GENDER : ROLE OF CHROMOSOMES AND HORMONES Flashcards
What are chromosomes made from
DNA
what are genes
2 marks
short sectinos of DNA
that determine characteristics of a lving thing
how many chromosomes are there in the human body and what are they arranged into
46 chromosomes
23 pairs
the last of the 23 pairs of 46 chromosomes determines what
biological sex
what is the chromosomal structure for females
XX
what is the chromosomal structure for males
XY
chromoomal trucutres are XX and XY because
this is how tey appear when viewed under a microscope
what chromsome do all normal eggs produced by a human ovary ahve
X
what chromosems do sperms carry
X or Y
A baby’s sex is determined by …
sperm that fertilises the egg cell
baby is female if the fertilising sperm carries an
X chromosome
baby is male if the fertilising sperm carries a
Y chromosome
the Y chromosome carries a gene called the
sex determining region Y
how can we say the gene: sex determining region Y in short
SRY
What does the SRY gene cause to develop in an XY embryo
testes
teh sry gene casues etstes to develop in the XY embryo and what do these produce
androgens
what are androgens
male sex hormones
chromosomes intially determine …
a persons sex
chrmosomes intially determine a persons sex but how does most gender development come about
through the influence of hormones
what happens prenatally in the womb
2 marks
hormones
act upon brain development
and cause development
of the reproductive organs
at puberty during adolescence waht happens
burst of hormonal activity
triggers teh development of secondary sexual characteristics
such as pubic hair
males and females produce many of the same hormones but
in different conentrations
of primary importance in male development are a number of hormones called
androgens
what is the most widely known androgen
testosterone
testosterone is a
male hormone
true or false testosterone is present in small quantities in women
true
what does teststerone contorl
development of male sex hormoens during foetal development
what happens if a genetic male produces no testosterone during foetal development
no male sex organs appear
if a genetic female produces high levels of testosterone during foetal develpoment what may happen
male sex organs may appear
what does evolutionaru explanation link high testosterone to
and why
aggresion
becasue it’s adaptive
explain two reasons why aggression is adaptive
aggression towards rivals allows males to compete for the oppotunity to mate with a fertiile female
the fact that women tend to children means men are more likely to take the hunter role and success would be enhanced by aggressiveness
what is oestrogen
3 marks
female hormone
that determines female sexual characteristics
and menstruation
Alongside physical changes what can oestrogen cause during a menstrual cycle
heightened emotionality and irritability
when effects of high emotionlity and irritability become A diagnoSABLE disorder what is it referred to
premenstrual syndrome (PMS)
premenstrual tension (PMT)
in extreme cases waht has PMS been used succesfully as a defence for
murder
shoplifting
in the extreme cases that murder has been used to defend what have some researchers disputed
the existence of PMS as a viable medical category
compared the levles of oxytocin between men and women
women produce it in larger amounts than men
why do women typically produce larger amount sof oxytocin than men
its the result of giving birth
the hormone oxytocuin stimulates
lactation - making it possible for mums to breastfeed their kids
what horomne does oxytocin reduce
stress hormone cortisol
oxytocin reduces the stres hormone cortisol and faiclitates
bonding
because oxytocin reduces cortisol and faciliates bonding its referred to as the
love hormone
when is oxyctocin released in large quamtities
during labour and after childbirth
oxytocin makes mothers feel …
in love with their baby
the fact men produce less of oxytocin has fuelled what stereotype
men are less interested in intimacy and closeness within a relationship
the stereotype men are less intersed in intimacy within a relarionship etccc has been counterargued about evidence suggest both,men and women produce roughly equal amounts of oxyctocin during what
amorous activities e.g kissing and sexual intercourse
: According to the biological explanation of gender, the chromosomes, hormones and reproductive
systems that develop will influence the development of the brain, in particular, the size of the
suprachiasmatic nucleus (ScN) what is this area associated
with our psychological gender identity.
the hormone testosterone is implicated in the size of the
SDN
The hormone
testosterone is implicated in the size of the SDN and therefore
the SDN is approximately 2.5 times bigger in
genetic males than in genetic females
extension evaluation gender - biologically reductionist (I&D)
The biological theory is criticised for taking a biologically reductionist view of gender.
It assumes that
this complex psychological and physiological part of our identity can be broken down to the lowest
level of explanation - genes and hormones.
As a consequence, the theory ignores the roles of any
nurturing influences such as culture or media.
For example, by the time children are five years old, they
have already established some biological gender development and have been exposed to gender roles
and stereotypes in their environment.
This makes it incredibly hard to disentangle nature and nurture influences, concluding that the biological theory of gender should acknowledge a broader, more
holistic view of gender.
LIMITATION - oversimplified
One limitation of the biological approach of gender is the oversimplification of hormones.
Theapproach proposes that there are distinct male hormones (testosterone) and female hormones
(oestrogen) however, many argue that this is a very simplified view of hormones.
Both of these hormones are found in men and women in different concentrations and are not isolated to each
gender, which the biological approach appears to suggest.
Therefore, the endocrine system involved in
gender identity is more complex than initially proposed.
strength - research support young
One advantage of the biological explanation of gender is the research support it has gathered.
Young
(1966) manipulated the amount of testosterone exposed to unborn baby rats and found that the female offspring were born masculinised.
The masculinised female offspring played more aggressively,
had an increased size in the SND, and they demonstrated more exploratory behaviour, in contrast to
female offspring who were not exposed to more testosterone in utero.
This provides support for the
claim that hormones and physiology are highly influential in gender development.
