Lecture 2 - Child development: Sex and gender Flashcards
sex
a person’s biological status
male/female
gender
learned or cultural status
masculine/feminine
Determination of gender?
prenatal hormones
development of male or female
genitalia
parents assign as male or female, & raise accordingly
gender identity
Disorders of sexual development (DSD)
reproductive or sexual anatomy not standard for female or male
real biological variation
birth, puberty or later
variety of medical conditions
highly stigmatised
refers to a condition that a person has, not who a person is
Parental influence on gender identity
as role models
through child-parent interactions
gender-appropriate toys and activities
Preferences of prospective parents
perception of new born child
daughters described more often as:
little, beautiful, cute, weak, delicate
identical to sons in body dimensions & activity
Gender (or sex) role
behaviours, attitudes and characteristics associated with gender roles
become stereotypes
child’s attempt to create rules and order
Social learning theory
rewards for ‘masculine’ behaviour
punishment for ‘feminine’ behaviour
imitating males
Male gender identity
Cognitive developmental theory
male gender identity
‘masculine’ behaviour
gender identity
which person is a girl? – age 2-3 yrs
gender stability
when you grow up, will you be a mummy or a daddy? - ~ 4 yrs
gender constancy
boys don’t change into girls by wearing dresses – 4-5 yrs
The shaping of gender role
family siblings, extended family peers encourage separation, prejudice, difference preference for same sex playmates avoidance of playmates of opposite sex apparent before age 3
The shaping of gender role
family siblings, extended family peers encourage separation, prejudice, difference school structure, teacher behaviour media books, magazines, TV
Children’s books
females under-represented male characters (vs female) more varied, active & exciting roles strong stereotyping of characteristics
The media
men outnumber women 2:1 in programmes 3:1 in adverts advertisements stereotyped roles body image emphasis
similarities in gender and cognitive abilities
general intelligence
learning & memory
complex cognitive tasks
Social explanations for maths
boys experience
more maths at school
more attention from male teachers
attitudes
parental reactions to maths
parental bolstering of self-competence
confidence vs caution
The gender similarities hypothesis
review of 46 meta-analyses clear diffs only in throwing, sexuality, physical aggression research overlooks developmental trends (e.g. self-esteem) context (self-confirming) differences model sustains stereotypes
Gender differences in psychological health
substance dependency - men more
depression
eating disorders -
women more
