Unit 1: Roles and Stereotypes

Question 1

What are SEX DIFFERENCES?

Answer 1

average differences bw men and women (vast majority of research focuses on people falling into one of these two categories)

Question 2

What is the SEX BINARY?

Answer 2

conceptualization of sex as consisting of two opposite and non-overlapping categories (male and female)

Question 3

What is GENDER?

Answer 3

The meanings that people give to different sex categories; broad sets of identities, traits, interests, roles, etc. which are commonly associated with each sex

Question 4

What is GENDER BINARY?

Answer 4

conceptualization of gender as consisting of two opposite and non-overlapping categories (men/masculine, women/feminine)

Question 5

What is the key difference in the terms “sex” and “gender”?

Answer 5

sex should be used to refer to biological differences
gender should be used to refer to socioculturally determined differences

Question 6

What is INTERSEX?

Answer 6

A condition in which the biological components of sex (hormones, chromosomes, organs) do not consistently fit with the typical male or female pattern.

Question 7

What is NONBINARY/GENDERQUEER?

Answer 7

describes people who fall outside the sex and gender binaries and identify as neither a man or woman; captures many forms of gender identity.

Question 8

What is GENDER IDENTITY?

Answer 8

an individual’s psychological experience of their gender and how they identify their gender; a basic belongingness to a category

Question 9

Is gender identity considered rigid or flexible?

Answer 9

some scholars urge caution against viewing gender identity as a single, inflexible identity that does not change; can be viewed as an overlapping set of identities that are dynamic and shaped by culture and context

Question 10

What are some possible/common gender identities?

Answer 10

Cisgender: assigned sex at birth and gender identity are matching
Transgender: assigned sex at birth and gender identity do not match
Agender: individuals feel internally ungendered and do not identify with a sex category
Gender Fluid: individuals feel that their gender identity shifts over time and might depend on the situation

Question 11

What is SEXUAL ORIENTATION?

Answer 11

people’s tendency to develop romantic and sexual attractions to others based on their sex; independent from gender identity

Question 12

What are some possible/common sexual orientations?

Answer 12

Straight/Heterosexual
Gay
Lesbian
Bisexual
Pansexual
Asexual

Question 13

What is INTERSECTIONALITY?

Answer 13

examines how people’s life experiences differ due to the levels of privilege and structural inequality associated with their specific location across various demographics; a person will be affected by their sex, gender, race, age, physical ability, sexual orientation, as all these interact and shape experiences

Question 14

What are the 3 Steps to an Intersectional Approach for a researcher?

Answer 14

1) Ask who is included in the social categories of the people being studied, and determine who might be excluded.
2) Consider the role of structural inequalities in shaping experiences.
3) Look for commonalities in experiences, despite different identities of participants.

Question 15

What is a MATRIARCHAL SOCIETY?

Answer 15

a societal structure in which women/mothers occupy the leadership positions and control operations

Question 16

What is a MATRILINEAL SOCIETY?

Answer 16

in which family relationships and ancestry are traced through the mother’s line
EX: Garo culture in India has daughters inheriting property from their mothers and husbands move in with wives upon marriage

Question 17

What is a PATRIARCHAL SOCIETY?

Answer 17

a societal structure in which men/fathers occupy the leadership positions and control operations

Question 18

What is FEMINISM?

Answer 18

belief in, and movements for, the social, political, and economical equality of the sexes; movements to “end sexism, sexist exploitation, and oppression”

Question 19

What is the difference between EQUALITY and EQUITY?

Answer 19

Equality: everyone has the exact same experience, is given the exact same access, etc.
Equity: experiences and access are altered to address/make up for inequalities that exist
EX: a women of colour will need a different type of experience and support in order to have the same access as a white man

Question 20

What are GENDER STEREOTYPES?

Answer 20

shared beliefs about the traits, qualities, and tendencies associated with members of different sex categories

Question 21

What are the 4 primary components of gender stereotypes?

Answer 21

1) Trait dimensions (communion vs. agency)
2) Role behaviours
3) Occupations
4) Physical appearance

Question 22

What is COMMUNION and how is it relevant to gender stereotypes?

Answer 22

a broad set of traits that reflect concern for and connectedness with others: warmth, kindness, compassion, agreeableness, emotional sensitivity
typically ascribed to WOMEN.

Question 23

What is AGENCY and how is it relevant to gender stereotypes?

Answer 23

a broad set of traits that facilitate individual success, status, and leadership: competence, independence, assertiveness, competitiveness, effectiveness
typically ascribed to MEN

Question 24

What is the STEREOTYPE CONTENT MODEL?

Answer 24

Theory proposing that stereotypes about social groups all along communion and agency dimensions, and that groups may be seen as high or low on both dimensions

Question 25

Provide examples of how the Stereotype Content Model applies to different individuals.

Answer 25

Unhoused people: fall at a low level of communion and low level of agency
Women: fall at a high level of communion, low level of agency
Men: fall at a low level of communion, high level of agency

Question 26

Describe the Women are Wonderful effect.

Answer 26

People view stereotypes about women more favourably than stereotypes about men; view traditional, gender-conforming women very positively.

People seem to LIKE women more, but they RESPECT men more&raquo_space; being stereotyped positively does not offer women a path to more social status and power.

Question 27

How does the Women are Wonderful effect differ on an intersectional level?

Answer 27

Working class women are stereotyped as low in both communal and agentic traits.
Black women are stereotyped as lower in communal traits, but higher in agentic traits compared to White women.

Question 28

Describe the “Think Male, Think Manager” effect

Answer 28

An effect in which stereotypes of men and successful managers are more strongly correlated than stereotypes of women and successful managers.

Question 29

What are the 3 major theories of stereotypes re: gender?

Answer 29

Evolutionary
Social Role Theory
Biosocial Constructionist Theory

Question 30

Describe the evolutionary theory of stereotypes.

Answer 30

Stereotypes derive from and reflect genetically inherited differences in men and women’s traits and behaviours.
Women have evolved to hold communal traits, men have evolved to hold agentic traits to meet their greatest needs and roles in society

Question 31

Describe social role theory of stereotypes.

Answer 31

Stereotypes arise from and reflect large-scale sex differences in the types of social roles that women and men typically occupy.
1) women are more likely to occupy homemaking roles; men are more likely to be employed outside the home
2) in the paid workforce, women are more likely to occupy low status positions; men are more likely to occupy high status positions
Because of these tendencies ^^, people more often observe women performing child-rearing, low-status activities, so they infer that they have a high level of traits necessary for these roles.

Question 32

Describe biosocial constructionist theory.

Answer 32

States that all human societies benefit from dividing labor activities in a manner that maximizes efficiency.
It makes sense to use sex to divide labor bc some activities are more or less efficiently performed by members of one sex
EX: women’s biological ability to breastfeed makes them more suitable to the role of child-rearing
1) People’s gender stereotypes reflect their observations of what people of different sexes do in their daily lives
2) Cultures socialize children to adopt the traits and preferences that will facilitate performance of their future labor activities

Question 33

What are the consequences of gender stereotyping?

Answer 33

Stereotypes can double as gender rules - convey expectations about the traits that each ought to have

if a culture values a stereotype, people will feel pressure to conform, and those who don’t conform will be punished

when a stereotype is negative, this can lead to personal anxieties or interpersonal behaviours that reinforce the stereotype

Question 34

What are GENDER PRESCRIPTIONS?

Answer 34

traits that people believe men and women should exhibit

Question 35

What are GENDER PROSCRIPTIONS?

Answer 35

traits that women and men should NOT exhibit

Question 36

Describe the Status Incongruity Hypothesis.

Answer 36

gender rules serve to justify and reinforce the unequal gender hierarchy in which certain men routinely have higher social status than women

agentic behaviour in women becomes incongruous with their expected low social status, and raises the question about gender hierarchy in the first place

rather than address this question, we penalize women who display high-status, agentic traits by viewing them as less likeable and hireable; men with communal traits are liked less than women

Question 37

What are some reasons for the belief that gender stereotypes are accurate?

Answer 37

1) Research suggests they are pretty accurate based on sex differences; many examples do confirm some stereotypes

2) People may think gender stereotypes are accurate bc the most accessible stereotypes are the ones that exaggerate sex differences

Question 38

What is a GENERIC BELIEF?

Answer 38

these pertain to categories as wholes, without any reference to numbers or proportions; people tend to hold these regardless of statistics or data
EX: women are nice and friendly

Question 39

What is a STATISTICAL BELIEF?

Answer 39

these pertain to proportions or numbers, such as the statements:
MOST women are friendly or women are FRIENDLIER than men.

Question 40

Why are generic and statistical beliefs relevant to gender stereotypes?

Answer 40

When measuring stereotype accuracy, researchers look at statistical beliefs, so research on gender stereotype accuracy only tells us how accurate people’s statistical beliefs are, not their general beliefs

some researchers say that stereotypes are more like generic beliefs, which are largely inaccurate, unaffected by data, and resistant to change.

Question 41

What is DIRECTION ACCURACY?

Answer 41

finding which group has more of a given quality than the other; accuracy regarding the direction of a sex difference

Question 42

Give an example of direction accuracy.

Answer 42

If we stereotype men as stronger than women, and the average man does outperform women in tests of strength, then the stereotype is considered accurate for direction

Question 43

What is DISCREPANCY ACCURACY?

Answer 43

finding how close or far from reality a stereotype is; accuracy regarding the specific size and direction of a sex difference

Question 44

Give an example of discrepancy accuracy.

Answer 44

Researchers ask people to rate how “warm” both men and women are, and use those ratings to calculate an effect size for the stereotyped sex difference on warmth, then compare this to the effect size for the actual sex difference on warmth

Question 45

What can discrepancy accuracy reveal about stereotypes?

Answer 45

1) The degree to which people’s stereotypes overestimate, underestimate, or match the actual sex difference
2) Captures the direction accuracy and considers its distance from the real size of the sex difference

Question 46

What is RANK ORDER ACCURACY?

Answer 46

Accuracy regarding the relative sizes of sex differences across different domains (cognitive abilities, leadership potential, helpfulness, nonverbal communication, etc)

Question 47

What has rank order accuracy revealed about gender stereotypes?

Answer 47

Researchers have found a large correlation bw stereotypes and real sex differences across 17 domains, suggesting that gender stereotypes offer reasonably accurate information about the relative sizes of sex difference across domains

Question 48

What are INDIVIDUALISTIC CULTURES?

Answer 48

cultures that value independence and self-reliance, prioritize individual goals and needs
often found in western Europe and North America)
values agentic traits

Question 49

What are COLLECTIVISTIC CULTURES?

Answer 49

cultures that value fitting in and group solidarity, prioritizing group goals and needs
often found in South America, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East
values communal traits