Gender

AO2 for Money's Theory of Gender Development

+ It takes both nature and nurture into account + More holistic as it looks at the interaction between several factors - Deterministic as it does not take into account free will. What about those who believe they were born in the 'wrong' body? - Case of David Reimer - Demand characteristics in Baby 'X' experiments - Intersex children are an atypical sample + Less reductionist than most theories

AO2 Studies for Evolutionary Explanations of Gender Roles

+ Kuhn and Steiner ('06): Reported that Neanderthals did not have a division of labour, (both hunted, judging from injuries in fossils) they are extinct whilst humans are not. This suggests that division of labour is adaptive. + Buss ('89): Conducted a cross-cultural study of 37 cultures and found that females preferred financial potential of males whilst males preferred youth and attractiveness. + Wilson and Daly ('85): Men, more so who were unmarried and poor were more likely to engage in risky behaviour. Many were ready to take part in deadly confrontation than lose face. This is to prove high status to females, which is preferred and found attractive. Females are less likely to engage in such behaviour due to offspring, they have more to lose. + Ginsberg and Miller ('82): Conducted a naturalistic observation on 3-11 year olds at a zoo. They identified 4 scenarios with a degree of risk: Elephant ride Feeding a donkey A petting zoo Steep embankment near a river From 480 children roughly 50.50 in 30 minute frequency counts found significantly more boys engaged in risky behaviour. Notably at the embankment where 74% of those engaging were boys.

AO2 Studies for Gender Schema Theory (cont.)

+ Liben and Signorella ('93): Showed children aged 5-10 line drawings of men and women involved in household chores, leisure activities and work. Drawings showed them in non/stereotypical roles. It found that children remembered significantly more drawings of men in masculine roles than in feminine ones. This suggests an established gender Schema leads to better memory for gender consistent stereotypes, as predicted by the theory. + Bauer: Conducted a study using elicited imitation on very young children from ages 18 months. Performed 3 tasks in front of the children. Pretending to shave a teddy bear (male task), Changing a nappy (female task), Treasure hunt (neutral) Observed the children to see if they imitated the gender appropriate behaviour and found that girls imitated all three behaviours. Boys only imitated stereotypically male and neutral behaviours indicating that Boyd gender Schemas are stronger and develop easier. Bauer was female and it could be argued that the female children believed that as she is female the activities were suitable. Social factors may have s role as girls have more flexibility in gender expression and female roles are more diverse.

AO2 Studies for Gender Schema Theory

+ Martin ('95): Found that the gender label given to toys consistently affected children's toy preference. They showed children between 2-5 years everyday objects such as a hole punch and labelled them as either 'for girls' or 'for boys.' They asked children to rate the toys they wanted to play with using a smiley face. Labelling encouraged strong sex-typed preferences. They chose items labelled appropriate to their sex. This supports gender Schema theory. It demonstrates that children will use their gender Schemas to make decisions about the toys they want to play with. They also rejected toys not consistent with their Schema. + Martin and Halverson ('83): Found that children under the age of 6 were x3 more likely to recall gender consistent pictures of people than inconsistent ones. When showed a picture of a boy holding a doll they insisted it was a girl a week later. This is in line with gender Schema theory, it argues that children will ignore info that is inconsistent with their Schema.

AO2 of Biosocial Theory of Gender Dysphoria

+ More holistic in approach + Nature and nurture both considered important - Gender dysphoria could be a cultural creation. Fa'Fa'Fine are male but socialized and act as female but lack any dysphoria or discomfort.

Schemas

A Schema is an organised body of information about how we think about some aspects of the world. Gender schemes develop through interaction with others. Once formed, children use the schemes to process incoming information and guide their future behaviour. Children will also ignore information that deviates from their gender schemes. Information that is consisted with their schemes is integrated and acted upon. These schemes will become more complex over time.

+ Munroe ('84)

Found that in different cultures (Kenya, Nepal, Samoa) children follow the same sequence of stages in acquiring their understanding of gender, indicating they're universal.

AO2 of Wood and Eagley's Social Role Theory

+ Takes both nature and nurture into account + More holistic as it looks at the interaction between several factors + Less reductionist - Wallen's monkey study ('08) - Connelan ('00): Found that newborn males prefer to look at mechanical objects whilst females prefer to look at cuddly objects. - Etic bias in approach - Evolutionary approach could be correct

AO2 Evaluation for Evolutionary Theory of Gender Development

- Male promiscuity is not always adaptive as it hinders offspring survival - Ignore nurture and is based entirely on nature, what about social influences? Particularly today where equal rights are highly strived for - Ignores social and cultural influences. What about other cultures? not all cultures possess the same views. - Theory is speculative and is only based on guesses of the EEA. There is no solid evidence by scientific observation or measurement - Deterministic as it ignore free will, what about men who stay at home whilst women go out to work? - Reductionist as it does not take into account biological factors, men may be more biologically prepared to hunt; they are generally stronger and faster and have better spatial awareness.

Explanations of Gender Dysphoria

An explanation is likely to involve a combination of both biological and social/psychological factors. These conflicts lead to gender dysphoria and so we may use a biosocial approach. In this case it could the child is mislabeled, meaning how they are treated and socialized is incongruent with their biological sex. Prenatal hormone imbalance may also affect it, (genitals are unaffected). It could also occur through parents reinforcing opposite sex behaviour which triggers a biological predisposition. This occurs when parents unconsciously want an opposite sex child or because of the child's innate characteristics.

Conservation in Children

Children who have not yet acquired the concept of conservation are unlikely to have reached the gender constancy stage. This is seen in the water in various cups experiment. Once children have reached the final stage of gender constancy, they will start to internalise their own gender identity. Consequently, they will pay more attention to individuals who are the same sex as themselves, imitate them, and so engage in sex appropriate behaviour. Kohlberg called this self-socialisation, as it occurs due to the child's increasingly mature way of thinking, rather than due to the influence or external reinforcement of others such as parents or teachers.

Cognitive Processing and Schemas

Cognitive processing and behaviour can be affected by Schemas. Children use their Schemas to make sense of incoming information and respond appropriately. These Schemas serve as mental shortcuts and allow us to process a lot of information without becoming overwhelmed. However using these Schemas may distort interpretations of sensory information and may lead to biases and perceptual errors as well as forgetting inconsistent information with the Schema. This has practical applications, in a court of law for example. When interacting with others, children will have expectations about other children based on their gender. Children will prefer same-gender peers so they can play in the 'appropriate' gender-typed activities.

Chang ('02)

Compared gender roles in individualistic and collectivist cultures, including 145 US and 173 Chinese students. They were given a 10 item Egalitarian Gender Roles Attitude Scale. It was found that there were cultural differences between the 2 groups. US students emphasized the equal gender roles at work whilst the Chinese emphasized equality at home. This reflects that gender equality at work is a given in China due to communism. This shows, however that gender roles are expressed differently in the culture.

+ David Reimer

David Reimer was a healthy male who was socialized as a female for over a decade, but always 'felt' male. He behaved in a stereotypical male manner and always preferred to play with male toys despite being socialized as girl.

AO2 Studies for Roles and Genes and Hormones

David Reimer: Had his penis burnt off as a child so was reared female. He never felt he fit in and preferred to play in a male fashion and when he grew older and learnt the truth he had corrective surgery to become a man again. Daphne West: Was a woman who tried to get pregnant but couldn't. Her doctor informed her she was genetically male but she decided to stay a woman as she was happy to do so. Probably be caused she was socialised as a woman. Impetigo-McGinley (Batista Family): Discovered a rare genetic disorder amongst 24 individuals aged between 18 months and 60 years who were all born with ambiguous external genitalia. They were raised as girls until puberty when they became fully male. Physical changes were initially absent due to the lack of metabolism of dihydrotestosterone. Testosterone released during puberty produced enough dihydrotestosterone to generate normal male appearance. Concluding that both testosterone and dihydrotestosterone are needed for complete emergence of male features. They had a male sexual orientation even though they were raised as girls. They could change gender identity and identify as male. Exposure to testosterone in the womb and at puberty is a dominant factor, and suggests socialisation has a little effect.

AO2 Evaluation of Cultural Influences on Gender

Deterministic: What about those who refuse to conform, particularly in the West? Entirely based on nurture, when in fact it fails to recognise biological influences.

The Role of Genes and Hormones in Gender

Each person has 23 chromosomes, each chromosome carries genes containing instructions about physical and behavioural characteristics. One pair is the sex chromosomes, these determine an individual's sex. Males are XY and females are XX, however there is little information on the Y gene. Chromosome difference affects hormones that the baby is subjected to in the womb.

Sexual Differentiation

Embryos are structurally female during pre-natal development. In males a gene known as the SRY gene is activated at around 6 weeks, this results in males features,m females lack the SRY gene because they do not have a Y chromosome. Therefore they develop along the default path known as the Mullerian system. The Wolfian system makes testes release testosterone which stimulates the system to develop further. This is in addition to the anti-Mullerian hormone which prevents female features from developing. Genetics initially determine sex but most gender development is due to hormones. The hormones are produced pre-nasally and in adolescence during, puberty. These hormones influence development of genitalia and the brain which then influences gender behaviour.

School Influences on Gender

Expectations of gender roles and sex-typed behaviour may affect the way a teacher responds to a child. Huston ('83): Found in primary schools that girls received less disapproval than boys from teachers even if they were as equally disruptive. This reflects the assumption that boys are more likely to be disruptive than girls unless they are strictly controlled. But boys need more telling off due to natural aggression. Serbin ('79): Found that children played with toys depending on the introduction given by the children, if they were boys or girls toys.

Biosocial Theory of Gender

Explaining gender development requires separation of what cannot be separated. Men and women are a product of a complex system of forces, which combine in various ways. Biosocial theories take social factors into account in relation to biological factors. There are two biosocial theories: Money's Biosocial Theory (1972) Wood and Eagley's Social Role Theory (1999)

Explanations of Gender Dysphoria (cont.)

Females to males may have been exposed to too much testosterone in the womb, resulting in a masculinized brain. They look female and be raised as such but with a more masculine brain. Males to females may have been exposed to too little testosterone which results in an under-masculinized brain. they will appear male and be socialized as such but with a more feminine brain. Conflict between biological and social factors leads to gender dysphoria. Alternatively, in the case of females to males, they may have been conditioned to think and behave like a male. Maybe because her parents wanted a son. This may be trigger an underlying biological predisposition. This can also be the case in males to females but vice versa. This is known as brain sex theory.

+ Moss ('67)

Found at 3 weeks old, boys were harder to pacify than girls but the social concept that 'boys don't cry' meant that parental response was slower, provoking further irritability. Biological cues from infant provoke a reaction which is consistent with societal expectations.

- Bem ('89)

Found that 40% of 3-5 year olds were able to conserve gender , which according to Kohlberg would not happen yet. 77% failed a genital knowledge test which demonstrates they just didn't know. They performed better with photos compared to drawings.

AO2 Studies for Kohlberg's Theory Thompson ('75)

Found that children are better at identifying the gender of paper doll figures and pictures as they grow up, indicating cognitive maturation. At age 3, 25% got the answers wrong but at age 5 they got all the answers right. They judged gender on superficial characteristics in line with his theory.

- Martin and Little ('90)

Found that children do not have to reach the stage of gender constancy before they demonstrate gender-stereotypical behaviour as Kohlberg's theory would predict. 3 year olds had limit d understanding of gender but still demonstrated stereotypical behaviours.

Whiting and Edwards ('88)

Found that gender roles were organized in similar ways across a range of traditional cultures. They looked at 11 non-Western cultures and found that girls were encouraged to spend more time with their mothers and be given domestic jobs, whilst boys spent more time with peers. This is similar to the West, suggesting that culture is not the main influence.

Money and Ehrhardt ('72):

Found that girls with CAH who were initially raised as boys due to their ambiguous genitalia were successfully raised as girls after reassignment surgery indicating the malleability of gender. Smith and Lloyd: Baby 'X' Experiment Wallen ('08): Found that male baby rhesus monkeys prefer to play with boys toys, whilst females prefer to play with female toys. This shows that biology presides over socialization as monkeys are not socialized to play with certain toys.

Background to Gender Dysphoria

Gender dysphoria generally diminishes over adolescence and early adulthood. Most children showing cross-gender behaviour do not go on to request sex changes. The cause of gender dysphoria is unknown. Historically, it was a psychiatric condition, though recent research suggests a biological causes is associated with the development of gender identity before birth. For this reason, it is not often considered as medical condition, though the symptoms are psychological in nature.

Biosocial Approach to Gender Dysphoria

Gender dysphoria occurs when there is mismatch or incongruence between one's biological sex and their gender identity. It is estimated that 1 in 11,000 have the condition, though it affects x5 more males than females. Indications of gender dysphoria often occur very early with children as young as 2. They may be unhappy wearing clothes related to their biological sex or refusing to play with gender stereotypical toys. Some may opt for sex reassignment surgery.

Geographical Influence

Geographic location and social constructions will strongly be associated with the expression of gender roles. What it means to be a man/woman may differ across cultures. UK - gender equality encouraged India - Men viewed as superior Muslim countries - highly patriarchal Mosou, China - Highly matriarchal Russia - Chivalry valued, women are items of beauty In the UK, and most Western cultures there are two genders based on biological sex. This is not universal as in some cultures there are several genders which are constructed by society. The Fa'Fa'Fine in Samoa are a third gender where men dress and act feminine for the groups benefit, they perform feminine roles if there are not enough women. They experience no gender dysphoria.

Cultural Influences on Gender

If there are similarities in gender roles across different cultures then there must be a biological influence. If culture was more influential then gender roles across cultures would be different. Any differences must be socially constructed due to the culture. To live in a particular environment then people must be socialized to live and behave in a certain way. Gender roles depend on values, attitudes and beliefs of a particular culture.

Gender Dysphoria Symptoms

In some countries, particularly in male to female transsexuals, it is advocated that hormone theory starts before puberty to prevent irreversible masculinization from taking place. This is heavily debated topic. To warrant a diagnosis of gender dysphoria, there are various criteria that individuals must meet. Gender incongruence is the most obvious, whereby an individual identifies with an alternative gender that does not match their biological sex and experience an aversion to their own gender. In children, they must possess a strong desire to be of another gender and an insistence of this. Their experience must also affect their ability to function positively in everyday life.

Individuals with Genetic Disorders

Individuals exposed to abnormal hormone levels pre-natally, resulting in a disorder of sex development. (Meaning external genitalia is not concordant with genetics) It can be investigated whether hormonal imbalance also affected the brain. Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia (CAH) is where the baby is exposed to too much androgen due to over-production by the adrenal glands. This makes females appear male. Testosterone is not converted to cortisol. Complete Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome (CAIS) is caused by a mutation in the gene that produces androgen receptors. Testosterone does not cause the expected changes in males so they appear externally female.

Leung and Moore ('03)

Investigated differences in cultures in gender roles between Anglo-Australians and individuals with Chinese backgrounds in Australia. 590 participants from educational institutions and ethnic/religious based communities groups in Melbourne. The Anglo-Australians had lived there on average for 25 years, whilst the Chinese had lived there on average for 4 years. They had to complete the Bem Sex Role Inventory to measure psychological masculinity and femininity. Both men and women identified masculine traits if they were Anglo-Australian. Whilst both identified feminine traits if they were Chinese. It was found that Anglo-Australians showed more difference than the Chinese on feminine traits whilst the Chinese showed more difference than the Anglo-Australians on masculine traits. Findings suggests that culture affects gender roles and differences between males and females is smaller than the difference between males from different cultures.

Kohlberg's Stages

Kohlberg argued that children pass through 3 stages in the development of gender: Gender identity (age 2-3) sees own gender Gender stability (age 3-7) own gender is fixed Gender constancy (age 7-12) superficial changes These stages occur as a result of cognitive changes that take place alongside the child's maturing brain. Therefore they are said to be universal and occur in the same order for everyone. (Ages are approximate)

Differences in Reproductive Behaviour

Men prefer young, slim and attractive women. They may favour polygamy and casual sex. Women prefer older, resourceful men. They often prefer long-term monogamous relationships. Sexual selection may have caused this due to parental uncertainty, loss of resources, etc. (Intra-sexual selection for males, inter-sexual selection for females). Youth suggests fertility in women, whilst resources suggest resourcefulness and commitment in men. All this results from the EEA for survival and reproductive success.

Division of Labour

Men tend to be 'hunters' who go out to work. Women tend to be 'gatherers' and readers of children. Back in the EEA this method would have improved survival chances for access to shelter and food. Males are generally stronger and faster, females generally spent time lactating and caring for offspring. They may have chosen to gather nearby fruits and vegetables. This is often reflected in modern society. Females also choose the strongest males, hunting may have been used to demonstrate strength. Females may take a more masculine role on at the expense of having no children,

Evaluation of Kohlberg's Theory

Methodological issues of research including how they test children, with them performing better with photos. What about nurture side of the debate?

Money's Biosocial Theory

Money and Ehrhardt's theory sees the interaction between biological and social factors as important rather than the influence on biology alone. Biological male/female born Social labelling and Differential Treatment (Parental) Interacts with - Biological factors (hormones) Money's biosocial theory was based on studies of individuals who had disorders of sex development (intersex conditions) and were mistyped at birth. It was found that individuals had been successfully raised as the opposite sex/ They predicted that if a genetic male is labelled as female and raised as female, she would acquire the gender identity of a female and vice versa. Money thought all babies were born gender neutral. They thought there was a period of flexibility when a child's gender identity was malleable up to around the age of 2.

Money and Social Factors

Money believed that social factors had greater influence than biological factors and that the labelling of the child (boy/girl) affected its socialization. It was also believed that if sex can be changed, then so can gender identity through socialization and this can occur without psychological damage before 3 years old. Smith and Lloyd: Found labels given to children affected how they are treated by others.

Money and Ehrhardt ('72)

Reported their findings of girls with CAH who were initially raised as boys. After corrective surgery they were raised as girls and they did not experience any psychological harm or dysphoria which suggests that social labelling can override potential masculinisation of the brain.

Evaluation of Social Cognitive Theory

Research suggests that although modelling and imitation are important, children may only imitate models to a certain extent. Perry and Buss ('79): Found that children would imitate the behaviour of a same-sex model but not if it went against sex stereotypes. Modelling and imitation is limited by gender schemas. - It is hard to assess the influence of parents, schools and the media as the results of research is very specific and so cannot compare findings or similar studies - Biological influences are important, such as increased aggression in boys

+ Wood and Eagly ('02)

Researched non-industrialised societies, finding that there was a division of labour in all societies but there was a considerable variation depending on the circumstances. Research has also shown that division of labour is more apparent in non-industrialised societies, but in industrialised societies where women can be alleviated from childcare, there is more equality. This is why they refute evolutionary theory, women are attracted to men with resources because society won't allow them to have their own. Men prefer young women to be able to oppress them.........apparently.

Wood and Eagley's Social Role Theory (cont.)

Roles by women and men which are determined by their biological makeup guide their social behaviour. These roles can be manifested differently depending on the circumstances. Therefore it is expected that gender may be expressed differently across cultures. Female reproductivity is usually the limiting factor in them achieving high status, similarity across cultures is expected. However, in cultures whereby females can be alleviated from childcare, it would not be a surprise if their status would be higher and similar to males.

Sex

Sex refers to an individual's biological gender that they were born with. It is defined by physiological features. Aspects of sex do not differ across societies.

Margaret Mead

She described the cultures of 3 different tribes in pre-industrialised societies of New Guinea: The Arapesh were known to have similar gender roles for both sexes with childcare and exerted co-operative, emotional and non-assertive behaviours. The Mundugmore adopted a more masculine role, they were aggressive and insensitive, this was seen in both males and females. The Tchambuli had reversed roles of gender. Males were social, artistic and raised the children whilst the women were assertive, practical and business-like. This concluded that gender roles are non-universal or biological, however the cultural interpretations from Mead became subjective and is now thought to invalidate her results. She ignored some of her findings that did not match her pre-conceptions.

Daphne West

She was a married women who visited the doctors after trying to become pregnant. Examination found that she was a genetic male with gonads not ovaries. As she had been socialized as a woman her entire life. she was happy to live as a woman and adopted two children. She did not have gender dysphoria presumably because she had a femininised brain.

+ Green ('74)

Showed that many parents of individuals with gender dysphoria admitted to having paid more attention to their children when they cross-dressed, sometimes encouraging them (positive reinforcement). This could trigger a biological predisposition. Which is true of boys as mothers saw their sons as cute when cross-dressing. This may explain why there are more male to female transsexuals than vice versa.

+ Zhou ('95)

Studied an area in the hypothalamus known as the BSTc. This is a type of sexually dimorphic nucleus that is thought to be fully developed after 5 years and influences sexual behaviour. They found in post-mortems of 6 male to female transsexuals that the BSTc was the same seize and similar neuron amount to heterosexual women (single number.) This supports brain sex theory as this was the gender identified with.

Studying Hormones

Studying the role of hormones through ore-natal manipulation is thought to be highly unethical, however we: Study animals Study those with genetic disorders (GAH, CAIS) Study those whose mothers were prescribed hormones during pregnancy for medical reasons.

AO2 Studies for Roles and Genes and Hormones (cont.)

Swaab and Flyers ('85): Found evidence in the brain of sexually dimorphic nucleus in the hypothalamus. 13 men and 18 women between the ages of 10 and 93 years. The SDN was x2.2 larger and had x2.2 number of cells in men. Differences arise from the pre-natal action of sex hormones, particularly testosterone. This supports the role of hormones in gender development. The difference may not necessarily relate to gender behaviour but may relate to biological processes that differ in males and females. Individuals with gender dysphoria have SDN's that resembles the gender they identify with. Suggesting that this area of the brain is responsible for gendered behaviour. This was also found in rats. Berenbaum and Hines ('92): Studied girls with Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia CAH. They investigated whether overexposure to male hormones had a masculinising effect on their brain and behaviour. It was found that girls with CAH show typical male play behaviour compared to their sisters without CAH, they also preferred male playmates. This implies that hormones have an important role in gender behaviour.

+ Agta Tribe

The Agta Tribe in the Phillipines, animals are close to home so women can take their children hunting with them. Gender behaviour is constrained by the physical attributes of males and females but it is still flexible to a degree and can respond to cultural influences. This is why biosocial theory is the best explanation for both the consistencies and differences in gender role and behaviour across cultures.

Parents Influences on Gender

The expectations of how boys and girls should behave is likely to have a lasting effect on gender schemas. The Baby 'X' experiments found that adults treated babies differently if they were labelled as either boys or girls. Fagot ('89): Found that parents who show the clearest patterns of differential reinforcement have children who are the fastest to develop gender preferences.

Media Influences on Gender

The media can heavily influence the perception of gender through TV adverts, magazines, etc. This is always learned through vicarious experience. Williams ('86): Found that those with access to multitel TVs shower stronger gender stereotypes than those with unitel or no televisions at all. This increased when no tel got television in Canada.

Psychological Explanations

There are 2 psychological explanations of gender: Kohlberg's Theory of Gender Development Gender Schema Theory

Differences in Risk-Taking Behaviour

There are differences in social roles for men and women. It is generally accepted that men are more aggressive and more likely to engage in risky behaviour than women. Women are generally more nurturing, and this may have evolved from the EEA for survival and reproductive success. Risky/Aggressive behaviour for women would have hindered survival and reproductive success due to spending a large amount of time caring for offspring. Males have little parental investment and so have little to lose. Demonstrating this behaviour may be considered attractive by females for protection.

Social Influences on Gender

There are various influences which effect gender in people and the role it plays in their lives, these influences include: Parents Peers Schools Media

Peers Influences on Gender

These are likely to be a heavy social influence on children, particularly at school. They are likely to reinforce gender stereotypical behaviour. Langlois and Downs ('80) found that peers are intolerant of others' cross-gender behaviour. Fagot ('85) found that boys are more likely to be criticised for 'feminine' behaviour that vice versa.

+ Wood and Eagly ('02) #2

They considered several non-industrialised societies using the Ethnographic Atlas of 1264 societies and he Atlas of the World Cultures of 563 societies. They also accessed the Standard Cross-Cultural Sample of 186 societies. Similarities in these cultures despite socioeconomic differences suggest a biological basis to gender role, whilst differences suggest a dependence on varying factors, like sources of food. These ethnographic approaches may be inaccurate and may be reductionist as well as being subject to Western bias.

Gender Recognition Act ('04)

This allows individuals who have undergone sex reassignment to legally be recognised as their desired gender and can be used in their passport and other legal documents. They may also marry as their new gender.

Evolutionary Explanations of Gender Development

This explains reasons for differences between the males and females and how this enabled survival. Differences can be seen in: Division of labour - men go to work, women stay at home Reproductive behaviour - men look for youth, women look for resources Aggressive and Risk-taking behaviour - men usually more aggressive and risky Evolutionary explanations tend to centre around: Natural selection Sexual selection Parental investment differences

Gender Schema Theory - Martin and Halverson ('81)

This is a cognitive developmental theory that emphasises thought processes (like Kohlberg) However it argues that children do not need a thorough understanding of gender before they display gender-stereotypical behaviour. It argues that children will develop gender schemes once a basic gender identity is acquired at around age 2.

Kohlberg's Theory

This is a cognitive-developmental theory which therefore emphasises the role of thought processes in the development of gender. A child's understanding of gender is thought to develop as a result of cognitive maturation as the child gets older. This means that children can only acquire certain concepts of gender when they are cognitively ready to.

Mothers Prescribed Hormones

This is where the developing embryo is exposed to abnormal hormone levels which may affect the brain and behaviour.

Gender

This refers to an individual's feeling of being either male or female. It can be defined by public image and social interactions with others. Aspects of gender can vary greatly between societies.

Wood and Eagley's Social Role Theory

This theory is more modern and takes into account both biological and social factors. Evolved physical (not psychological) differences in sexes Men assigned hunters, women assigned carers Psychological differences then emerge from these social role assignments due to biology They were feminists and so approached gender development from perspective and social constructionists.

Studying Animals

We can study hormones in gender development by studying animals who have had levels of testosterone manipulated either: During pre-natal development Shortly after birth If manipulation affects their behaviour,mint can be concluded that hormones are important to the development of gender behaviour. This was seen with female rats who were given testosterone pre-nasally, they subsequently demonstrated typical male behaviour such as mounting females.