atypical gender development (GID)

Question 1

explain biological explanations?

Answer 1

• brain sex theory suggests GID is caused by specific brain structures that are incompatible with persons biological sex
• Ning found in post-mortem studies of 6 male-female granny’s that their BST was a simller size to a female

Question 2

evaluate contradictory evidence for the biological explanation?

Answer 2

• WEAKNESS
• claimed that the BST forms at 5 so any treatment shouldn’t affect BST
• however is refuted by another study that found that transgender hormone therapy did affect the size

Question 3

Evaluate the inconclusively of twin studies for genetic factors?

Answer 3

• WEAKNESS
• GID can possibly be explained by hereditary factors
• however studies in this area don’t normally produce high concordance rates
• difficult to separate nature from nurture, twins may influence each other
• sample sized in twins with GID are very rare therefore hard to make any generalisations

Question 4

explain genetic factors in the biological explanation?

Answer 4

• Coolidge assessed 157 twins for evidence of GID found 2.3% with 62% accounted for by genetic variance
• shows strong hereditable component in GID

Question 5

explain Psychoanalytic treatment for Social Psychological explanations?

Answer 5

• GID in men is caused by separation anxiety before gender identity was established
• child fantasises of symbiotic fusion with mother and then adapts to female identity

Question 6

explain the cognitive explanation for Social Psychological explanations?

Answer 6

• Luben and Bigler proposed extension of gender schema theory that emphasises individual differences in gender identity
  
  1. pathway 1: acknowledges development of gender schema which directs gender appropriate attitudes
     2. pathway 2: personal pathway, child’s gender attitudes affected by their own activity and influences gender schema

Question 7

evaluate support of Psychoanalytic treatment for Social Psychological explanations?

Answer 7

• Stoller saw that in interviews with men that had GID, they displayed overly close relationships with mothers
• that would lead to greater female identification = long term

Question 8

evaluate issues with Psychoanalytic treatment for Social Psychological explanations?

Answer 8

• doesnt provide account of GID in women as only applies to male tranny’s
• GID being caused by separation anxiety is hard to test