Ch. 4 - Gender Concepts and Relationship Dynamics

Vocabulary flashcards covering key definitions, theories, and models regarding sex, gender, and relationship dynamics.

Sex

Biological characteristics, (primary & secondary)

Primary Sex Characteristics

Biological differences at birth (ex different chromosomes, fetal gonads, fetal hormone exposure)

Secondary Sex Characteristics

Biological differences after puberty that signal fertility (ex. depth of voice, breasts)

Binary Assumption

belief that sexes fit into two discrete categories (male & femailes)

Intersex

($2\%$ or less) who do not have genitalia or chromosomes, but are clearly identifiable as male or female

Gender

Non-biological characteristics (tertiary sex characteristics)

Tertiary Sex Characteristics

Attitudes, traits, and behaviors that are culturally identified as masculine or feminine
ex. differences in aggression and interests

Gender Identity

perception of oneself as a girl, woman, female; boy, man, or male; blend of male and female; or an alternative gender

Cisgender

gender identity matches sex assigned at birth

Transgender

gender identity differs from sex assigned at birth

Gender Expression

fulfillment and behavioural expression of gendered expectations
(how we express gender identity to the world)

The Gender Unicorn Spectrum

gender identity = psychological (woman, man, other)
gender expression = physical expression (masc, femme)
sex assigned at birth = biological (male, female, intersex)
physical attraction = sexual orientation
emotional attraction

Based on the 2021 Consensus, Canada was the first country to..

collect data on trans & non-binary

Based on the 2021 Consensus in Canada, .33% of the population identified as trans or non-binary, this population tended to be:

younger (20-24) and urban (from 6 largest cities)

Based on the 2021 Consensus in Canada, compared to .33% of the population that identified as trans or non-binary, what percentage of Albertan’s identified as trans or non-binary?

0.37%

sex gives suggestions about how genders should behave (not definitive, lots of variability, gender = continuum). Studies show that androgynous individuals tend to do better in terms of

career, mental health, family dynamics

High masc traits & High femme traits

Androgynous

Low masc traits & High femme traits

Feminine

High masc traits & low femme traits

Masculine

lowmasc traits & low femme traits

undifferentiated

A study compiled over 1 mill participants from individual studies tested whether characteristics for men and women were categorical or dimensional. They found that physical characteristics were

categorical (ex. men stronger than woman)

A study compiled over 1 mill participants from individual studies tested whether characteristics for men and women were categorical or dimensional. They found that psychological characteristics, including, sexual attitudes, relational interdependence, fear of success, science inclination, Big Five personality traits, empathy, intimacy, etc were

dimensional
meaning men and woman are from Earth (not woman are from Venus, men are from mars)

Since psychological characteristics are dimensional, that means differences between genders will approximately show what kind of distribution?

normal distribution with a bell-shaped curve

Meta-analysis

summarizes the results of many individual studies = produces broader conclusions

Meta-analysis of studies on sex differences show _____ variability within genders and ____ variability between genders

large
small

Meta-analysis of studies on sex differences sho that males and females tend to have

similar (overlapping) distributions
average differences between men & women are small

Meta-analysis of studies on sex differences show that even in large differeces between males and females there is still a large overlap. Some examples of traits with large differences are

personality, tender mindedness (sensitive) in women

Social Structural Theory

differences in gender expression arise from unequal access to power (ability to alter behaviour & experiences of others)

Based on a study from Social Structural Theory - societal factors should show differences in gender roles and behaviour. Since men have more power, woman have more empathy. Does this mean that other groups with less power will also have more empathy?

Yes, ex. lower socioeconomical status
low income employees need to adapt based on emotions of ppl in power (boss)

Based on a study from Social Structural Theory, a study ex-examined the evolutionary psychology study from 37 countries that showed differences in mate preference. In countries with more gender equality, it showed:

smaller differences in mate preference
ex. women less likely to prefer older men & men less likely to prefer younger women

In intimate relationships, woman and men want many of the same things including

closeness & intimacy

Relationship Awareness (gendered pattern)

Study interviewed couples on how they met & how relationship developed, woman's narrative more detail, emotional, internal dialogue vs mens narrative's shorter and factual.
^women are like spajhetti & men are like waffles)

This study shows 

women develop more cognitively complex representations of relationship events & make interconnections between various events

Based on the relationship awareness study - where women have more cognitively complex representations & interconnections - does that mean woman are more accurate?

No, men and woman equally unable to predict future of relationship

True or False - Based on the relationship awareness study men report being more satisfied in relationship & more likely to not know why relationship ended

True

Based on the relationship awareness study - metaphoricall

Quality of interaction (gendered pattern) study - couples were told to provide support to their partners.
When couples were offered compensation or told something like “supportive men are more attractive”, it showed

men and woman are equally capable of showing support
difference in motivation, not ability

In daily life, women tend to provide a higher quality of support. This is because of 2 reasons (quality of interaction -gendered pattern)

1. men tend to include criticism in thier support

2. men tend to resent partner & wish they were more self-sufficient

Men and women both seek out ____ for support

women

Studies show that men have higher sex drives than woman. This means men will tend to

• want sex more frequently

• have sex earlier with more partners

• will cheat more often

Sexual satisfaction is more closely linked to relationship satisfaction for men or woman?

men

Are men or woman more likely to emd a relionship?

Women

When breaking up, when do women versus men experience the most distress?

Women: most distress before relationship ends (income decreases, but life satisfaction increases later)
Men: most distress after relationship ends (income is stable, but life satisfaction decreases later)

Do men or woman tend to enter new relationships quic

d statistic

A statistic measuring effect size in gender meta-analyses, where larger negative values indicate higher scores for women and larger positive values indicate higher scores for men.