Gender - Explanations of Gender Development

Question 1

what are the 3 stages of kohlberg’s theory of gender development?

Answer 1

gender labelling

gender stability

gender constancy

Question 2

what is the gender labelling stage of kohlberg’s theory?

Answer 2

children label others as ‘boy’ or ‘girl’ but based on stereotypical appearance only

children change labels as appearance changes

by end of stage children have schemata for simple masc/fem characteristics

Question 3

at what age does the gender labelling stage happen?

Answer 3

2-3

Question 4

what is the gender stability stage of kohlberg’s theory?

Answer 4

children realise gender stable over time, but still think it changes over situations

by end of stage, realise gender + appearance are separate

Question 5

at what age does the gender stability stage happen?

Answer 5

4-7

Question 6

what is the gender constancy stage of kohlberg’s theory?

Answer 6

children realise gender constant over time and situation

show preferences for gender-appropriate behaviours and will reject gender-inappropriate behaviour

gender fixed in child’s mind

Question 7

at what age does the gender constancy stage happen?

Answer 7

7+

Question 8

what are the advantages of kohlberg’s theory of gender development?

Answer 8

research support - study shows more accurate labelling at 3 yrs than 2 - predicted by kohlberg

concurrent validity - Freud, Piaget

Question 9

what are the disadvantages of kohlberg’s theory of gender development?

Answer 9

construct validity - research shows boys develop first due to SLT as male role models more socially powerful - bio determinism, nature/nurture

Question 10

what is the process of internalising new ideas into a schema?

Answer 10

assimilation

equilibration

new situation

disequilibrium

accomodation

assimilation…etc

Question 11

what is gender schema theory?

Answer 11

children develop gender identity through in-group and out-group schemas

Question 12

how are the schemata in gender schema theory formed?

Answer 12

by info on cultural norms from TV, parents, school etc

Question 13

how are in-group and out-group schemas developed?

Answer 13

cognitive processing develops bias:

maximisation of in-group positive qualities

maximisation of out-group negative qualities

this builds self-esteem and reinforces stereotypes

Question 14

what are the positives of the gender schema theory?

Answer 14

construct validity - found that gender schemas related to memory, children more likely ro remember anything related to in-group than out-group

Question 15

what are the limitations of gender schema theory?

Answer 15

determinist/reductionist - not all children conform to gender stereotypes

Question 16

what are the 2 main concepts used in Freud’s theories?

Answer 16

internalisation

identification

Question 17

what is internalisation?

Answer 17

accepting other’s beliefs because they resonate with yours

Question 18

what is identification?

Answer 18

complying to gain access to a group, then slowly accepting it over time

Question 19

by what process did Freud say boys developed their gender identity?

Answer 19

the oedipus complex

Question 20

describe what occurs in the oedipus complex

Answer 20

boys start to desire their mother and sees father as a threat

boy hates his father and fears revenge if he found out (castration anxiety)

he imitates his fathers behaviours to impress his mother, leading to him identifying with male behaviours

conflict is resolved when he no longer feels competition and the superego develops

Question 21

by what process did Freud say girls developed their gender identity?

Answer 21

the electra complex

Question 22

describe what occurs in the electra complex

Answer 22

girl attracted to her mother but confused when she discovers her mother has no penis

girl develops penis envy, assuming she doesn’t have one because her mother castrated her

girls attracted to father instead but fails to identify due to gender differences

penis envy is replaced with the desire for a baby so then identifies with mother

Question 23

what did Freud suggest would happen to boys who grew up without a father figure?

Answer 23

they may internalise feminine behaviours and become homosexual and promiscuous because they believe women are unnatianable

Question 24

why does Freud say girls identify with their mother?

Answer 24

as a compromise or last resort because they realise that they lack what it takes to be a man

Question 25

what did Freud say was caused by women settling for femininity?

Answer 25

anxiety and immorality

Question 26

what are the advantages of Freud's psychodynamic theory of gender development?

Answer 26

concurrent validity with Kohlberg and the Little Hans case study

Question 27

what are the disadvantages of Freud's psychodynamic theory of gender development?

Answer 27

beta bias for gender and culture Kohlberg suggested children are aware of the opposite sex's bodies ate different ages determinist - not all children with single parents are promiscuous or homosexual

Question 28

what are the key components in bandura's theory of gender development through social learning theory?

Answer 28

indirect reinforcement gender maintenance direct tuition self-direction

Question 29

what is indirect reinforcement?

Answer 29

when a behaviour is vicariously reinforced through watching the consequences of others carrying out the behaviour however children are more likely to repeat behaviours of role models they identify more with, so they learn behaviours from the same sex better

Question 30

how is gender maintained in social learning theory?

Answer 30

gender-related behaviours of the child are directly reinforced, while behaviours from the opposite sex is punished

Question 31

what is direct tuition in the development of gender in social learning theory?

Answer 31

explicit instructions on gender-appropriate behaviours

Question 32

when does direct tuition begin in the development of gender?

Answer 32

when the child acquires linguistic skills

Question 33

what is self-direction in social learning theory?

Answer 33

once children have internalised gender-appropriate behaviours, they are not dependant on external rewards/punishments

Question 34

what are the advantages of social learning theory as an explanation of gender development?

Answer 34

evidence - experiment similar to bandura's og study supports as children imitated behaviours from same-sex role models

Question 35

what are the disadvantages of social learning theory as an explanation of gender development?

Answer 35

direct tuition more important than modelling - research shows children will listen to instructions on whether a toy is for girls or boys independent of role models ignores biological explanations - environmental reductionism - testosterone can drive more 'masculine' behaviour

Question 36

what are sex-role stereotypes?

Answer 36

socially and/or culturally defined sets of expectations that we have about the behaviour of each sex

Question 37

how are sex-role stereotypes learnt?

Answer 37

both implicitly (internalisation-schema building) and explicitly (modelling-SLT)

Question 38

what is androgyny?

Answer 38

the idea that one person can display behaviour of both sexes

Question 39

what did Bem say can cause lower self worth?

Answer 39

reinforcement of fixed gender stereotypes

Question 40

what type of harm did Bem say that stereotypes can cause?

Answer 40

psychological and social harm

Question 41

what research did bem do into androgyny?

Answer 41

she created the bem sex role inventory

Question 42

what is the bem sex role inventory?

Answer 42

a list containing: 20 masc items 20 fem items 20 neutral items

Question 43

what was the procedure of bems sex role inventory research?

Answer 43

participants rated how likely they were to carry out each of the items in the inventory scores were calculated based off of this to determine how masculine, feminine or androgynous they were

Question 44

what were bem's findings from the sex role inventory?

Answer 44

most people scored androgynous

Question 45

what were the advantages of bems sex role inventory?

Answer 45

reliable - 1000s of participants research support for link between mental health and androgyny - androgyny linked with lower levels of depression applications for parental advice

Question 46

what were the disadvantages of bems sex role inventory?

Answer 46

internally invalid - measures self esteem more than gender as lots socially desirable lacks temporal validity - meaning of gender changes over time parental advice applications may be unethical - cultural differences low construct validity - had to add 4th category after for low masc and low fem

Question 47

what is gender schema theory?

Answer 47

the theory that everyone acts according to their dominant schema for a given situation that these schemas are heavily influenced by gender can get masc schemas, fem schemas or androgynous schemas

Question 48

what gene on the Y chromosome causes male development?

Answer 48

SRY gene

Question 49

when does the SRY gene start to affect sex development?

Answer 49

in the fetal stage

Question 50

how does the SRY gene affect sex?

Answer 50

creates "sex determining region Y protein" transcription factor that binds to DNA to control other genes

Question 51

which hormone is produced in both sexes in the adrenal gland during development?

Answer 51

lutropin

Question 52

what is the function of lutropin in males?

Answer 52

leydig cells in testes respond to it by producing testosterone testosterone then drives further male development

Question 53

what chromosomes do people with Klinefelter's syndrome have?

Answer 53

XXY

Question 54

which sex are people with Klinefelter's syndrome born with?

Answer 54

male - born with penis and develops male traits

Question 55

what are the physical effects of Klinefelter's syndrome?

Answer 55

usually infertile feminized masculine characteristics (slim jaw, less facial hair, sometimes breast tissue) lack muscular definition

Question 56

how common is Klinefelter's syndrome?

Answer 56

1 in 10,000 males

Question 57

what chromosomes do people with Turner's syndrome have?

Answer 57

XO the O is either a damaged X chromosome or a missing chromosome

Question 58

what sex are people with Turner's syndrome born as?

Answer 58

female: born with vagina and womb but underdeveloped ovaries

Question 59

what are the effects of Turner's syndrome?

Answer 59

no menstration so infertile physically short can have webbed neck, narrow hips, chronic skin legions and cardiac issues

Question 60

how common is Turner's syndrome?

Answer 60

1 in 2,000

Question 61

what are three hormones that can drive sex development?

Answer 61

oestrogen testosterone oxytocin

Question 62

what can occur in fetuses that are insensitive to testosterone?

Answer 62

they are born as intersex - no formation of male genitalia

Question 63

how are fetuses that are insensitive to testosterone raised?

Answer 63

most raised as girls as no penis/testicals visible some identified as XY and raised male