Lecture 10 - sex/gender differences: the biopsychosocial approach

Question 1

biopsychosocial approach

Answer 1

• suggests sex/gender differences are a product of several non-binary factors including biological psychological and social factors
• sex/gender difs have small effect sizes. why?
  > dif methodological approahces & reference measures
  >small or heterogenous sample
  > specific task used
  > limited consideration of sex/gender related factors that can explain inter & intra difs in brain and behaviour
• limited studies using this approach due to:
  > methodologically difficult
  > dispute over how to account for sex & gender

Question 2

biopsychosocial studies of sex/gender and brain structure

Answer 2

• Belfi et al (2014) - investigated gender roles & brain structure in 108 children. found
  > male sex associated with higher continuum score on sex role inventory (more masc)
  > masc pos cor with WM vol in frontal lobe
  > fem pos cor with GM vol in temporal lobe

Question 3

biopsychosocial studies of sex/gender and brain function

Answer 3

• wraga et al (2006) - showed mental rotation performance could be affected by exposure to gender stereotypes
• wraga et al (2007) - used fmri. behavioural data showed:
  > poorer performance in neg stereotype group mental rotation task
  > improved performance in positive stereotype group
• their fmri data also shows
  > poor performance in neg stereotype group was characterised by inc activation in regions associated with emotional processing e.g. orbital and medial frontal gyru and ACC = inc emotional load
  > women reported not affected by this stereotype = shows this operates at unconscious level
  > pos stereotype = inc activation of secondary visual processing areas (superior occipital gyrus and anterior prefrontal gyrus) associated with mental rotation and cog functions. but not activation of emotional processing

Question 4

biopsychosocial studies of sex/gender and cognition

Answer 4

• other studies looking at cog testing & endocrinological measures to investigate stereotype threat effect
• Hausmann et al (2009) looked at this as T was associated with mental rotation performance in men. found:
  > mental rotation performance in men pos related to T
  > in women, gender stereotype score neg related to mental rotation performance.
  > exposing males to neg female stereotype inc T and improved their performance
• similar results by pletzer et al (2019) found:
  > relationship between sex hormones and masculinity. oestradiol had pos effect on mental rotation
  > T and progesterone only helped mental rotation in male pp’s
  > in females strong relationship between T and self identified masculinity which cor with high rates of mental rotation
• but for true biopsychosocial approach should distinguish between sex and gender

Question 5

biopsychosocial approach accounting for both sex and gender

Answer 5

• research is limited by a lack of universal agreement on definitions of sex and gender resulting in most studies separating into dichotomous m/f groups
• studies of the brain to date have not acknowledged the impact of gender and binary sex for partitioning subjects

Question 6

Diversifying cognitive neuroscience

Answer 6

• transgender and nonbinary people have largely been ignored in research

Question 7

research with transgender pps

Answer 7

• Dotson and Duarte (2019) highlight importance of diversity in cognitive neuroscience & racial diversity. reviewed research and only 8% studies considered effect of sex/gender.
• implicates reproducibility, generalisability and development of treatments - why?
  > previously discussed issues with inc only male pp’s
  > bio difs between cis and trans people unaccounted for
• should also invetigate trans pp’s to validate the trans experience, learn more to support them and better understand the nature of gender and a psychosocial construct

Question 8

transgender identities: lived experiences

Answer 8

• these studies aim to find out what it is like to be trans & how it aligns with bio sex
• Harrison et al (2020) - 8 in depth interviews. 3 themes emerged:
  1. accessing healthcare services
  2. searching for acceptance
  3. Impact of gender dysphoria on psychological wellbeing
• Moolchaem et al (2015) - synthesis of qualitative studies that explored lived experiences of trans people. results showed 5 major themes:
  a. crossing gender & physical problems in life
  b. experiencing psych distress
  c. encountering discrimination and social exclusion
  d. having relationships does matter
  e. dealing with difficulties in life
• there is a need for health care providers social workers and health promoters to support trans indivs for their health & wellbeing

Question 9

trans identities: cog neuroscience

Answer 9

• cis brains are not truly sexually dimorphic
• Kurth et al (2022) investigated if trans brains resemble birth sex or their gender identity
  > trans womens brains fit inbetween two cisgender brains = shift away from male typical brain structure
  > suggests gender identity shapes brain structure more so than bio sex
• Mueller et al (2021) - both transgender and cisgender groups differed in subcortical brain volumes and surface area
  > structural patterns depended on brain region examined and direction of gender identity
  > trans brains have their own phenotype (mosaic)

Question 10

non-binary gender identities: lived experiences

Answer 10

• these studies shed light on the nature of gender as a psychosocial construct
• Giannantonio et al (2024) - investigated exp and milestones of non-binary identification and identify challenges. semi structured interviews showed 4 domains:
  1. growing up in a binary world
  2. gender dysphoria
  3. nonbinary awareness
  4. looking forward

Question 11

gender affirming (hormone) therapy

Answer 11

• refers to medical treatment given to a trans person that helps bring their physical body in line with their gender identity
• studies look at impact of gender affirming therapy on psychological wellbeing, quality of life and daily functioning of transgender people
  > Harrison et al (2020) - looked at lived exp of accessing care as trans person
• need more translational research from biomedicine and neuroscience here to understand how ga therapy influences neurological processes & behaviour
• aghi et al (2022) - current research fails to address needs of GAHT users

Question 12

impact of engaging with neuroscience research on sex/gender

Answer 12

• Sahin and Yalcinkaya (2020) - 2 studies exposed pps to neuroscience research findings on sex/gender difs and similarities in brain & measures essentialist beliefs.
  > pp’s exposed to scientific ev on brain similarities between m and f reported lower gender essentialism
  > suggests exposure to info on brain similarities can challenge essentialist views on gender which indirectly relates to sexism
  > has implications on improving gender equality in cultures where this remains an issue