PSY339 - Mini Exam #3

gender essentialism

assumes women and men are fundamentally different due to biology/genetics

eex vs. gender; sex and ender; sex/gender - definition:

sex biological traits gender social identity and roles + sex/gender term acknowledges interdependent nature of biology and culture

sex vs. gender - false dichotomy:

assumes sex and gender are separate fixed categories ignoring overlap and interaction

the research process- different stages and components

theory, hypothesis, prediction, variable, operational definition, sample

theory:

proposed explanation for why things occur

hypothesis:

proposed explanation based on limited evidence

variable:

element likely to differ in study

operational definition:

defining variable in measurable terms

what are the principles of quantitative research?

quantitative research represents variables with numbers

what does statistical significance mean?

statistical significance unlikely result occurred by chance alone

experimental design:

experiment manipulates variables to see causal effects

correlational design:

examines relationships does not imply causation

random assignment - limitations

cannot randomly assign variables like sex, gender, race, sexuality

researcher:

most psychological research has been conducted by white men

research questions

assumptions hidden in questions such as searching for gender differences instead of similarities

participants

mostly male, usually WEIRD samples, limits generalizability

operational definition

measures may be inappropriate for diverse groups, developed on WEIRD samples

confounding variables

sex/gender cannot be randomly assigned

interpretation

quantitative research focuses on differences, ignores role of power and social structures

publication process

feminist journals may keep research out of other subfields, popular press may misinterpret or overgeneralize

qualitative research- principles from quantitative research

produces descriptive data without relying on statistical analysis

qualitative research- differences from quantitative research

focuses on experiences of participants rather than measuring numerical differences

participatory action research- principles

includes participants in decision process at every stage + research is done with people rather than on them

Reducing gender bias in research – reflexivity

be aware of researcher biases and power dynamics

Reducing gender bias in research – rejection of generalizability/universality

do not assumed findings from one group apply globally

Reducing gender bias in research – represenation

avoid over-reliance on WEIRD samples, include diverse identities

Reducing gender bias in research – intersectionality

consider multiple aspects of identity that shape experiences

similarities perspective:

women and men are more similar than different

differences perspective:

emphasizes gender differences, values women’s unique experiences

what is essentialism

assumes fundamental differences between women and men + differences arise from biological or genetic factors

essentialism - examples:

men are naturally better at math while women naturally better at verbal skills

strategic essentialism

temporary use of essentialist claims to support social causes affecting women as a group

strategic essentialism - example:

advocating for women’s violence prevention programs as a group

What does a sex/gender difference mean?

difference between the average score for women and the average score for men + within group variation is usually larger than between group differences

Overlapping distributions; meta-analyses; d-statistic

most men and women overlap in abilities + meta-analysis summarizes statistical findings from multiple studies + d-statistic measures size of effect + closer d is to 0 → smaller effect + d around 0.21 = small effect, over 90% overlap between men and women

what are the sex/gender similarities in cognitive ability - math ability?

small male advantage disappears in nations with greater gender equality

what are the sex/gender similarities in cognitive ability - verbal ability?

women slightly higher, difference is small

what are the sex/gender similarities in cognitive ability - reading disabilities?

boys slightly more affected

what are the sex/gender similarities in spatial ability - visualization, perception, mental rotation?

mental rotation shows moderate male advantage d= .50- .90 - influenced by practice and test description

sex gender - similarities for personality

men more assertive, especially in self-report + women more tender-minded, slightly more anxious

sex gender - differences for personality

small, overlap large, influenced by gender socialization and power

What are the sex/gender similarities in helping behavior?

type of helping matters: men more likely in heroic, public, or high-risk situations + women’s caretaking behaviors less studied

altruism- in helping behavior:

men slightly higher overall d = +0.13

sex/gender similarities for emotions

women cry more, smaller differences in young children

sex/gender differences for emotions

in hypothetical vs. actual situations disappear when close to real events

explanations for similarities/differences - neurosexism:

claim of fixed biologically based differences to justify stereotypes

explanations for similarities/differences - plasticity:

brain changes in response to environment and experiences

explanations for similarities/differences - hormones:

men and women produce estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, levels more similar than expected

Beth is interested in research findings on gender differences in intelligence. She is overwhelmed by the number of studies on the topic and decides it would be more useful to combine and analyze results from all of studies she reads. The best statistical technique for Beth to use would be:

meta analysis

Researchers propose that women and men both have the potential for pro-social, helping behavior, but the rates of such behavior are related to its motivational context, not just sex/gender. Which man, in the following, exemplifies pro-social sex/gender behavior as related to context?

Cam chases after a thief who stole a woman's purse in a crowded subway system

Nik is having a conversation with a friend. Nik argues that women are naturally less intelligent because they have fundamental biological weaknesses in their brains. Specifically, Nik's argument is an example of:

neurosexism

A meta-analysis of sex/gender comparisons in verbal ability reported an effect size of d = 0.11. From this information, you can:

conclude that in general, men and women do not differ much in their verbal ability

Jamila conducts a meta-analysis to analyze results from hundreds of studies on sex/gender and intelligence. She finds no significant sex/gender differences and decides to discard this work, so that she can focus on research that does identify significant differences. Jamila’s decision to not publish her work on non-significant findings is known as the ______ problem.

file drawer

All of the following support Stephanie Riger’s (1992) idea that feminist research should be used for the production of knowledge and to further social action EXCEPT:

Feminist researchers should publish their research in academic journals, so that their findings are distributed to only a small subset of the population who has access to academic texts

The name of the perspective that posits that because women and men have biological differences, they must also have differences in behavior, attitudes, goals, talents, and skills is known as:

gender essentialism

When a difference between groups is reported, a(n) __________ helps to quantify both the extent to which the groups differ while also considering the degree of overlap.

effect size

Meta-analyses on sex/gender difference research have generally found that reported effect sizes tend to be

small to negligible

According to the discussion of sex/gender comparisons on a mental-rotation task,

the sex/gender differences are typically larger on mental-rotation tasks than on other kinds of spatial tasks