Gender

What is the difference between ‘sex’ and ‘gender’?

sex is a person's biological status and gender is someone’s psychological status

What is gender dysphoria?

when someone’s biological sex doesn’t reflect their identity that they feel

What is a sex-role stereotype

a set of shared expectations that people in a society/culture hold about masculinity/femininity and what is acceptable for each 

What is androgyny?

displaying a balance of masculine and feminine characteristics in one’s personality

What is the Bem Sex Role Inventory?

The first systematic attempt to measure androgyny using a rating scale of 60 traits to produce scores across two dimensions: masculinity-femininity and androgynous-undifferentiated

What is a strength of androgyny research in psychology?

at the time, it seemed a valid and reliable way of measuring androgyny due to the extensive methods to create the test and the demonstration of test-retest reliability

What is a weakness of androgyny research in Psychology?

people may not have insight into their degree of masculinity, feminity or androgyny and people’s interpretation of these constructs may be different

What chromosomes are responsible for each sex?

The 23rd pair

What hormone is related to male development?

testosterone

What is oestrogen?

the female hormone that determines female sexual characteristics and menstruation

What is a strength of chromosomes and hormones having a role in gender?

evidence supports the role of sex hormones in gender development even in mature males and testosterone has a direct influence on male sexual arousal as well as physical development

What is a weakness of chromosomes and hormones having a role in gender?

A limitation of biological accounts is that they ignore the role of social factors in gender-related behaviour

What is ‘Klinefelter’s syndrome’?

A syndrome that affects males in which an individual’s genotype has an extra X chromosome

Characterised by a tall thin physique, small infertile testes, and enlarged breasts

Linked to poorly developed language skills, passive, shy, uninterested in sex

What is ‘Turner’s syndrome’?

A chromosomal disorder in which affected women have only one X chromosome causing developmental abnormalities and infertility

* no menstrual cycle, no breasts, ‘shield’ chest, ‘webbed’ neck,
* higher-than-average reading ability, performance on spatial + visual + mathematical tasks is lower than average, socially immature

What are the strengths of atypical chromosome patterns as an explanation for gender?

* its contribution to the nature-nurture debate as it can be shown that the differences have a biological basis
* RWA - as continued research is likely to lead to earlier and more accurate diagnoses of these two disorders

What is a limitation of atypical chromosome patterns as an explanation for gender?

There is a sampling issue as to identify the characteristics of these disorders, you need a large group to build a database. However, usually, it is those with severe symptoms that are identified which leads to an exaggerated picture of symptoms

What are the three stages of Kohlberg’s cognitive-developmental theory?

Stage 1: Gender identity - Around the age of 2 years children are able to correctly identify themselves as boy or girl and by 3 correctly identify others. However, to them, gender isn’t fixed as boys will sometimes say they want to grow up to be a ‘mummy’

Stage 2: Gender Stability - at age 4, children acquire gender stability and the realisation that they will always be the same gender however, this does not transfer to how they think about others eg. may describe a man with long hair as a woman

Stage 3: Gender constancy - around the age of 6 years children recognise that gender stays the same across time and situations so they no longer muddle people up externally. Children begin to seek out gender-appropriate role models

What is the strength of Kohlberg’s theory on gender development?

Evidence suggests that gender stereotyping does occur at 6 years as he predicted as shown by Damon’s study

What are the limitations of Kohlberg’s theory on gender development?

* relies on unsatisfactory methods to asses gender constancy as in our culture men and women are identified through things like clothes and hair which makes it confusing for a young child as they aren’t fixed
* degrees of constancy: different degrees of gender constancy and that the acquisition of constancy may be a more gradual process and may begin earlier

What is the gender schema theory?

once a child has established gender identity around the ages of 2-3 years, they will begin to search the environment for information that encourages development of gender schema

What is a strength of Gender Schema theory?

there is research support through Martin and Halverson’s own study

What is a limitation of Gender Schema theory?

Gender Identity probably develops earlier than Martin and Halverson suggested as shown through a longitudinal study that found gender labelling at 19 months

What are pre-phallic children according to Freud in relation to gender?

Pre-phallic children have not yet reached the phallic stage and, according to Freud, have no concept of gender identity

What is the Oedipus complex according to freud?

During the phallic stage, boys develop incestuous feelings for their mothers, harbouring a jealous, murderous hatred for their fathers. However, the boy knows that his father is more powerful so experiences castration anxiety. To resolve this, boys give up their feelings for the mothers and identify with their fathers

What is the Electra complex according to Freud?

During the phallic stage, girls experience penis envy and see themselves as in competition with their mother for their father’s attention causing resentment directed at the mother. Girls over time accept that they are never going to have a penis and identify with their mother with the want to have children

WHat has identification and internalisation got to do with Freud and gender development?

* children of both sexes identify with their same-sex parent
* to resolve conflict the children take on board the gender identity of the same-sex parent (internalisation)

Who was little Hans and how did he help develop Freud’s ideas on gender?

Little Hans was Freud’s evidence for the Oedipus complex. He had a morbid fear of being bitten by a horse and Freud interpreted this as the fear of the horse represented his castration anxiety

Give 1 strength of Freud’s psychodynamic theory on gender development.

There is some support for the Oedipus complex from Rekers and Morey’s study which found that those judged to be ‘gender disturbed’, 75% of had neither their biological father nor a substitute father living with them

Give one weakness of Freud’s psychodynamic theory on gender development.

* lacks scientific credibility
* he uses subjective case studies and many of his concepts are untestable because they are unconscious
* therefore, his theories have low validity

What is the difference between direct and indirect reinforcement in relation to gender?

* Direct reinforcement: children are more likely to be praised for demonstrating behaviour that is stereotypically gender appropriate
* Indirect reinforcement: if the consequences of another person’s behaviour are favourable, that behaviour is more likely to be imitated e.g a girl seeing her mum be complimented on a dress of make up

What is the difference between identification and modelling in relation to gender development?

Identification refers to the process whereby a child attaches themselves to a person who is seen to be "‘like me’ as they contain qualities that the child sees as desirable

Modelling is the precise demonstration of behaviour that may be imitated by an observer

How do ‘mediational processes’ work with gender development?

central to the learning of gender behaviour

\`attention

retention

motivation

motor reproduction

Give a strength of the social learning theory’s explanation of gender.

* explains cultural changes in stereotypically gender-appropriate behaviour

Give one weakness of the social learning theory’s explanation of gender.

* it does not provide an adequate explanation of how learning processes change with age

What cultural similarities are there in regards to gender across the world?

* consistent patterns of mate preference across 37 countries
* division of labour is organised along gender lines

What cultural differences are there in regards to gender across the world?

* cross-cultural studies of gender roles was carried out by Margaret Mead of cultural groups in Papua New Guinea
* The Arapesh were gentle and responsive (similar to stereotypical femininity in industrialised cultures)
* The Mundugumor were aggressive and hostile
* The Tchambuli Women were dominant and they organised village life and men were considered passive and decorative

How do rigid stereotypes and self-efficacy reinforce gender roles in the media?

* The media provides rigid gender stereotypes to be imitated
* seeing other people perform gender-appropriate behaviours increases a child’s belief that they are able to carry out such behaviours in the future

What is gender dysphoria?

used to describe when a person experiences discomfort or distress because there is a mismatch between their sex assigned at birth and their gender identity

What is brain sex theory?

gender dysphoria has a basis in brain structure (the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis) which is involved in emotional behaviour. The theory suggests that people with gender dysphoria have a BST which is the size of the gender tey identify with rather than their sex

How and what genetic factors are linked to gender dysphoria?

* Coolidge assessed twins for evidence of gender dysphoria and found that 62% of the variance could be accounted for by genetic factors

What are the 2 social explanations for gender dysphoria?

* Social constructionism: gender is a social construct and gender confusion arises as society forces people to be a man or a woman
* Psychoanalytical theory: social relationships within the family as the cause of gender dysphoria e.g a boy experiencing extreme separation anxiety before gender identity causes gender dysphoria

Evaluate the role of chromosomes and hormones

• research support for testosterone

• social factors are ignored

• reductionist

What is the research evidence for testosterone?

• a link between increased testosterone and sexual behaviour was confirmed in a study by Christina Wang

• gave 227 hypogonadal men testosterone therapy and found that there was improved sexual libido

How is research into chromosomes and hormones reductionist?

• accounts that reduce gender to chromosomes and hormones

• cognitive approach draws attention to schema

• The psychodynamic approach would acknowledge maturation as a factor but point to the importance of childhood experiences

• suggests that gender is more complex than its biological influences alone

Describe the role of hormones for gender

• most gender development comes from hormones

• hormones act upon brain development and cause the development of the reproductive organs

• at puberty, an increase in hormonal activity causes the development of secondary sexual characteristics

• males and females produce many of the same hormones but at different levels

Describe the role of chromosomes for gender

• egg has an X chromosome

• some sperm have X and others have Y

• the Y chromosome carries a gene called ‘sex-determining region Y’, the SRY gene causes testes to develop

• these produce androgens which are important for male development

Describe the role of Oxytocin for gender

• women typically produce oxytocin in much larger amounts than men, particularly as a result of giving birth

• stimulates lactation

• reduces the stress hormone cortisol and facilitates bonding

• oxytocin is released in large quantities during and after childbirth

• the fact that men produce less of this hormone has fuelled the stereotype that men are less interested in intimacy and closeness within a relationship

• evidence suggests that males and females produce oxytocin in roughly equal amounts during activities such as sex and kissing