Sex and Gender Flashcards
social and cultural domain assumption
personality impacts/impacted by cultural and societal contexts
social and cultural domain: cultural differences between groups example
in social acceptability of aggression
social and cultural domain: individual differences within cultures
- how personality plays out in the social sphere
- including sex and gender differences in personality processes, traits, and mechanisms
sex
whether an individual = biologically considered male, female, intersex
gender
- social and cultural interpretation of what it means to be a man or woman, changes over time
sexual orientation
- refers to one’s sexual/romantic attraction
sex differences
- average differences on certain characteristics
- e.g. height, body fat distribution, hormone levels, etc.
- no prejudgement about the cause of any differences
What was going on in the 1930s?
researchers assumed sex differences on various personality items were attributable to
- differences along the single dimension of masculinity and femininity
- BUT perhaps someone could score high on both masculinity and feminity
- this led to concept of androginy
What was going in the 1970s?
- rise of feminist movement
- assumption of single dimension challenged
- argued that masculinity and feminity might be independent
- one can be higher on M and F, or low on M and F, high in one, low in other
refer to notebook for table of masculinity, feminity and androgyny
Spence measures
- measure doesn’t assess sex roles
- measure and assess personality traits of instrumentality and expressiveness
Bem measures
- measure assess gender schemas and cognitive orientations that lead people to process social info on basis of sex-linked associations
- gender-aschematic: to not use gender at all in processing of social info
What are the similarities between Bem and Spence measures
- both have the goal of assessing gender and are self-report measures
- both measures contribute to understanding how people perceive and express their gender
What are the different theories that drive the Spence measure and the Bem measure
Bem:
- Theory: Based on Sandra Bem’s gender schema theory.
- Concept: Recognizes that individuals can have both masculine and feminine traits.
- Purpose: Measures traits associated with traditional masculinity, traditional femininity, and a mix of both (androgyny).
Spence:
- Theory: Rooted in Janet Spence’s gender identity theory.
- Concept: Views gender identity as multidimensional with instrumental (masculine) and expressive (feminine) dimensions.
- Purpose: Measures how individuals express traits traditionally linked to masculinity and femininity.
minimalists
sex differences as small and inconsequential
maximalists
- size of sex differences should not be trivialized
- small effects can have more important consequences
sex differences in personality: temperament in children
inhibitory control
- largest sex difference favouring girls
perceptual sensitivity
- moderate sex differences favouring girls
surgency
- moderate sex differences favouring boys
negative affectivity
- no sex difference, contrary to stereotypes
sex differences in personality: extraversion
- women score slightly higher on gregariousness
- men score slightly higher on activity level
- men score moderately higher on assertiveness
sex differences in personality: agreeableness
- women score higher on trusting, tender minded
- women smile more than men
sex differences in personality: aggresiveness
- men are more physically aggressive in fantasies and manifest B
- profound consequences for everyday life
- men = 90% of all homicides
- more likely to commit violent crimes
- sex differences in violent crimes accompanies puberty, peaking in adolescence - early 20s
sex differences in personality: conscientiousness
- women score slightly higher
sex differences in personality: emotional stability
- men and women = similar on impulsiveness
- women score higher on anxiety
sex differences in personality: openness to experience
no sex differences
sex differences in depression
- in childhood, no sex difference
- after puberty, women depression 2-3x more than men
- rumination
sex differences in depression: rumination
- repeatedly focusing on one’s symptoms or distress
- women ruminate more, which contributes to the perseverance of depressive symptoms
- largest sex differences is in ages 18-44, then sexes start to converge again
sex differences and self esteem
- global self-esteem: overall evaluation of self
- in chidren, gap widens
- adults, gap closes
sex differences and sexuality
- interest in casual sex
- nb of lifetime sex partners desired
sex differences and people
- vocational: interest, preference to work with things/people
- men are more towards things (systemizing)
- women are more towards people (empathizing)
gender identity
person’s deeply felt, inherent sense of being a man, a woman, both or neither, fluid
gender expression
how you present to the world
gender stereotype
- beliefs about how men and owmen differ or are supposed to differ in contrast to what the actual differences are
- components:
1. cognitive
2. affective
3. behavioural
gender stereotypes and prejudice
negative consequences can damage people in health, jobs, odds of advancement and social reputations
transgender
person’s gender identity differs from the sex or gender assigned to them at birth
socialization theory
roles reinforced by parents, teachers, and media for being M or F
Bandura’s social learning theory
- observation
- imitation
- modelling
social role theory
- sex differences arise because men and women are distributed differently into different occupational and family roles
- some research supports social role theory
- physical differences -> different roles assigned -> psychological differences evolve because of assigned roles
gender schema theory
- once children know their own gender label, their roles adjust their B to align with the gender norms of their culture from the earliest stages of social dev
- refer to diagram in notebook
hormonal theory
- sex differences in testosterone = linked with traditional sex differences in B
- aggresison, dominance, career choice and sexual desire
- problem: research suggests link between hormones and B = bidirectional
evolutionary psychology theory
- sexes are predicted to differ only in those domains in which people are recurrently faced with different adaptive problems
- problems must be solved to survive and reproduce
- research supports many predicted sex differences, especially in sexuality
- problem: no clear accounting of individuals and within-sex differences
integrated theoretical perspectives
- would include all levels of analysis into account because they are compatible
- socialization/hormonal/evolutionary
