Gender Flashcards
Gender
Refers to the psychological and sociocultural dimensions of being male or female.
A Gender Role
Is a set of expectations that prescribes how females and males should think, act and feel.
Freud and Erikson believed that “Anatomy is destiny”:
That an individuals genitals determine their gender and behaviour.
Fried: Gender and sexual behaviour is innate, and that human behaviour is directly related to the reproductive process. Therefore they are innate and instinctual, and not learned.
Erikson viewed that the way the genitals are structured plays a part in the make up of the individual. Males more intrusive and aggressive, whilst females moe inclusive and passive.
Critics argue that Freud and Erikson failed to consider environmental influences.
The evolutionary perspective on gender:
The evolutionary unfolding explains key gender differences in sexual attitudes and sexual behaviour.
Critics argue that the evolutionary psychology perspectives hypothesis are back by speculations about pre-history and not evidence. Humans are not necessarily locked into behaviour that was a characteristic of the evolutionary past.
To much focus on biology also, and not on environmental components.
Social Role-Theory
States that gender differences mainly result from the contrasting roles of females and males.
The power hierarchy and division of labor are important characteristics of gender differences in power, assertiveness, and nurturing behaviour.
Mothers Socialisation Strategies
Include teaching their daughters to be more obedient and responsible and placing more restrictions on their daughters autonomy.
Fathers Socialisation Strategies
Include paying more attention to their sons, engaging in more activities with their sons, and putting more effort into promoting intellectual development.
Social Cognitive Theory of Gender
Argues that gender development is influenced by the observation and imitation of others gender-appropriate and inappropriate actions.
The rewards and punishments for gender specific behaviour.
Gender Schema Theory:
Gender-typing emerges as individuals gradually develop gender schemas of what is gender-appropriate and gender-inappropriate in their culture.
A schema is a cognitive structure, a network of associations that guide an individuals perceptions.
A gender schema organises the world in terms of female and male. Individuals are internally motivated to perceive the world and to act in accordance with the developing schema’s.
This approach is critical of the social cognitive approach, claiming that it pays to little attention to the child’s own mind and understanding.
The path an individual chooses is determined by the combined factors of cognitive, societal, and biological factors.
Gender stenotypes
Are broad categories that reflect our impressions and beliefs about females and males.
A way of simplifying the bombardment of information we receive in the environment.
Stereotypes are very difficult to abandon.
Ambiguous, and influenced by culture.
Stereotypes reinforce the male view of going out into the world as the breadwinner, and women as being the sensitive nurturing caregiver in the home.
Sexism
Prejudice and discrimination against an individual because of his or her sex.
Occurs because of exclusionary practices based on a categorisation of male or female as opposed to determining actual capability required for the task.
Gender Similarities and Differences
There are a number of physical and biological differences between males and females, but some experts argue that purported cognitive differences have been exaggerated.
Physical Similarities and Differences
Hormone levels.
Body structure etc.
Part of the hypothalamus that is involved in sexual behaviour tends to be larger in men than in women.
Areas of the brain that are involved in emotional expression tend to show more activity in females.
An area of the parietal lobe that functions in visuospatial skills tends t one larger in males than in females.
The differences however are only small, and there are far more similarities than differences between males and females in terms of bran size.
Cognitive Similarities and Differences
Researchers are divided over the similarities and differences between cognitive differences.
Some still argue that males posses better visuospatial skills, whilst others refuge this.
Not all males have better visuospatial skills that all females. All though average male score is higher, many females outperform most makes on such tasks.
No overall difference in intellectual ability.
However differences is some areas are found, with females reporting better self-control than males.
Females are more likely to be interested and engaged in academic endeavours etc.
Despite this, there is still a gender bias favoured towards males for career pathways towards the science, technology, engineering, and math areas.
Socioemotional Similarities and Differences
Aggression:
Boys are more verbally aggressive.
However when verbal aggression is factored, there is virtually no difference, or if anything, females are more aggressive.
Relational aggression (aggression through the manipulation of a relationship) is more pronounced in females.
Communication in Relationships:
In terms of communication as it relates to relationships, there are differences between males and females.
These differences however are argued. Many see the definition of rapport talk and report talk to simplistic, and that differences in communication style between the sexes may be a reflection of group size, whether there are adults present, familiarity, and age etc.
Rapport Talk - Language of conversation and a way of establishing connections and negotiating relationships. Females enjoy report talk and conversation that is relationship orientated more than boys do.
Report Talk - Talk that gives information. Males tend to hold centre stage though such verbal performance as storytelling, joking and lecturing with information.
Prosocial Behaviour:
Females are better than males in responding to nonverbal displays of emotion.
There are gender differences in kind and considerate behaviour, though not for sharing.
Emotion and its regulation:
Females express emotion more readily than males do, are better at decoding emotion, smile more, cry more, and are happier.
Males experience and express more anger.
Boys general have less self-regulation of emotion.
Gender-Role Classification
Gender Role Classification
Androgyny and Education
Should Androgyny be taught in schools?
The Gender Intensification Hypothesis
Explains that psychological and behavioural change during maturation signals others to impose social expectations for the adolescent to demonstrate appropriate gender roles.
Jury is still out on the hypothesis, studies have found no link between intensification of gender roles and adolescence.
