Developmental PsychologyTODAY:Terms Clarified: SEX vs GENDER differencesJust for ClarityGender developmentGender-Role Standards and StereotypesGenderSlide 8Slide 9Rethinking Sex Differences in Aggression: Aggressive Behavior in the Absence of Social RolesSlide 11Slide 12Stability of Gender TypingAm I a boy or a girl?Increasing understandingDevelopment of awarenessRole of environmentWhat’s the difference between boys and girls?Theories of sex role developmentMajor TheoriesPsychoanalytic TheoriesPsychoanalytical TheoryEriksonSocial Learning TheoryPowerPoint PresentationSocial-Learning TheorySocial-Learning Theory, con’tGender and MediaCognitive TheoriesCognitive viewCognitive Development Theory of GenderCognitive InfluencesSlide 33Cognitive-Developmental TheoryKohlbergKohlberg’s THREE STAGES:Slide 37Slide 38Cognitive-Developmental Theory continuedGender StereotypingSlide 41What is impact on child view of gender?Gender differencesGender differencesGender Similarities and DifferencesSlide 46Differences in development of psychopathologySocioemotional Similarities and DifferencesSlide 49Evolutionary TheoryBiosocial TheoryNeuroscience: Hormones and brain functioningNeuroscience: Brain structure and functioningMale and female brainMasculinity, Femininity, and AndrogynyBem’s Gender-Role ClassificationGender Development in AdolescenceGender and parentingHave a greaT AFTERNOON!Evan Loehle-Conger, M.A.PSYC 307-100Fall 2015TODAY: Gender development – starting to understand their genderTerms Clarified: SEX vs GENDER differencesSex differencesBiological differences between males and females, in organs, hormones, and body shape.Gender differencesSocial dimensionDifferences in the roles and behaviors that are prescribed by a culture for males and females.Gender Identity: how one psychologically perceives oneself as either male or female or otherJust for ClarityGender ≠ Sex ≠ OrientationOften doesn’t entirely even overlap with presentationGender developmenthttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-VqsbvG40Ww3 minutes; ideas about boy or girlhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjJQBjWYDTsChanges in ideas about boy or girlGender-Role Standards and StereotypesYoung children are especially rigid in gender stereotyping; children between ages 3-6 are more gender stereotypes than adults. This reflects a general tendency for young children to have rigid, absolutist sense of rules.They are absolutist about MOST things:GenderReligious rules/roles/expectationsChoresHouse RulesWhat fictional characters can/can’t/would/wouldn’t doOpinions on othersGenderWhat are your stereotypes of male and females?GenderWhat are your stereotypes?!Males: controlling, dominant, independent, controlling and manipulating the environment; assertive, dominant, competitive. Females: relatively passive, loving, sensitive, and supportive in social relationships, affiliative, especially in their family roles as wife and mother. Warmth in personal relationships, the display of anxiety under pressure, and the suppression of overt aggression and sexuality as more appropriate for women than men.Gender-Role Standards and StereotypesSex stereotypes that men are more aggressive than women and women more interpersonally sensitive than men are very robust --even among more educated people, and for both sexes, and across all social classes. Keep in mind that male/female distributions overlap.Rethinking Sex Differences in Aggression: Aggressive Behavior in the Absence of Social RolesTwo studies investigated the influence of social roles on sex differences in aggression, focusing on expectations and behavior Normal identification vs DeindividuationDeindividuation (or anonymity) was used to remove the influence of social roles in one condition.Men aggressed more than women in the individuated conditionNo differences in deindividuated condition. Subjects' perceptions of their behavior were more consistent with the implicit theories documented than with how they actually behaved.Gender-Role Standards and StereotypesSome recent findings (in the Western World)Men are more likely to have traditional gender stereotypes than women, especially if they are the sole wage earner in the family. Fathers are on average more concerned that their children maintain behaviors appropriate to their gender; fathers play a more important role than mothers in defining children's gender stereotyping. Both fathers and mothers enforce gender boundaries more frequently with sons than with daughtersThis is not just what is forbidden, but what they SHOULD do: More likely to encourage sons to pursue certain hobbies, studies, or skills AND more likely to encourage gendered behaviorsGender-Role Standards and StereotypesTeachers were more likely to direct boys to cease behaviors (e.g. running, throwing objects)STOP THAT Teachers were more likely to instruct girls to alter behaviors.DO THIStalk to her, don't yell, sit here, pick that up, be careful, be gentle, give it to me, put it down there.A wider range of potential activities is available to boys than girls, because although they are dissuaded from some, they are not directed to engage in specific activities as often as girls are.Stability of Gender TypingMasculinity and femininity develop early and are typically stable personality characteristics.Am I a boy or a girl?By the age of 3, children know if they are male or femaleIncreasing understandingChildren organize their world according to gender starting at age 2 or 3.Children form many ideas about what the sexes are like from about 1½ to 3 years of ageBy age 4, children know stereotypes about clothing, toys, games, work and occupations.NOTE – Sesame Street and other programs young children watch promotes stereotypes.Development of awareness Generally --•By Age 2: Children know whether they are boys or girls and apply gender labels consistently.•By Age 4: Children are convinced that certain toys (such as dolls or trucks) are appropriate for one gender but not the other.•By Age 5: Increased awareness of sex and gender differences•By Age 8: Belief that their biological sex is a permanent trait•From age 2 to age 8: Awareness of sex differences, preferences for same-sex playmates and stereotypical gender activities increase.Role of environmentParents who assume “traditional” (stereotypic) gender roles