Psychology Of Women: Exam 1, Ch. 1-4

sex

a relatively narrow term that typically refers only to those inborn biological characteristics relating to reproduction, such as sex chromosomes or sex organs

gender

a broader term; refers to the psychological characteristics and social categories that human culture creates

doing gender

you express your gender when you interact with other people; you also perceive gender in these other people, such as an infant posed with a football; emphasizes that gender is an active, dynamic process rather than something that is stable and rigid

sexism

bias against people on the basis of their gender

racism

bias against people on the basis of racial or ethnic groups

classism

bias that is based on social class

ableism

bias against people with disabilities

heterosexism

(sexual prejudice) refers to a bias against anyone who is not exclusively heterosexual

sexual prejudice

(heterosexism) refers to a bias against anyone who is not exclusively heterosexual

ageism

bias based on chronological age

feminism

the principle that values women's experiences and ideas; feminism also emphasizes that women and men should be socially, economically, and legally equal

liberal feminism

emphasizes the goal of gender equality, giving women and men the same rights and opportunities. (use the law to achieve this)

cultural feminism

emphasizes the positive qualities that are presumed to be stronger in women than in men-- qualities such as nurturing and care-taking. Focuses on gender differences that value women, rather than on the gender similarities of liberal feminism. (society should be restructured to emphasize cooperation rather than aggression.)

radical feminism

the basic cause of women's oppression lies deep in the entire sex and gender system, rather than in some superficial laws and policies. Emphasizes that sexism permeates our society, from the personal level in male-female relationships to the national and international levels. (society needs to dramatically change its policies on sexuality and on violence against women.)

women-of-color feminism

points out that the other three types of feminism overemphasize gender. Emphasizes that feminism must pay attention to other human dimensions such as ethnicity and social class. We cannot achieve a genuinely feminist approach by making a few minor adjustments to liberal feminism, cultural feminism, or radical feminism.

similarities perspective

men and women are generally similar in their intellectual and social skills-- social forces may create some temporary differences

social constructionism

individuals and cultures construct or invent their own versions of reality, based on prior experiences, social interactions, and beliefs.

differences perspective

argues that men and women are generally different in their intellectual and social abilities-- emphasize women's positive characteristics that have been undervalued, primarily because they are associated with women

essentialism

argues that gender is a basic, unchangeable characteristic that resides within an individual-- emphasizes that women are more concerned that men with care-giving because of their own inborn nature, not because society currently assigns women the task of taking care of children

White-privilege concept

white people have certain privileges, based on their skin color, and white people often take these privileges for granted

White-as-normative concept

points out that being white is the normal standard in our culture

intersectionality

emphasizes that each person belongs to multiple social groups, based on categories such as ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and social class

U.S.-centered nationalism

the United States is dominant over all other countries in the world, which are believed to have lower status

operational definition

describes exactly how researchers will measure a variable in a study

variable

characteristic

empathy

your ability to experience the same emotion that someone else is feeling

confounding variable

any characteristic, other than the central variable being studied, that is not equivalent under all conditions; this confounding variable has the potential to influence the study's results

researcher expectancy

the biases that researchers bring to the study can influence the outcome

statistical significance

means that the results are not likely to occur by chance alone

practical significance

the results have some meaningful and useful implications for the real world

critical thinking

1. Ask thoughtful questions about what you see or hear

2. Look for potential biases at each step of the research process

3. Determine whether the conclusions are supported by the evidence that has been presented

4. Suggest alternative interpretations of the evidence

gender as a subject variable

a characteristic within a person that influences the way he or she acts

gender as a stimulus variable

a characteristic of a person to which other people react

androcentrism

the male experience is treated as the norm

stereotypes

the beliefs and assumptions that we associate with particular groups of people

gender stereotype

the beliefs that we associate with particular groups of people

prejudice

an emotional reaction or attitude toward a particular group of people

discrimination

refers to biased treatment of a particular group of people

gender bias

includes all three issues: gender stereotypes, gender prejudices, and gender discrimination

androcentrism

men are the standard of comparison, whereas women are "the second sex"

normative-male problem

men are the standard of comparison, whereas women are "the second sex"

masculine generic

the use of masculine nouns and pronouns to refer to all human beings-- both male and females--instead of males alone

androcentric generic

the use of masculine nouns and pronouns to refer to all human beings-- both male and females--instead of males alone

communion

emphasizes a concern for your relationship with other people

agency

describes a concern with your own self-interests

explicit gender stereotypes

the kind you supply when you are aware that you are being tested

implicit gender stereotypes

automatic stereotypes you reveal when you are not aware that your gender stereotypes are being assessed

hostile sexism

the more blatant kind of sexism, based on the idea that women should be subservient to men and should "know their place"-- primarily directed toward nontraditional women

benevolent sexism

a more subtle kind of sexism that argues for women's special niceness and purity-- primarily directed toward traditional women

ambivalent sexism

combines both hostile sexism and benevolent sexism

lesbian

a woman who is psychologically, emotionally, and sexually attracted to other women

gay male

a man who is psychologically, emotionally, and sexually attracted to other men

bisexual

someone who is psychologically, emotionally, and sexually attracted to both women and men

heterosexism

a belief system that devalues lesbians, gay males, and bisexuals, or any group that is not exclusively heterosexual

sexual prejudice

a negative attitude that individuals hold against someone because of her or his sexual orientation

social cognitive approach

gender stereotypes encourage us to make cognitive errors (errors in our thought process). This approach explains how these errors arise and provides a useful theoretical explanation for gender stereotypes and stereotypes based on categories such as ethnicity, sexual orientation, social class, disability status, and age--stereotypes are belief systems that guide and simplify the way we process information, including information about gender

gender polarization

tendency to divide the world into two groups, male and female, and to see all males as being similar, all females as being similar, and the two gender categories as being different from each other

attributions

explanations about the causes of a person's behavior

self-fulfilling prophecy

your expectations about someone may lead him or her to act in ways that confirm your original expectations

stereotype threat

Imagine you belong to a group that is hindered by a negative stereotype, and someone reminds you that this group performs poorly on a particular task. When you work on this specific task you may experience stereotype threat; your performance may suffer

androgynous

a person who scores high on both scales, a femininity scale and masculinity scale, is androgynous

gender typing

includes how children acquire their knowledge about gender and how they develop their gender-related personality characteristics, preferences, skills, behaviors, and self-concepts

prenatal period

the time before birth

infancy

the period between birth and 18 months of life

sex chromosomes

these are the chromosomes that determine whether the embryo will be genetically female or male

gonads

sex glands of males and females, which look identical during the first weeks after conception

androgen

the testes secrete androgen, one of the male sex hormones

estrogen

the ovaries make estrogen, one of the female sex hormones

intersexed individual

has genitals that are not clearly male or clearly female

congenital adrenal hyperplasia

one atypical pattern where genetic females (XX) receive as much androgen as males do during prenatal development. the excess of androgen causes their genitals to look someone masculine at birth.

androgen insensitivity syndrome

one atypical pattern where genetic males (XY) produce normal amounts of androgen, but a genetic condition makes their bodies not respond to androgen. The genital tubercle does not grow into a penis; the external genitals look female.

social constructionism

argues that we tend to construct or invent our own versions of reality based on our prior experiences and beliefs

social learning approach

proposes two major mechanism for explaining how girls learn to act "feminine" and how boys learn to act "masculine":

1.children are rewarded for "gender-appropriate" behavior, and they are punished for "gender-inappropriate" behavior.

2. children watch and imitate the behavior of people from their own gender category.

modeling

children learn by watching others and imitating them

observational learning

children learn by watching others and imitating them

cognitive developmental approach

argues that children are active thinkers who seek information from their environment; children also try to make sense of this information and organize it in a coherent fashion

schema

a general concept that we use to organize our thoughts and attitudes about a topic

gender schemas

organize information into two conceptual categories, female or male-- these gender schemas encourage children to think and act in gender-stereotyped ways that are consistent with their gender schemas

gender identity

one of the first major steps in gender development; a girl labeling herself a girl and a boy labeling himself as a boy

peer group

other children of approximately their own age, a source of information and attitudes about gender for children

gender segregation

the tendency to associate with other children of the same gender

entitlement

boys will feel that they deserve greater power simply because they are male rather than female

puberty

the time in which a young girl experiences the physical changes that lead to sexual maturity

adolescene

the psychological changes that occur during puberty; the transition phase between childhood and adulthood

menarche

major biological milestone of puberty for females; the beginning of menstruation

secondary sex characteristics

features of the body related to reproduction but not directly involved in it (breast development and pubic hair)

ovaries

organ in the female reproductive system; two of these, about the size of walnuts, which contain the follicles that hold the ova and produce estrogen and progesterone

ova

eggs in the ovaries

ovulation

On about the 14th day of the menstrual cycle, one of the eggs breaks out of its follicle and moves from an ovary into a fallopian tube

uterus

the organ in which a fetus develops

feedback loop

how the hormones are regulated; when the level of a particular hormone is too low, a structure in the brain is signaled, and the chain of events repeats itself, producing more of that hormone; when the level of a hormone is too high, a signal to a structure in the brain begins a chain of events that decreases that hormone

dysmonorrhea

menstrual pain; typically painful cramps in the abdomen

prostaglandins

substances that the body produces in high concentrations just before menstruation, and they can cause severe cramps

premenstrual syndrome (PMS)

name given to the cyclical set of symptoms that may occur a few days before menstuating

identity

a person's self-rating of personal characteristics in the physical, psychological, and self dimensions

self-esteem

a measure of how much you like and value yourself

meta-analysis

provides a statistical method for integrating numerous studies on a single topic

feminism

the principle that values women's experiences and ideas; emphasizes that women and men should be socially, economically, and legally equal

feminist social identity

saying "yes, I am a feminist"

cultural identity

the ideas and customs associated with a social grouping such as country of origin, ethnic group, or religion