Gender: Role of Chromosomes and Hormones Flashcards
What are chromosomes?
Small sections of DNA containing genes which code for proteins and hormones. Hormones are important for the development of a foetus as either male or female.
How many chromosomes do we have?
46 chromosomes, 23 pairs
What is the genotype for males and females?
Males-XY
Females-XX
What does the Y chromosome do?
Signals the foetus to develop as a male and this is due to the presence and activation of the SRY gene which produces antigens. Male hormones trigger the development of testes and testosterone.
What does high levels of testosterone do?
It is associated with increased levels of aggression. This has
served an evolutionary purpose, in terms of increasing the ability of the male to protect their female, reducing the likelihood that she will be impregnated by a competing male and so increasing the likelihood of the survival of the male’s genes.
What is oestrogen?
Female sex hormone and triggers the development of female reproductive organs like fallopian tubes/ovaries/vagina as
well as triggering the increased irritability and emotion nature of women during menstruation, classified as PMS.
What is oxytocin?
The ‘love hormone’ because it provokes feelings of intimacy and closeness. Women have higher levels of oxytocin than men, which may contribute to the stereotype that women are more caring and affectionate than men, as well as the male focus on sex rather
than intimacy in relationships
How does oxytocin have an evolutionary advantage?
It is released in high concentrations before and after birth, allowing the mother to bond with her
baby and recover from childbirth through the suppression of cortisol.
A03- support
Types/concentrations of hormones present in the body and the developing foetus dictates the development of gender as either male or female. Dabbs found that offenders who’d committed aggressive/sexually abusive crimes were more likely to have high levels of the male androgen testosterone. This is exactly what would be predicted by the current
knowledge we have of the role of testosterone, and supports the differences between male and female characteristic traits being due to differences in hormonal concentrations.
A03-limitation, oversimplification
Gender is explained entirely in terms of chromosomes and hormones may be an oversimplification of such a complex social construct by ignoring differences within genders and is an example of biological determinism suggested by Macoby and Jacklin. In line with the idea of sex-role stereotypes, through the mechanism of social learning theory, we could accuse society of encouraging individuals with
typically strong masculine or feminine characteristics to act as role models for young children, who would imitate these characteristics through the use of mediational processes (attention, retention, motivation and motor reproduction).
A03- limitation, reliance on biology
The reliance on biology as an explanation for gender differences may act as a type of ‘scientific justification’ for discriminatory practices based on gender, especially concerning PMS. For example, Brescoll and Uhlman argue that PMS is simply a social construct, which medicalises female anger and therefore allows others, specifically men, to dismiss these feelings as simply ‘being hormonal’. This may lead to women being denied well-paid,
highly stressful jobs in the view that they’ll be unable to handle it.
