Module 11 - Gender Development

Question 1

Sex

Answer 1

Sex refers to biological differences

Sex is typically associated with physical sex characteristics, chromosomes, and hormones.

While sex is often categorized as male or female, there is variation in the biological aspects of sex. For example, intersex is a general term used for people who are born with sexual anatomy that doesn’t fit traditional male or female anatomy

Question 2

Gender

Answer 2

Gender refers to socially constructed roles, behaviours, and attitudes.

While gender is often categorized as feminine or masculine, gender exists on a continuum and is not binary, and it can change over time.

Gender identity influences how people understand themselves, their relationships with others, and their interactions with society.

Question 3

Historically, masculine and feminine behaviours were differentiated by

Answer 3

Assertion

Affiliation

Cooperation

Question 4

Assertion (gendered behaviours)

Answer 4

Tendency to exert influence over the environment via competitive, independent, or aggressive behaviours
For example, standing up for yourself, being assertive, getting your way in a situation.
Stereotypically masculine

Question 5

Affiliation

Answer 5

Making connections with others via being emotionally open, empathic, or cooperative.
For example, putting effort into relationships, valuing relationships, intimacy, willing to compromise.
Stereotypically feminine

Question 6

Cooperation

Answer 6

Associated with gender role flexibility, which involves a coordination of assertion and affiliation.
This is sometimes referred to as androgyny.

Question 7

Gender Typing

Answer 7

The process of gender socialization and development.

Question 8

Gender-typed behaviour

Answer 8

Those traditionally associated with a given person’s gender (gender stereotyped).

For example, in our current society, a little girl playing with dolls would be a gender-typed behaviour.

Question 9

Cross gender-typed behaviour

Answer 9

Those traditionally associated with the gender other than that of a given person

For example, in our current society, a little girl who enjoys racing toy trucks would be an example of cross-gender-typed behaviour.

Question 10

Sex vs Gender

Answer 10

sex refers to the biological basis of being male, female, or somewhere in between.

In contrast, gender is socially constructed by society. Gender exists on a continuum of masculinity and femininity.

Some researcher study sex and gender together, as a view of the whole person.

Question 11

Key Biological Theories (gender development)

Answer 11

Evolutionary theory

Neuroscience approaches

Question 11

What are the theoretical models of gender development?

Answer 11

Biological theories of gender development
Cognitive theories of gender development

Question 12

Evolutionary Theory

Answer 12

Males and females have different evolutionary purposes. For example, males hunt and compete for mates, whereas females play a crucial role in child-rearing. Many societies today still promote these gender stereotypes.

Question 13

What is The main issue with evolutionary theory ?

Answer 13

its reliance on circular reasoning. We say things evolved this way because that’s what was needed to survive. How do we know that? Well, that’s because that’s what things are like now (see the circularity).

Question 14

Biosocial Theory (related to evolutionary theory)

Answer 14

argues that while men and women evolved to have such gender differences, these differences are no longer relevant in today’s society.

For example, men evolved to have greater physical strength than women because this was evolutionarily advantageous. However, having greater physical strength does not promote survival today.

Question 15

Neuroscience approaches

Answer 15

Neuroscience approaches to gender development consider how hormones impact neurodevelopmental differences. In particular, androgens impact brain development. Most of these impacts occur either prenatally (i.e., when the brain is being built) or during puberty (i.e., when the brain is being re-organized).

Specifically, hormones impact development in two key ways:
-Organizing influences
-Activating influences

Question 16

Activating influences (neuroscience approaches)

Answer 16

Differences in hormones leading to differences in behaviour. While there are no structural changes, different hormone levels lead to differences in brain function and behaviour.

Question 16

Organizing influences (neuroscience approaches)

Answer 16

Affect brain organization prenatally and in puberty. That is, there are structural differences in the brain.

Question 17

Neuroscience approaches have found that women….?

Answer 17

tend to be less lateralized in the brain than men.

For example, men tend to process language mainly in the left hemisphere and spatial stimuli in the right hemisphere. But for women, there would be more activation on both sides when processing this information.

Additionally, women also tend to have larger corpus callosum than men (the bundle of fibres that connects the two hemispheres).

Question 18

Key Cognitive Theories (gender development)

Answer 18

1) Kolhberg’s Cognitive Developmental Theory

2. Gender Schema Theory
3. Social Identity Theory
4. Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory

Question 19

Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory (gender dev)

Answer 19

argues that gender-typed behaviours are modeled and reinforced.

This theory argues that children learn about gender through:
- tuition
- Enactive experience
- Observation

Question 20

Tuition

Answer 20

learning through direct teaching

This is direct teaching about what it means to be a boy or a girl (not what you pay to take this class…). For example, girls may receive explicit instructions from adults about gender-typed behaviours like “girls don’t play contact sports”. Parents might also be the ones to buy gender-typed toys and dress their children in gender-typed clothes.

Question 21

Enactive Experience

Answer 21

learning to take into account the reactions one’s past behavior has evoked in others

Children evoke reactions from others and tend to be positively reinforced for gender-typed behaviours. For example, boys are more likely to be punished by adults for cross-gender-typed behaviours like wearing makeup or engaging in cross-gender-typed play.

Question 22

Observations

Answer 22

learning through watching other people and the consequences others experience as a result of their actions

Children learn indirectly from watching others and the media. Indeed, children are more likely to spend time with adults and peers of the same sex, so there are lots of opportunities for vicarious reinforcement. This also means that there are fewer opportunities for children to observe cross-gendered behaviours (e.g., a Dad who cooks and cleans the house). Interestingly, we find that girls are more willing to imitate men than boys are willing to imitate women.

Question 23

Kolhberg’s cognitive developmental theory

Answer 23

Kolhberg’s cognitive developmental theory is influenced by Piagetian Theory and the idea that children construct their own knowledge about gender. That is, children form gender schemas by observing the world around them.

This theory consists of three stages:

1) Gender Identity
2) Gender Stability
3) Gender Consistency

Question 24

Gender identity

Answer 24

self-identifying as a boy or a girl (or possibly as both or possibly neither)

Gender identity: by ~30 months old, children can reliably label their own gender.

Question 24

Gender Constancy

Answer 24

realization that gender is invariant despite superficial changes in a person’s appearance or behavior

Once children understand gender identity, gender stability, gender consistency, they are said to have gender constancy and are able to then understand gender stereotypes.

We know now that this is not true, however, as children hold gender stereotypes long before they achieve gender constancy.

Question 25

Gender Schema Filter

Answer 25

initial evaluation of information as relevant for one’s own gender

the key idea in gender schema theory is that children attend to information relevant to our own gender, and ignore, misinterpret, or actively reject any inconsistencies. This is known as a gender schema filter.

Question 25

Gender Consistency

Answer 25

Gender consistency: by ages 5-6, children understand that gender tends to be stable across situations.

For example, they now understand that a male doll wearing a dress is still a boy. I

n other words, children by this age generally understand that gender does not change (as adults we realize gender is a bit more complicated than this, but this is how a 5-year-old generally would understand things).

Question 25

Gender Stability

Answer 25

awareness that gender remains the same over time

Gender stability: by ages 3-4 years old, child understand that gender tends to be stable across time.

For example, a girl realizes that she will grow up to be a “mommy”. However, this gender stability does not necessarily apply to other people.

For example, if you put a dress on a male doll and ask a 3-year-old if it’s a boy or a girl, they’ll tell you it’s a girl.

Question 26

Gender Schema Theory

Answer 26

Gender schema theory combines social learning, information-processing, and cognitive approaches.

This theory argues that gender-typed behaviours occur as soon as children can label their own gender

Question 27

Social Identity Theory

Answer 27

Social identity theory is based on in-group/out-group ideas from social psychology.

Specifically, according to in-group bias, we prefer our own group and conform to group norms (in-group assimilation).

Thus, once children identify with a gender, they tend to prefer that gender group. This means that gender-typed behaviours become stronger over time.

postulated that the high-status group is more valued.

Question 28

interest filter ( Gender Schema theory)

Answer 28

initial evaluation of information as being personally interesting

For ambiguous stimuli, however, information is processed using an interest filter. So if you don’t know whether something is “for” your gender or not, you approach it based on your interest.

Question 29

social identity theory postulated that the high-status group is more valued - what does this mean?

Answer 29

male-dominated societies, masculine-associated behaviours like assertiveness tend to be more valued.

-cross-gender-typed behaviours are more common among girls than boys. This is because masculine behaviours are often more valued by society.

• gender-typing pressures are more strict for boys. This is because feminine behaviours are devalued by society.

-When it comes to children, this means that being a “tom-boy” would be much more acceptable for girls than feminine behaviours would be for a boy.

Question 30

Biological theories tend to focus on

Answer 30

the nature side of things (e.g., role of hormones).

Question 31

Cognitive theories tend to focus on

Answer 31

how children nurture side of things (e.g., how children learn about gender).

Question 32

According to Kolhberg, children categorize themselves as either a boy or a girl around

Answer 32

30 months

Question 33

Statement supporting Bandura’s social cognitive theory of gender

Answer 33

Boys are more likely to be praised by adults when they engage in masculine-typed activities than when they engage in feminine-typed activities

Question 34

Gender schema theory

Answer 34

Focuses on attention to gender-relevant information

Question 35

Social Identity Theory

Answer 35

Focuses on in-group/out-group bias

Question 36

Kolberg’s Cognitive Developmental Theory

Answer 36

How children construct their own knowledge about gender

Question 37

Bandura’s Social Cognitive Theory

Answer 37

How gendered behaviours are modeled and reinforced

Question 38

Neuroscience approaches

Answer 38

How hormones influence brain development

Question 39

Evolutionary Theory

Answer 39

Focuses on evolved differences in males and females

Question 40

Children can distinguish between male and female genders as early as

Answer 40

6-9 months of age.

Question 41

Infancy and toddlerhood gender milestones

Answer 41

Children can distinguish between male and female genders as early as 6-9 months of age.

Around 24 months old, children have gender expectations, and children can consistently label their own gender by 2.5 years old.

At 12m, both girls and boys tended to look more at the dolls. This is thought to be related to infants’ early preference for human faces.

By 18m, girls demonstrated a preference for dolls, whereas boys demonstrated a preference for vehicles.

At 23m, however, girls were equally likely to look at the doll and the vehicle. Boys, on the other hand, showed a strong preference for looking at the vehicle.

this research highlights that girls’ and boys’ preferences for gender-typed toys emerges early in development (i.e., between 12 and 18 months of age). This result suggests that infants prefer gender-typed toys even before they can reliably label their own gender identity.

Question 41

Why does gender segregation occur?

Answer 41

One reason gender segregation is thought to occur is differences in preferred types of play. Although stereotypical, boys tend to prefer rough and tumble play whereas girls tend to prefer quieter, cooperative play activities. Over time, as children become more and more segregated, conformity pressures may also play a role.

Question 42

Childhood gender Milestones

Answer 42

Gender segregation begins in preschool and peaks in middle childhood. This means that boys tend to play with other boys, and girls tend to play with other girls. This is generally universal across cultures.

middle childhood (e.g., ages 9-10) children start to understand that gender is socially constructed.

Question 43

gender development in transgender children

Answer 43

In contrast to their cisgender (a person whose gender identity matches their sex assigned at birth) peers, transgender children have spent time living as both genders.

gender development is the result of a complex interweaving of nature and nurture factors. By studying transgender children, however, we can aim to better understand these influences.

For example, a transgender boy may have XX chromosomes, female genitalia, been assigned as a girl at birth, and treated like a girl from others. However, this individual may self-identify as a boy and self-socialize as a boy. Gulgoz et al. (2019) attempted to disentangle some of these effects in their research.

Question 44

transgender children’s gender development

Answer 44

mirrored their cisgender counterparts on every measure

For example, this means that transgender boys self-identified as boys, preferred masculine toys, and preferred to be friends with other boys to the same extent that cisgender boys do (and vice versa for girls).

Question 45

transgender children showed a clear pattern of gender development associated with

Answer 45

their current gender and not with their sex assigned at birth

Question 46

key ingredient in gender development

Answer 46

how children self-socialize their own gender.

In other words, neither sex assigned at birth nor indirect gender socialization (e.g., being treated as a girl) seems to impact gender identity. This does not mean that gender socialization does not impact gender development at all–just that it doesn’t seem to impact gender identity as a boy or a girl.

Question 47

Adolescence Gender Milestones

Answer 47

two main processes unfold related to gender development:

1)Gender-role intensification

2) Gender-role flexibility

Over adolescence, more opposite-sex friendships occur. This corresponds with puberty and the emergence of romantic relationships.

Question 48

Gender-role intensification

Answer 48

heightened concerns with adhering to traditional gender roles that may occur during adolescence

gender-role intensification involves an intensification of gendered behaviours. For example, girls that were once “tom boys” may become more “girly” and worry more about how they look. This tends to be associated with increased interest in romantic relationships. Given the changing perspectives of gender roles in today’s society, this may not occur to the same extent as it once did

Question 49

Gender-role flexibility

Answer 49

recognition of gender roles as social conventions and adoption of more flexible attitudes and interests

increasing cognitive development in adolescence also leads to an understanding of gender-role flexibility. Adolescents have the ability to think abstractly and reason about stereotypes, which can encourage a loosening of gender stereotypes.

Question 50

Children develop an understanding of gender discrimination (and its unfairness) during which developmental stage?

Answer 50

Middle childhood

Question 51

During adolescence, gender roles become ____________ depending on individual and contextual factors.

Answer 51

Either more rigid or more flexible

Question 52

Effect Size

Answer 52

An effect size is an indicator of the magnitude of an effect – how large or how small a difference is

magnitude of difference between two group’s averages and the amount of overlap in their distributions

Question 53

statistically significant

Answer 53

just because something is “statistically significant” does not necessarily mean it is a meaningful effect.

Statistical significance is impacted by many factors, such as sample size. It is important to consider both statistical significance (is there a true difference, not due to chance?) and effect size (when there is a difference, how big is it?) when interpreting a result.

Question 54

Cohen’s d

Answer 54

a statistic often used to measure overlapping distributions at different effect sizes.

(0.2 = small effect, 0.5 = medium, 0.8 = large).

negligible (trivial) if the two distributions overlap more than 85%;
small but meaningful if the distributions overlap between 67% and 85% (Figure 15.1a);
medium if the distributions overlap between 53% and 66% (Figure 15.1b);
and large if the overlap is less than 53%

Question 55

Gender Differences - Physical Growth

Answer 55

most babies do not “look” male or female – it’s really just how adults present them to the world that provides other people with cues about their gender.

While there are no observable differences between male and female infants (other than genitalia), they tend to be treated quite differently from a very young age.

Question 56

When children play spatial games frequently…

Answer 56

Their brains changes physically within just 3 months

Question 57

Gender Differences in Physical Growth in ADOLESCENCE

Answer 57

Although girls tend to experience their “growth spurt” first, boys become much stronger, heavier, and taller than girls after puberty (very large effect).

Question 58

Gender Differences in Physical Growth in CHILDHOOD

Answer 58

Boys and girls tend to grow at the same rate in terms of weight and height.
But, boys start to gain more strength (medium effect).

Question 59

Gender Development - Cognitive Abilities and Academics

Answer 59

Overall, there are very few differences in IQ between boys and girls. In other words, boys and girls are equal in most aspects of intelligence and cognitive functioning

However, slightly more boys are classified as being intellectually gifted and as having an intellectual disability.

Question 60

Academics - Girls

Answer 60

Higher levels of overall school achievement. We see this trend start as early as elementary school, with girls being more likely to graduate high school and continue to post-secondary education (at Queen’s, 60% of all undergrads are female!). Women are more likely than men to receive a Master’s degree, but men are still more likely to receive a PhD. Nonetheless, this is a massive societal shift over the last several decades.

Better in reading (small effect) and writing (medium effect)

Question 61

Academics - Boys

Answer 61

Better visual-spatial skills (small effect)

Better math skills (small effect, but difference decreasing). Interestingly, this gender difference does not emerge until high school. There are no differences in math skills in elementary school. 

More STEM (science, technology, engineering, math) careers (but difference decreasing)

Question 62

Why do we see these gender differences in academic achievement?

Answer 62

While there may be some underlying biological mechanisms to explain these gender differences (e.g., brain lateralization), they are generally thought to be primarily due to environmental influences in several domains;

-Parents
-Teachers
-Peers
-Culture

Question 63

gender differences in academic achievement - Parent domain

Answer 63

learning opportunities are often gender-typed. For example, research finds that mothers spend more time talking to their daughters, which may help develop their language abilities.

When parents hold gender stereotypes about children’s strengths and interests, this can impact child development. Often times, stereotypical beliefs are formed well before actual gender differences emerge.

For example, parents of girls tend to rate their math abilities lower than do parents of boys, even when there are no actual differences between them.

Question 64

gender differences in academic achievement - Teachers domain

Answer 64

teachers are role models that model and reinforce children’s gender development. When male teachers tend to teach math and science, and female teachers tend to teach French and English, this can reinforce gender stereotypes for these subjects.

Additionally, teachers can also hold gender stereotypes about children’s abilities. They may offer differential encouragement or have different expectations about the boys and girls that they teach.

Question 65

gender differences in academic achievement - Peers domain

Answer 65

peers influence children’s play activities and establish social norms for behaviour.

For example, if all of your friends are playing video games or playing with Legos, you are also likely to be doing these things. Given that boys spend more time playing video games than girls, this may be related to improvement in their visual-spatial skills.

Question 66

gender differences in academic achievement - Culture domain

Answer 66

gender differences vary depending on one’s culture. In cultures where there are more women in STEM careers, the magnitude of these gender differences are less pronounced. In cultures where girls are not encouraged to attend school, these gender differences are more pronounced.

Question 67

Interpersonal Goals and Communication (girls)

Answer 67

Emphasize intimacy and support as goals (small to medium effect)
More self-disclosure of personal thoughts and feelings (small to medium effect)

Question 68

Interpersonal Goals and Communication (boys)

Answer 68

Emphasize dominance and power as goals (small to medium effect)

Question 69

When it comes to communication, it can be either high or low on what domains?

Answer 69

assertion and affiliation

High Assertion + High Affiliation = Collaborative (“Let’s play tag!”)
High Assertion + Low Affiliation = Controlling (“Pick up the ball”)
Low Assertion + High Affiliation = Obliging (“Sure, that’s fine”)
Low Assertion + Low Affiliation = Withdrawing (no response)

Question 70

Crossing Assertion and Affiliation domains results in four communication styles

Answer 70

Collaborative: involves a mutual goal, making a connection, but also guiding and directing the action

Controlling: essentially an order, there is direction without connection

Obliging: agreeing, going along with the direction from another person

Withdrawing: ignoring, not responding to the interaction

Question 71

What is the most common communication style for boys and girls?

Answer 71

Collaboration is the most common communication style for boys and girls. However, we also see that girls use collaboration more than boys. In contrast, boys use controlling communication more than girls.

Question 72

Gender communication - Motivational Influences

Answer 72

Remember that males and females tend to have different underlying goals in relationships, which in turn influence communication styles. Because males tend to have dominant goals in relationships, it makes sense that their communication style would be more controlling.

Question 72

Why do we see these gender differences in communication?

Answer 72

• Motivational Influences
• Parental Influences
• Peer Influences

Question 73

Gender communication - Parental Influences

Answer 73

If children observe gender-typed communication patterns among adults, this influences their own communication. Indeed, we see that mothers tend to use collaborative speech more often, whereas fathers tend to use controlling speech more often.

Question 74

The biggest gender difference when it comes to children’s development is

Answer 74

physical size: boys are larger and stronger than girls on average. Differences in academic achievement and communication are largely related to environmental influences.

Question 74

Gender communication - Peer Influences

Answer 74

As we learned already, children tend to spend most of their time in gender-segregated peer groups.

Question 75

Biological theories tend to focus on ___________________. Cognitive theories tend to focus on ___________________

Answer 75

evolved sex differences, how children learn about gender from the world around them

Question 76

When does Gender segregation tend to peak ?

Answer 76

During middle school

Question 77

What theory provides a framework for answering this question: if children only approach toys that are “for them”, they limit the learning opportunities that come from playing with a wider variety of toys?

Answer 77

Gender Schema Theory

Question 78

Pink gives permission research study

Answer 78

Boys preferred the masculine toys, regardless of their colours. In other words, colour did not impact boys’ toy preferences.

Girls disliked the masculine toys that were painted in masculine colours. In other words, when "boys' toys" were painted pink and purple, girls showed as much interest in them as they did for gender-stereotyped toys.

This suggests that children often use colour (not toy type) to determine whether it is “for boys” or “for girls”.

Question 79

To understand gender development, it is important to keep in mind three points:

Answer 79

1) girls and boys generally are not opposites; similarities are more common than differences (Hyde, 2005).

2) not all girls are alike, and not all boys are alike. There is considerable variability within each gender in abilities and behavior.

3) gender is more than simply the dichotomy of being raised as a girl or a boy

Question 80

Why do many children have different gender-related preferences?

Answer 80

the combined influences of physiological, psychological, and cultural processes on gender development (Leaper, 2015a), but they differ among themselves in how much they stress particular factors in their explanations for observed gender differences

Some researchers argue that certain differences in females’ and males’ behavior reflect underlying physiological differences that emerged over the course of human evolution

Question 81

What do psychologists place more emphasis on when it comes to gender-related preferences?

Answer 81

social and cognitive influences (Bigler & Liben, 2007; Bussey & Bandura, 1999; Martin, Ruble, & Szkrybalo, 2002; Tobin et al., 2010).

They focus on the social influences of family, peers, teachers, and the culture at large, as well as on the impact of cognitive processes such as gender-related beliefs and gender identity.

Question 82

Sex

Answer 82

distinction between genetic females (XX) and genetic males (XY) as well as other genetic sex compositions (e. g., XO, XXY, XYY)

Question 83

Gender

Answer 83

social assignment or self-categorization as “a girl” or “a boy” (or possibly both, neither, or a different category)

Question 84

Cisgender

Answer 84

individuals who identify with their gender assigned at birth (or their biological sex)

Question 85

Transgender

Answer 85

individuals who do not identify with the gender assigned at birth (which is typically based on their external genitalia)

Question 86

Bigender

Answer 86

individuals who identify with two genders

Question 87

agender

Answer 87

individuals who do not identify with any gender category

Question 88

nonbinary

Answer 88

individuals who do not identify exclusively as one gender; also referred to as
genderqueer

Question 89

gender-fluid

Answer 89

individuals who self-identify with different gender categories depending on the context

Question 90

dimorphic system

Answer 90

meaning that the biological system can only take one of two forms and that its effects on the brain, gender identity, or other outcomes can only take one of two forms.

If sex is dimorphic, then all parts of the system must be typical of either females or males. However, neuroscience research suggests a different conclusion.

Question 91

Challenges to gender binary

Answer 91

1) Neuorscience:
note the fallacies of thinking of sex as a dimorphic system (there is no binary between having a “female brain” or a “male brain.”)

2) Neuroendicrinology:
address the common belief that there are “male hormones” (such as androgens, including testosterone) and “female hormones” (such as estrogens). However, both sets of hormones are present in all humans, though there are some average sex differences in the levels of some hormones.

3) Psychology:
As in the case of brains, behavior is a mosaic— individuals usually exhibit a mixture of feminine-typed (i.e., more common among women) and masculine-typed (i.e., more common among men) behaviors.

4) research with transgender and nonbinary individuals:
Persons with transgender or nonbinary identities are found in cultures across the world, both currently and throughout history.

5) psychology research documenting how cultural practices establish gender (or sex) as a binary category:
explain how environmental conditions can increase the salience of the gender binary. This process commonly occurs through cultural norms of appearance (e.g., blue for boys, pink for girls), verbal labeling (e.g., “Good morning, girls and boys”), and the use of gender categories to organize activities (e.g., gender-segregated bathrooms, toy departments, sports teams, and so on).

Question 92

Gender typing

Answer 92

the process of gender socialization

Question 93

Gender typed

Answer 93

behaviors stereotyped or expected for a given person’s assigned gender

Question 94

cross-gender typed

Answer 94

behaviors stereotyped or expected for the gender other than that of a given person

Question 95

gender non-confirming

Answer 95

individuals who are highly cross-gender-typed in relation to their assigned gender

Question 96

meta- analysis

Answer 96

statistical method used to summarize average effect size and statistical significance across several research studies

Question 97

Neuroscience approaches

Answer 97

• Genes
• Hormones and Brain functioning
• Brain structure and functioning

Researchers who take a neuroscience approach focus on testing whether and how genes, hormones, and brain functioning relate to variations in gender development

Question 98

Androgens

Answer 98

class of steroid hormones that normally occur at slightly higher levels in males than in females and that affect physical development and functioning from the prenatal period onward

Question 99

Androgens and other hormones can also have ……… on the nervous system?

Answer 99

organizing or activating influences on the nervous system.

Organizing influences occur when certain sex-linked hormones affect brain differentiation and organization during prenatal development or at puberty.

Activating influences occur when fluctuations in sex-linked hormone levels influence the contemporaneous activation of certain brain and behavioral responses

Question 100

organizing influences

Answer 100

potential result of certain sex-linked hormones affecting brain differentiation and organization during prenatal development or at puberty.

For example, sex-related differences in prenatal androgens may influence the organization and functioning of the nervous system; in turn, this may be related to later average gender differences in certain play preferences

Question 101

Activating influences

Answer 101

potential result of certain fluctuations in sex-linked hormone levels affecting the contemporaneous activation of the nervous system and corresponding behavioral responses

For instance, the body increases androgen production in response to perceived threats, with possible implications for gender differences in aggression

Question 102

Self socialization

Answer 102

active process during development whereby children’s cognitions lead them to perceive the world and to act in accord with their expectations and beliefs

Question 103

own-gender schema

Answer 103

consisting of detailed knowledge about how to do things that are consistent with one’s own gender.

Question 104

What is own-gender schema a consequence of?

Answer 104

Children use an ingroup/outgroup gender schema to classify other people as being either “the same as me” or not.
The motivation for cognitive consistency leads them to prefer, pay attention to, and remember more about others of their own gender.

Question 105

Gender Schema

Answer 105

organized mental representations (concepts, beliefs, memories) about gender, including gender stereotypes

Question 106

Gender schemas are also responsible for…

Answer 106

biased processing and remembering of information about gender.

Question 107

What are the two kinds of filters when processing information that Liben and Bigler (2002) proposed children use about the world?

Answer 107

1) gender schema filter
2) interest filter

Question 108

Although gender schemas are resistant to change…

Answer 108

they can be modified in many children through explicit instruction and encouragement.

However, Given the pervasiveness of gender stereotyping in children’s everyday lives, cognitive interventions need to be sustained to have a longer-lasting effect.

Question 109

Observational learning of gender-role information involves four key processes:

Answer 109

attention, memory, production, and motivation.

To learn new information, it must, of course, be attended to (noticed) and then stored in memory.

Question 110

Self efficacy

Answer 110

When individuals experience positive self-reactions for their behavior, they gain the sense of personal agency referred to as self-efficacy

Question 111

Ingroup Bias

Answer 111

tendency to evaluate individuals and characteristics of the ingroup more positively than or as superior to those of the outgroup

Question 112

One way to increase the salience of gender is to? (Salience refers to how readily we notice something.)

Answer 112

make it a perceptually distinctive attribute about persons. Familiar examples include the uses of gender-differentiated colors (pink versus blue), as well as hair and clothing styles.

Question 112

Ingroup assimilation

Answer 112

process whereby individuals are socialized to conform to the group’s norms, demonstrating the characteristics that define the ingroup

Question 113

Intersectionality

Answer 113

the interconnection of social identities such as gender, race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and class, especially in relation to overlapping experiences of discrimination and disadvantage

highlighted by the intersectionality approach, individuals can experience biases from multiple group identities (e.g., gender, ethnicity/race, sexual orientation, class, religion, and so on).

Question 114

felt gender typicality

Answer 114

a sense of belonging to one’s gender ingroup.

Question 114

gender self-socialization model (GSSM)

Answer 114

bridges gender schema theory, social cognitive theory, social identity, and other theoretical approaches.

the GSSM emphasizes how much of gender development is a process of self-socialization (Tobin et al., 2010).
That is, children seek to discover their identities in relation to their understandings of the world around them.

In turn, they often adapt their behavior to match these understandings, as when they try to conform to expected norms for their gender.

GSSM may help us understand why some children do not identify with their assigned gender at birth

Question 115

stereotype emulation hypothesis

Answer 115

proposes that the more children identify with their gender ingroup, the more motivated they will be to adhere to the stereotypes for their gender ingroup.

Question 116

Opportunity structure (Cultural influence on gender development)

Answer 116

the economic and social resources offered by the macrosystem in the bioecological model, and people’s understanding of those resources.

Question 117

Assertion

Answer 117

tendency to take action on behalf of the self through competitive, independent, or aggressive behaviors

Question 118

Affiliation

Answer 118

tendency to affirm connection with others through being emotionally open, empathetic, or supportive

Question 119

Collaboration

Answer 119

coordination of assertion and affiliation in behavior, such as making initiatives for joint activity

Question 120

Two intersex conditions

Answer 120

1) congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH)
2) androgen insensitivity syndrome

Cases of children with CAH and AIS offer evidence to support the premise that prenatal androgens may partly contribute to boys’ and girls’ gender identities and to gender-typed play preferences.

Question 120

Intersex conditions

Answer 120

rare conditions in which an individual of one genetic sex can develop genitalia associated with the other genetic sex, both genetic sexes, or undergo only partial development of genitalia associated with their genetic sex

Question 121

Ambivalent Sexism

Answer 121

model of sexism that includes two components, hostile sexism (endorsement of men’s dominance with negative views of women seeking equality) and benevolent sexism (the belief that men need to protect women, and that women and men have complementary traits)

Question 122

congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH)

Answer 122

condition during prenatal development in which the adrenal glands produce high levels of androgens; sometimes associated with masculinization of external genitalia in genetic females and sometimes associated with higher rates of masculine-stereotyped play in genetic females

associated with a recessive gene that leads to the production of high levels of androgen hormones during prenatal development.

Question 123

androgen insensitivity syndrome (AIS)

Answer 123

condition during prenatal development in which androgen receptors malfunction in genetic males, impeding the formation of male external genitalia; in these cases, the child may be born with female external genitalia

Question 124

Puberty

Answer 124

developmental period marked by the ability to reproduce and other dramatic bodily changes

Question 125

menarche

Answer 125

onset of menstruation

Menarche is triggered in part by the increase in body fat that typically occurs in adolescence.

Question 126

spermarche

Answer 126

onset of capacity for ejaculation

Question 126

adrenarche

Answer 126

The onset of sexual attraction correlates with the maturation of the adrenal glands stage, which are the major source of sex steroids other than the testes and ovaries.

period prior to the emergence of visible signs of puberty during which the adrenal glands mature, providing a major source of sex steroid hormones; correlates with the onset of sexual attraction

Question 127

Cognitive Abilities and Academic Achievement

Answer 127

• General Intelligence and Overall Academic Achievement
• Verbal Skills
• Spatial Skills
  -STEM related skills

Question 128

Explanations for Gender Differences in Cognitive Abilities and Achievement

Answer 128

• Brain and hormonal influences
  -Cognitive and motivational influences
• Parental Influences
  -Teacher influences
• Peer Influences
• Cultural influences

Question 129

Expectancy-value model of achievement

Answer 129

children are most motivated to achieve in areas in which they expect to succeed

Question 130

indirect aggression (also known as relational or social aggression)

Answer 130

involves attempts to damage a person’s social standing or group acceptance through covert means such as negative gossip and social exclusion.

girls slightly more likely than boys to use indirect aggression. The trivial effect size may seem surprising given the popular notion of “mean girls”

Question 131

Direct Aggression

Answer 131

Direct aggression involves overt physical or verbal acts openly intended to cause harm

direct aggression is less likely among girls than boys

Question 132

When do children develop gender constancy?

Answer 132

About age 6.

In addition, during middle childhood, they come to understand that gender roles are social conventions. They also may understand that gender discrimination is unfair and notice when it occurs. Average gender differences in social behavior begin to emerge, with boys more likely than girls to stress assertion over affiliation, and girls more apt to emphasize affiliation or a combination of affiliation and assertion.