Textbook Chapter 14 Flashcards
behaviourist applications to lifestyle issues examined in this chapter
- GENDER ROLES - understanding why we make certain gender-related choices requires examination of operant conditioning and observational learning
- impact of AGGRESSIVE MODELS on our behaviour - observational learning
- LEARNED HELPLESSNESS - classical conditioning
- individual differences in LOCUS OF CONTROL - social learning theory
why do women and men tend to behave in different ways?
biological diffs between the sexes plays a role
but BEHAVIOURISTS and SOCIAL LEARNING THEORISTS point to LIFELONG process of GENDER-ROLE SOCIALIZATION
children and adults ACQUIRE and MAINTAIN gender-appropriate behaviours largely through OPERANT CONDITIONING and OBSERVATIONAL LEARNING
where can we see operant conditioning at work related to gendered behaviours?
whenever young children act in “gender-inappropriate” ways
ie. boys tease one another for crying, playing with dolls, showing interest in cooking or sewing
ie. boys are rewarded with camaraderie and parental nods for playing football and standing up to those who try to push them around
gender role operant conditioning starts young…
even before children can talk
parents speak/play differently with their daughters than they do with their sons
ie. 24 hours after birth, girls were rated as softer, finer-features, smaller, less attentive than sons
study examining choices parents made for boys and girls when child was less than 25 months old
- girls = more likely to receive dolls and toy furniture
^ wear pink
- boys = more likely to receive sports equipment, toy tools, trucks, cars
^ wear blue
- xmas requests - a few children asked their parents for gender atypical presents
^ these children were much less likely to get waht they wanted
by kindergarten, children are very aware of…
their gender role expectations
preschoolers choose the toys associated with their genders, and boy children explained their fathers wouldn’t approve of them playing with the girls’ toys
observational learning and gender roles
children learn expected behaviour through watching parents, neighbours, siblings, playmates, TV characters
PARENTS are most influential models when kids are YOUNG
LATER on, FRIENDS are more influential
children may recognize that men, but rarely women, work on mechanical things…
thus are likely to conclude that MEN ARE REWARDED for mechanical behaviour
but woman are not
thus boys = more likely to get involved with mechanical things - ANTICIPATING REWARDS - whereas GIRLS SEEK OUT OTHER ACTIVITIES
what terms did researchers originally use to reference gender-related trait groups?
masculinity and femininity
others argue we should use diff terms with MORE SPECIFIC and LESS EMOTIONALLY LOADED labels
ie. agency and communion
agency and communion
alternatives to the terms masculinity and femininity
AGENCY: independence, assertiveness, control
COMMUNION: attachment, cooperation, interpersonal connection
early scales to measure individual differences in gender-role behaviour were based on 2 assumptions…
- masculinity and femininity were assumed to rep TWO EXTREME POSITIONS on a continuum
- the more people’s gender-role BEHAVIOUR MATCHED the STEREOTYPE of their gender, the MORE PSYCHOLOGICALLY HEALTHY they were
assumptions of early masculinity-femininity scale: masculinity and femininity were assumed to rep TWO…
EXTREME POSITIONS on a continuum
^ considered opposites
^ the more you are of one, the less you are of the other
^ each of us can be placed somewhere along this continuum
assumptions of early masculinity-femininity scale - the more people’s gender-role BEHAVIOUR MATCHED the STEREOTYPE of their gender…
the MORE PSYCHOLOGICALLY HEALTHY they were
^ masculine men and feminine women were considered well adjusted
^ misalignment was seen as maladjustment - indicative of psychological disturbances
one of the og scales on the MMPI was…
a masculinity-femininity scale
initially researchers maintained that SCORING TOO FAR on ONE SIDE of this scale for one’s gender was INDICATIVE of PSYCH DISTURBANCES
what model model challenges the masculinity-femininity model?
androgyny model
triggered explosion of research on gender roles
androgyny model
begins by REJECTING NOTION that masculinity and femininity are opposites on a continuum
instead, they’re seen as SEPARATE TRAITS
^ people can be HIGH on BOTH traits, on ONLY ONE trait, or on NEITHER
^ they’re independent
androgyny model - fact that masculinity and femininity are independent means that…
knowing that someone is high in masculinity tells us nothing about where they score on femininity
evidence to support that masculinity and femininity are independent traits
women tend to INCREASE IN BOTH masculinity and femininity as they move through their MIDDLE ADULT YEARS
androgyny model challenges assumption that…
a person’s gender should match his or her gender “type” (traits)
maintain the MOST WELL-ADJUSTED PERSON is BOTH masculine and feminine - androgynous
^ well adjusted person must have the FLEXIBILITY to engage in masculine behaviour and feminine behaviours when the situation demands
androgyny model has __ categories
4: androgynous, feminine, masculine, undifferentiated
2 scales: one for masculinity, one for femininity
^ high to low for each
androgyny model: masculine
score high on masculinity
score low on femininity
androgyny model: feminine
score high on femininity
score low on masculinity
androgyny model: androgynous
score high on both masculinity and femininity
androgyny model: undifferentiated
score low on both masculinity and femininity