AQA Psychology A-level Gender Notes

Sex: A biological term describing male or female based on chromosomes ( $XX$ or $XY$ ), genotypes, gene expression, and hormone levels.
Gender: A social construct (masculine or feminine) influencing identity, behavior, and presentation.
Gender-Identity Disorder: Occurs when an individual's biological sex does not accord with their gender identity.
Sex-Role Stereotypes: Societal expectations regarding appropriate behavior for each sex, such as women being more compassionate or men performing manual labor.

Definition: Displaying a balance of both masculine and feminine characteristics.
BSRI (Bem, $1974$ ): A self-report measure using a $7$ -point Likert scale. It contains $60$ items: $20$ masculine, $20$ feminine, and $20$ neutral.
Reliability and Validity: A pilot study of $1000$ students and follow-up testing after $1$ month supported the scale's validity and reliability.
Criticisms: Considered an over-simplification by researchers such as Golombok and Fivush ( $1994$ ); the Personal Attribute Questionnaire (PAQ) is suggested as an alternative.

Chromosomes: Humans have $23$ pairs; the $23$ rd pair determines sex ( $XX$ for female, $XY$ for male). The SRY gene on the $Y$ chromosome triggers androgen production.
Testosterone: Male androgen linked to aggression; Dabbs et al. ( $1995$ ) found higher levels in offenders of aggressive crimes.
Oestrogen: Female hormone linked to reproductive development and Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS).
Oxytocin: Known as the "love hormone," it promotes bonding and reduces cortisol. It is released in high concentrations during childbirth.
Criticisms: Accused of biological determinism and reductionism (Maccoby and Jacklin, $1974$ ). Brescoll and Uhlman argue PMS is used as a social construct to medicalize female anger.

Klinefelter’s Syndrome ( $XXY$ ): Biological males with an extra $X$ chromosome. Physical traits include gynecomastia; psychological traits include clumsiness and lower visuo-spatial/reading scores.
Turner’s Syndrome ( $X0$ ): Females with only $45$ chromosomes. Physical traits include broad shoulders and infertility; psychological traits include advanced reading skills but poor social communication.
Utility: Understanding these suggests biological bases for behavior, though social influences (e.g., insecurity over appearance) may also contribute to symptoms.

Kohlberg’s Stages: Based on Piaget’s cognitive development: 1. Gender Identity ( $2$ - $3$ years): Identify self but not others; believe gender can change. 2. Gender Stability ( $4$ - $5$ years): Understand own gender is constant but confused by external appearances. 3. Gender Constancy ( $6$ years): Understand gender remains constant across all situations; begin looking for same-sex role models.
Gender Schema Theory (Martin and Halverson): Schemas (mental frameworks) develop at age $2$ . Children actively seek information to confirm their "ingroup" identity and ignore "outgroup" information (memory distortion).

Psychodynamic (Freud): Gender develops in the phallic stage via the Oedipus Complex (boys, castration anxiety) and Electra Complex (girls, penis envy). Supported by the Little Hans case study but criticized for androcentrism (Horney) and lack of scientific rigor.
Social Learning Theory (SLT): Learning via direct (differential reinforcement) and indirect (vicarious reinforcement) experience. Mediational processes include attention, retention, motor reproduction, and motivation.
Evidence: Smith and Lloyd ( $1978$ ) showed adults reinforce gender-stereotyped behavior in infants based on clothing.

Culture: Mead ( $1935$ ) found varying gender roles among tribes in New Guinea, suggesting gender is socially influenced. Munroe and Munroe ( $1975$ ) found similarities in traditional labor divides.
Media: Bussey and Bandura ( $1999$ ) noted men as independent and women as advice-seekers. Pingree ( $1978$ ) found female infants are more accepting of non-traditional media roles.

Social-Psychological Explanations: - Psychoanalytic: Ovesey and Person ( $1973$ ) suggest GID in males results from separation anxiety from the mother. - Cognitive: Liben and Bigler ( $2002$ ) proposed the dual pathway and personal pathway theories.
Biological Explanations: - Brain Structure: Zhou et al. ( $1995$ ) found the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis is larger in males but female-sized in male-to-female transgender individuals. - Genetics: Coolidge et al. ( $2002$ ) found GID prevalence of $2.3\%$ in $157$ twin pairs, suggesting a strong genetic component.
Diathesis-Stress Model: Suggests a combination of biological vulnerability and environmental stressors causes the disorder.