A-Level Psychology: Gender Development Notes

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the biological, cognitive, social learning, cultural, and media explanations of gender development and atypical sex development.

Gender

The range of social, psychological, cultural, and behavioural characteristics of being a boy, girl, or non-binary person.

Gender Identity

An individual's personal, subjective experience of their own gender, which may or may not correspond to their assigned biological sex at birth.

Non-Binary

A term describing individuals who do not fit into the traditional binary categories of strictly man or woman.

Gender Fluid

A gender identity that is not fixed and may change or shift over time.

Bem Sex-Role Inventory (BSRI)

A psychometric test developed by Sandra Bem in $1974$ containing $20$ masculine, $20$ feminine, and $20$ neutral traits rated by judges to measure an individual's degree of masculinity, femininity, and androgyny.

Androgyny

A personality type characterized by displaying high and approximately equal levels of both masculine and feminine traits, argued by Sandra Bem to promote psychological health and flexibility.

Gender Incongruence

A marked, persistent mismatch between an individual's experienced gender and their assigned sex at birth, affecting approximately $1\text{ in }5000$ individuals.

Gender-Affirming Hormone Therapy (GAHT)

Medical treatment involving feminising or masculinising hormones that shifts brain structure closer to experienced gender and significantly reduces psychological distress while improving life satisfaction.

Social Constructionism

A theoretical perspective arguing that gender identity does not stem from underlying biological differences, but rather represents concepts, roles, and categories invented and enforced by society.

Queer Theory

A framework rejecting the idea that gender is fixed or strictly binary, viewing it as socially shaped and challenging pathologising language used against gender-incongruent individuals.

SRY Gene

The Sex-Determining Region $Y$ gene located on the $Y$ chromosome that triggers the development of male gonads (testes) in the early embryo.

Testosterone

An androgen hormone that promotes the prenatal development of male genitalia, masculinisation of neural circuits, and is linked to competitive and aggressive behaviours.

Oestrogen

A female hormone that governs the development of female reproductive anatomy and secondary sexual characteristics at puberty, facilitating neural interconnections in the brain and emotional sensitivity.

Oxytocin

A hormone and neurotransmitter that controls the reproductive system, facilitates bonding and stress reduction, and regulates female maternal behaviours such as nesting, mate selection, and offspring protection.

David Reimer Case Study

A longitudinal case of a biological male twin raised as a girl following an accidental penectomy in infancy who ultimately transitioned back to male, demonstrating that innate biological nature can override social upbringing.

Batista Family Case Study

A cohort of genetic males ($XY$) in the Dominican Republic unable to produce dihydrotestosterone prenatally who were raised as girls until a puberty testosterone surge caused external genitalia to develop, smoothly adopting male roles.

Kohlberg's Cognitive Development Theory

A developmental theory proposing that children actively construct an understanding of gender in three universal stages driven by biological brain maturation.

Gender Identity (Kohlberg Stage 1)

The first stage occurring around age $2\text{ to }3$ where a child can correctly identify and label their own gender and others, but lacks understanding that gender is permanent across time.

Gender Stability (Kohlberg Stage 2)

The second stage occurring around age $4\text{ to }5$ where a child realizes their own gender is fixed across time, but becomes confused by superficial changes in appearance or clothing in others.

Gender Constancy (Kohlberg Stage 3)

The final stage emerging around age $6\text{ to }7$ where a child realizes gender remains permanent regardless of superficial changes in clothes or hairstyle, motivating them to adopt gender-typed behaviours.

Turner's Syndrome

An atypical sex chromosome pattern in females characterized by a missing $X$ chromosome ($XO$), resulting in short stature, webbed neck, above-average verbal skills, and lower spatial and mathematical abilities.

Klinefelter's Syndrome

An atypical sex chromosome condition in males characterized by an extra $X$ chromosome ($XXY$), resulting in small testes, reduced body hair, breast tissue development, and poor language or delayed speech skills.

Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome (AIS)

A genetic condition where androgen receptors fail to respond to androgen hormones, causing an $XY$ individual to develop female external genitalia and undescended internal testes.

Swyer Syndrome

A genetic condition where an $XY$ individual possesses a non-functional SRY gene, preventing testes development and resulting in typical anatomical female presentation.

Arapesh Tribe

A New Guinea community studied by Margaret Mead where both men and women exhibited personality traits culturally regarded in the West as feminine, being gentle and cooperative.

Mundugumor Tribe

A New Guinea community studied by Margaret Mead where both males and females exhibited personality traits traditionally viewed as masculine in the West, behaving aggressively and ruthlessly.

Tchambuli Tribe

A New Guinea community studied by Margaret Mead where gender roles were reversed compared to Western norms, with women acting as dominant traders and men gossiping and preening.

Berdaches

A culturally accepted third-gender category identified by Roscoe in Native American tribes consisting of individuals who combine male and female social roles.

Gender Schema Theory (GST)

A cognitive theory proposed by Martin and Halverson suggesting that children actively develop organized mental frameworks about gender around age $2\text{ to }3$ that direct behaviour and distort memory.

In-Group Schemas

Cognitive mental frameworks that children construct regarding attitudes, behaviours, and objects appropriate to their own identified gender.

Out-Group Schemas

Mental frameworks containing information, beliefs, and stereotypes about the opposite gender, which remain less elaborated until middle-to-late childhood.

Gender Scripts

Cognitive representations of event sequences associated with each gender that children acquire through observation and parental reinforcement.

Cultivation Theory

A media theory proposing that prolonged exposure to television depictions shapes an individual's perception of social reality and reinforces rigid gender stereotyping.

Counter-Stereotyping

The deliberate use of media interventions that challenge traditional gender representations to reduce stereotyping and promote equal gender roles in children.

Social Learning Theory (SLT) of Gender

A framework positing that gender-appropriate behaviours are acquired via observation, modelling, imitation, and direct or vicarious reinforcement from parents, peers, and media.

Mediational Processes

The four internal cognitive steps in SLT—attention, retention, motor reproduction, and motivation—that determine whether observed gender behaviour is translated into action.

Gender

The range of social, psychological, cultural, and behavioural characteristics of being a boy, girl, or non-binary person.

Gender Identity

An individual's personal experience of their gender, which may or may not correspond to their assigned sex at birth.

Non-binary

A gender identity where a person does not fit into the traditional categories of being exclusively a man or a woman.

Binary

The conceptual framework asserting that gender consists of only two distinct, opposite groups: man or woman.

Gender Fluid

A gender identity that is not fixed and may change or shift over time.

Bem Sex-Role Inventory (BSRI)

A psychometric scale developed by Sandra Bem in $1974$ that measures the extent to which an individual identifies with $20$ masculine, $20$ feminine, and $20$ neutral personality traits.

Androgyny

A psychological state of gender flexibility characterised by displaying similar high levels of both masculine and feminine traits, proposed by Sandra Bem to be associated with better psychological health.

Gender Incongruence

A marked and persistent mismatch between an individual's experienced gender and their assigned sex at birth, affecting approximately $1\text{ in }5000$ people and more males than females.

Social Constructionism (Gender)

The perspective that gender identity does not stem from underlying biological differences, but rather consists of socially invented concepts and expectations that pressure individuals into binary roles.

Queer Theory

An approach that rejects the view that gender is fixed, arguing it is shaped by society, while challenging negative linguistic framing and questioning why gender-incongruent individuals are labelled as deviant.

Gender-Affirming Hormone Therapy (GAHT)

Medical treatment administering masculinising or feminising hormones that alters physical features, reduces psychological stress, improves life satisfaction, and shifts brain structure closer to experienced gender.

Cultivation Theory

A media theory suggesting that long-term exposure to television and media messages gradually shapes and cultivates a child's perception of social reality and gender roles.

Self-Efficacy (Media Influence)

A child's internal belief in their ability to perform an observed action, which increases after watching media models successfully perform gender-stereotyped behaviours.

Counter-Stereotyping

An intervention technique using media programming designed to challenge traditional gender norms, shown to successfully reduce stereotyped attitudes in $12$-year-old boys and girls.

Testosterone

A male sex hormone responsible for the masculinisation of the brain and external genitalia, associated with male-typical behaviours such as spatial ability, aggression, and competitiveness.

Oestrogen

A female hormone promoting the development of female reproductive organs, secondary sexual characteristics, and neural interconnectedness, associated with emotional sensitivity and caregiving.

Oxytocin

A hormone and neurotransmitter that facilitates bonding, reduces stress, stimulates reproductive contractions and lactation, and drives female maternal behaviours such as offspring protection.

Accidental Penectomy Case Study (David Reimer)

A case documented by John Money where a twin boy lost his penis during circumcision and was raised as a girl; his eventual transition back to male identity demonstrated that biological nature can override socialisation.

Batista Family

A Dominican Republic family with genetic ($XY$) males who were born with female external genitalia due to an enzyme deficiency preventing dihydrotestosterone production, but developed male genitalia and smoothly adopted male roles following a testosterone surge at puberty.

Kohlberg's Cognitive Development Theory

A stage-based theory proposing that a child's understanding of gender develops actively through interactions as their brain undergoes biological maturation.

Gender Identity Stage (Kohlberg)

The first stage of gender development occurring around age $2$, where children can correctly label their own and others' gender but do not understand that gender is permanent.

Gender Stability

The second stage occurring at ages $4\text{--}5$, where children understand their own gender remains fixed over time but remain confused by external, superficial changes in others (such as clothing or hairstyles).

Gender Constancy

The final stage occurring around age $6\text{--}7$, where children realise gender stays permanent across time and superficial transformations, motivating them to seek and imitate gender-appropriate behaviours.

Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome (AIS)

A genetic condition caused by a gene mutation preventing androgen receptors from responding to androgen hormones, leading to external female physical characteristics in individuals with an $XY$ chromosomal profile.

Turner's Syndrome

A chromosomal condition in females with a missing $X$ chromosome ($XO$), characterised physically by short stature and a webbed neck, and cognitively by above-average verbal skills but lower mathematical performance.

Klinefelter's Syndrome

A chromosomal condition in biological males with an extra $X$ chromosome ($XXY$), characterised physically by small testes, infertility, and breast development, alongside delayed speech and impaired language skills.

Arapesh Tribe

A New Guinea community studied by Margaret Mead where both men and women displayed behaviours traditionally classified in Western societies as feminine, gentle, and nurturing.

Mundugumor Tribe

A New Guinea community studied by Margaret Mead where both men and women exhibited behaviours traditionally viewed as masculine, aggressive, and ruthless.

Tchambuli Tribe

A New Guinea society studied by Margaret Mead where traditional Western gender roles were reversed: women were independent, dominant, and managed trading, while men gossiped and preened.

Berdaches

Individuals in Native American tribes identified by Roscoe who combine male and female social roles, demonstrating cultural acceptance of a third gender category.

Gender Schema Theory

A cognitive-developmental theory proposed by Martin and Halverson arguing that children actively develop internal cognitive frameworks (schemas) around age $2\text{--}3$ to organise, process, and filter gender-related information.

In-group and Out-group Schemas

Cognitive schemas focused preferentially on one's own identified sex (in-group) versus the other sex (out-group), causing children to disregard or misremember counter-stereotypical information.

Gender Scripts

Cognitive structures that represent expected sequences of events, routines, and appropriate social actions associated with each gender.

SRY Gene

A specific gene located on the $Y$ chromosome that triggers the development of male gonads (testes) in the developing human embryo.

Swyer Syndrome

A condition where an individual has an $XY$ chromosome karyotype but carries a non-functional SRY gene, causing them to develop biologically as an anatomical female.

Mediational Processes (SLT)

Four internal cognitive factors that determine whether an observed gendered behaviour is learned and enacted: attention, retention, motor reproduction, and motivation.