Male & Female Physical Differences

• Primary sex Characteristics- sexual organs present at birth; directly involved in human reproduction

• Ovaries- produce female hormones

-estrogen

• Testes- produce male hormones

-androgen

• Secondary sex characteristics- sexual traits that develop at puberty; indirectly involved in human reproduction

• Menarche- first menstrual cycle

• Earlier onset of menarche in more developed countries is associated with the availability of better healthcare, nutrition, increase in height and weight compared to previous generations

• Decrease in age of menarche is linked to stress like: marital strife, absentee fathers, economic hardship, increasing divorce rates also plays a part in speeding up puberty

• Pregnancy in adolescence has negative social impacts: poverty, child abuse and neglect, failure to continue school

• Intersex- person who possesses ambiguous sexual organs, making it difficult to determine actual sex from a visual inspection at birth

Gender

• Gender- psychological aspects of being male or female

• Gender role- culture’s expectations for masculine or feminine behavior and personality traits

• Gender typing- the process by which people learn their culture’s expectations for proper “masculine” and “feminine” behaviors

• Gender identity- individual’s sense of being male or female

Biology & Learning Influences on Gender

Biological influences- hormones and chromosomes

Research: infant girls who were exposed to androgens-

1. Were more likely to be “tomboys” during their childhood; but

2. Were more “typically female” in adulthood and had a desire for marriage and motherhood

• Environmental theory-

Gender Roles

• Social learning Theory- gender identity through reinforcement and imitation of gender models

• Gender schema theory- child develops mental patterns (schema) for being male or female, which organizes behavior around that schema

-Tendency to develop mental patterns for “male” and “female” same as in developing other concepts; ex. “dog” “bird” and “big”

• Benevolent sexism- acceptance of positive stereotypes of males and females that leads to unequal treatment

• Androgyny- possessing the most positive personality characteristics of males nad females regardless of actual sex

• Ex: George is independent, assertive, logical, and emotionally calm, but is also nurturant, sensitive, and able to clearly express his emotions

  Male and Female Differences

  • Cognitive differences- male advantage in mathematical and spatial skills; female superiority in verbal skills (decreasing differences)

  • Emotional differences- males talk in a report or factual style; females talk in a feeling or relational style

  • Women pay more attention to the tone and emotion of statements because they listen with both brain hemispheres (versus primarily left for men)

  Human Sexual Behavior: Kinsey Studies

  • Series of sexual behavior surveys late 1940s and early 1950s

  • Controversial findings about the kinds of sexual behavior common among U.S. people:

  • Homosexuality

  • Premarital sex

  • Extramarital sex

  Sexual Orientation

  • Sexual orientation-sexual attraction for a particular sex

  • Research: Twin studies support genetic influence, but does not rule out environmental influences

  STDs

  • Can impair ability to reproduce, cause pain, disfigurement, and death

  • Common bacterial STDs: Chlamydia, syphilis, and gonorrhea (treatable with antibiotics)

  • If left untreated, chlamydia can cause pelvic inflammatory disorder (PID), that can damage uterus lining, fallopian tubes, ovaries, etc.

  • Gonorrhea is becoming resistant to antibiotics

  • Viral STDs: genital herpes (caused by herpes simplex virus, genital warts (caused by papillomavirus) no cure and potential complications (cancer risk)

  • AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome)- viral STD destroys immune system; terminal due to complicating infections