Learning approach: Gender

Question 1

sex

Answer 1

biological differences between males and females including anatomy, hormones and chromosomes. Sex is assigned at birth and distinct from gender.

Question 2

gender

Answer 2

the psychological, social and cultural differences between boys/men and girls/women, including attitudes, behaviours and social rolesas distinct from biological sex. (we use the terms boys/men and girls/women).

Question 3

gender schema

Answer 3

an organised set of beliefs and expectations related to gender that are derived from experience. such schema guide a persons understanding of their own gender and gender typical behaviours in general.

Question 4

binary

Answer 4

describes a choice of two states, for example something can be either on or off, or a person can only be a man or a women.

Question 5

non-binary

Answer 5

a term that suggests gender (or any concept) cannot be divided into two distinct categories. eg. gender is not a question of being a man or a woman.

Question 6

androgyny

Answer 6

displaying a balance of masculine and feminine characterisiics in ones personality.

andro = male.
gyny = female

Question 7

gender fluid

Answer 7

having different gender identities at different times, including single-gender and non-binary.

Question 8

transgender

Answer 8

relating to a person whose gender does not correspond with their birth sex.

Question 9

gender dysphoria

Answer 9

describes the discomfort or distress arising from a mismatch between a persons sex assigned at birth and their gender identity. this is also the clinical diagnoses for someone who isn’t happy with the sex they were assigned at birth.

Question 10

masculinity

Answer 10

traits and behaviours considered appropriate for boys/men in a particular culture, distinct from male biological sex.

Question 11

Operant conditioning: Explanation of gender

Question 12

Social learning theory: Explanation of gender

Question 13

name 2 strengths of the learning approaches explanation of gender

Answer 13

1. there is research to support from ‘baby x’ study.

Smith and Lloyd dressed 6 month old babies in either blue or pink clothes and asked participants to interact with the babies. they found that the participants treated the infants differently depending on the infants gender label which was determined by how they were dressed. if the infant was dressed in pink, the participant chose the doll for the infant to play with. if the infant was dressed in blue, the participant chose the hammer for it to play with.

Question 14

femininity

Answer 14

traits and behaviours considered appropriate for girls/women in a particular culture, distinct from female biological sex.

Question 15

name 1 limitation of the learning approaches explanation of gender