the role of chromosomes and hormones Flashcards
chromosomes are
small sections of DNA containing genes which code for proteins and hormones
hormones are
particularly important for the development of a foetus as either male or female
after fertilisation the nucleus of the fertilised ovum is diploid and so contains the full genetic set of 46 chromosomes , arranged in
23 pairs
23rd pair are described as the sex chromosome or autosomal
geneotype
female ; XX
male ; XY
the Y chromosome is particularly important because it signals the foetus to develop as a male due to
the SRY gene which produces androgens
triggering the development of the male reproductive organs and the production of testosterone
high levels of testosterone have been closely associated with increased levels of aggression , served evolutionary purposes as
it increased the ability of a male to protect their female , reducing the likelihood she will imnprgeneated by another male
increasing the likelihood off the males genes surviving
evidence for the link of testosterone and aggression were shown when
the castration of male animals resulted in tempermant changes , such as less aggressive
opposite shown by van de pol et al
oestrogen is the female sex hormone and
triggers the development of female reproductive organs ie fallopian tubes
can trigger the increased irratiabilty and emotional nature of women during menstruation PMS
oxytocin has been described as the ‘ love hormone ‘ as
it provokes the feelings of intimacy and closeness .
women have higher levels of oxytocin than men which contributes to the stereotype that women are more affectionate then men who focus on sex rather than intimacy in relationships
oxytocin also has an evolutionary advantage
it is released in high concentration before and after birth allowing the mother to bond with her baby and recover from childbirth through the suppression of cortisol - stress hormone
a strength is that there is much evidence to support the idea that thew types of concentrations of hormones present in the body and the developing foetus dictates the development of the gender as either male or female
dabbs et al 1995 found that
offenders who’d committed aggressive or sexually abusive crimes were more likely to have high levels of male androgen testosterone
- supports role of testosterone and the difference in male and female characteristics traits being due to hormones
a weakness however in explaining gender entirely in terms of the actions and chromosomes and hormones may be an over simplification of such a complex social construct by ignoring differences within genders (biological determinism)
as suggested by Maccoby and Jacklin 1974
in line with the idea of sex role stereotypes through the mechanism of social learning theory , we could accuse society of encouraging individuals with typically strong masculine or feminine characteristics to act as role models for young children who would imitate these characteristics through the use of meditational processes
another weakness is the reliance on biology as an explanation for gender differences may act as a type of scientific justification got discriminatory practices based on gender especially concerning PMS for example Brescoll and Ulhman urge that
PMS is simply a social construct which medicalises female anger and therefore allows others specifically men to dismiss these feels as simply ‘ being hormonal ‘
this may lead to women being denied well paid highly stressful jobs in the view that they’ll be unable to handle it
