1
Q
define sex
A
persons biological status determined by chromosomes (women-XX and men-XY)
2
Q
define gender
A
persons psychological status which includes attitudes, roles and behaviours
3
Q
define sex role stereotypes
A
a set of shared beliefs and preconceived expectations that people within society hold
4
Q
features of sex role stereotypes
A
- reinforced through parents, peers, school and the media
- taught very early on through the toys given to children
- the media play a role in maintaining these expectations but can also be used to break them
- some stereotypes are partially valid as they have biological evidence e.g oxytocin in women making them more nurturing
5
Q
research evidence for sex role stereotypes
A
- farnham and farragher carried out study on how men and women were portrayed in adverts and found that men were found in more autonomous roles compared to women in domestic settings
- seavey et al told different participants that a 3 month old was either boy, girl or no gender
=> found that if they were told the baby was a girl, they played with a doll compared to a plastic ring if told it was a boy
=> the female participants interacted more than males when no gender was given
=> if given no label, gender was often assumed through physical features - rubin et al asked parents to describe their baby after 24 hours and boys were “strong” compared to girls being “soft” and “delicate”
- ingalhaliar et al found women had better connections between left and right hemisphere
6
Q
define androgyny
A
personality type that is characterised by possessing a balanced combination of masculine and feminine traits, or high levels of both
7
Q
features of androgyny
A
- bem argued that high androgyny is associated with psychological well being because people should feel free to adopt a variety of masculine and feminine type behaviours
- androgynous people are more flexible and are better equipped to adapt to situations
8
Q
features of Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI)
A
- psychological test to measure androgyny
- 100 american undergraduates were asking which personality traits they thought were desirable for men and women
- 20 neutral items as distractors
- each person rates themselves on a 7 point likert scale
- a 4th category was added which is a type of androgyny with low masculine and feminine scores (undifferentiated)
9
Q
evaluation of BSRI strengths
A
- high test rates reliability correlation from .76 to .94
10
Q
evaluation of BSRI weaknesses
A
- self report method therefore has social desirability bias, which lacks internal validity
- responses bias as a study shows those classes as androgynous had higher overall scores which may be due to tendency to select answers at higher end- artefact of the measurement
- lacks temporal validity as adjectives were selected in 1970s, where recent study found that undergraduate chose only two terms to be endorsed as masculine or feminine
- culture bias
- subjective
11
Q
evaluation of androgyny
A
+ research evidence where prakash et al tested 100 married females in India in their masculinity/femininity using the personal attribute scale, and found high masculine and feminine scores had lower depression scores but those with high feminine had higher depression scores- psycho protective effect
+ real world application as it encourages parents to raise their children with characteristics of either gender
12
Q
how do chromosomes influenc gender
A
- determine biological sex by 23rd chromosome
- male XX female XY
- SRY gene in Y chromosome controls whether gonads become ovaries or testes
- at 6 weeks, this is when the Y chromosome can activate to develop testes and as a result produce testosterone
13
Q
role of testosterone in influencing gender
A
- testosterone surfers in boys to help develop male sex organs early on
- acts on hypothalamus to develop to masculinise the brain- development of areas linked to spatial tasks
- also linked to male type behaviours like aggressiveness and competitiveness
- sexual dimorphic nucleus bigger in males
14
Q
role of oestrogen in influencing gender
A
- lead to smaller brain size
- puberty
- PMS- emotionality, irritability
- directs the menstrual cycle
- diminishing of oestrogen leads to menopause
- feminisation of the brain- more interconnections between hemispheres
- female type behaviours like sensitivity and cooperation
15
Q
role of oxytocin in influencing gender
A
- produced in pituitary gland
- evokes feelings of contentment and calmness
- greater in females as it synergises with oestrogen, and can help with childbirth and breastfeeding
- increases during sex
- affects female social behaviour- nesting, monogamy, bonding, nurturing
- can dampen fight or flight and instead trigger “tend and befriend” to protect their young (taylor et al)
16
Q
evaluation of biological approach on gender strengths
A
+ real world application as it dissuades intersex people undergoing surgery without their permission, and instead be assigned a gender
+ effect of testosterone on brain development in female monkeys showed they engaged in more rough play
17
Q
evaluation of biological approach on gender weaknesses
A
-biological factors may not have a key role as David Reiner was intersex, but still showed a strong male identity despite being raised as a girl
=> studied 16 genetic males born with no penis and two raised as males remained males, but 14 raised as females found 8 reassigned themselves
- importance of other factors like personal qualities and socialisation
- culture has important role as Bastia family had 4 children with external female genitalia despite having large amounts of testosterone which caused one is to grow
=> accepted into their new male role which showed importance of acceptance in community
- socially sensitive as it can reinforce sex role stereotypes, for example PMS is arguable a social construct that medicalises female anger
18
Q
features of klinefelters syndrome
A
- XXY chromosome
- small testes that produce insufficient amounts of testosterone- inability to grow facial hair, breast development, long limbs, broader hips
- clumsy
- infertile
- susceptible to health problems commonly found in females like breast cancer
- poorly developed language skills- dyslexia
- shy and lack interest in sexual activity
- good spatial awareness
- easily upset and depressed
19
Q
features of turner’s syndrome
A
-XO chromosome as second X chromosome is either missing or incomplete
- do not have menstrual cycle and are infertile as ovaries fail to develop
- prepubescent appearance- broad chest, narrow hips, no breasts
- low set ears, short webbed neck, shorter
- higher reading ability- spatial visual memory and maths is ooor
- socially immature
- difficulty fitting in
20
Q
evaluation of atypical sex chromosome patterns strengths
A
- help to understand nature-nurture debate by comparing people with these conditions to see psychological and behavioural differences
- real world application to help early diagnosis and treated treatment- testosterone replacement therapy, growth hormone injections, oestrogen replacement
21
Q
evaluation of atypical sex chromosome pattern weakness
A
- taken from unrepresentative sample so lacks population validity as only 1/3 of people with klineflters are aware
- environmental and social influence may be more responsible for behavioural differences, like those with Turner syndrome being treated immaturely and therefore acting in that way
- biological determinism
22
Q
what are the names of the stages of kohlbergs theory of development and ages
A
stage 1- gender identity/labelling (2-3 years)
stage 2- gender stability (4-6 years)
stage 3- gender constancy (7+ years)
23
Q
features of kohlbergs gender identity stage
A
-children can label themselves as boy or girl and aware of their own gender
- can label other people
- is not aware sex is permanent and believes gender can change over time
- labels given on physical characteristics
24
Q
features of kohlbergs gender stability stage
A
- children understand their gender is fixed over time in spite of outward changes
- understanding is not applied to other people in other situations
- believe people can change sex if they engage in activities that are more often associated with the opposite gender
- conservation- children cannot understand that outward appearance does not fundamentally change what they are
- egocentrism- believe all their own senses are replicated in other peoples point of view
25
features of kohlbergs gender constancy stage
- understand a persons gender remains fixed despite different situations and superficial changes
- learn about gender appropriate behaviour
- seek gender appropriate role models to imitate with
26
research support for kohlbergs theory
- thompsons found 2 year olds were 76% correct in identifying their sex whereas 3 year olds were 90% correct
- slaby and frey asked children about their gender over time and they found they couldn’t recognise it is stable until 3/4 years
- slaby and frey found children in gender constancy stage had greater interest in same sex models
27
evaluation of kohlbergs theory weaknesses
- children may struggle to express themselves properly at such young ages
- bem criticised way of measuring gender constancy as judging gender by clothing is most relevant in our society
- martin and halverson found children cannot make the distinction between real world and play so may need prompting to answer seriously
- slaby and frey found gender differences, where boys exhibit gender constancy beforehand as they generally resist feminine activities- more powerful role models through SLT, boys more likely to be punished
- gender constancy found to appear at younger age than suggested
- some children can display strong gender stereotypes before reaching gender constancy
28
define and features if gender schema
- an organised set of beliefs and expectations related to gender that help us organise and interpret information
- developed from experience
- guide us to understand our own gender and gender appropriate behaviour
29
how is gender schema theory different to kohlbergs theory
- argue that process of acquiring gender relevant information and taking an interest in what behaviours are appropriate happen earlier than gender constancy
- also says acquisition of stereotypes affect later behaviour
30
what are in group schemas and how do they relate to gender behaviours
- schemas of people you identify with e.g boys or girls, which leads them to positively value their group and negatively evaluate the other
- can also enhance self esteem
- actively seek information on what the in group does so they belong to
31
features of gender scheme theory
- in group schemas
- children hold fixed gender attitudes and can ignore new information that is not consistent with their in group information
- children play with the same gender and believe they are more fun as they have more interests
32
development of the gender schema theory
- children by 8-10 years develop schemas of the opposite gender
- by late childhood they understand gender rules are just social conventions
- significant amounts of teens describe themselves as androgynous
33
evaluation of gender schema theory strengths
+ martin and little found children under the age of 4 demonstrates strong sex role stereotypes
+ children are already using gender labels at 19 months which is earlier than gender labelling stage
+ martin and halverson found children under 6 were more likely to remember photographs of gender consistent behaviour, and when testes a week later they tend to change the sex of the person carrying out the gender inconsistent activity
+ real world application as children are more likely to change stereotypes with direct experience with those who break the stereotypes
+ children took greater interest in labelling gender neutral toys as part of their ingroup and remember more details about them
34
evaluation of gender schema theory weaknesses
- over exaggerates as not enough attention paid to parental influence and use of rewards and punishments
- campbell found a child’s awareness of their own gender had no effect on how much they engage in gender stereotypes
- only focus on first 7 years and ignores changes in puberty
- schema may not change behaviour as many adult couples still have gender roles despite valuing gender equality
35
basics of psychodynamic explanation of gender
- children go through 5 psychosexual stages, and the phallic stage is when children become aware of their own genitals and gentials of others
- gender identity is further shaped by unconscious conflicts between the id and superego
36
features of oedipus complex
- applies to boys and claims that a boy develops a sexual interest for this mother
- intense feelings of jealousy for father
- castration anxiety- boy fears father will discover his feelings and punish him by removing his penis
- conflict between lust for his other and feelings of jealously towards his father
37
features of electra complex
- girls desire a penis in order to be like their father, called penis envy
- when they realise they dai not have one, they believe it is their mother that punished them by castrating them
- also is jealous of mother as they want their fathers love
- girls desire for a penis is substituted with desire for a baby
38
how to resolve oedipus and electra complex
- gives up desire for parent and identifies with same sex parent
- incorporated them into their own personality and allows them to internalise their own gender
- female identification is weaker as they are less fearful than bigs as they believe they have already been castrated
- if not satisfactorily resolved, they would be confused about their sexual identity and more likely become homosexual
39
evaluation of psychodynamic explanation strengths
- little hans case study explains how a little boy developed a fear of horses, which freud argues was a way of repressing his desires for his mother
40
weaknesses of little hans case study
- however, a boys father was a supporter of freud
- he saw a horse collapse in the street when he was younger, which may suggest his phobia was through classical conditioning
- cannot be generalised to all people
- subjectively created evidence to support a theory already published
- unconscious mind is not falsifiable
41
evaluation of psychodynamic explanation of gender weaknesses
- androcentric assumption of penis envy as freud did not investigate females- instead “womb envy”
- relies on child having parents of different genders but evidence shows children with lesbian mothers develop their gender identities in the same way
- cannot predict future outcomes as freud suggested harsh fathers develop sons with more robust genders however, Blakemore and Hill found boys with more liberal fathers tend to be more secure in their gender
42
social learning theory on gender development
- gender is learned through observations of others who models and reinforces gender role models
- identify with same sex models, who model gender appropriate behaviour
- vicarious reinforcement/punishment- children observe the behaviour of others and consequences of this
- gender appropriate behaviour is maintained through differential reinforcement- learn their gender by internalising correct behaviour
- meditational processes- ARRM
- children can learn from explicit instructions about appropriate gender behaviour
- children can direct themselves and no longer need external rewards- reciprocal determinism
43
evaluation of social learning with gender strengths
+ smith and lloyd studied 4-6 month old babies who were dressed half the time as boys and the other half as girls, and the adults interacted with them according to the gender of their clothes (boys- hammer shaped rattle, girls- cuddly doll)
+ can explain change in masculine and feminine behaviours over decades as nothing biologically has changed
+ perry and buses showed film clips to children and the children were more likely to select the same fruit as their same sex role model did
44
evaluation of social learning theory weaknesses gender
- fails to incorporate biological inferences like David Reimer, who still reverted back to male
- direct tuition more influential as Martin et al found preschool boys only played with “boy” toys despite girls playing with them, and did not play with “girls” toys even if they saw boys playing with them
- psychologists should instead take an interactionist stance- between biology and environment
45
influence of culture of slt
- role models within cultures can shape how gender is developed in different cultures
- there are similarities but also differences between cultures
46
evaluation of influence of culture on slt strengths
+ research evidence with Mead, who conducted a cross cultural study of gender roles in tribal groups in New Guinea and found one group was gentle and cooperative, one was aggressive and hostile, and the other had dominant and managerial women
=> however, lacks internal validity as she expressed observer bias and the indigenous people expressed social desirability bias
47
evaluation of influence of culture on slt weaknesses
- william and best found universal agreement across cultures that men were perceived as dominant and women were caring and sociable
- does not solve nature nurture debate as there is a complex interaction
- instead, gender roles are biologically constructed and then later modified by social ifneluces
- ethno-centrism is a problem , with an imposed etic
48
influence of media on slt
- children observe gender behaviour in the media through film and tv
- often they model stereotypical gender behaviour, where women are seen as more domestic and men are independent
49
evaluation of influence of media on slt strengths
+ williams et al studied a town in british columbia called notel, who never watched television and were assessed on their gender stereotypes through questionnaires. they were compared to neighbouring towns Unitel and Multitel and found evidence of stereotypes increased for children in notel
+ furnham and farragher found men in adverts were found in more autonomous roles compared to women in familial roles
+ longitudinal study over 15 months found children watching more than 25 hours a week of TV held more sex stereotypes compared to those who watched 10 hours or less
+ real world application to counteract stereotype like Pingree found gender stereotyping reduced when TV adverts features women in non stereotypical roles
+ lead to change in society, e.g Disney with the film Brave
=> however, gender schema theory suggests inconsistent behaviours will be forgotten anyway
50
evaluation of influence of media on slt weaknesses
- media output instead reflects society
- other environmental factors like upbringing
51
define gender dysphoria
a psychiatric condition characterised by string, persistent feelings (at least 6 months) of identification with the opposite gender and discomfort with one’s own assigned sex
52
features of gender dysphoria
- negative feelings of anxiety and distress
- occurs in childhood but for most children it does not persist after puberty
- can undergo gender reassignment surgery, hormone blockers or hormone injections
53
biological explanations for gender dysphoria
- males with GD found to have longer androgen receptor gene which leads to reduced testosterone
- BSTc is twice as large and contains double the number of neurons in heterosexual men vs women
- number of neurons in BSTc of MtF transsexuals were similar to females, and vice versa
- phantom limb syndrome- image of sex organs innately hardwired in the brain in a manner opposite to their sex
- pesticides like DDT is found to contain oestrogens meaning males are prenatally exposed
- Coolidge et al estimated GD is 62% determined after analysing twins
54
evaluation of biological explanations of GD strengths
+ rametti et al found FtM transsexuals had a more similar pattern to other males in terms of white matter
+ Ramachandran and McGeoch found that 60%nor non-GD men who penile amputations experienced a phantom penis but only 30% of GD men, 10% of FtM after breast removal
55
evaluation of biological explanations for GD weaknesses
- Chung et al notes difference in BSTc volume is not noted until adulthood, but GD can occur in childhood
- Hulshoff Pol et al found transgender hormone therapy influences the size of the BSTc
- social consequences as it may harm them and they assume GD is inevitable
- reductionist
56
social explanations for gender dysphoria
- GD is linked to mental illness like childhood trauma- Coates et al conducted a case study on a boy who developed gender dysphoria, which was due to a defensive reaction to the boy’s mother’s depression through cross gender fantasy
- stoller proposed GD in men was due to overly close and enmeshed relationship with mother, leading to greater female identification
- female side tidy as males because of severe paternal rejection and think they will gain a acceptance as a male
- operant conditioning- family encourage or compliment children acting in a way of the opposite gender
57
evaluation of social explanations of GD strengths
+ zucker et al studied 115 boys with concerns of their gender identity, and found that 64% of those diagnosed with GD also had separation anxiety disorder
+ operant conditioning can explain why more children identify as gender dysphoria as behaviour is more toelrated
58
evaluation of social explanations of GD weaknesses
- link between gender dysphoria and childhood is not supported as Cole et al reported that the range of psychiatric conditions amongst GD individuals was no different to normal
- mother-son and father-daughter lack falsifiability
- likely to be different explanations as Blanchard proposed two groups “homosexual transsexuals” and “on-homosexual transsexuals”
