Sex and Gender Flashcards
What is sex?
Biological characteristics of an individual (genes/chromosomes)
What is gender?
Psychological or behavioural characteristics of a person relating to their sex (thinking, feeling) which may be a social construct
What are sex-role stereotypes?
Widely held beliefs within a society about expected/appropriate ways of acting for men and women
What is gender identity?
An individual’s perception of their own masculinity and/or femininity
Outline the Batista family case study
- Imperato-McGinley et al studied the Batista family in the Dominican Republic.
- 4 of the children were identified as female at birth and raised as such until puberty, when their vaginas closed over, testicles appeared and they grew normal-sized penises
Describe the findings of the Batista family case study
- The 4 girls (now boys) were affected by a very rare genetic disorder, meaning their male genitalia wasn’t external at birth, but concealed inside.
- During prenatal development, the introduction of the hormone dihydrotestosterone was missed, which externalises the male genitalia. Because of their external appearance as females at birth, they were raised as girls and adopted a female gender identity
- Due to the hormonal changes at puberty, dihydrotestosterone was produced and the boys’ biological sex was revealed
What were the effects of their gender identity in the Batista family case study?
- Researchers found that the boys abandoned their female gender identity with few problems of adjustment and quickly adapted to their new roles as boys.
- Suggesting that gender identity may be flexible rather than fixed, showing the difference between sex and gender
What are issues with the Batista family case study?
- Men are highly valued in the Dominican Republic so it was easier to socially transition as the patriarchal society welcomed and encouraged this change
- The genitalia of the ‘girls’ weren’t typical and others knew from communal river bathing. So the rearing of the children may not have been the same as typical girls, especially as villagers would’ve known of other children children with this condition
Describe the aims of procedure of the study that investigates sex-role differences
- Ingalhalikar et al highlighted the difference in neurological activity between males and females
- To investigate this, they used MRI scans to map the brain connection of around 1,000 young men and women
Describe the findings and conclusions of the study that investigates sex-role differences
- Ingalhalikar et al found that women’s brain have better connections between the left and right side of brain. Men’s brain have a higher intensity within individual parts e.g. the cerebellum
- Women, therefore can multitask better, whereas men are better focusing on a single, complex task
Describe the aims and procedure of the study that investigates sex-role stereotypes
- Seavey et al investigated whether gender labels attached to a baby can affect adult responses
- A 3-month old was dressed in a yellow baby-suit. 1/3 of ppts were told that the infant was male, another 1/3 were told that the infant was female, and the others weren’t given a gender label. Ppts interacted with the child for 3 mins. Toys in the room were a ball, a rag doll and a plastic ring.
Describe the findings and conclusion of the study that investigates the sex-role stereotypes
- Seavey et al found that when the infant was ‘female’ ppts were more likely to use the doll when playing. When the infant was ‘male’, the plastic ring was chosen. In the no-label condition, female ppts interacted more with the baby than males. Their decision was justified in how the baby was perceived physically
- Therefore, adults will interact differently with infants depending on whether they’re male or female
