Gender Flashcards
(111 cards)
1
Q
Sex
A
Biological characteristics of a person (genes/chromosomes; reproductive anatomy) Male & female
2
Q
Gender
A
Psychological or behavioural characteristics of a person relating to their sex (ways of thinking, feeling, acting) Masculine & feminine.
3
Q
Sex-role stereotypes
A
Widely held beliefs about expected or appropriate ways of acting for men and women.
4
Q
Gender identity
A
An individual’s perception of their own masculinity and or femininity.
5
Q
Gender identity disorder
A
Strong, persistent feelings of identification with the opposite gender and discomfort with one’s own assigned sex.
6
Q
Rubin et al - aim
A
To find out if new parents stereotype their babies
7
Q
Rubin et al - procedure
A
Parents were asked to describe their new babies within 24 hours of the baby being born
8
Q
Rubin et al - findings
A
> Found that parents of baby boys described their babies as being alert and strong
Whereas parents of baby girls described their babies as soft and delicate
9
Q
Rubin et al - Conclusion
A
> Parents stereotype their children from a very early stage despite no stereotypical behaviour being shown.
For a lot of parents who know the sex of the baby before birth, this stereotyping behaviour starts before the baby is born by painting a room pink for a girl or blue for a boy
10
Q
Seavey et al - aim
A
To see whether the gender label attached to a baby affected adult responses
11
Q
Seavey et al - procedure
A
> A three-month-old infant was dressed in a yellow baby-suit.
One third of the participants were told that the infant was male, another third were told that the infant was female, and the other third were not given a gender label.
Participants were left to interact with the child for three minutes. Also in the room were some toys: a ball, a rag doll and a plastic ring.
12
Q
Seavey et al - findings
A
> When the baby was labelled as female, participants were more likely to use the doll when playing with the child.
When the baby was labelled as male, the plastic ring was chosen most frequently as the plaything.
Where no gender was given, female participants interacted far more with the baby than the males did.
In the no-label condition almost all the participants spontaneously decided on a sex for the baby.
Their decision was often justified in terms of how the baby was perceived physically (e.g. ‘it’s a boy because he’s got a good grip, it’s a girl because she’s soft’)
13
Q
Seavey et al - conclusion
A
Adults will interact differently with infants depending on whether they believe they are male or female
14
Q
Batista boys
A
> A family in the Dominican Republic that highlight the importance of the presence or absence of testosterone.
Only known to be 23 families in the World that have this condition.
Rare genetic disorder occurs because of a missing enzyme which prevents the production of a specific form of the male sex hormone - dihydro-testosterone - in the womb.
All babies in the womb, whether male or female, have internal glands known as gonads and a small bump between their legs called a tubercle.
At around eight weeks, male babies who carry the Y chromosome start to produce dihydro-testosterone in large amounts, which turns the tubercle into a penis. For females, the tubercle becomes a clitoris.
But some male babies are missing the enzyme 5-α-reductase which triggers the hormone surge, so they appear to be born female with no testes and what appears to be a vagina.
It is not until puberty, when another huge surge of testosterone is produced, that the male reproductive organs emerge. What should have happened in the womb happens around 12 years later.
15
Q
Nature/nurture debate
A
> Tends to suggest that there are only two explanations of how gender develops – your biology or your upbringing.
There are, in fact, a number of theories which have been put forward to explain gender development.
These theories tend to challenge each other since they look at gender from quite different perspectives .
However, many researchers would agree that they have their own strengths and limitations in terms of how well they explain gender development.
16
Q
First six to eight weeks
A
> All foetuses have the same undeveloped sex organs.
The original system can develop into both male or female sex organs.
It is the presence or absence of a single gene (SRY gene) which will dictate the future development of the foetus as a male or a female.
17
Q
Boy or girl?
A
> Everything develops as a female unless instructed otherwise.
The Y chromosome contains instructions for the body to produce androgens (male sex hormones). These cause the embryo to develop along the ‘male path’.
18
Q
Male development
A
SRY gene produces a protein : Testes Determining Factor (TDF) -> TDF influences the development of the gonads, they become testes -> The testes produce testosterone -> Testosterone triggers the development of external male organs i.e. penis.
19
Q
Female development
A
The absence of male hormone will result in the development of the Mullerian system into female sex organs.
20
Q
Hormones
A
Once the testes and ovaries develop they begin to release their own sex hormones: Male hormones are known as androgens - the most widely known of which is testosterone. Female hormones are mostly oestrogen. Women also typically produce oxytocin in much larger amounts than men.
21
Q
Puberty
A
After around 10 years, the hypothalamus releases a hormone which affects the anterior pituitary gland and this causes the gonads to become active. They control the development of secondary sexual characteristics.
22
Q
Nature
A
> The extreme nature view would suggest that gender-related behaviour is entirely controlled by hormonal and genetic factors - gender differences result from innate differences between female and male.
This view assumes that women are biologically programmed to be nurturers and carers, while men are biologically programmed to be providers and protectors.
23
Q
Nurture
A
> The extreme nurture view would suggest that gender related behaviour is entirely determined by social and cultural factors – our experiences and the environment in which we live.
Gender differences result from the different experiences that females and males have as they develop (learning from family, peers, society)
24
Q
Nature or nurture?
A
> In the nurture argument a basic assumption is that babies are born without a gender identity (gender neutral) so can be socialised to be either male or female.
However, there are real-life cases where children have been unsuccessfully raised as the ‘opposite sex’ which support the nature argument.
25
Positive evaluation - David Reimer and Van Goozen (1995)
>The case of David Reimer shows that his chromosomes had outweighed attempts to socialise him as a girl – this shows that biology was the greater influence on gender.
>Van Goozen (1995) studied transgender individuals who were undergoing hormone treatment and being injected with hormones of the opposite sex. Transgender women showed decreases in aggression and visuo-spatial skills whilst transgender men showed the opposite. This research indicates that sex hormones do exert some influence on gender-related behaviours
26
Positive evaluation - Gorski et al
Gorski et al discovered a structural difference in the brains of male and female rats. A region of the hypothalamus is known as the sexually dimorphic nucleus, and is larger in males than in females. Gorski attributed this to prenatal exposure to the male hormone testosterone. This might account for differences in behaviour between males and females.
27
Negative evaluation - Tricker (1996)
>There is contradictory evidence that shows that sex hormones have no consistent effect on gender-related behaviour. In a double-blind study (Tricker – 1996)
>43 males were given either a weekly injection of testosterone or a placebo. No significant differences in aggression were found after the ten-week period between the two groups.
>Many studies of biological factors in gender involve small samples of people, or are conducted on animals – this therefore limits the extent to which meaningful generalisations can be made.
>If gender identity is purely down to biology then we would expect to find many more differences in male and female behaviour than there actually are.
>The biological approach is reductionist - it reduces gender to the level of chromosomes and hormones and has been accused of ignoring alternative explanations.
28
Atypical Sex Chromosome Patterns
Not all individuals conform to the typical XX or XY chromosome pattern. Any sex chromosome pattern that deviates from the usual XX/XY formation is referred to as ‘atypical’. Psychologists are interested in studying atypical chromosome patterns as this contributes to our understanding of how gender develops.
29
Why study atypical sex chromosome patterns?
Psychologists can compare people with typical sex chromosome patterns to people with atypical sex chromosome patterns. Inferences may then be made as to whether or not differences in gender may be biological/chromosomal which helps to develop the argument about whether gender is as a result of nature or nurture
30
Turners syndrome
```
XO – only one X chromosome on 23rd pair.
Characteristics:
>Characteristic facial features.
>Web of skin.
>Constriction of aorta
>Poor breast development
>Underdeveloped ovaries.
```
31
What does Turners syndrome cause?
>Physical differences (neck, stature)
>Underdeveloped ovaries, lack of menstruation at puberty
>Poor spatial and mathematical abilities.
>Poor social adjustment.
32
Klinefelter’s syndrome
```
XXY – additional X chromosome on 23rd pair
Characteristics:
>Poor beard growth
>Breast development
>Underdeveloped testes
```
33
What does Klinefelter’s syndrome cause?
>Physical differences (stature, limbs)
>Underdeveloped genitalia
>Gynecomastia (the abnormal development of large >mammary glands in males resulting in breast >enlargement) in some cases.
>Poor language abilities, learning difficulties.
>‘Shy and passive’ temperament.
34
Atypical Sex Chromosome Patterns positive evaluation - nature nurture
Studies of people with atypical sex chromosome patterns are useful as they contribute to our understanding of the nature-nurture debate. By comparing people who have these conditions with chromosome-typical individuals it becomes possible to see psychological and behavioural differences and how these influence gender.
35
Atypical Sex Chromosome Patterns positive evaluation - continued research
Continued research into atypical sex chromosome patterns is likely to lead to earlier and more accurate diagnoses of Turner’s and Klinefelter’s as well as more positive outcomes in the future. An Australian study of 87 individuals with Klinefelter’s syndrome showed that those who had been identified and treated from a very young age had significant benefits compared to those who had been diagnosed in adulthood (Herlihy et al 2011). Early diagnosis and therapeutic interventions in children with KS could have a beneficial effect on their physical, academic, and social development, as well as their overall health. Unfortunately, only 10% of men affected by KS are diagnosed during preadolescence and adolescence, the time when treatment can be the most effective.
36
Atypical Sex Chromosome Patterns negative evaluation - differences in behaviour
The relationship between the chromosomal abnormalities associated with Turner’s and Klinefelter’s syndrome and the differences in behaviour seen in these individuals is not causal. Environmental and social influences may be more responsible for the behavioural differences e.g. acting immaturely due to being treated immaturely (Turner’s syndrome)
37
Atypical Sex Chromosome Patterns negative evaluation - generalisability
There is an issue with generalisability as conclusions are drawn from an unrepresentative sample (atypical individuals to the wider population – what is ‘typical’?). Also individuals with KS and TS may look different which in turn results in them being treated differently – therefore it can be difficult to assess the relative contribution of nature and nurture
38
Cognitive explanations for gender development
There are several explanations of gender development – two of these are cognitive explanations They are specifically cognitive-developmental explanations because they share the view that a child’s mental concept of gender becomes more sophisticated with age. The first cognitive-developmental explanation was proposed on Lawrence Kohlberg (1966) who suggested that a child’s understanding of gender develops in three stages.
39
Kohlberg - gender identity
2-3 years of age, first stage
>Children begin to think about gender at approx 2 years and are able to correctly identify themselves as a boy or a girl – this is gender identity.
>At 3, most children can respond to questions such as ‘Which one of these is like you?’ when shown a picture of a man or a woman.
>Children believe that their sex can change – a girl may want to be a daddy when she grows up.
>Believe that changing clothes can change a person’s sex i.e. a boy in a dress becomes a girl.
>Children may show a preference for playing with children of their own sex – this is only because they see themselves as belonging to that particular group.
40
Kohlberg - gender stability
3-4 years of age, stage two
>At the age of 4 (approx.) children begin to realise that their sex will not change over time – this shows they have acquired gender stability.
>Due to being egocentric they do not realise that this also applies to other people.
>Children still see certain characteristics as being masculine or feminine, and assume that someone doing a heavy labour job – like in a factory, must be a man.
41
Kohlberg - Gender constancy
6-7 years of age, stage three
>Children begin to appreciate that other people have a different point of view from their own – they are less egocentric – they de-centre.
>They realise that everyone’s gender is constant and that changes in outward appearances do not influence whether someone is male or female – this is known as conservation.
>A person’s sex is the same across time and different situations. They might, however, still regard a man in a dress as strange or unusual.
>Kohlberg believed that it was at this time that children actively seek out role models to imitate to help them develop their sense of gender.
42
Kohlberg - Gender appropriate role models
>Gender constancy is also significant in that children of this age begin to seek out gender-appropriate role models to identify with and imitate.
>This connects with ideas presented by the social learning theory (although SLT argue that these processes can occur at any age rather than after the age of 6).
>For Kohlberg, once the child has a fully developed and internalised concept of gender at the constancy stage, they embark upon an active search for evidence which confirms that concept
43
Kohlberg - Supporting evidence - Marcus and Overton
Marcus & Overton (1978) - Using a flip book, children were shown ‘muddled’ pictures where hairstyles and clothes of a male and female character could be changed. The children were then asked what sex they thought the character was. Younger children believed that changing clothes can change a person’s sex i.e. a boy in a dress becomes a girl. Older children understood that gender is constant and that changes in outward appearances do not influence whether someone is male or female.
44
Kohlberg - Evidence to support the sequence of stages - Slaby and Frey
>Slaby and Frey (1975) investigated the development of children’s understanding of gender in relation to the attention they give to the same-sex models.
>Children between age of 2-5 , divided into high and low gender constancy groups, shown a silent film.
>2 adult models, one male and one female carrying out stereotyped gender role activity (baking/changing a wheel), screen was split.
>Children watched both films and eye movement and direction of gaze were recorded to assess which film they looked at most.
>They found that the child that had reached high levels of gender constancy spent more time watching same sex models than those with low levels of gender constancy.
>Supporting Kohlberg's claims that children pay attention to same sex models after stage of constancy has been reached.
45
Kohlberg - negative evaluation - Constancy is not supported
>Despite the supporting evidence, there is further evidence that suggests that many children begin to demonstrate gender-appropriate behaviour before gender constancy is achieved.
>Bussey and Bandura (1992) found that children as young as 4 reported ‘feeling good’ about playing with gender-appropriate toys and ‘feeling bad’ about doing the opposite.
>This contradicts what Kohlberg would predict but does support the gender-schema theory, which suggests that children begin to absorb gender-appropriate information as soon as they identify themselves as either male or female.
46
Kohlberg - negative evaluation - Methodological issues.
Kohlberg’s theory was developed using interviews with children who were, in some cases, as young as 2 and 3 years old. Although the questions asked were tailored toward the particular age group he was dealing with, Kohlberg may not have acknowledged that very young children lack the vocabulary required to express understanding. The children may have relatively complex ideas about gender but not the verbal ability to express these – therefore what they express might not truly reflect their understanding.
47
Kohlberg - Comparisons with biological approach.
The apparent universality of Kohlberg’s stages supports the idea that the sequence of gender development may have a biological basis because all males and females seem to progress in the same way. The reason this suggests that it may be driven by nature is because otherwise we would expect to see differences in different cultures if gender differences were solely due to environmental influences.
48
Kohlberg - Comparisons with social learning theory
SLT places much more emphasis on external influences on the child’s development, such as the role of socialisation, than Kohlberg does – Kohlberg proposes that gender development occurs as a consequence of natural processes of maturation.
49
Gender schema theory
>Martin and Halverson agree with Kohlberg that the child’s thinking is at the basis of their development of gender role behaviours they suggest that children’s understanding of gender increases with age.
>They also share the view that children develop their understanding of gender by actively structuring their own learning, rather than passively observing and imitating role models.
>Argue that the process starts earlier than Kohlberg suggested - children learn pre-programmed gender schema between age 2-3.
>Children go on to develop scripts of activities and/or actions that males and females perform (women make the dinner, men fix cars).
>Children monitor their environment for information and behaviours that are consistent with their ideas of appropriate male and female behaviour and add or assimilate this information into their thinking.
>If a behaviour is considered inconsistent they may just ignore it so that their stereotypes or schemas don’t need to be altered – they need to be able to predict behaviour and stereotypes allow them to do this.
50
Gender schema
Schema are mental concepts that develop via experience and are used by the cognitive systems to organise knowledge around particular topics. A gender schema is a generalised representation of everything we know about gender and gender-appropriate behaviour. According to Martin and Halverson, once a child has established gender identity around the ages of 2-3 years, he or she will begin to search the environment for information that encourages the development of gender schema. The schema helps the child make sense of the world i.e. children form stereotypes of the ways that they think males and females behave.
51
In-groups and out-groups
Children have a much better understanding of the schemas that relate to their own gender - they view their own group as the ‘in-group’ and the opposite as ‘out-group’. In-group identity serves to increase the child’s level of self-esteem Boys pay close attention to boy’s toys, pay minimal attention to anything ‘girly’. Girls focus actively on girly things and avoid anything perceived to be ‘boyish’. Children look to the environment to build gender schemas, i.e. toys, games, sports go from being neutral to categorised as ‘boys’ or ‘girls’. It is not until children are a little older (around the age of 8) that they build more elaborate schemas for both genders.
52
Evidence supports gender schema theory - Martin & Halverson
Martin & Halverson (1983) found that children under the age of six were more likely to remember gender-consistent information than they were gender-inconsistent. Researchers showed five and six year old children pictures of people carrying out activities. Sometimes these pictures were schema-consistent (for example, a girl playing with a doll) and sometimes they were gender-inconsistent (for example, a girl playing with a gun). Findings showed that recall for schema-consistent pictures was generally good. However, when schema inconsistent pictures were recalled they were often distorted so that the expected sex was remembered as carrying out the activity (for example, children recalled that the boy had been playing with a gun rather the girl).
53
Evidence supports gender schema theory - Little and Martin
Little and Martin (1990) found that children under the age of four, who showed no signs of gender stability or constancy, nevertheless demonstrated strongly sex-typed behaviours and attitudes.
54
Evidence supports gender schema theory - Campbell and Poulin-Dubois et al
Campbell and Poulin-Dubois et al have shown that children pay attention to same-sex role models much earlier than Kohlberg thought. Young children turn to gender roles before they can speak This research contradicts Kohlberg’s theory but is consistent with the predictions of gender schema theory.
55
Gender schema theory - Rigidity in beliefs
>This theory can account for why children's beliefs and attitudes about sex roles are so rigid.
>Children ignore behaviours which go against gender schemas, e.g. female mechanics.
>Studies support this, e.g. when young children watch films which depict contradicting gender role behaviours, they tune them out.
56
Gender schema theory - Complements Kohlberg’s theory
>This theory can account for why children's beliefs and attitudes about sex roles are so rigid.
>Children ignore behaviours which go against gender schemas, e.g. female mechanics.
>Studies support this, e.g. when young children watch films which depict contradicting gender role behaviours, they tune them out.
57
Gender schema theory - Complements Kohlberg’s theory
>Although there appear to be contradictions between gender schema theory and Kohlberg’s theory, Stangor and Ruble (1989) have suggested that the two theories perhaps describe different processes.
>Gender schema is concerned with how organisation of information affects memory, and this explains why gender-inconsistent information is misremembered or forgotten.
>Gender constancy is more linked to motivation – once children have a firmly established concept of what it means to be a boy or a girl (gender constancy stage), they are motivated to find out more about this role and engage in gender-appropriate activities.
58
Gender schema theory - Overemphasis on the role of the individual in gender development.
>This theory (as with Kohlberg’s) does not pay enough attention to the role of social factors such as parental influence, surrounding culture (i.e. school and media).
>It also ignores the role of reward and punishment - rewards and punishments shape behaviour and are likely to encourage gender-stereotyped behaviours in children
>Emphasises how schemas develop but not why gender schemas develop and take the form they do
59
Psychodynamic approach - Key assumptions
Psychodynamic theory states that events in our childhood have a great influence on our adult lives, shaping our personality. Events that occur in childhood can remain in the unconscious, and cause problems as adults. Freud proposed that all children go through the same five stages of development
60
Psychodynamic approach - Psychosexual development
Growing up, as viewed by the psychoanalytic theory, is a passage through the five psychosexual stages. The 5 stages are:
>The oral stage: 0-1 year of age
>The anal stage: 1-3 years of age
>The phallic stage: 3-6 years of age
>The latent stage: 6-11 years of age
>The genital stage: 12+ years of age
Freud suggested that we move through these age-related stages of development encountering different conflicts along the way. These conflicts must be resolved at each stage to ensure healthy psychological development; this includes gender identity, which should occur at approximately age 5. Failure to successfully pass through a stage’s particular conflict/ task is known as fixation (getting stuck) - leaving some energy in a stage.
61
Psychodynamic approach - Freud’s theory of gender development
Before the age of three, gender identity is flexible, and there is no clear difference between girls and boys. Up until this point, children have no real sense of being masculine or feminine – they are bisexual. When children move into the phallic stage, however, their understanding of gender begins to change.
62
Psychodynamic approach - The phallic stage
The phallic stage lasts from three years of age until about five or six years of age. During this stage, the child seeks pleasure from playing with his or her own genitals. At the same time they begin to pay attention to other people's genitals and so begin to understand the physical differences between males and females. This is the start of children’s developing gender identity.
63
Psychodynamic approach - The Oedipus complex
>All young boys experience this conflict.
>They develop a passionate desire for their mother.
>They want to possess their mother for themselves.
>They see their father as rival: jealousy and therefore wishes father dead.
>They are afraid their father will discover their desire for their mother and punish them by removing the prize possession: castration anxiety.
>They recognise that their father is more powerful than them as he has a bigger penis.
>The Father is likely to have reprimanded the child for playing with himself.
>The child believes his father has castrated his mother.
>Conflict: between lust for mother and fear of father.
64
Psychodynamic approach - The Electra complex
>All young girls experience this conflict.
>They develop a passionate desire for their father.
>They resent their mother as realise they do not have a penis and they believe they were castrated and blame their mother for this.
>Girls experience penis envy as they are jealous that their father/brother has a penis and they themselves do not .
>They discover that they cannot have a penis so substitute this desire for a penis with desire for a baby.
>They want their father to provide them with a son so lust after their father.
>However, they feels anxious that their mother will find out about these feelings
>Fear: losing mother’s love.
>Conflict: between lust for father and fear of losing mother's love.
65
Psychodynamic approach - Identification
Towards the end of the phallic stage, children resolve their conflicts by identifying with the same sex parent. Identification develops a superego (adopting that parent’s morals), their gender identity and role (as a male or female).
66
Psychodynamic approach - Little Hans
This is one of Freud’s most famous case studies. Little Hans was a five-year-old boy who had become very frightened when he saw a horse fall in the street. He thought it was dead. He then developed a fear of horses. Freud interpreted this information in terms of the Oedipus complex. He suggested that Little Hans had sexual longings for his mother. The horse represented his fear of his father, who Hans wanted dead. All communication was done via letter to Little Hans’ father. Freud only met Little Hans a few times.
67
Psychodynamic approach - Summary of the conflicts
>Boys: Use the defence mechanism, repression to push their desire for their mother and hostility for their father into the unconscious. This reduces the tension between a son and his father, allowing the son to identify with the father and reducing the threat of castration.
>Girls: Identify with their mother but less motivated than boys so develop a weaker gender identity. Retain mother’s love. Internalising mother’s role indicates still hope to attract father in the same way as mother.
68
Psychodynamic approach - Single parent families
Unable to experience Oedipus/Electra complex. Do not resolve conflicts necessary to develop a healthy gender identity. Boys therefore would become homosexual with no father figure to identify with.
69
Psychodynamic approach - Positive eval
>This was the first attempt to offer an explanation for the development of gender.
>There is some evidence to suggest that boys whose fathers are absent during the age of 5 (when their Oedipus complex develops) show less sex-typed behaviour than boys whose fathers were present throughout (Stevenson and Black, 1988).
70
Psychodynamic approach - Research does not support the Oedipus complex
There is no evidence that boys fear castration or that girls wish they had a penis. Freud argued that gender identification was dependent on fear however, boys with warm and supportive fathers identify better than those with overbearing and threatening fathers (Mussen and Rutherford, 1963). The theory ignored the impact of opposite sex parent and siblings on gender development.
71
Psychodynamic approach - Inadequate account of female development
Freud wrote extensively about the Oedipus complex and admitted. That women were a mystery to him. Much of the work theorising on girls’ parallel development was undertaken by Carl Jung, one Freud’s contemporaries. His notion of penis envy has been criticised as reflecting the patriarchal and repressive Victorian society in which he lived. Critics of Freudian theory argue that it is culturally specific – penis envy is a cultural concept rather than an innate trait and challenge the idea that female gender development is founded on a desire to want to be like men. This is an androcentric assumption
72
Psychodynamic approach - Being raised in a non-nuclear family does not have an adverse effect on a child’s gender development.
Freud’s theory relies on having two parents of different genders so they are able to manage the Oedipus and Electra complexes effectively – being raised in a non-nuclear family will have an adverse effect on a child’s gender development. However, the evidence does not support this assumption – research shows that children from single-parent families go on to develop normal gender identities. Green (1978) studied a sample of 37 children who were raised by gay or transgender parents, and discovered that only one had gender identity that was described as ‘non-typical’
73
Social learning theory
SLT acknowledges the role that the social context plays in development and states that all behaviour (including gender) is learned by observing and imitating others. This approach draws attention to the influence of the environment (nurture). At birth, girls and boys are psychologically the same. Gender differences are learned through the differences in the ways boys and girls are treated.
74
Social learning theory - The main principles of SLT
Social learning theory proposes that we learn through observation (watching and internalising the consequences of other people’s actions). Children look to ‘models’ for guidance as to how they should act and then imitate the behaviour observed. It also suggests that gender related behaviour is learnt when we receive vicarious reinforcement for the behaviour
75
Social learning theory - Significant others
The environment is important in shaping gender development – this includes significant others that the child comes into contact with (including parents, peers and teachers, etc.)
76
Social learning theory - Reinforcement: positive and negative.
>Positive reinforcement: anything that strengthens behaviour because it is rewarding to the learner, e.g. a girl receiving praise/affirmation when she is dressed as a princess.
>Negative reinforcement: anything that strengthens behaviour because it stops an unpleasant experience, e.g. teasing stops because a boy stops playing with dolls.
77
Social learning theory - Reinforcement: direct and indirect
Children are more likely to be praised for gender appropriate behaviours. They are unlikely to
continue to reproduce a behaviour that has been punished (direct). They are also unlikely to reproduce a behaviour where the role-model has a negative experience (vicarious); There also needs to be the belief that the person is capable of imitating the behaviour (self-efficacy) and that they identify with the role model.
78
Social learning theory - Gender is developed by…
Identifying with people who model gender behaviour. Identification refers to the process whereby a child attaches himself or herself to a person who is seen to be ‘like me’ or because a person is like someone ‘I want to be’. Not all behaviour is imitated. There needs to be some quality or characteristic in the role model that a person wants to imitate. Individuals tend to identify with same-sex role models (Bussey & Bandura, 1984).
79
Social learning theory - Modelling
From the role model’s perspective, modelling is the precise demonstration of a behaviour that may be imitated by an observer A mother may stereotypically model feminine behaviour when tidying up the house or preparing the dinner. The same term is also used to explain learning from the observer's' perspective – when a little girl copies her mother setting the table, or attempts to ‘feed’ her dolly, she is modelling the behaviour she has witnessed
80
Social learning theory - Mediational processes
Social learning theorists have suggested four cognitive processes that are central to the learning of gender behaviour.
>Attention: the behaviour needs to be modelled by someone that one wants to imitate.
>Retention: the modelled behaviour needs to be remembered.
>Reproduction: try out the behaviour. Need to believe that you are capable of copying the behaviour.
>Motivation: there needs to be a reason to repeat the behaviour, either because it is someone that you admire or because the modelled behaviour was rewarded in some way.
81
Social learning theory - Internalisation.
It becomes part of the individual’s identity. Gender identity is not simply one behaviour but a mixture of all the modelled behaviour that an individual has been exposed to and that have been imitated and reinforced. Remember that SLT sees our social learning as an ongoing process. Experience changes the behaviour that an individual chooses to display. Gender therefore seen as a social construct. We are not born with it, we do not learn it once and then stick to it but modify our behaviour depending on our age, social situation etc. This would explain why, as society has changed the acceptable gender roles within society have also changed e.g. women becoming more assertive, men becoming more caring/nurturing.
82
Social learning theory - Supporting evidence
Smith and Lloyd (1978). 4-6 month old babies who (irrespective of their actual sex) were dressed half the time in boys’ clothes and half the time girls’ clothes. The ‘boys’ were given ‘boy-appropriate’ toys and encouraged to be active and adventurous. The girls were given ‘girl-appropriate’ toys and were told they were ‘pretty’; they were also reinforced for being passive. This suggest that gender-appropriate behaviour is stamped in at an early age through differential reinforcement.
83
Social learning theory - Other supporting evidence.
>Idle et al(1993) - Fathers want their sons to play with masculine toys, mothers don’t worry about it so much.
>Fagot (1985) - Peers more critical of boys being feminine than girls being masculine.
>McGhee and Frueh (1980) - Found that people who view a lot of television have stronger gender stereotypes than people who view little.
>Eccles (1987) - Teachers praise boys for being clever and girls for being tidy.
>Pfost & Fiore (1990) - Found that women in traditionally masculine occupations were evaluated more negatively than men in traditionally feminine occupations
84
Social learning theory - Explains changing gender roles in western society.
Views on this are ever changing – there has been a shift in social expectations and cultural norms over the years which has meant new forms of acceptable gender behaviour have been reinforced
85
Social learning theory - Not a developmental theory.
Critics have argued that SLT does not provide an adequate explanation of how learning processes change with age. There are some age limitations within the theory, e.g. motor reproduction as a mediational process suggest that children may struggle to perform behaviours if they are not physically or intellectually capable. However, the general implication is that modelling of gender-appropriate behaviour can occur at any age, i.e. from birth onwards. The influence of age and maturation (i.e. development) on learning gender concepts is not a factor considered by SLT and therefore this may be a limitation of the theory
86
Social learning theory - comparison to biological approach
The SLT places little emphasis on the influence of genes and chromosomes and only considers the role of the environment. David Reimer’s case demonstrated that it was not possible to override chromosomal influence. Perhaps a biosocial approach is more appropriate - innate biological differences that are reinforced through social interaction and cultural expectations.
87
Social learning theory - comparison to psychodynamic theory
Freud, in agreement with SLT, would accept that same-sex parents have a key influence in a child’s gender development. However, the psychodynamic approach would also accuse SLT of focusing too much on conscious mediational processes and of ignoring the importance of the unconscious.
88
Culture and gender roles
Cross-cultural research is noted for its valuable contribution to the nature-nurture debate in gender. The debate about whether variations in psychological and behavioural traits are caused by innate or environmental factors. Universal features (found everywhere) would suggest an innate basis for gender and support the nature view. Culturally specific features (found in some places not others) would suggest that gender is learned and support the nurture view
89
Culture and gender roles - Margaret Mead
>Mead carried out a detailed ethnographic study by living with various tribes in New Guinea for six months.
>In the Arapesh tribe Mead found that both men and women were feminine. They both were very expressive, caring and co-operative. Both the male and female took to bed when the female was pregnant – they were both said to ‘bear a child’.
>In the Mundugumor tribe, both sexes were masculine – assertive, arrogant and fierce. Both didn’t like childcare so much the baby was put out of the way in a dark place.
>In the Tchambuli tribe, gender roles were reversed compared to Western society. Females took care of trade and were independent, whereas the men sat around gossiping and were considered incapable of making decisions.
90
Culture and gender roles - Margaret Mead findings
There may not be a direct biological relationship between sex and gender - gender roles depend on culture. In later work, Mead conceded that she underestimated the universal nature of many gender typical behaviours. However, she went on to argue that the extent to which innate behaviours are expressed are the result of cultural norms.
91
Culture and gender roles - criticisms of Mead's research
>Mead may have become too involved with the tribes. For this reason her findings are sometimes criticised for being too subjective.
>There is a suggestion that she exaggerated the differences and characteristics of each male and female groups. She did find that males were more aggressive in the tribes although this was not reported.
>Studying different languages in different countries can make communication difficult - interpretation may be inaccurate.
>Mead’s presence within the tribes may have caused an impact that resulted in demand characteristics.
>These type of studies are time-consuming and expensive
92
Culture and gender roles - David Buss
Carried out a survey in 37 countries where pps had to rate the importance of certain characteristics of a potential mate. Males rated good looks and youth as important because it is a good indicator of her health and ability to be a mother. Chastity was also important due to wanting faithfulness. Women rated financial prospects, industriousness and dependability. This supports the proposal that there are cross-cultural similarities in gender roles. Many women and men instinctively seek similar traits traits (universal features).
93
Culture and gender roles - Cross cultural research
>Reactivity: The researcher’s presence may alter the behaviour of those being studied.
>Communication: The researcher may be misinformed by, or may misunderstand, their informants.
>Imposed etic: The researcher may impose their own preconceptions on the data.
94
Culture and gender roles - nature or nurture
>Cross-cultural research does not solve the nature-nurture debate – it simply provides insight into different cultural practices that impact upon gender-role behaviour
>It is actually impossible to separate these two influences on the development of gender roles:
>As soon as children are born they are identified as either male or female
>Immediately, their socialisation into a particular society starts along with the gender-role expectations that come with it
>Therefore it becomes very difficult to determine where nature (biology) stops and nurture (social influence) begins.
>It is likely that there is a complex and constant interaction between both influences and that each influences the other in the development of gender roles.
>Some of our gender-related behaviour is governed by our biological makeup, but any innate predisposition can be modified by the environment and developmental experiences.
95
Media and gender roles
The media provide role models with whom children may identify and want to imitate. Rigid stereotypes – the media may play a role in reinforcing stereotypes concerning male and female behaviour. There is evidence that the media do provide very clear stereotypes that are quite rigid: men are depicted as independent, ambitious, advice-givers, women are depicted as dependent, unambitious advice-seekers.
96
Media and gender roles - Furnham and and Farragher (2000)
Investigated the use of sex-role stereotypes in advertising. Men tended to be used in power positions and women in familial roles within domestic settings. The voiceovers tended to be male suggesting that males are deemed to speak with more authority. This suggests that the media may play a role in reinforcing widespread social stereotypes concerning male and female behaviour.
97
Media and gender roles - media exposure
Children who have more exposure to popular forms of media tend to display more gender stereotypes. McGhee and Frueh (1980) - found that people who view a lot of television tend to display more gender-stereotypical views in their behaviour and attitudes than people who view little.
98
Media and gender roles - information giving
The media does more than confirm gender-typical behaviour, it may also give information to males and females in terms of the likely success, or otherwise, of adopting these behaviours. Seeing other people perform gender-appropriate behaviours increases the child’s belief that they are capable of carrying out such behaviours in the future (what Bandura referred to as self-efficacy).
99
Media and gender roles - Correlation not causation
>It is difficult to establish cause and effect. - The media has considerable influence on the formation and maintenance of children’s gender stereotypes but does thee media create these or simply reflect prevailing social norms about males and females
>It is difficult to establish the media’s effect without control groups. - The vast majority of children are exposed to the media on a regular basis and therefore finding control groups of children who are beyond the media’s influence are not available for comparison.
100
Media and gender roles - counter stereotypes
Counter-stereotypes challenge traditional notions of masculinity and femininity (such as the Disney movie Brave). Pingree (1978) found that gender stereotyping was reduced when children were shown TV adverts featuring women in non-stereotypical roles. Example - H&M advert. However, it was also found that pre-adolescent boys’ stereotypes became stronger following exposure to the non-traditional models. Such a backlash may be explained by the boys’ desire to maintain a view that ran counter to the adult view
101
Media and gender roles - Research support
Research into the effects of culture and media on gender roles provides support for the SLT explanation of gender. Social learning theory suggests we learn gender roles by observation of role models and we copy or imitate the models we see, especially if we see those models being rewarded or reinforced for such behaviours. The media provides us with role models, and often males and females in the media are portrayed in gender-stereotypical ways; for example, females looking after children and males as breadwinners. If there are cultural differences in gender roles, we can explain these through socialisation and experience, which is how social learning theory suggests we acquire gender roles.
102
Atypical gender roles
DSM-IV classifies atypical gender development by the clinical label gender identity disorder (GID), a condition where individuals experience a mismatch between their biological sex and the sex they ‘feel’ they are. The more recent DSM-V now refers to GID as gender dysphoria in order to remove the damaging label of people with the condition as ‘disordered’. Dysphoria should not be confused with androgyny. Dysphoria is not being happy with the gender you are and wanting to change - androgyny is having both masculine and feminine characteristics
103
Atypical gender roles - Gender identity disorder (GID)
GID affects males more than females and estimated 1 in 11,000 have the condition. Indications may occur fairly early, with children unhappy wearing clothes of their biological gender/games etc. Many individuals with GID will identify themselves as transgender and may opt for gender reassignment surgery to change their external genitalia to that of the desired sex
104
Atypical gender roles - DSM diagnosis of dysphoria
>Experience will affect ability to function in everyday life.
>Feel a strong sense of discomfort with their own biological sex.
>No biological disorder should occur at the same time.
>Must experience ongoing identification with the opposite sex.
105
Atypical gender roles - Biological explanations for dysphoria
This is the perception that dysphoria is physiologically determined. Biological explanations are more recent than social explanations and more supported by evidence. Brain-sex theory suggests that dysphoria is caused by specific brain structures that are incompatible with a person’s biological sex. Particular attention has been paid to those areas of the brain that are dimorphic (take a different form in males and females).
106
Atypical gender roles - Biological explanations for dysphoria Zhou
Zhou (1995) studied the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BSTc) which is assumed to be fully developed at age 5 and around 40% larger in males than females. Post mortem studies search for confirmation of structural differences. In post-mortems of six male-to-female transgender individuals who had received feminising hormones, the BSTc was found to be a similar size to as heterosexual women.
107
Atypical gender roles - Biological explanations for dysphoria Kruijiver et al
Zhou is supported by Kruijiver et al (2000) who focused on the number of neurons in the BSTc rather than the volume. Again, the six transgender individuals showed a similar number of neurons in the BSTc to those found in heterosexual women. They concluded that the BSTc provides evidence for a neurobiological basis of gender dysphoria and proposed that such was determined before birth. Evidence also suggests that gender dysphoria may have a genetic basis and twin studies that assess the heritability of the condition.
108
Atypical gender roles - Biological explanations for dysphoria Coolidge
Coolidge (2002) assessed 157 twin pairs (96 MZ and 61 DZ) for evidence of gender identity disorder using the clinical diagnosis of criteria in DSM-4. The prevalence of GID was estimated to be 2.3% with 62% of these cases said to be accounted for by genetic variance. This suggests there is a strong heritable component to GID
109
Atypical gender roles - Biological explanations for dysphoria Heylens et al
Similarly to Coolidge, Heylens et al (2012) compared 23 MZ twins with 21 DZ twins where one of each pair was diagnosed with GID. They found that 9 (39%) of the MZ twins was concordant for GID compared to none of the DZs which would indicate a role for genetic factors in the development of GID
110
Atypical gender roles - Contradictory evidence for BSTc.
>It is claimed that the BSTc is fully formed at age 5 and therefore any hormone treatment that transgender individuals may undergo as part of gender reassignment surgery should not have an effect on the BSTc.
>This assumption has been challenged however, and alternative research has found that transgender hormone therapy did affect the size of the BSTc.
>Therefore observed differences in the BSTc may be due to hormone therapy rather than being a cause of GID
Chung (2002) claims that pre-natal hormonal influences (that affect the size of the BSTc are not triggered until adulthood
>Although hormonal influences do occur before birth, the structural changes in the brain that are a result of these do jot occur until much later
>This evidence casts doubt on the idea that dimorphic brain differences are present in early childhood
111
Atypical gender roles - Twin studies are inconclusive
>Although evidence from twin studies suggests that gender dysphoria may be partly explained by hereditary, findings are inconclusive
>Aside from the fact that twin studies in this area tend not to yield very high concordance rates (39% for MZ twins in the Heylens study), it is very difficult to separate the influence of nature and nurture within these investigations
>Twins (especially MZ twins) may influence each other, and the environmental conditions they are exposed to are likely to be very similar.
>Also, due to the fact that GID occurs so rarely, sample sizes in twin studies tend to be extremely small, limiting the extent to which effective generalisations can be made
