PY 371Exam # 2 Study Guide Lectures: 12-15Lecture 12 (September 24)Cognitive Component: Gender-role Stereotyping- Refer to features we assign to women and men in our society due to the social roles thatmen and women hold- Have descriptive (how men and women are) and prescriptive elements (how men and women ought to be)- Stereotypes are category-based expectancies when we have little information about a person- Stereotypes are target-based expectancies when we have more information and can draw inferencesComponents of Gender-role Stereotypes- Male characteristics more highly valued than female characteristics- Masculine characteristics rated as healthier for adults to possessStereotypes Vary by Characteristics of Target Persons- Meta-analytic: younger adults rated more favorable than older adults but effect of age differs for men and womeno Overall, increasing age more strongly associated with negative evaluation of women than meno However, increasing age more strongly associated with loss of competence for men- Culture, race, class, sexual orientation also influence the content of male and female stereotypesLecture 13 (September 29) The Sexes: More similar than different?- Men and women have more in common than not- Why do sexes seem so different?o Confirmatory hypothesis testing- Even with significant mean differences, distributions of scores for males and females often overlapMaccoby and Jacklin’s (1974) psychology of sex differences- First comprehensive review concluded that only four domains showed sex differenceso Verbal ability (girls), visual-spatial ability, mathematical ability, and aggression (boys)o No differences in self esteem- Many problems with their review (Block, 1976)o Narrative reviewo Averaged across studies that varied widely in methodological rigoro Age bias, 70 percent were under 12; gender intensification during adolescence - Blocks’ reviews added some domains to the listo Block found that males were more active, more impulsive, and had stronger self- concepto Females had greater fears and anxieties, less confidence, and closer contact with friends (more social connection)New Way to Review Studies: Meta-analysis- Meta-analysis is a tool that quantifies results of a group of studies- Both significance and size of the difference- Effect size, d statistic (Cohen, 1977)o .2 = small effect, <1% varianto .5 = medium effect, <6% varianto .8 = large effect, <14% variant- Even very small effects can be meaningful; depends on outcome (Rosenthal, 1944)- Advantageso considers the size of the effects so not all studies are weighed similarlyo can examine the influence of moderating variables- disadvantageso exclusionary criteria are subjectiveo file drawer problem- studies that are not significant and do not get published- review of 46 meta-analyses (Hyde, 2005)o most effects small or very largeo exception: large effect sizes for throwing velocity, attitudes toward sex, and physical aggressionSpatial Abilities- refer to ability to think and reason using mental images rather than words- people assume men have greater spatial abilities- directions and magnitude of sex differences depend on the specific taskSex Differences in Spatial Abilities- greatest difference on mental rotation (men)- women solve problems in pieces (takes more time)- men also excel in accuracy at hitting a target - sex differences more likely appear today on older than young children- women outperform men on object location tasks- spatial skills important for “STEM” careersLecture 14 (October 1)Verbal Ability - Girls have been observed to talk earlier than boys, develop larger vocabularies, have better grammar, and be better readers- However, meta-analyses reveal only a small sex difference favoring females- Size of sex difference depends on specific domain of verbal abilitieso Largest in case of writing- Possible that sex difference due to larger proportion of males with verbal difficultiesComprehensive Assessment of Cognitive Abilities- In many domains, males have more variability in their distribution of scores than females(more males on both ends of the spectrum)- Dimensions of intelligence may differo Women score higher on tasks that require diffuse attentions; men score higher on tasks that require spatial rotation and focused attention- Sex difference in most cognitive domains have decreased over timeLecture 15 (October 3)Empathy- Involves feeling the same emotion as another person or feeling sympathy or compassion for another- Meta-analysis reveals sex difference in empathy favoring females - Size of effects depends on the operationalization and measuremento Larger difference on self-report measureso Smaller differences on observational and behavioral measureso Less clear difference on physiological measuresHelping Behavior- People assume that women are more helpful- Early meta-analysis: men more helpful in dangerous situations, women more likely to help in context of relationships- Moderator variables include:o Sex of person needing helpo Public Vs. private settingAggression- Men more likely to be perpetrators and victims of aggression, but situational variables are important- Sex differences in aggression are smaller o Under conditions of provocationo Very low or very high emotional arousal- Sex differences in aggression are larger o When women fear retaliation - 1996 meta-analysis: no closing of gap over time- Recent crime stats show faster increase in arrest rate for girls over boysSexuality- Sex differences depend on definition of sexuality- Results of meta-analysis: compared to women, men show more sexual behavioro More permissive attitudes toward sex, more casual sex, more sexual partners, more frequent masturbationo Exception: frequency of same sex behavior- Women have more favorable attitudes towards gay men; no sex attitude differences towards lesbians- Most data on sexuality is via