Chapter 12: Gender

Question 1

Define Gender identity

Answer 1

the sense of being male or female, which most children acquire by the time they are 2

Question 2

Define Gender Role

Answer 2

A set of expectations that prescribes how females or males should think, act and feel

Question 3

Define Gender Typing

Answer 3

Acquisition of a traditional masculine or feminine role

Question 4

Define Gender dysphoria

Answer 4

the experience of extreme discomfort with one’s gender assigned at birth

Question 5

What are estrogens?

Answer 5

Hormones that primarily influence the development of female physical sex characteristics
-help regulate menstrual cycle

Question 6

What are androgens?

Answer 6

Primarily promote the development of male genitals and secondary sex characteristics
- one important androgen is testosterone

Question 7

Unusual levels of sex hormones early in development may result in problems such as:

Answer 7

• Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH)
• Androgen-Insensitive Males
• Pelvic field defect

Question 8

What is the view of evolutionary psychology on Gender?

Answer 8

emphasizes that evolutionary adaptation during the evolution of humans produced psychological differences between Males and Females.

• males evolved violence, competition and risktaking
• females evolved to be devoted parents who choose mates based on what they can provide

Question 9

What are some critiques of evolutionary psychology’s view of gender?

Answer 9

• the hypotheses are backed by speculations about prehistory NOT evidence
• People are Not locked into behaviour that was adaptive in the past
• the evolutionary view pays little attention to cultural and individual variations

Question 10

What is the Social Role Theory?

Answer 10

Theory stating that gender differences result from the contrasting roles of women and men - social hierarchy and division of labour strongly influence gender differences in power, assertiveness and nurture

Question 11

What is Eagly’s view?

Answer 11

Women adapted to roles with less power and less status in society and showed more cooperative, less dominant profiles than men

Question 12

What is the psychoanalytic theory of gender?

Answer 12

A theory that stems from Freud’s view that preschoool children develop erotic feelings toward the opposite-sex parent. Eventually these feelings cause anxiety, that at 5-6 children renounce these feelings and identify with the same sex parents characteristics

*developmentalists do not agree with this

Question 13

What is the social cognitive theory of gender?

Answer 13

this theory emphasizes that children’s gender development occurs through observation and imitation of gender behaviour and through rewards and punsihments they experience for gender-appropriate and gender-innapropriate behaviour

Question 14

What are a mothers socialization strategies and who proposed them?

Answer 14

Phyllis Bronstein
-mothers socialize daughers to be more obedient and responsible than sons. Also place more restrictions on daughters autony

Question 15

What are a fathers socialization strategies and who proposed them?

Answer 15

Phyllis Bronstein
-fathers how more attention to sons than daughters, engage in more activities with sons, and put forth more effort to promote sons’ intellectual development

Question 16

What is the Gender Schema Theory?

Answer 16

Gender-typing emerges as children gradually develop gender schemas of what is gender-appropriate and gender-inappropriate in their culture

Question 17

What is a gender stereotype?

Answer 17

general impressions and beliefs about females and males

Question 18

Around what age do children begin to show some awareness of stero-typical male and female activities?

Answer 18

around 2 years. Increases considerably by age 4.

Question 19

What is the reality behind gender stereotypes? Three points

Answer 19

1. the differences are averages and do not apply to all females or all males
2. Even when gender influences occur, there often is considerable overlap between males and females
3. The differences may be due primarily to biological factors, social cultural factors, or both

Question 20

What is rapport talk, and who came up with it?

Answer 20

The language of conversation and a way of establishing connections and negotiating relationships. More characteristic of females then of males.

Deborah Tannen

Question 21

What is report talk? Who came up with it?

Answer 21

Talk that gives information, such as public speaking. Males hold centerstage the report talk with such horrible performances as storytelling, joking, and lecturing with information.

Deborah Tannen

Question 22

What is gender controversy?

Answer 22

Controversy continues about the extent of gender differences and what might cause them.

Question 23

What is David Buss’s take on gender?

Answer 23

David buss argues that gender differences are extensive and caused by the adaptive problems they have faced across their evolutionary history

Question 24

What is Alice Eagley’s take on gender?

Answer 24

Alice Eagley concludes that gender differences are substantial and emphasizes the gender differences are due to social conditions that have resulted in women having less power and control and fewer resources then men

Question 25

What is Janet Hyde’s take on gender?

Answer 25

Janet hyde concludes that gender differences have been greatly exaggerated, especially fuelled by popular books such as John Gray’s “men are from Mars, women are from Venus” and Deborah Tannen’s “you just don’t understand”.

Argues that the research indicates females and males are similar on most psychological factors.

Question 26

What is gender role classification?

Answer 26

Instead of describing masculinity and femininity as a continuum in which more of one means less of the other, it is propose that individuals can have both masculine and feminine traits.

Question 27

What do you gender experts argue about androgynous individuals?

Answer 27

Androgynous individuals are more flexible competent and mentally healthy than their masculine or feminine counterparts

Question 28

Define androgyny

Answer 28

The presence of masculine and feminine characteristics in the same person

Question 29

What is gender role transcendence?

Answer 29

• And alternative to androgyny
• The view that when an individual‘s competence is an issue, it should be conceptualized on a personal basis rather than on the basis of masculinity, femininity, or androgyny
• We should think about ourselves as people, not as masculine, feminine, or androgynous