Gender Development Flashcards
Is gender biologically determined or socially constructed?
Intro: wide debate - biology differences due to sex - social differences in meanings of boy/girl - common stance: interaction - major implications for people
Main Body:
earliest view - evo theory - survival benefits - children link gender to their sex - link in biological theory - brain diffs, genes and hormones - support imperato-mcginley case study - very deterministic
newer - social learning theory - two parts - direct teaching and observational learning - support: DT - Fagot and Leinbach, 1989; Wills 1976; Smith and Lloyd 1978, OL - Frey and Ruble, 1992 - issue: people begin by thinking gender correlates to sex so still part biology - doesn’t explain flexibility when older - (Ruble, 2006) - rigidity in some cultures suicide
better view - bio-social theory: Money and Ehrhardt - development as m/f affects hormones and bio devel, when born this biology affects social factors which influence development - bio aspect (money and Ehrhardt, 1972 CAH) - social aspect (cultural differences in expectations, Mead, 1935)
Conclusion: interaction = more comprehensive, previous theories have given good basis to carry out more research
Critically evaluate whether brain differences between males and females support gender differences
Intro: conception of 23 chromosomes - M=XY, F=XX, these bio differences argued to cause brain differences - social influences may cause of brain differences resulting in gender differences
Main Body:
biology causes brain diffs - Archer, 2004 - production of hormones leads to differences in gender behaviours - particularly notable in aggression - Barash, 2002
culture/social brain diffs - Munroe, 2000 - culture leads to diffs in what is acceptable so children learn diff behaviours
bio-social view - social cues affect aggression which in turn alters brains structure differently - Halpern, 1997
Social cues: Wills, 1976; Smith and Lloyd 1978
bio view - Money and Ehrhardt, 1971 - CAH - hormone secretion causes preferences in behaviours - perhaps link to E-S model Baron-Cohen
Conclusion: bio brain differences often underestimated in their effect on gender
Critically discuss how gender identity develops
Intro: what is gender/gender identity? different theories - basic gender identity - superficial age 2, gender stability age 4, gender identity internal age 5 - comprehensive are best
Main Body:
- Cognitive - Kohlberg, 1966 - support: Marcus and Overton, 1978, challenge: Ruble et al., 2006
- Gender schema theory - Martin and Halverson, 1987 - ignores social factors
- SLT - DT and OL - supported by Fagot and Leinbach, 1989; Frey and Ruble, 1992, Wills, 1976; smith and Lloyd 1978
- integrative approach - Halpern, 1997 - biopsychosocial - doesn’t explain which social factors but more comprehensive
Conclusion: more integrative theory is better but no theory has concrete evidence to support how G.I develops
Social learning theory
children acquire gender identity in two ways:
direct tuition: rewarded/encouraged for gender-appropriate behaviours and punished for undesirable ones
observational learning: adoption of attitudes and behaviours from same-sex models
implications of this are huge - stigma for those who don’t conform
Fagot and Leinbach, 1989
parents encourage gender-appropriate behaviours from birth
includes: clothes worn, toys played with
Frey and Ruble, 1992
as children begin to realise that gender is unchanging they attend more seriously to same-sex models
Ruble et al., 2006
children become more flexible in their thinking about gender stereotypes
Bio-Social Theory
Money and Ehrhardt - anatomy is destiny
inheritance of X or Y gene first affects gender
then hormones secreted
then testosterone secretion
then social factors, which depend on biological factors
Children are gender neutral until 2.5 years - this is when socialisation process begins
Gender dysphoria represents good illustration of bio-social approach - highlights that sex and gender are not the same
Money and Ehrhardt, 1972
hormonal influences
congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) = genetic defect causing adrenal glands to produce high levels male hormones
female with CAH often born with external genitalia resembling boys
more likely to grow up to be tomboys
suggests pre-natal exposure to hormones may have impact on differences
Mead, 1935
Arapesh tribe expected both males and females to be co-operative, non-aggressive and sensitive to the need of others
highlights cultural differences in what is expected of males and females
Archer, 2004
levels of testosterone higher in males
thought to link to aggression
either during pre-natal development or puberty
mostly pre-natal as aggression emerges early in development (as early as 2 years of age)
Barash, 2002
boys 10x more likely than girls to be involved in anti-social behaviour
Munroe, 2000
24 boys, 24 girls - different societies, aged 3-10
looked at incidences of aggressive behaviour
patrilineal societies = higher aggression (i.e. Kenya, Nepal)
boys found to be more aggressive than girls
cultural differences = nurture contributes - reinforces biological differences
Psychobiosocial Viewpoint
Halpern, 1997
how nature and nurture work together in gender
prenatal exposure to hormones influences organisation of male and female brains
the belief that there are differences influences treatment when they are born
nature and nurture cannot be separated
but doesn’t provide specific social factors involved in gender development
Marcus and Overton, 1978
pre-school children go through Kohlberg’s three stages of gender identity development
gender consistency is associated with other aspects of cognitive development i.e. conservation of mass
suggests need certain cognitive abilities to develop gender identity
