gender

Question 1

whats the difference between sex and gender?

Answer 1

sex: your biological status, nature, defined by chromosomes, can’t change
gender: your psychological status, nurture, how you feel, can change

Question 2

whats gender dysphoria?

Answer 2

when a persons sex doesn’t align with their gender identity.

Question 3

what are sex role stereotypes?

Answer 3

a society/cultures shared set of expectations, beliefs, ideas etc on how the sexes should be. eg men shouldn’t cry, women should clean

Question 4

how are sex role stereotypes transfered and reinforced?

Answer 4

through generations, role models, peers, teachers, parents etc

Question 5

who researched sex role steroetpes and what study did they do?

Answer 5

smith and lloyd crossdressed babies age 4-6 months and got unknowing adults to play with them, they gave girls dolls and boys hammers.

Question 6

what is androgyny?

Answer 6

when a person has an equal balance of masculine and feminine qualities (traits, attitudes, belifs)

Question 7

who researched androgyny and what did they do?

Answer 7

bem, she stated there was a third type of gender - androgyny. she then created the BSRI to measure it

Question 8

whats the BSRI?

Answer 8

the bem sex role inventory, it has 60 traits, 20 fem, 20 masc, 20 neutral, it uses a 7 point rating scale 1 being never me and 7 is always me. the results can classify you as eather: masculine, feminine, androgenous, undifferentiated

Question 9

what are some examples of the traits listed in the BSRI?

Answer 9

masculine: aggressive, leader, athletic
feminine: affectioante, cheerful, compassionate
neutral: adaptable, conventional, happy

Question 10

what did bem find?

Answer 10

that most people were more androgynous than either masc/fem and this was a good thing because the range of traits meant theyre better equiped for situations

Question 11

whats an issue with collecting data through self report questionairres like the BSRI?

Answer 11

it requires acute self awareness and insight into their degree of traits, traits are also open to interperitation so data found may be subjective and unreliable

side note, the BSRI is also argued to have low temporal validity because 1. traits are now less gendered and 2. some terms are no longer used so people dont know what they mean

Question 12

what sex chromosomes do we have?

Answer 12

x and y, xx for girls, xy for boys

Question 13

what is a babys sex determined by?

Answer 13

the sperm, because it carries both the X and the Y. the Y chromosome carries an SRY gene. this causes the testies to develop. the testies produce androgens (male hormones eg testosterone)

Question 14

what happens after the first 6-8 weeks in a foetus?

Answer 14

our sex organs start to develop into either male or female, before then we have the same organs

Question 15

what do hormones do for sex and gender thoughout develpment?

Answer 15

prenatally (in the womb) hormones impact babies development of the brain and reproductive organs
in puberty hormones impact secondary charicteristics (hair growth etc)

Question 16

how does testosterone impact our development in the womb?

Answer 16

testosterone is found in both men and women but more in men, high levels of testosterone leads to male sex organs to develp. this means that if a genetic female produces high levels of T, male sex organs can develop

Question 17

briefly explain male development

Answer 17

sry gene produces a tdf protien, this develops the gonads into testies, testies produce androgens, androgens trigger external male genetal development

Question 18

name the two atypical sex chromosome patterns

Answer 18

xxy and x0 (or just x)

Question 19

why do we study atypical sex chromosomes?

Answer 19

we can compare our findings to typical sex chromosomes and determine how much of gender is nature and how much is nurture

Question 20

what is kleinfelters syndrome?

Answer 20

(male, xxy) an extra x chromosome affecting 1 in 600 people

Question 21

name 3 physical and 3 psychological symptoms of kleinfelters?

Answer 21

physical - some breast development, poor beard growth, underdeveloped testes, long gangly limbs.
pyschological - shy and passive, lack interest in sexual activity, poor memory, poor language and reading skills.

Question 22

what is turners syndrome?

Answer 22

(female, x) having just an x chromosome, affects 1 in 5000 people

Question 23

name 3 physical and 3 psychological symptoms for turners syndrome

Answer 23

physical - webbed neck, poor breast development, underdeveloped ovarys
psychological - social immaturity, trouble fitting in, high reading ability

also accept short stature

Question 24

what are the treatments for kleinfelters and turners syndrome

Answer 24

kleinfelters - testosterone
turners - oestrogen

Question 25

what is an issue with research into atypical sex chromosome patterns? (K and T syndrome)

Answer 25

in studies they only research those with extreme conditions, lots of people can be unaware they even have the syndrome, or have very mild symptoms. these sampling issues mean that the characteristics identifies are only spesific to extreme cases and so are exagerated

Question 26

whats one strength to research into these atypical sex chromosome pattern syndromes?

Answer 26

more research into the syndromes leads to more accurate and faster diagnosis, so we can help and treat people sooner. research has shown that early intervention leads to better outcomes for people in comparrison to those diagnosed later

Question 27

is it always a good thing to diagnose people, such as those with K and T syndrome?

Answer 27

no, some people may have little to no symptoms, research shows that 2/3rds of people with klienfelters syndrome are unaware and this may be a good thing. if you have been told, youre clinically going to have poor language skills this may become a self fullfilling prophecy

Question 28

what are the three stages in kohlbergs theory

Answer 28

gender identity, gender stability, gender constancy

Question 29

outline stage 1 gender identity

Answer 29

around 2 children can identify their own gender, they can correctly answer which one is more like you?
by 3 they can identify others genders but dont know its fixed so a little boy may say ‘i want to be a mummy when i grow up’

Question 30

outline stage 2 gender stability

Answer 30

by 4 they know gender is stable/fixed for themselves but cant apply it to others, often are confused by external appearances such as pixie cuts, or a woman builder

Question 31

outline stage 3 gender constancy

Answer 31

by 6 children have worked out gender is constant and are no longer fooled by looks, they start stereotyping and identifying appropriate roles eg recognising that a man in a dress is unusual
children now start to seek out appropriate role models to identify with and imitate

Question 32

what research shows children beginning to stereotype?

Answer 32

this research supports that stereotyping starts at 6
a group of children were told a story about a little boy who liked to play with dolls then asked to comment
4 year olds said it was fine if he wanted to do that
6 year olds said it was wrong

Question 33

who developed gender schema theory

Answer 33

martin and halverson

Question 34

what is gender schema

Answer 34

our mental concept of gender (specifically in children) a generalised representation of what gender is and the gender appropriate behaviours, this guides what behaviours we should be doing

Question 35

according to martin and halverson what happens when a child reaches gender identity?

Answer 35

the child reaches gender identity at 2-3 and they start to search the environment for information that adds to our gender schema. this differes to kohlburg who said this process only starts after the final stage, not during the first stage

Question 36

how are gender schemas formed

Answer 36

through stereotypes in our environment - eg girls like barbies and boys like trucks

Question 37

what are ingroups and outgroups and why are they relevant

Answer 37

ingroups - the same gender of the child
outgroup - the opposing gender
ingroups are important to boost self esteem eg “girls are the best and boys are icky” but they also impact our behaviours because children will pay more attention to gender imformation about their own gender (ingroup)
this means out gender schema for out own gender develops before we develop schema for the other gender

Question 38

what research supports genders schema and how children look for information to develop their schemas?

Answer 38

children under the age of 6 were more likely to remember stereotypically appropriate behaviour than innapropriate behaviour, children tended to miss remember the gender of the innapropriate behaviour for the other gender so it became appropriate

Question 39

when did freud say children got a consept of gender identity?

Answer 39

in and after the phallic stage, as the oedipus and electra complexes arise, getting through those stages/complexes are crutial to gender identity

freud said in the pre phallic stages children have no understanding of men/woman and dont catergorise themselves

Question 40

what is the oedipus complex and how does it resolve

Answer 40

when boys develop incestuous feeling for their mother and thus become jealous of their father, due to the power dynamic they also get castration anxiety from their father
to resolve, the boy gives up his ‘love’ and identifies with his father

Question 41

what is the electra complex and how is it resolved

Answer 41

when girls experience penis envy, seeing themselves in competition with the mother for their fathers love
resolved when the girl accepts she has no penis and she substitutes this want with the want for children, thus identifying with their mother

Question 42

how do the complexes lead to gender identity?

Answer 42

through identification and internalisation
the theory is that the children identify with their same sex parent to resolve the complex so adopt their attitudes etc. the child internalises their same sex parents gender identity as it becomes their own

Question 43

who did freud use as a case study to support his theory and what did he do

Answer 43

little hans - 5 yr old boy with fear of horses, freud said it was a representation of his castration anxiety and had transfered his fear to the horse as a defence mechanism (he actually just had a traumatic event where a horse died in the street infront of him)

Question 44

how is social learning theory relevant to gender

Answer 44

we learn through vicarious reinforcement (watching how others are praised/punished for gendered behaviours) and direct reinforcement (girls praised for playing with dolls/tea parties, encouraging boys to be active

SLT also refers to identification with role models and modeling their behaviour

Question 45

what is a limitation of the SLT explanation of gender?

Answer 45

it provides no sequential explanation for gender development, with no reference to how gender changes with age

Question 46

what does culteral research tell us about the nature/nurtue debate

Answer 46

cross culteral research can help us understand how much of out gender is defined by nature or nurture
if gendered behaviours appear to be consistent across cultures we can conclude its innate, and nature
if behaviours are different, and culterally spesific we can assume its nurture and learned socially

Question 47

explain the study done about 3 tribes thats looking into culteral differences (nature-nurture!) in gender

Answer 47

this study was looking at gender roles of three culteral croups in Paupa New Guinea
in the first group they were all gentle and responsive, with typically feminine traits
in the second they were all more aggressive and hostile, with typically masculine traits
in the third group the women were dominant, the orgonisers and the men were the passive ones who were considered ‘decorative’

this suggests there may be little biological relation to sex and gender

Question 48

what cross culteral studies have found simularities, in mate preferences? (nature)

Answer 48

one study showed patterns and simularities about mate preferences in 37 countries. in all cultures the women were looking for men who could provide wealth and resources and men were looking for women who were young and physically attractive

Question 49

what does the media have that impacts our consept of gender?

Answer 49

use of ridgid stereotypes, the media repetedly shows men to be ambitious, independent, givers of advice, where the women are unambitious, reliant and advice-seekers
studys have shown men show up more in professional roles and women more indomestic scenes in TV ads
this confirms gender stereotypes and reinforces them

Question 50

the media can also have a positive impact on our self efficacy, how?

Answer 50

one study showed a TV programme (a detective drama with 78 episodes - ps. i dont need to be super hot on this detail) to people in india, designed to contrant deep-rooted stereotypes. girls who watched the show were more likely to see themselves as capable of working outside the home compared to non-viewers

Question 51

atypical gender development is also known as __ and what are the two explanations for it?

Answer 51

gender dysphoria (when your biological sex and gender are mismatched)
its explained biologically and socially

Question 52

what are the biological explanations for gender dysphoria?

Answer 52

brain sex theory and genetic factors

Question 53

what is brain sex theory?

Answer 53

we have a structure in our brains called the BST which is found to be larger in males and smaller in females. In transgender women, they also have the smaller female size, the size of the BST correlates to gender identity not sex

Question 54

what have twin studies shown for the genetic factors of gender dysphoria?

Answer 54

studies have shown a heritable component to gender dysphoria, one study compared twins, they found concordence rates for dysphoria in 39% of MZ(identical) twins, and 0% of DZ(nonidendtical) twins

Question 55

what social explanations are there for gender dysphoria

Answer 55

social constructionism and psychoanalytic theory

Question 56

what is social constructionism

Answer 56

the idea that gender identity doesnt have any biological component but is a construct created by societies, meaning that dysphoria is a result of society presuring us into a box, and not a diagnosable psychological disorder

Question 57

what is the psychoanalytic theory of gender dysphoria

Answer 57

the belief that dysphoria stems from family relationships. the idea is that young boys who experience seperation anxiety at a young age (before their gender identity is developed) attatch to their mother to releave the anxiety. This attatchment then goes too far, causing the boy to identify with the mothers female identity