Unit 10 Flashcards
What is sex assigned at birth?
-based on objectively measurable/observable biological organs, hormones, chromosomes (male, female, intersex, etc.)
What is gender/gender identity?
a person’s sense of self as gendered (male, female, genderqueer, non-binary, etc.)
What is gender expression?
how a person demonstrates their gender (feminine, masculine, etc.)
What is sexual orientation?
who a person is physically/emotionally attracted to
Is gender binary?
no it’s a spectrum
- society & research often see it as binary
- but intersex exists as well etc.
What is gender role?
-societal expectations of gendered behaviour/thought/traits
Does gender/gender identity impact children?
yes
- through society -behaviours change -differences etc.
- elaborate more?
What do infants/toddlers understand about gender?
- 3-4months can discriminate btw male & female -but focus on superficial cues -external features
- 2yrs -look longer at gender-inconsistent pictures -ex. the boy putting on lipstick
- have early understanding of gender roles/stereotypes/expectations
What do kids understand about gender in early childhood?
- 2-2.5yrs - label themselves & others -gets more consistent over time
- awareness of gender stereotypes
- difficulty w/ gender constancy
What is gender constancy?
understanding that gender is permanent and immutable
-ex. younger kids when the purse moves from girl doll to boy doll say he becomes a girl - but then older say he doesn’t
What do children understand about gender in middle childhood?
- achieve gender constancy - start to understand gender as socially influenced (vs. earlier is essential)
- ex. girl grows up on island w/ only boys - how will she act? -4/5/6 said act like girl -but by 9 say like boy
- 4+ say she’ll have girl parts
- gender stereotypes as internal as well -increased flexibility (age 7-9)
- more extensive knowledge of gender stereotypes
- peak of rigid application of stereotypes (5-7 yrs old) -then increased flexibility
What do adolescents understand about gender?
- gender-role flexibility -transcend traditions (thinking transcends?)
- gender-role intensification - heightened concern about adhering to traditional gender roles
- ^being pulled in two different directions
What are the physical differences/markers of sex?
- chromosomes -XX vs XY
- begin at conception
- at 1.5montsh gestation, physiological differences emerge
- 2.5-3months gestation, external genitals emerge
- many steps & variation @ 1.5mo
What are the physical differences of gender in infancy & childhood?
- trick question!
- there are few physical differences
- (just genitalia)
What are the physical differences in puberty?
- puberty -capable of sexual reproduction -primary (hormones) & secondary (breasts, hair, genitals, etc.) sex characteristics
- earliest 7, latest 13
- physical growth height & weight -specifically for boys
- menstruation
- sex-linked differences -boys greater physical strength & speed
What are the cognitive differences between genders?
- IQ tests
- girls do slightly better at verbal tasks
- boys slightly better at spatial tasks
What are the academic differences w/ genders?
-girls lightly better grades/school performance
What are the gender differences w/ beliefs/interests on their academic performance/IQ?
- how they think about their competence
- grade 1 boys think they’re better than girls
- by grade 12 gender differences decreases
- for english/arts - initially no differences but by grade 12 girls think they’re better than boys -differences become larger
- larger differences in beliefs than actual differences
What are the differences in play between genders?
- style of play (boys = physical, competitive - girls = cooperative)
- toys (girls = dolls, kitchen, dress up - boys = action figures, construction, vid games)
- fantasy play -(boys = heroes, combat - girls = household roles, romance)
- size of play group -(girls = pairs, threesomes, boys = larger groups)
What are the interpersonal relationship differences btw genders?
- goals (boys = power, dominance, control) (girls = intimacy, support, emotional support, disclose)
- aggression -(boys = direct, towards someone else) (girls = slightly more likely indirect - relations (targeted towards friends to make them not like you))
Aggression & boys & culture?
-across different cultures - consistent result that boys engage in more physical aggression
What might be the origins of sex/gender differences in childhood/adolescence?
- biological influences
- cognitive/motivational influences
- social/cultural influences
What are the biological influences on gender - theory?
- evolutionary psychology theory
- focus on humans evolving over time
- adaptive traits
- survival
- ex. maternal care - infant survival - girls more likely to play in collaborative/caring fashion
What are neuroscience-based theories for biological influences?
- hormonal role
- androgen & estrogen -lead to gender differences
- congenital adrenal hyperplasia - genetic females w/ androgen -can form partial male genitalia & are more likely to show traditionally male behaviour
What are the 2 different influences of neuroscience-based theories?
- organizational influences: hormones influence the development of characteristics -(signal to testies or not -prenatal)
- activational influences: changes in hormone levels stimulate changes in neural activation/behaviour -(puberty)
What are the brain structure differences btw genders?
-slightly larger corpus callosum for women
What is (Lawrence) Kohlberg’s Cognitive Development theory - general info?
- studied under Piaget
- children actively construct
- little scientists
- actively construct idea of gender
- stage-like
What is Stage 1 in KCD theory?
- Gender identity
- age 2-2.5years
- can recognize gender in themselves & others -but it’s superficial/appearace
What is Stage 2 in KCD theory?
- Gender stability
- ages 3-4 years
- gender is stable across time -just stay the same btw baby & adult
- time
What is Stage 3 in KCD theory?
- gender constancy
- ages 5-7 years
- consistent across situations & contexts
- ex. giving a man a purse doesn’t make him a woman
- situational/contextual
- (similar age to pass conservation tasks)
What are cognitive influences in Kohlberg’ Cognitive Development theory?
- achieving gender constancy - seek out gender models, stricter adherence to gender roles
- once you do -understand it’s internal - want to find ppl of the same gender (in middle childhood) -play w/ same gendered peers
ex. when watching a model - will watch longer/pay more attention if they have achieved gender constancy -
What is gender schema theory?
-mental representations -way of organizing the world -mental representations of gender -want to adhere to world according to those schemas
How do gender schemas affect memory?
- more likely to remember info when it’s in line with preexisting schemas
- ex. both boys & girls will remember a girl who plays with dolls more than a girl who is a firefighter. And a boy who is a firefighter more than a boy who plays with dolls
How does Social Cognitive Theory relate to gender?
- enactment of gender - multiple sources
- influence = observational learning (indirect reinforcement - ex. mom gets compliment on makeup)
- enactive experience (direct reinforcement - do things based on past reinforcement -ex. praise for doing dishes -will keep doing behaviour
- tuition - direct teaching - say boys don’t do this, girls do this etc.
How does Social Identity Theory relate to gender?
- ERI, sexual identity, occupation, religious, etc.
- says gender is most important -leads to many things
- ingroup bias: rate peers higher who have same gender
- ingroup assimilation: socialized to confirm ingroup norms
- social status: hierarchy of groups -ex. higher status is given to boys - pressure to adhere - girls aren’t status so don’t have to adhere, ex. tomboys
How does the bioecological model relate to gender?
- gender comes from many diff social & cultural factors - diff contexts & levels
- parental expectations & behaviours, peers, teachers, opportunities available, media representations
What are the three main factors for gender development?
- biological influences (chromosomes, hormones, etc.)
- socialization (family, peers, teachers, media, etc)
- cognitions (gender identity, gender understanding, self-socialization)
What is gender identity?
sense of self as gendered; internal/psychological experience
What are examples of gender identity?
- transgender: in which gender identity/expression differs from assigned sex/gender (umbrella term)
- non-binary: in which an individual does not identify w/ the binary of male or female
- genderqueer: in which an individual rejects categorization of gender
- cisgender: in which gender identity matches assigned sex/gender
How does studying transgender children help teach us about cisgender children as well?
- studying cisgender can’t isolate which influence affects gender development the most -biological, socialization & self-socialization, or cognitions
- but when studying transgender can compare biology & socialization to cognition to see which is most impactful -can isolate -shows self-socialization & how you think about your gender are really important
Summarize Olson
- 2015 -examined gender identity & gender preference in transgender & cisgender children
- 5-11 yrs old - 32 of them -prepubescent -socially transitioned
- did explicit (self-reports - are you internally/externally the same or different etc.) and implicit (IAT) - nias? = male & female w/ good & bad -then identity = me vs. them - male & female
- preference - good objects & bad w/ female or male
- cisgender control & transgender were the same -for identity & preference
- deeply held identity
- limitations: might be diff if not living in all contexts as expressed gender
Is there a difference in how transgender children think about gender? stability
- ask if when a baby they were same gender as now - they said no -then if will be the same as now in the future - said yes -shows age 3-5 understand stability - same as control
- talk about other ppl - same is true
Is there a difference in how transgender children think about gender? constancy
- gender constancy - 5-7 yr olds - man w/ purse -3-5yr olds don’t get it (control & trans) - but then trans do a bit better -trans & siblings marginally more likely to say gender is stable across contexts
- more fluid understanding of gender
In what ways are trans children not different from cis?
- gender identity
- gender preference
- gender-typed behaviour
- (shows it’s about cognition more than biology or early socialization)
What is trans mental health like?
- greater risk for depression & anxiety in high school
- less in 3-12 year olds -socially transitioned ^ maybe is helpful intervention -have better mental health
- but ability to do so relates to higher income & supportive family - so less ppl may be able to -& was smaller sample & younger
