi-experimental evidence? Review of 222 studies over the past 50 years (Feingold & Mazzella, 1998)
– Men have a more positive body image than
women
– Gender difference was larger for more recent
studies
Experimental evidence
Exposure to media showing thin body ideal linked to lower self-esteem
Quasi-experimental evidence
Introduction of American TV in Fiji increased prevalence of eating disorders in adolescent girls, and led to more negative body image
Hypothesis: Girls in countries that begin receiving magazines depicting idealized body images will show larger decline in self-esteem during adolescence
Gender Roles definition?
Popular conceptions of gender, which may influence behavior
Sex differences vs. Gender-Roles?
Sex Differences
– Actual differences between males and females in personality traits, self-esteem, aggression, achievement, etc.
Gender-Roles (sometimes considered gender identity)
– Stereotypes or beliefs about what it means to be a “man” or a “woman”
– Socialization of boys and girls to act in “gender appropriate” or sex-stereotypical ways
– Development of gender identity
Reserach on Gender Roles? - The Study of androgyny
A politically motivated search to separate sex roles and biological sex
Masculinity and femininity
– Personality dimensions
– Men and women can be high or low on both (or either)
– Masculinity: Instrumentality, assertiveness, dominance
– Femininity: nurturance, emotional expression, empathy
Are masculinity and femininity sex-related dimensions?
Now typically studied as instrumentality and expressiveness
Gender schemata:
– Cognitive orientations that lead people to process information through a sex-linked perspective
One study found that variation in gender-typical behaviors is partly due to genetic variance
– In women, 38% of variance in gender-typical behaviors due to genes
– Genes for sex-typical behaviors -> but these genes are not necessarily linked to biological sex
Sterotypes about Gender?
Highly consistent across cultures
Men:
– Aggressive, autonomous, achievement-oriented, dominant, exhibitionist, persevering
– INSTRUMENTAL / AGENTIC
Women:
– Affiliative, deferent, nurturant, self-abasing
– COMMUNAL
Stereotypes converge with actual sex differences, but are larger (exaggerated)
The three components of gender stereotypes?
Affective component
Positive or negative feelings that result from categorization
* i.e., sexism, preference for one gender over the other
Behavioral component
Treating people differently because of their social category
* E.g., job discrimination
* E.g., teachers giving more attention to boys
Cognitive component
Social categories (e.g., ‘dads’, ‘soccer moms’)
Prejudice Against Women As Leaders (Eagly & Karau, 2002)?
Gender stereotypes:
- Men are dominant, assertive, foreceful, and tkae charge
- Women are nice, friendly, socially skilled, sensitive
Leader Role Stereotype:
Leaderas are self-confident, assertive, take charge, solve problems, inspire others
Incongruity:
- Men and Leaders match
- Women and Leaders do not match
Prejudice:
Lowered evaluations of women as actual or potential leaders
Theories of Gender Differences? Socialization theory + Supporting evidence
Boys and girls are raised differently
Fits with Bandura’s Social Learning Theory
- Children observe and learn from same-sex parent
Evidence supports this theory:
- Parents encourage dependency in girls more than boys
- More physical play with boys
- Socialization differences replicate across cultures
