sex and gender Flashcards
(30 cards)
define sex
biologically male/female
define gender
way someone acts and identify themselves
-behavioural characteristics make you masculine/feminine
sex-roles
behaviour expected form man and woman
sex-roles stereotypes
ideas about sex roles widely held and tend to be inflexible and over generalised
research in sex-roles stereotypes
seavey 3-months-old introduced as : girl boy a baby -pps behaviour were different -used sex-stereotyped toys (doll for girls)
who is someone said to be if it has a balanced combination of masculinity and femininity
androgynous
who and how investigated androgyny
bem
used a self-report questionnaire ‘bet sex role inventory’
50f & 50m students rated personality traits as masculine/feminine
the most highly rated were used to form a questionnaire to measure the stereotypical traits of individuals
-rate form 1 to 7
what did bem think of high masculinity and femininity
- said to be psychologically androgynous
- advantageous in society, can cope with a range of situations
study on psychological androgyny
suggest that environmental factors are the cause:
- compared children raised in family that emphasises traditional gender roles and family that downplay them
- second one had higher androgyny
weaknesses of bem theory
-argued that androgyny is a life choice because is advantageous
-the questionnaire is reductionist, reduces masculinity and femininity in a single score
and is outdated (1974)
how do the biological influences on gender explain gender differences
brain development\activity:
- chromosomes
- hormones
how many chromosomes do human have
23 pairs
what is special about the 23rd?
decide whether you turn female or male
-XX female, ova contain an X chromosome
-XY male, sperm may contain either X or Y chromosome
if ovum is fertilised with Y carrying chromosome offspring will be male XY
what does the gene in Y chromosome cause
male genitalia
production of testosterone
what does testosterone affect, what may this explain?
affects brain development
- creating structural differences
- may explain gender
arguments on testosterone affecting the brain
- may affect structure but not function
- combined effect of hormonal and structural differences thought to lead to similar brain function
- hyde found in a meta-analysis that there was no difference or very small supporting that male and females are psychologically similar
what is chromosomal variation?
atypical sex chromosome patterns
which are the two syndromes with atypical chromosome patterns?
- klinefelter’s syndrome
- turner’s syndrome
what klinefelter’s syndrome?
-males XXY
-sterile
tend to be less muscular
less facial\body hair
problems at using language
trouble with social interaction
what is turner’s syndrome?
-females X or missing a part of second chromosome
-tend to be shorter
ovaries not to work (sterile)
don’t have a usual puberty
often do less well at maths
porer spatial ability
what do hormones affect?
development of brain body and how they function
which hormones do males\females have?
m - androgens, testosterone
f - oestrogen
both present but in very different amount
what is the syndrome with more testosterone called? how does it affect males and females?
CAH syndrome
males - early sexual development
females - more masculine physically and in behaviours
- fast grow, early puberty
- physical abnormalities, ambiguous genitalia
what does CAH syndrome supports?
testosterone theory, is responsible of gender differences in behaviour
