AO1: Sex role stereotypes
-Shared set of expectations society has from boy/girl.
-People feel pressured.
-Language/ attitude different from start for a girl/boy.
-Toys, clothes colours.
-subjects in school.
-media/culture show them differently.
AO3 Sex Role stereotypes
+P-supporting research
E-sood only 12% primary and 3% nursery teachers are males.
L-caring career are female dominating
H- 2022 18% businesses led by women .
+ P Real life application.
E Teacher uses same tone with both.
L so children will make choices based on their free will.
H males perform better in awareness tasks.
+ P-support for parental influence.
E-Smith and Lloyd mothers gave toys to the children based on ho they dressed up as a girl or boy.
L-supports that adult also do sex stereotype in the way they treat a girl or a boy as a child.
A-Langlois and Downs boys made fun of boys when they played with a dolls.
AO1 Androgyny
-Having masculine and feminine both characteristics.
-Psychologically healthy for person to be androgyny.
-From 11 yrs old signs of androgyny starts to appear.
-Bem’s sex role inventory= asked 100 undergraduates USA list of 200 personality traits that are desirable for men and women.
- Rate themselves in 7 point scale.
- Found Masculine,Feminine,Androgyny (high feminine and masculine score), undifferentiated (low masculine and feminine.)
AO3 Androgyny
+ Reliable test used.
H - issue of validity social only USA people used.
+ P Real world application.
E Teachers in school asking children to adapt both characteristics male and female.
L choose any career they like.
H some people still doesn’t believe in gender neutral like British people does.
+ P Androgyny is psychologically healthy.
E prakash India women Found feminine score positively correlated with general health questionnaire
L there are benefit of having androgyny personality.
H Measuring someones personality is is not valid.
Biological theory:
AO1
1.)Role of Hormones and chromosomes.
- XY males and XX females.
- hormone androgen’s control if vagina or penis will grow.
- chromosome Y on dihydro testosterone in male.
-Testosterone-Hair growth and muscles,competitiveness,sex drive and mood. - Oestrogen- periods, pregnancy, Mood, fear response.
- Oxytocin (love hormone in both)- stress reduced, child birth, empathy.
AO3 Role of chromosome and hormones.
+ P Animal support
E Leengoed oxytocin in female rats showed delay maternal behaviours.
L highlight importance of oxytocin add support.
H cannot genralise intead use chimpanzees more similar to humans than rats.
+ P support testosterone
E Wang 200 men a testestorones found body shape changed, strenth increased.
L Supports the idea of tetesterone physically changes a men.
H o connor increased testosterone found no change in sex drive and strength.
AO1
2.) Atypical sex chromosomes patterns.
Klinefelter’s syndrome
Cause and prevelance: Due to an XXY configuration, Happen in 1 in 1000 males, Only 10% people are diagnosed before birth.
Physical characterstics: Taller than average, less masculine, low levels of testestorone, less facial hairs, prominent brest, low sex drive, may get diabetes.
Psychological characteristics: poor language skills, reading ability is poor, struggle with memory.
Treatments: testosterone supplements, live relatively normal lives, more likely child with klinefetler’s disease.
Turner’s Syndrome
Cause and prevelance: missing X chromosomes in females, 1 in 2000 females, ovaries fail to develop.
Physical characteristics: Shorter than average, lots of moles, small lower jaw, narrow hip, organ abnormalities, non-functioning ovaries.
Psychological characteristics: Higher reading ability, lowe maths ability, immaturity.
Treatments: growth hormone for height, oestrogen and progesterone supplement.
AO3 Atypical sex chromosomes patterns.
+P Diagnosed prenatally
E Parents can take step forward to prepare themselves.
L Parents more confident, prepared and educated.
H Risks of miscarriage, parent want to abort the child.
+P Effective treatments.
E Hormone replacement therapies and medications, speech and language therapy.
L improves quality of life for a individual, effective gene therapies.
H symptoms are not biological could be environmental.
+P chance to become a mother.
E Taking eggs from girl when she is fertile below 16 yrs old and allowing her to have a baby through IVF.
L allow girl to become a mother.
H Girl is below 16 so consent is needed from parents they might refuse so could impact girl’s psychological health later on.
AO1 Cognitive explanations of gender development. (Kohl-berg’s & gender schema)
Kohl-berg’s theory:
Child’s understanding of gender occur in 3 stages. The child biologically matures, Less self centred, has new experiences.
Child start to pay attention between 4 and half & 7 yrs old to same sex role model
Stages~ Age: 2-3 yrs old
Stage: gender identity
Child understands: Label themselves and others correctly.
Child doesn’t understand: Gender stays the same.
-Age: 4-5
Stage: gender stability
child understands: gender stays same time overtime.
Child doesn’t understand: people’s gender doesn’t change if physical appearance changes.
-Age: 6-7
Stage: Gender constancy
Child understands: gender is constant and stays same for everyone, conservation {children recognise if object look different gender stays same}.
Imitation of role model: child fully developed and internalised the concept of gender at gender constancy stage they search for evidence which confirms that concept.
AO1 gender schema theory (Martin and Halverson)
-Child’s understanding of gender increases with age.
-children develop gender identity at age of 2-3 yrs so contrast kohlberg’s who said it hapen after 7 yrs old.
-gender Schemas : organised set of beliefs and expectations about gender. it tells what clothes,toys,food are appropriate.
-By age of 6 child formed a fixed and stereotypical view. They disregard any info that doesn’t fit their gender.
-By 8 yrs old child pick a subject in school that are gender specific, what clothes are appropriate, they also see items that are gender neutral.
-Ingroups and outgroup schemas: gender child belong to is become ingroup and other gender is outgroup now.
-They pay attention to girl/boy related toys and games.
-Once child identified with their group they evaluate each other’s behaviour and negatively evaluate the outgroups.
-Impact on peer realtions: Avoid children of the opposite sex, they learn consequences of playing with the opposite sex so childrens develop social relationships with the same or opposite sex peers.
AO3 Cognitive explanation of gender development (Kohl berg’s theory & Gender Schema theory.)
+P supporting research for Kohlberg’s theory.
E Rabban by age of 3 most children demonstrated gender identity. By 5 yrs 97% demonstrated gender stability.
L Gives credibility to kohl-berg’s theory.
H Boys showed gender constancy before girls and they had stronger sex-typing
+P Kohlberg’s theory takes number of factors into consideration.
E Role of biology, cognition and how our thought influences our perception of gender.
L Strength as it understands children’s gender interpretation.
H Theory doesn’t explain how gender understanding develops.
+P Kohlberg’s stages of gender development have been seen across world in different cultures.
E De-Lisi&Gallagher in Argentina and found 60% of 3 yr old successfully answer gender identity question.
L strength as research evidence suggest the concept of gender identity, stability and constancy occur in many cultures. So the theory is universal.
H there are issue with how research carried out. Bem said child’s views on gender constancy are based on societal norms.
AO3 Gender Schema Theory
+P supporting research of gender schemas
E children under 6 more like to remember photos that are gender appropriate.
L children actively search for info to suppot gender schema.
H 2 yr old boy and girl who posessed high level of gender knowledge doesn’t display preference to play gender specific toys so gender schemas do not develop this early.
+P theory take into account multiple factors that influence gender development.
E consider environmental factors, cognitive factors.
L theory truly understands children’s gender interpretation.
H theory doesn’t consider biological factors and doesn’t consider brain development like Kohl-berg.
+P theory explains cross cultural differences in gender development.
E Young girls picking more STEM subjects, Ghana women are expected to stay at home whereas in UK women work.
L theory reflects differences in children’s experiences therefore their schema development across cultures.
H theory is deterministic , we have no free will at what subject we choose.doesn’t explain why people choose to go against gender schema and became female fire fighters.
AO1 Psycho-dynamic explanation of gender: Freud’s theory
Freud: Personality develop through psycho sexual stages: oral,anal, phallic and genital.
-Phallic stage male develop (everything from previously learned)
-Electra complex for females (everything previously learned)
AO3 Psychoanalytic theory
+ P Supporting evidence for this theory.
E 50 boys studied found boys with strong gender disturbance were more likely to act like women than normal boys and 75% of those didn’t had any men in their family.
L suggest without men it can have negative impact on a person.
H 63 child from lesbian parents and 68 from traditional family, lesbian parent children less likely to assume their gender was superior so father absence doesn’t effect.
- P Theory is highly unscientific.
E Oedipus and Electra complex are unconscious so impossible to investigate.
L cannot be certain that absence of same sex parent impact gender development.
A theory is outdated now we can do gene mapping and brain scans. - P Theory has gender bias.
E Freud admitted women are mystery to him and penis envy has been criticised as reflecting when en held power.
L weakness theory has beta bias coz didn’t explain women gender development fully.
A Horney said penis envy was result of cultural rather than biological factor.
AO1 SLT explanation: Bandura’s Theory
SLT:Gender is learned from observing people around us such as influences,parents and teachers.
Modelling and identification: 2 Types of models around kids
-Live Models: parents and teacher.
-Symbolic model: on tv or social media.
1 Mediational processes: Attention, retention, motor reproduction and motivation
2 Direct: gender appropriate
indirect reinforcement: consequences of other behaviour favourable it will be imitated.
AO3 SLT
+P Researh support
E Fagot children from traditional family showed more stereotype than ones from egalitarian families.
L Parents model to their children at young age that certain toys are associated with their age.
H Doesn’t discuss that model changes over time so parents maybe creator of gender role understanding but peers police and maintain it.
+P Additional supporting evidence.
E Cherney and London 5-13 yr old spend more time engaging in leisure activities than girls and girls spent more time watching tv.
L environment influenced these childrens
A Environment play a huge role in a gender development eg: gender roles cann be reversed.
-P Cannot explain gender difference in twins and siblings.
E one twin more masculine than other if slt is cause of gender development than twin should be identical.
A SLT cannot explain how gender identity and undersatnding changes over time.
AO1 The Influence of Culture On Gender
- Gender role behaviour determined by the environment and socialisation.
- Studying the influence of cultures allows psychologists to assess extent to which gender is culturally or biologically determined.
- effect of culture can be seen in the way gender expectations vary from one culture to another.
- MEAD investigated cultural differences in gender roles and found Guinea has different roles than in usa.
ARAPESH: Both men and women seem to adopt feminine.
MUNDUGUMOR: Both men and women seem to adopt masculine.
TCHAMBULI: Womens shows leadership and mens are emotionally dependent
-BUSS investigated mate preferences found some similarities across cultures and some difference terms of gender development.
CULTURAL SIMILARITIES: Women like men who offer wealth and men like a women who has physical attractiveness.
CULTURAL DIFFERENCES: women look for social status and financial aspects and men like women with domestic skills.
AO3 The role of culture
+P research into the effect of culture on gender are forcely applied to other cultures.
E methods and tools only applicable to own culture.
L culture bias
A research questioned for making generalisation based on short period of study so this questions objectivity.
+ P Research support
E Womens had more active role in their workplace, Women still do kitchen work in some societies.
L gender role determined by culture.
H Other things that effect gender development such as social media studies are outdated.
AO1 Influence of media on gender
-children select role model same sex as their.
-media provide gender stereotypes that are quite rigid.
Bandura- men are independent more aggressive than women
Kivran- twitter messages women use more strengthen words.
Self-efficacy- individual’s belief in her or his own ability to carry out behaviour.
Mitra-child watched drama and found men and women both capable of same roles.
A03 Role of media
+P real life application
E Gender stereotype has given rise amongst most school-age children.
l Present children with new normal and increase self efficiancy for non gender typed activities.
H TV and social media needs to also convey the same message if real progress is to be made
+P There is supporting evidence
E Love island females were overly emotional and dramatic.
L The media acts like a mirror, but it is often a distorted one. If we look at it long enough, we start to believe the reflection is real this effects gender behaviour.
H more effective take Interactionist approach to media role on gender. Media representation while potential influential understood within context face to face interactions culture and individual differences.
AO1 Atypical gender development Biological explanation
(gender dysphoria)
-400,000 people in uk experience it.
- identifying with opposite gender
- need 2 symptoms to be diagnosed
-6 months present.
Biological: 1 Gene mapping found correlation between GD and a variant of androgen receptor gene.
2 Twin studies 39% MZ C.R for gd and 0% for D.Z.
Issues durig pegnancy succh as abnormal level of hormone.
3 Brain BNST part is female sized in transgeneder female shaorter.
AO3 Biological explanation of GD
-P issues with twin study
E They are treated similarly also the CR needs to be higher than this.
L other social factor explain gd better
A Low sample size so can’t be generalised.
-P Research supports brain theory
E proportion of white matter were same as gender individual identified themselves as.
L there are early differences in brains of transgeneder.
H Study found no difference in brains so they might be effected by a hormone therapy.
-P GD is not long lasting
E 25 girls only 3 were gd at 24 yrs.
L if its biological should’ve stayed forever.
A research found few differences in hormone of normal male and gd so interactionist better explanation.
AO1 (GD) Social-psychological explanation
SLT-child opposite gender role model.
-imitate their behaviour eg: little girl encourage by her teacher to play football.
Psychoanalytic-GD caused by separation anxiety.
-Boy has symbolic fusion with his mother.
-in interview 60 males had very close relationship with their mother.
SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION ISM: gender identity doesn’t reflect underlying biological differences.
- it happens due to sociey forces.
AO3 social psychological explanation
+P support for SLT
E 12% had GD in childhood still had disorder at 24.
L GD cause by people we surrounded with and our life experiences.
H Think about age we start treatment for GD through hormone replacement theory they may regret later.
-P Psychoanalytic explanation is Gender biased.
E explanation doesn’t provide an adequate account of GD in females theory only applies to transgender women.
L so psychoanalytic doesn’t provide comprehensive explanation of GD.
A Difficult to establish cause and effect between GD and childhood experiences.
+P Support for social deconstructionism
E Cultures recognises more than two genders.
L GD and gender identity is social construct than biological fact.
H in a case girls at birth but increase in testosterone and had a penis in later life
