HDFS201 Exam 3 Chapter 12 Gender and Sexuality Sex Gender Biological sex physical characteristics that define male and female Gender incorporates all those features that a society associated with or considers appropriate for being men and women Gender roles the patterns of behavior that females and males should adopt in a particular society o Wife mother husband father etc Gender stereotypes overgeneralized and largely inaccurate beliefs about what males and females are like Communality an orientation that emphasized connectedness to others and includes traits of emotionality and sensitivity to others o Females Agency orientation toward individual action and achievement that emphasizes traits of dominance independence assertiveness and competiveness o Central aspect of male gender o Men s focus on work achievement and independence stems from the male brain s tendency to systemize analyze and explore how things work Some areas show no gender differences Gender similarities hypothesis males and females are similar on most but not all psychological variables That is men and women are more alike then they are different o Females sometimes display greater verbal abilities than males but on most verbal tasks the difference is small o Males outperform females on many tests of spatial ability o Females and males perform similarly on most standardized math tests and females obtain slightly higher math grades in the classroom than males o Girls display greater memory ability than boys o Males engage in more physical and verbal aggression than females o Boys are more physically active than girls o Boys are more developmentally vulnerable o Girls are more tactful and cooperative as opposed to being forceful and demanding and more compliant with requests from adults o Females are more nurturing and empathetic o Females are more prone to develop anxiety and other psychological disorder s o Males are more likely to develop antisocial behaviors and drug alcohol abuse o Males use computers more o Males and females are more psychologically similar than different Social role hypothesis suggests that differences in the roles than women and men play in society do a lot to create and maintain gender stereotypes Males and females are steered towards different roles in society The Infant Male newborns tend to be more irritable Female newborns are more alert Gender identify awareness that they are either a boy or a girl o Verbal proof by age 2 3 The Child Most action in gender role development takes place during the toddler and preschool years Gender typing children not only become aware that they are biological males or females but also acquire the motives values and patterns of behavior that their culture considers appropriate for members of their biological sex Gender segregation separating themselves into boys and girls peer groups and interacting far more often with their own sex than with the other sex o Elementary school years The Adolescent Gender intensification gender difference may be magnified by hormonal changes associated with puberty and increased pressure to conform to gender roles o Related to peer influence and dating Biosocial theory of gender development proposed by John Money and Anke Ehrhardt calls attention to the ways in which biological events influence the development of boys and girls Evolutionary psychologists traditional gender roles may be a reflection of species heredity Experience does not explain everything Androgenized females girls prenatally exposed to excess androgens o Exposure to male hormones can lead to masculinizing effects on a female fetus Biology does not dictate gender role development Gender role development evolves from the complex interaction of biology social experience and the individual s behavior Social Learning Theory o Differential reinforcement children rewarded for sex appropriate behavior and punished for behaviors of the opposite sex Differential reinforcement encourage sex appropriate play Mothers and fathers discipline differently Fathers are more likely to encourage sex appropriate behavior than mothers Children who engage in same sex play are better liked by their peers o Observational learning children adopt the attitudes and behaviors of same sex models Stereotypes are seen in the media and in books Cognitive Theories o Cognitive Development Theory Kohlberg Gender role development depends on stage like changes in cognitive development children must acquire certain understandings about gender before they will be influenced by their social experience Children engage in self socialization instead of being the passive targets of social influence they actively socialize themselves Gender constancy understanding of what it means to be a boy or girl man or woman o 2 3 basic gender identity established o 4 gender stability understand that gender identity is stable over time o 5 7 gender concept complete Gender consistency realize that their sex is also stable across situation o o Gender Schema Theory Martin Halverson children are intrinsically motivated to acquire values interests and behaviors consistent with their cognitive judgments about the self Self socialization begins as soon as children acquire a basic gender identity 2 3 Gender schema organized set of beliefs and expectations about males and females that influence the kinds of information they will attend to and remember In group out group schema Own sex schema The Adult Roles of men and women are similar early in adulthood Roles become more distinct following marriage Androgyny balancing or blending of both agentic and communal traits People with positive androgyny score higher on measures of mental health and well being than those with negative androgyny David Gutmann parental imperative the requirement that mothers and fathers adopt different roles to raise children successfully o Men more communal women more agentic later in life Androgyny shift instead of giving up traits they had as young adults men and women retain their gender typed qualities but add qualities traditionally associated with the other sex Sexuality Over the Lifespan Infants are sexual beings Both male and female babies touch themselves and experience orgasm School age children turn their attention to schoolwork and same sex peers Herdt and McClintock age 10 is an important point in sexual development a time when many boys and girls experience their first sexual attraction o Maturation of the adrenal glands Sexual