Psychodynamic and learning explanations

Question 1

When did Freud believe gender development occured?

Answer 1

Frued said child development occurs as the child passes through the biologically-driven psychosexual stages.
-He said gender development happens in the phallic stage (3-6 years).

Question 2

What did Freud say about pre-phallic children?

Answer 2

-Before this children have no understanding of ‘male’ or ‘female’ and cannot classify themselves or others.

Question 3

What is crucial for gender development?

Answer 3

the Oedipus and Electra complexes.

Question 4

What is the Oedipus complex?

Answer 4

In the phallic stage, boys develop incestuous feelings towards their mother and a murderous hatred towards the father, because they are their love rival.

Question 5

How does the Oedipus complex cause gender development?

Answer 5

Fearing their father will castrate them, boys repress their feelings for their mothers and identify with their father. They then take on the father’s gender roles and attitudes/values.

Question 6

What is the Electra complex?

Answer 6

Girls experience penis envy in the phallic stage. They desire their father, and develop a hatred for their mother, because she is the love rival and also because the child believes their mother has castrated them.

Question 7

How does the Electra complex lead to gender development?

Answer 7

Frued was less clear on the process for girls, but they appear to substitute their desire for a penis with the desire to have children, which leads them to identify with the mother.
This means they adopt the gender roles, attitudes and values of the mother.

Question 8

What is identification?

Answer 8

Gender development is caused by the identification with the same sex parents, which the child does to resolve their complex.

Question 9

What is internalisation?

Answer 9

Freud referred to the adopting of the gender identity of the same sex parents, taking on their roles and values, as internalisation.

Question 10

Little Hans as evidence for the Oedipus complex?

Answer 10

-Hans was a five year old who developed a phobia of horses after seeing one collapse in the street.
-Freud suggested Hans was displacing his repressed fear of castration on horses. So the horse was a symbolic representation of unconscious castration anxiety.

Question 11

Strengths of psychodynamic explanation of gender: support?

Answer 11

Rekers and Morey (1990) rated the gender identity of 49 boys aged 3-11 years based on families and participant interviews. Of those who were gender disturbed (neither male or female), 75% had no biological or substitute father living with them. This supports what Frued predicted, that normal gender development requires a same sex parent.

Question 12

Limitations of psychodynamic explanation of gender: contradictory evidence?

Answer 12

Boss and Sandford– compared data from 63 children in lesbian households compared with 68 children from traditional families. Children raised with two parents of the same gender felt less pressure to conform to gender stereotypes and less likely to presume their gender was superior. There was no difference in gender identity. This contradicts Freud.

Question 13

Limitations of psychodynamic explanation of gender: female development.

Answer 13

Freud did not focus on the development of females and his notion of penis envy has been criticised as placing androcentric Victorian norms on the theory, where men have so much power. Karen Horney argues that a more powerful emotion is men’s experience of womb envy, the jealousy of the ability to nurture and sustain life, but both of these theories were cultural and not biological. Challenges Freud’s androcentric bias.

Question 14

Limitations of psychodynamic explanation of gender: pseudoscientifc?

Answer 14

subjective case studies and concepts based on the unconscious mind are untestable. Freud’s ideas cannot be falsified so are not genuinely scientific. Freud’s theories are not valid.

Question 15

What does social learning theory acknowledge?

Answer 15

-Acknowledges the role of social context and states all behaviour is learnt from observing others.
-Influence of the environment (nurture) in gender development.

Question 16

What is the role of direct reinforcement in gender development?

Answer 16

Children are more likely to be reinforced for demonstrating behaviour that is gender appropriate. They will then repeat this behaviour.W

Question 17

What is differential reinforcement?

Answer 17

the way in which boys and girls are encouraged to show distinct gender appropriate behaviours. This is the way a child learns their gender identity.

Question 18

What is the role of vicarious reinforcement?

Answer 18

If the consequences of another child’s behaviour are favourable, the child is likely to imitate this behaviour. This opposite is true for unfavourable consequences. Therefore by interacting with other people of the same/different gender, the child is encouraged to show stereotypical behaviours.

Question 19

Example of gender vicarious reinforcement?

Answer 19

For example, if a boy is being teased for showing feminine traits, another boy will be less likely to imitate.

Question 20

What is the role of identification and modelling in gender development?

Answer 20

Children identify with role models in their environment or the media, who possess qualities the child sees as desirable. Role models tend to be of high status and, crucially for gender development, the same gender.

Question 21

Example of gender identification and modelling?

Answer 21

For example, a mother may model stereotypical feminine behaviour when preparing dinner and her daughter may imitate this behaviour because she identifies with her mother and wants to be like her.

Question 22

What is the role of mediational processes in gender?

Answer 22

Attention- a boy wanting to be like a Premier League footballer pays closer attention to what he does.
Retention- remembering the skills.
Reproduction- the boy is physically able to do the skills.
Motivation- the desire to repeat the behaviour comes from identifying with the footballer and wanting to be like him.

Question 23

Strengths of SLT for gender: research support?

Answer 23

Smith and Lloyd 1978 involved 4-6 months old babies half dressed in boys clothes half dressed in girls clothes. Adults were then observed interacting with the babies. Those dressed in boys clothes were more likely to be given trucks and hammer toys, vice versa with girls clothes.This suggests that gender appropriate behaviour is stamped at an early age.

Question 24

Strengths for SLT: cultural changes?

Answer 24

the distinction between masculine and feminine behaviours is less clear cut than in the 1950s. Because there has been no biological change, SLT explains the change. The new forms of gender behaviour are now unlikely to be punished and reinforced because of the shift in cultural and societal expectations.

Question 25

Weaknesses of SLT for gender: cause?

Answer 25

Differential reinforcement may not be the cause of gender behaviour. Adults, when interacting, may simply be responding to the innate gender differences that are already there. So this is only a part-explanation.

Question 26

Weaknesses of SLT for gender: age?

Answer 26

Not an adequate explanation of how gender development changes with age. SLT suggests modelling of gender behaviour can occur at any age. But it seems illogical that a 2 year old and 9 year old learn the same way. Therefore the influence of age in gender is not considered by the SLT.