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PSYC 333 > Lecture 15 - Gender Differences > Flashcards

Lecture 15 - Gender Differences Flashcards

1
Q

Hitting on ppl study

A

Approached men ann women on campus

“Ive been noticing you around campus and I find you to be very attractive”

G1 - wouyld you go out with me tonight
G2 - Would you come over to my apartment tonight
G3 - Would you go to bed with me tonight

Results

G1= no gender difference in response
G2 = more men said yes than women (very few women)
G3 = no women, some men. Big gender difference
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2
Q

Sex vs gender

A

Sex
Bio
Evolutionary

Gender
Social/cultural meaning of being male or female
Presumably due to roles and learning

Sometimes work together

Timing of puberty is influenced by HPA but social factors like absent father speed it up

Gender identity is affected by hormones (pre natal androgen)

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3
Q

Effect Size

A

d=.2 (r=.1) Small
d=.5 (r=.3) Medium (only 33% dont overlap)
d=.8 (r=.5) Large (47% do not overlap)

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4
Q

Biological differences

Male advantage is positive

A

Throwing 2.18

Long jump .54

fine eye motor coordination -.21

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5
Q

Mental and social ability difference

Male advantage is positive

A

Math: d = .41

Visual-spatial perception: d = .64

Verbal tests: d = -.11

Decoding non-verbal cues: d = -.43

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6
Q

Differences in personality and social behavior

Male advantage is positive

A

Aggression (children): d = .50

Aggression (adults): d = .29

Leadership: d = .41

Helping (group, emergency, alone): d = .34

Influenced by group: d = -.32

Eye gaze: d = -.68

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7
Q

Empathy (F > M)

A
  • Self-report: d = -.99
  • Reflexive crying: d = -.27
  • Picture story: d = -.10
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8
Q

How you measure

A

Makes a difference. Self reports will reflect cultural norms. Others may not

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9
Q

Aggression (M > F)

A

Physical aggression (largest effect size)

Murder (huge)

Violent crime (huge)

BUT…

Gossip & Rumors (no diff, maybe female advantage)

Slapping intimate partner (female advantage)

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10
Q

Prosocial behavior (F > M)

A

Communal care & social support

Moral reasoning based on care and responsibility

Emotional expressiveness (facilitates emotional support)

Girls more helpful, esp. kindness and consideration

More sensitive emotional support

Empathy and sympathy

Nonverbal sensitivity

BUT….

No female advantage:

Bystander intervention—esp. when on-lookers present (power of norms/expectations)

No request made

Masculine skills required (changing tire)

Dangerous (Carnegie Hero Medals)

Saving people from drowning, fire, assault by criminal, animal
attack

But, organ donation, and peace corps (F>M),

risky but do not require tremendous physical strength

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11
Q

Social role theory

A
  • Social structure is the underlying force for gender differences
  • Specifically, division of labor creates gender roles, which in turn, lead to gendered social behavior
  • Various influences including child rearing and biology, lead males and females towards different roles—homemaker vs. breadwinner

• Expectations, skills and beliefs associated with these roles affect men and women’s behavior
– to conform to expectations about being male, boys manifest traits associated with agency (e.g., competitive)
– To conform to expectations about being female, girls manifest traits associated with care and nurturance

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12
Q

2 causes (step 1)

A

Biology
-Strength and reproductive activities (etc)

Socialization
Cultural norms
child rearing

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13
Q

These 2 causes in social role theory lead to

A

Division of labor between the sexes

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14
Q

Division of labor between the sexes leads to

social role theory

A

Gender role expectations
(Via these processes people learn expectations of how genders should act)

Gender related skills and beliefs
(Repeatedly engaging in roles = acquire skills. Also begin to believe that these genders do these things)

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15
Q

Gender role expectations and gender related skills lead to

in gender role theory

A

Sex differences in behavior

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16
Q

Evolutionary Theory`

A

The reproduction and survival strategies for both sexes are different

Men: fast reproduction so traits that help them compete for females will be selected for

Women: long reproduction so traits that select for being choosy will be selected for

Natural selection shapes sex related behavioral differences and roles

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17
Q

Social role theory summary

A

Biology and socialization
influences the roles people
play, and the roles we play
influence who we become

18
Q

Social role theory step 1

A

Observe behaviour

Such as men at work or women in the home

19
Q

Social role theory step 2

A

Form belief about attribute and underlying personality

“look at her, she is so caring”

“he is so competitive”

(This is the FAE)

Observe behavior
Form ideas about what that means for someone’s personality

20
Q

Social role theory step 3

A

Generalize to the group

Women=caring

Men =competitive

21
Q

Biosocial interaction

social role theory

A

• “Through socialization boys and girls learn to channel and respond to chemical signals, gender identities, and expectations of other’s in ways that enable them to carry out their everyday social roles”

  • Testosterone
  • Oxytocin

• How people construe social interaction (because of identity) elicits hormonal changes that enable them to perform relevant action/goal

Might have seen this before in the culture of honor study (rise in test after confrontation)

22
Q

Gender schema theory

Bem, 1981

A

Is a cognitive theory

• Sex typing
– Acquisition of sex-appropriate preferences, skills, personalities, behaviors, etc.

• Derives from gender schematic processing
– Readiness on the part of the child to encode and organize information— including info about the self—according to culture’s definitions of ‘maleness’
and ‘femaleness’
– Some information more easily assimilated into the self-concept than other
information
-If you are gender-schematic, you are more liekly to incorperate this info (such as your culture’s ideas about gender)

  • Gender schema developed to process information on the basis of sex-linked associations
  • cf. Self-schemata (enhances attention, processing and recall)

• Use gender relevant dimensions to develop self-concept, e.g., dominant,
nurturing, etc.

• Explains why big differences on self-report empathy but not task based
empathy

23
Q

Gender info is transmitted

A

via schema

Individual differences exist in how susceptible people are to this and so people differ in sex-typing

Largely driven by schematic processing

24
Q

Gender roles/schemata are (2 things)

A

(1) Descriptive

How should I act? Esp in uncertain situations

(2) Prescriptive

How should I act to gain acceptance and approval?

These both fulfil important psychological needs

25
Q

Gender and self-esteem

Experiment

Negative feedback on gender related domain

A

• We feel good about ourselves (self-esteem) when we live up
to culturally mandated, gender-appropriate norms

• Self concept formulated in relation to gender schemas
– Men: separation and independence
– Women: connection and interdependence

SET UP

Men and women recruited

Self esteem level assessed (high/low)

• Ps receive negative feedback in relevant domain
– “high ability for:
G1 independent G2 interdependent thinking”

Given test results that showed they were low in one or other of these domains. Then told sometimes the test makes mistakes, how much do you think you will improve on this score if you do it again?

RESULTS

High SE Men told they were low in independence said they would perform better

High SE women told they were low in interdependence said they would do better

So the threat to a schematic part of their self schema caused them to resist and restore self-esteem only on the gender specific activity they were told they were bad at

In both cases, the low SE people did not show any effect (they are used to having low self-esteem)

26
Q

Criticism about sex based theories

A

It describes and does not predict. It is useless to say “ you are a man so you have high risk of x”

It is better to work out what is causing those risk factors cos that provides targets

27
Q

Two basic modes of existence Communion

A

Concern for others

Forming connections with others, being part of a larger social and spiritual
entity

Interpersonal, traditionally

feminine traits (“warm” “cooperative”)

Expressive Motives

Intimacy, union, solidarity

Agreeableness

Providing for others

Need for intimacy, trust and tenderness

Facilitating group harmony

28
Q

Two basic modes of existence Agency

A

Concern for self

Separating/differentiating the self from others

Instrumental, traditionally masculine traits (“competitive”)

Self-assertion

Self-enhancement

Self-promotion

Need for mastery, power (which
enhance and protect differentiation)

Dominance

29
Q

Maleness ≅ Agency

Femaleness ≅ Communion

A

Division of labor ensures efficient functioning and ultimate survival

Common goals of society (Redfield, 1960):

Getting a living (A)

Living together (C)

Or,“getting ahead and getting along” (Hogan, Jones & Cheek,
1985)

Males are larger, stronger, faster:
hunt, protect, lead

Females uniquely equipped to breed and suckle young:
n rear children, prepare food, maintain household

Hence over time the sexes may have orientated themselves towards one role as a way of being for the good of the individual and society

30
Q

Agency and Communion form

A

2 axis

Unmitigated agency = high agency LOW COMMUNION

Unmitigated communion = high communion LOW AGENCY

It is the LACK of communion or agency that is the problem

31
Q

Unmitigated Agency

A

Focus on self to the exclusion of others
• Manipulating others for selfish ends
• Refusing and ordering others
• Isolation, alienation & hostility

This type of behavior is synergistic, by acting this way, such people alienate others and so isolate themselves more, then feel more isolated and more inclined to continue (viscous circle)

32
Q

Unmitigated communion

A

Focus on others to the exclusion of the self
• Overly involved in others’ problems
• Tolerating insults
• Accepting verbal abuse
• Repeatedly apologizing
• Total submission, lack of self, masochism

Synergistic (interactive) effect:
Act is ways that increase likelihood of being taken advantage of, thereby
increasing sense of submission and powerlessness which leads to more of this type of behavior

33
Q

Communion and well-being

A

LOW communion (C-) associated with:

Alcohol use
Aggression
Less help seeking

Who is low on communion? 
Unmitigated agency (agency w/o communion)
Focus on self to the exclusion of others

H1: Lack of communion may be a risk factor for problems that tend to show up in MEN (heart disease, accidents, acting out)

34
Q

Agency and well-being

A
  • LOW Agency (A-) associated with:
  • Health complaints
  • Depression
  • Anxiety

Who is someone who does not have much agency?
– Unmitigated communion (communion w/o agency)
– Those who are vulnerable to unmitigated communion, that correlates with health complaints, depression and anxiety
– Consistent w/ link between women-depression

H: Lack of AGENCY may be a risk factor for problems that
tend to show up in WOMEN (depression, morbidity, etc.)

35
Q

Agency and communion

Vs men and women

A

If we frame it like this, there are clinical targets to help people overcome agency issues

36
Q

Situational influences on gender differences in

agency & communion

A

Men and women

Measured agentic and communal behaviors

Did so by asking how people acted when interacting with

(a) supervisors
(b) supervisees
(c) co-workers

20 days at work

Agency: “I tried to get the other to do something else”
n Communion: “I expressed affection”

Test of social role theory:

Compare supervisor and supervisee roles for men and women

RESULTS

People are less agentic when with supervisors

More with co-workers

And most with supervisees

Shows how the situation dominates (and that it is the role than influences agency)

Women were more communal at work overall and the people they interacted with had no effect but work pulls out agentic behaviour. This might have been different if it was done in a more communal setting.

37
Q

Changes in women’s assertiveness in response to status and roles over time

A

Social roles (can) change over time

Cross temporal meta-analysis (1931-1993)
-Take research and stratify by publication date

Declines in assertiveness: 1946-67

Rises in assertiveness: 1967-93

Some recent studies show no sex difference

38
Q

Why did assertiveness change over time?

A

H: Assertiveness varies with status and social role

Role > Self-Concept > Identity

(so environment changes women’s assertiveness)

ALTERNATIVELY

Women who are more assertive choose environments

39
Q

Social roles and women’s
assertiveness over time

Predictions

A

Social climate in 1970s

e.g.

age at first marriage
college education
participation in
work force

PREDICTED score of “assertiveness” in the 1980s

BUT

The assertiveness score in the 1980s DID NOT predict the social climate in the 1990s

So evidence that the social environment when women are young girls predicts their assertiveness later but the average level of assertiveness in the 1980s did not predict the environment later

40
Q

Summary of findings for assertiveness over time

A

Assertiveness varies with status and social role

University degrees obtained 10 years prior predict changes in assertiveness

Current level of assertiveness associated with social climate
during childhood

Changing sociocultural environment can affect (women’s) personalities (e.g., social role theory)

PSYC 333 (26 decks)

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