4.3.3 Gender

Question 1

sex

Answer 1

• describes the biological structure of being male or female
• they have different sex organs, hormones (testosterone and oestrogen) and chromosomes (males have XY whilst females have XX sex chromosomes)

Question 2

gender

Answer 2

• a social construct which allows each individual to psychologically identify themselves as masculine and/or feminine
• it’s more to do with behavioural characteristics
• is subjective / fluid

Question 3

gender identity disorder

Answer 3

discomfort with one’s own assigned sex and strong feelings of identification with the opposite sex

Question 4

sex-role stereotypes

Answer 4

• widely held beliefs about expected or appropriate ways that males and females should behave
• learnt from birth as children are exposed to attitudes from people in their society who tell them things such as ‘boys don’t cry’

Question 5

sex-role stereotypes - Seavey et al. (1975)

Answer 5

• he conducted a study to see if the gender label attached to a baby affected adult responses
• participants were asked to interact with a 3-month old after the child was introduced as either male, female, or just a baby (i.e. no sex given) to the different groups
• they found that participant’s behaviour towards the child differed depending on what information they were given
• e.g. sex-stereotyped toys were used, i.e. when the child was labelled a girl, most adults chose to play with a doll

Question 6

sex role stereotypes - strengths

Answer 6

some stereotypes may be valid, e.g. males being more aggressive than females is likely to reflect a valid biological difference between the sexes

Question 7

sex role stereotypes - limitations

Answer 7

• tend to be narrow, inflexible, and overgeneralised
• they may have harmful effects on society, e.g. males may avoid fields such as nursing due to the sex-role stereotypes around it
• the majority of these stereotypes have no biological link

Question 8

androgyny

Answer 8

when someone displays a balance of both masculine and feminine characteristics

Question 9

The Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI)

Answer 9

• developed by Sandra Bem (1974)
• measures a person’s masculine and feminine traits
• it was developed by asking 100 American students (50 male, 50 female) to rate 200 traits for how desirable they were for males and females
• it’s a self report method that asked participants to rate themselves on a scale of 1-7 for 60 characteristics (20 typically male, 20 typically female, and 20 neutral)
• the scores could be; masculine (high masculine, low feminine), feminine (high feminine, low masculine), androgynous (high masculine and feminine) or undifferentiated (low masculine and feminine)
• Bem found that more people were androgynous than at the extremes of very high or very low masculine / feminine traits

Question 10

BSRI - strengths

Answer 10

• Bem found that androgynous people were more psychologically healthy, as they’re more comfortable with who they are and they don’t suppress themselves to fit in with sex-role stereotypes
• quantitative data, which is easier to analyse and draw comparisons from
• has good retest reliability as it was tested on over 1000 students and similar results were produced when repeated with the same sample a few weeks later

Question 11

BSRI - limitations

Answer 11

• questions of cultural and temporal validity as the BSRI was based on the views of Americans in the 1970s, and their notion of ‘maleness & femaleness’ may not be shared across all times, cultures & societies
• as it’s a self-report measure, people will have different subjective interpretations of the items on the checklist, which may reduce the validity of the BSRI

Question 12

the role of chromosomes in sex and gender

Answer 12

• there are 46 chromosomes in 23 pairs in the human body
• the 23rd pair determines a person’s biological sex as it can be an XX (female) or XY (male) chromosome pair
• a baby’s sex is determined by the sperm that fertilises the egg, as sperm cells contain half X and half Y chromosomes
• the genes in the Y chromosome are responsible for male development, i.e. the formation of testes and production of androgens (male sex hormones), including testosterone

Question 13

the role of hormones in sex and gender

Answer 13

• most gender development is influenced by hormones (chemicals circulated in the blood that control activity of different cells)
• in the womb, hormones affect brain development and cause the development of either male or female genitals
• at puberty, hormone levels increase, causing the development of secondary sex characteristics, e.g. breast development in women and growth of facial hair in men
• males and females produce many of the same hormones but in different concentrations

Question 14

testosterone

Answer 14

• the primary male sex hormone, produced in the testes
• during womb development, genes in the Y chromosome cause testes, and at around 8 weeks of foetal development, testosterone production begins
• this causes physical changes, e.g. development of male sex organs, and psychological changes as prenatal testosterone causes masculinisation of the brain, e.g. men tend to have greater spatial reasoning than women
• after birth, it’s associated with stereotypical male behaviours such as aggression, e.g. Albert et al. (1989) found that injecting female rats with testosterone made them act more aggressively
• there’s a small amount in female ovaries, but men tend to have around 10x as much testosterone as women

Question 15

oestrogen

Answer 15

• the primary female hormone, mostly made in the ovaries
• in the womb, having an X chromosome means ovaries form, resulting in higher oestrogen and lower testosterone levels
• this can impact brain development as some studies have found that women generally have greater verbal fluency than men
• it’s associated with stereotypical female behaviours, e.g. compassion and sensitivity
• after puberty, it regulates the menstrual cycle in women
• hormonal changes during the menstrual cycle can cause women to experience heightened emotions, irritability, etc. (pre-menstrual syndrome - PMS)
• there’s also a small amount in males, but females have much more than they do

Question 16

oxytocin

Answer 16

• a hormone which causes contraction of the uterus during labour and stimulates lactation
• levels are typically higher in women, particularly as a result of giving birth
• it also helps form an emotional bond between mother and baby
• can be called the ‘love hormone’ as it’s associated with bonding, nurturing, trust, etc.
• as men produce less, it’s fuelled the stereotype of men being less loving than women, but evidence suggests that similar amounts of it are produced in men and women when engaging in amorous activities, however, it falls immediately in males after orgasm, which may explain why they’re less interested in intimacy after sex

Question 17

the role of chromosomes and hormones - strengths

Answer 17

• male and female brains are very different
• masculinisation of the brain (exposure of testosterone) is thought to be responsible for gender differences, e.g. women can typically empathise better than men but are less good at spatial navigation
• Young et al. (1964) showed that female monkeys exposed to male hormones during prenatal development typically engaged in more rough play
• Dabbs et al.(1995) found that prisoners with higher testosterone levels were more likely to have committed violent crimes

Question 18

the role of chromosomes and hormones - limitations

Answer 18

• there’s conflicting evidence, e.g. Tricker et al. (1996) did a double blind trial where he randomly assigned 43 men to receive either testosterone or a placebo, but he found no differences in aggression between the 2 groups
• other factors such as cognitive factors and social learning seem to play a role as well
• may reinforce harmful stereotypes, e.g. if males tend to have an advantage in spatial reasoning, society may discriminate against women entering fields that require this, e.g. engineering
• much of the evidence for the role of hormones in gender development comes from animal studies, so may not apply to humans
• file draw problem (publication bias) as work which demonstrates positive findings is more likely to be published

Question 19

atypical sex chromosome patterns

Answer 19

when a person has a 23rd chromosome pair that is something other than the typical XX pattern for females or XY pattern for males, causing differences in development compared to those with typical patterns

Question 20

Klinefelter’s syndrome

Answer 20

• also known as 47, XXY
• when a male is born with XXY chromosomes
• affects roughly 1 in 750 males
• physical characteristics include less body hair, increased breast tissue, weaker muscles, long limbs, and sterility (poorly functioning genitals)
• psychological characteristics include a low libido (sexual desire), poor language skills and reading ability, shyness, and difficulties with social interactions

Question 21

Turner’s syndrome

Answer 21

• also known as 45, X
• when a female is born with only one X chromosome and either an absent or partial second X chromosome
• affects roughly 1 in 5000 females
• physical characteristics include no menstrual cycle (sterility), undeveloped breasts, broad chest, narrow hips, webbed neck, and shorter height
• psychological characteristics include above average reading abilities, below average mathematics abilities, social immaturity, and issues with relating to their peers and fitting in

Question 22

atypical sex chromosome patterns - strengths

Answer 22

• by comparing those with atypical patterns to those without, we can see psychological and behavioural differences between them and identify that these have a genetic basis and are a result of abnormal chromosome structures
• increased awareness of these conditions can lead to further research and development and more positive outcomes, e.g. giving sufferers hormonal medications

Question 23

atypical sex chromosome patterns - limitations

Answer 23

• environmental and social influences may be responsible for behaviour differences
• those who look different are likely to be treated differently, e.g. social immaturity in TS patients may be due to peers treating them that way based on their underdeveloped physical features
• there’s a lack of generalisability from atypical individuals to the wider population as it’s an unusual and unrepresentative sample
• many psychological factors are based on ‘normal levels’, e.g. there’s an idea of a normal level of social maturity, but this may be based on stereotypes

Question 24

cognitive explanations of gender development

Answer 24

• sees gender as a result of active changes in thought processes over time as a child grows up
• it differs from social learning theory which says gender is passively observed and imitated
• includes Kohlberg’s theory and gender schema theory

Question 25

Piaget’s theory of cognitive development

Answer 25

• he viewed cognitive development as a progressive reorganisation of mental processes that occurs as a result of both biological maturation and environmental experience
• provides an explanation of how a child’s logic and reasoning develop over time;
• he says we use schemas (patterns of learning) to make sense of the world
• when a child’s experience matches what they understand, they’re in a state of equilibrium
• when they’re in an unfamiliar situation, they can’t use existing schemas so they’re in disequilibrium
• to enable understanding, new info is added to a current schema (assimilation), or a new schema is developed to improve understanding (accommodation)
• he believed children pass through stages of development in a sequence which is universal and not predetermined by gender or culture, but children may go through it at different paces

Question 26

Piaget’s stages of intellectual development

Answer 26

• sensorimotor stage (0-2 years); infants learn through reflexes, children learn object permanence (objects still exists even when out of sight) at 7-8 months, e.g. they have it if they look for a toy that’s been hidden from them
• pre-operational stage (2-7 years); children are unable to see situations from the perspective of others and demonstrate egocentrism - they assume others experience in the same way they do
• concrete operational stage (7-11 years); children can think logically for familiar concepts, start to problem solve, often learn new logic through discovery learning, and can also conserve quantities (determine that a quantity will remain the same regardless of a change in shape or size)
• formal operations (11+ years); the final stage where children can now think abstractly, problem solve and reason using hypothetical thought

Question 27

Kohlberg’s theory of gender development

Answer 27

• based his theory on Piaget’s theory of cognitive development which argues that children’s thinking changes as they grow up
• Kohlberg argues that gender development occurs alongside general intellectual developments in thinking which occurs with age
• identified 3 stages through which gender development progresses; gender identity, gender stability, and gender constancy

Question 28

stage 1 - gender identity

Answer 28

• 2-3 years
• children can correctly identify themselves and categorise others as male or female based on their appearances
• they’re not aware that sex is permanent and they have no understanding of gender beyond simple labelling

Question 29

stage 2 - gender stability

Answer 29

• 3-4 years
• the child realises their gender is stable over time
• however, they can’t apply this logic to other people in other situations as they’re confused by external changes in appearance, so they believe someone will change sex if they engage in activities associated with the opposite gender

Question 30

stage 3 - gender constancy

Answer 30

• around 6 years onwards
• children recognise that gender remains permanent and constant across time and situations, and this applies to other people as well as their own
• they won’t be confused by changes in outward appearance - i.e. they may regard a man in a dress as unusual but can still acknowledge that he’s a man underneath
• children begin to seek gender-appropriate models to identify with, and imitate and internalise their behaviours
• e.g. a boy may take an interest in football if he identifies with his father who’s also interested in football

Question 31

Kohlberg’s theory - strengths

Answer 31

• Thompson (1975) found that 76% of 2 year olds could correctly identify genders but this increased to 90% among 3 year olds, which is consistent with Kohlberg’s timeline
• Slaby and Frey (1975) found that after children reach gender constancy, they pay more attention to same-sex role models, which is in line with Kohlberg’s predictions
• it’s compatible with biological and social explanations, e.g the idea of a child identifying with and imitating same-sex role models is compatible with social learning explanations

Question 32

Kohlberg’s theory - limitations

Answer 32

• Bussey and Bandura (1992) found that children as young as 4 showed signs of gender constancy, which challenges Kohlberg’s timeline
• his theory was based on interviews with 2 year olds, so Kohlberg may have failed to acknowledge that these children lack vocabulary to express their understanding fully, thus questioning the validity of his theory
• criticised for its lack of explanation of how and why the gender stages occur

Question 33

gender schema theory

Answer 33

• Martin and Halverson (1981) argue that children start developing gender schemas (mental frameworks to understand gender) at around 2-3 years old
• they agree with Kohlberg to some extent, believing that children are active in acquiring information about gender rather than passively observing and imitating role models (SLT), but they believe children behave in gendered ways from a much earlier age
• Bem (1993) also believed that gender schemas become the lenses through which we view the world

Question 34

developmental changes in children’s gender schemas

Answer 34

• from 2-3, children establish their own gender identity then seek information that encourages development of this gender schema
• over time, gender schemas develop along with other developments in thinking
• by age 6, the child has a fixed and stereotypical idea about what’s appropriate for its gender
• children have a better understanding of schemas appropriate to their own gender (in-group) rather than the opposite gender (out-group)
• children are likely to dismiss information that conflicts with their in-group schema as they display a strong in-group bias when processing information
• by 8, they develop schemas for the opposite gender as well
• by the time the child is a teenager, they realise many so-called gender ‘rules’ are just social customs, so their gender schema becomes more flexible

Question 35

gender schema theory - strengths

Answer 35

• Martin and Little (1990) found that children aged 3-5 had stereotypical beliefs about what toys and clothes go with each gender, suggesting they’ve already developed gender schemas by this age
• it can explain aspects of many children’s thinking as it accounts for the fact that young children tend to hold very fixed gender attitudes and they only retain info that agrees with their beliefs, e.g. Martin and Halverson (1983) found that children aged 5-6 were more likely to remember photos of gender-typical behaviour, e.g. a boy playing with a train, and more likely to forget non-stereotypical pictures, e.g. a girl sawing wood, which is in line with this idea

Question 36

gender schema theory - limitations

Answer 36

• many studies suggest that children demonstrate gender-typical behaviours before forming gender schema, e.g. Alexander et al. (2009) found boys aged 3-8 months looked at toy trucks more than toy dolls and vice versa for girls
• Hassett et al. (2008) found that rhesus monkeys (who don’t have gender schema) also display preferences for gender-typical toys, suggesting others factors, e.g. biology, influence gender development, so an interactionist explanation may be more appropriate
• reinforces negative stereotypes from a young age as boys show stronger gender schemas, perhaps because they’re more likely to be penalised, especially by fathers, for displaying feminine behaviours
• the theory assumes that by changing children’s gender schemas, their behaviour can be changed, but it’s hard to change behaviour even if certain beliefs are held, e.g. many married couples with strong views about equality of sexes still typically organise household roles according to stereotypes

Question 37

how gender schema theory differs from Kohlberg’s theory

Answer 37

• gender behaviour starts before constancy
• the gender labelling stage is enough to spark a child’s gendered interest in the world
• our gender understanding focuses around in-groups before out-groups
• GST expands on Kohlberg’s theory to explain not just what happens, but how it happens, i.e. how gender affects schemas, stereotypes, memory, etc.
• gender development continues beyond constancy

Question 38

psychodynamic explanation for gender

Answer 38

• focuses on how the unconscious mind drives changes and the development of behaviour
• main example is Freud’s psychoanalytic theory

Question 39

Freud’s psychoanalytic theory

Answer 39

• explains behaviour as the result of conflicts between different parts of the mind - the id, ego and superego
• Freud says childhood development involves resolving 5 conflicts and passing through the 5 psychosexual stages
• main focus is on the phallic stage

Question 40

five psychosexual stages

Answer 40

1. the oral stage, (from birth-15 months) - only the id is present, so a child is governed by its innate drives and seeks immediate gratification achieved through its mouth, i.e. feeding, crying, etc.
2. the anal stage, (from 15m-3 years) - focus of gratification shifts from the mouth to the anus, so the child experiences pleasure from the elimination of faeces
3. the phallic stage, (from 3-5 years) - focus of gratification is now on genitals, but not the same gratification that’s experienced by adults
4. the latency stage, (from 5 years-puberty) - the drives that have been responsible for gratification in the previous stages appear relatively inactive
5. the genital stage, (puberty onwards) - re-emergence of the earlier drives, focussing on the genitals once again, but this time with an adult expression of sexuality

Question 41

the phallic stage

Answer 41

• Freud says gender develops during the phallic stage (3-5 years) as children have no concept of gender identity before this
• children also experience the oedipus or electra complex in this stage as the focus of pleasure switches to the genitals

Question 42

the oedipus complex

Answer 42

• applies to boys
• claims that a boy develops an unconscious sexual interest for his mum, resulting in intense feelings of jealousy, hatred, and rivalry aimed at his father
• the boy’s id (unconscious and instinctive part) wants to kill the father to have the mother for himself, but his ego (practical part) recognises that the father is stronger than him
• consequently, the boy develops castration anxiety; he fears that his father will discover these feelings and punish him by castrating him (removing his penis)
• at this point, the boy faces a conflict between his feelings of lust for his mother and feelings of hostility / jealousy towards his father
• to resolve the conflict, the boy gives up his love for the mother and begins to identify with his father (identification with aggressor)

Question 43

the electra complex

Answer 43

• applies to girls
• prior to the phallic stage, a girl has no concept of her gender, so when she reaches this stage, she believes she doesn’t have a penis because she’s been castrated
• the girl experiences penis envy as she desires a penis, so she develops a desire for her father as he has what she wants
• she also develops a dislike of her mother for being in competition for her father’s love, and because she blames the mother for taking her penis
• however, the girl also loves her mother and fears losing her if she discovers her desires for her father, so the girl faces a conflict
• to resolve this, the girl represses her feelings of dislike for her mother and instead identifies with her and internalises her behaviour
• the girl substitutes her desire for a penis with a desire to have a baby

Question 44

identification and internalisation

Answer 44

• the psychodynamic approach claims that conflicts which arise during the phallic stage are resolved through the use of defence mechanisms, known as identification and internalisation
• boys adopt values of the father and take on his identity and internalise his behaviours, and vice versa for girls with their mothers
• so, the approach stresses the importance of the role both parents play in their child’s development of a healthy gender identity

Question 45

Little Hans (oedipus complex)

Answer 45

• freud used a detailed case study of Little Hans as evidence to support the oedipus complex
• Hans was 5 with an intense fear of horses after seeing one collapse in the street, and feared that a horse would bite him
• however, freud claimed this fear of horses was actually a displaced fear of his father and fear of it biting him was actually his fear of castration
• in later therapy sessions, Hans described a dream in which a plumber replaced his penis with a bigger one, which freud interpreted as Hans identifying with his father and overcoming his oedipus complex
• Hans overcame his fear of horses and went on to become a psychologically healthy adult

Question 46

psychodynamic explanations for gender - strengths

Answer 46

• Little Hans case study
• research evidence to support the idea of the importance of the role of both parents in gender development

Question 47

psychodynamic explanations for gender - limitations

Answer 47

• it’s based solely on the case of Little Hans, so would be unrealistic to suggest the oedipus complex is a universal process of male development
• the concepts outlined are largely untestable, e.g. the unconscious mind is probably impossible to observe and measure
• so freud’s theories are unfalsifiable as there’s no evidence that could disprove them
• several studies, e.g. GST and Kohlberg’s theory, demonstrate that children are aware of their own gender much earlier than the phallic stage which freud suggests
• androcentric bias in his theories as they’re mainly focused on male gender development, i.e. oedipus and electra complex assume the male perspective as desirable - boys fear losing a penis and girls have a desire for it

Question 48

social learning explanation for gender development

Answer 48

• social learning theory acknowledges the role that the social context plays in development, and states that all behaviour is learnt from observing and imitating others
• this explanation draws attention to the role of the environment in shaping gender development, including the influence of culture and media

Question 49

reinforcement

Answer 49

• encouragement to increase behaviour
• positive - adding a pleasant stimulus to increase behaviour
• negative - removing an unpleasant stimulus to increase behaviour

Question 50

punishment

Answer 50

• encouragement to decrease behaviour
• positive - adding an unpleasant stimulus to decrease behaviour
• negative - removing a pleasant stimulus to decrease behaviour

Question 51

direct reinforcement

Answer 51

• children are likely to be reinforced when demonstrating gender appropriate behaviour
• they’re more likely to imitate behaviour that’s been reinforced and unlikely to imitate behaviour that’s been punished
• children learn their gender identity through differential reinforcement - how boys and girls are reinforced (encouraged) to show gender-appropriate behaviours

Question 52

indirect / vicarious reinforcement

Answer 52

• children are more likely to imitate behaviours that have provided favourable consequences for someone else
• they’re unlikely to imitate behaviours where the role-model has had a negative experience

Question 53

identification and modelling

Answer 53

• identification is when a child attaches themselves to someone thats like them, or someone they want to be, i.e. role models, and they’re usually the same sex
• modelling is the demonstration of a behaviour that may be imitated by the observer, i.e. the child
• a child needs to have self-efficacy - the belief that they’re capable of imitating the behaviour

Question 54

meditational processes

Answer 54

• social learning theorists have suggested 4 meditational / cognitive processes that are key to the learning of gender behaviour;
  1. attention - paying attention to the modelled behaviour
  2. retention - remembering what the model has shown
  3. reproduction - having the physical ability to replicate the role model’s behaviour
  4. motivation - the will to repeat the behaviour, e.g. if we’ve seen that it may be positively rewarded

Question 55

social learning explanation for gender development - strengths

Answer 55

• Smith and Lloyd (1978) did a study of 4-6 month old babies who were dressed in boys’ clothes half the time and girls’ clothes the other half, and adults gave the babies toys associated with the ‘gender’ of their clothes, suggesting that gender-appropriate behaviour is stamped-in at an early age through differential reinforcement
• explains changing gender roles in Western society because where there’s been a shift in social expectations over the years, new forms of acceptable gender behaviour have been reinforced

Question 56

social learning explanation for gender development - limitations

Answer 56

• not a developmental theory, as it doesn’t explain how learning processes change with age
• it places little emphasis on the influence of genes and chromosomes, which may be more appropriate as innate biological differences may be reinforced through social interactions and cultural expectations
• psychodynamic approach would accuse SLT of focusing too heavily on conscious meditational / cognitive processes and ignoring the importance of the unconscious

Question 57

influence of culture on gender roles

Answer 57

• cross culture research helps contribute to the nature-nurture debate in gender
• if a particular gender-role behaviour is consistent across cultures, we can conclude it represents an innate biological gender difference
• but if gender roles seem culturally specific, we can assume it’s due to the different social norms and values across cultures

Question 58

Mead (1935) culture study

Answer 58

• she studied gender roles among different tribes in Papua New Guinea
• she observed that many tribes had gender roles that differed from each other and from typical gender roles in Western cultures;
• arapresh - both men and women were caring and peaceful (stereotypically female behaviour in western cultures)
• mundugumor - both men and women were aggressive and warlike (stereotypically male behaviour in western cultures)
• tchambuli - women were dominant and worked, while the men were more passive and considered decorative (reverse of western stereotypes)
• suggests that gender roles may be culturally determined, rather than biologically determinted
• however, her interpretations have been criticised as Errington and Gewertz (1989) also studied the tchambuli tribe but found no evidence to support the gender roles described by Mead

Question 59

culture and gender roles - strengths

Answer 59

• Mead’s study
• changes in culture over time lead to developments in thinking, which can explain changing gender stereotypes

Question 60

culture and gender roles - limitations

Answer 60

• Mead demonstrated observer bias as her preconceptions of what she’d find had influenced her reading of events, as she exaggerated the findings between men and women and didn’t always report her findings
• Mead was also criticised for making generalisations based on one short period of study
• William and Best (1990) found that there’s a universal agreement across cultures about which characteristics were masculine, e.g. dominance, and which were more feminine, e.g. caring
• Berry (2002) suggests an imposed etic as western researchers apply western concepts to the cultures they research, so he says indigenous researchers should be used in cross-cultural research to avoid this bias

Question 61

influence of media on gender roles

Answer 61

• the media provides role models with whom children may identify with and want to imitate
• children are likely to select same-sex role models who engage in gender appropriate behaviour
• Bussey and Bandura (1999) give many examples of how the media portray gender stereotypes, e.g. tv shows tend to show men as ambitious, independent and ‘advice givers’, but show women as unambitious, dependant, and ‘advice seekers’
• these stereotypes also exist in adverts, with men typically promoting cars, computers, etc. and women promoting makeup, food, etc.
• there’s evidence that children who have more exposure to popular forms of media tend to display more gender-stereotypical behaviour
• seeing others perform gender-appropriate behaviour increases the child’s self-efficacy

Question 62

media and gender roles - strengths

Answer 62

• can be used to counter-stereotypes by creating media that challenges the traditional notion of masculinity and femininity
• e.g. Pingree found that gender-stereotyping was reduced when children were shown adverts of women in non-stereotypical roles

Question 63

media and gender roles - limitations

Answer 63

• however, it was also found that pre-adolescent boys had stronger stereotypes after seeing non-traditional gender models, perhaps due to their desire of maintaining their views
• it may be a correlation, rather than causation, i.e. the media outputs may just reflect prevailing social norms about males and females
• questions about temporal validity as the studies linking media and gender-stereotypical views were conducted in the 1980/90s, and modern portrayal of males and females is much less gender-stereotypical
• an interactionist approach may be more appropriate, i.e. there’s a biological basis to gender roles which is amplified and exaggerated by social learning

Question 64

gender dysphoria (gender identity disorder)

Answer 64

• a condition where a person’s biological sex doesn’t match their psychological gender identity (the sex they feel)
• seen as a psychological disorder due to the stress and discomfort it causes
• to reduce these feelings, a person may take steps to align their outer appearance with their inner gender, e.g. wear gender-typical clothes of the sex they identify with, take masculinising/feminising hormones, or undergo gender reassignment surgery

Question 65

biological explanations of gender dysphoria

Answer 65

• genetic factors;
• Hare et al (2009) studied 112 male to female transsexuals and found they were more likely to have a longer version of the androgen receptor gene, which causes a reduction in testosterone and reduces development in the womb, potentially under-mascunalising them, i.e. caused by a lack of prenatal hormone exposure
• Coolidge et al. (2002) analysed 157 twin pairs and estimated that gender dysphoria is 62% caused by genetics and 38% by non-shared environmental experiences
• brain sex theory suggests that gender dysphoria is caused by brain structures that are incompatible with a person’s biological sex;
• the area of the brain known as the BSTc is 40% larger in males than females, and 2 studies found that the number of neurons in the BSTc of transgender females was similar to that of females, and in male transgenders, it matched the typical range of neurons in males, suggesting the size of the BSTc correlates with preferred sex

Question 66

biological explanations of gender dysphoria - strengths

Answer 66

• Hines (2004) says that a strong, persistent desire to change sex, despite prejudice, bullying, etc., suggests it’s an internal biological force, not choice
• provides an explanation that won’t cause psychological harm, as patients won’t blame their own psychology for feeling gender dysphoric

Question 67

biological explanations of gender dysphoria - limitations

Answer 67

• concordance rates amongst identical twins are much less than 100%, suggesting other factors, e.g. social ones, also play a role
• reductive to ignore the importance of other explanations
• Gladue (1985) found that there were very few hormonal differences between gender-dysphoric, heterosexual, and homosexual men, dismissing the idea it’s caused by a lack of prenatal testosterone exposure
• research has found that hormone therapy can change the size of the BSTc, suggesting differences in brain structures may be an effect of hormone therapy rather than a cause of gender dysphoria
• difficult to separate genes and environment when studying twins, so the role of genetics may be overestimated

Question 68

social explanations of gender dysphoria

Answer 68

• cognitive theory; it’s caused by children observing and imitating role models of the opposite sex, and if they’re encouraged, it can be reinforced through operant conditioning, e.g. if a boy is praised for wearing a dress, it can create a conflict between his biological sex and psychological gender, leading to gender dysphoria
• Liden and Bigler proposed an extension of gender schema theory, suggesting a dual pathway where the original was the first, but the second personal pathway may result in a non-sexed type schema if their behaviours identify more with their out-group than in-group
• psychoanalytic theory; Ovesey and Pearson argued that in males, it’s caused by extreme separation anxiety before gender identity is establish, so the child ‘becomes the mother’ and adopts a female gender identity
• Stoller (1975) found that transgender females had overly close mother-son relationships, which may have led to female identification and a confused gender identity

Question 69

social explanations of gender dysphoria - strengths

Answer 69

• research support from Ovesey and Pearson and Stoller
• social factors will likely play a role as biological explanations for dysphoria are incomplete, e.g. concordance rates for gender dysphoria among identical twins aren’t 100%, so other factors must also be influential

Question 70

• social explanations of gender dysphoria - limitations

Answer 70

• the cognitive theory fails to explain why a child may become interested in gender-appropriate activities of the opposite sex
• Ovesey and Pearson’s theory is androcentric as it only applies to males (transgender females)
• their theory is also unscientific and unfalsifiable as the fantasies that trigger gender dysmorphia and focus on the mother are thought to occur at an unconscious level