Jaymie Ticknor Developmental Psychology 3620 Sect 853 17 November 2013 Development of Sex Differences and Gender Roles Chapter Social Learning Theory emphasizes modeling and reinforcement Cognitive Development Theory focuses on children as active thinkers about their social world Gender Schema Theory an information processing view that combines elements of both theories to explain how children acquire gender typed knowledge Gender Stereotypes widely held beliefs about characteristics deemed appropriate for males and females Gender Roles reflection of these stereotypes in everyday behavior Gender Identity private face of gender perception of the self as relatively masculine or feminine in characteristics Gender Stereotypes and Gender Roles Instrumental Traits reflects competence rationality and assertiveness regarded as masculine Expressive Traits emphasizing warmth caring and sensitivity viewed as feminine Gender Stereotyping in Middle Childhood and Adolescence Toward Greater Flexibility Gender Stereotype Flexibility overlap in the characteristics of males and females Influences on Gender Stereotyping and Gender Role Adoption Biological Influences Sex Hormones and Gender Typing Exceptional Sexual Development Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia CAH a disorder in which genetic defect causes the adrenal system to produce unusually high levels of androgens from the prenatal period onward Milestones Gender Typing Table 1 5 years old Gender Stereotyping and Gender Role Adoption gender stereotyped toy preferences emerge and strengthen gender stereotyping of activities occupations and behaviors expands gender segregation in peer interaction emerges and strengthens girls preference for play in pairs boys for play in larger groups appears Gender Identity gender constancy develops in a three stage sequence gender labeling gender stability and gender consistency 6 11 years old Gender Stereotyping and Gender Role Adoption gender stereotyped knowledge expands especially for personality traits and achievement areas gender stereotyping becomes more flexible Gender Identity among boys masculine gender identity typically strengthens girls gender identity becomes more androgynous 12 18 years old Gender Stereotyping and Gender Role Adoption gender role conformity may increase followed by a decline gender segregation becomes less pronounced Gender Identity gender identity may become more traditional followed by a decline in stereotypical self perceptions Sex Differences in Mental Abilities and Personality Traits Verbal Abilities girls are advantaged in early language development and in reading and writing achievement throughout the school years girls outperform boys Spatial Abilities boys outperform girls in certain spatial skills with the largest differences appearing on tasks requiring mental rotation Math Abilities girls are slightly advantaged in counting arithmetic computation and mastery of basic concepts in early childhood late childhood and early adolescence boys outperform girls on complex problems involving abstract reasoning and geometry and on math achievement tests difference is greatest among high achieving students School Performance girls get better grades than boys in all academic subjects throughout elementary and secondary school including math and science does not extend to secondary achievement tests which present complex problems not directly taught in school Achievement Motivation boys perceive themselves as more competent at and have higher expectancies for success in math science sports and mechanical skills girls have higher expectancies and set higher standards for themselves in reading writing literature and art Emotional Sensitivity girls score higher than boys in emotional understanding and on self report measures of empathy and sympathy advantage in prosocial behavior is greatest for kindness and considerateness less apparent for helping behavior Fear Timidity and Anxiety girls are more fearful and timid than boys also are more anxious about failure and try harder to avoid it boys are greater risk takers Effortful Control girls display greater effortful control including capacity to inhibit impulses and shift attention away from irrelevant or emotionally arousing stimuli traits that contribute to girls better school performance and reduced incidence of behavior problems Compliance and Dependency girls comply more readily with directives from adults and peers in part because of their greater effortful control seek help from adults more often and score higher in dependency on personality tests Activity Level boys are more active than girls Depression adolescent girls are more likely than boys to report depressive symptoms Aggression boys are more physically aggressive than girls and in adolescence are far more likely to become involved in antisocial behavior and violent crime sex difference favoring girls in relation aggression is small Developmental Problems problems are more common among boys than girls include speech and language disorders reading disabilities and behavior problems such as hyperactivity hostile acting out behavior and emotional and social immaturity more boys are born with genetic disorders physical disabilities and mental retardation
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