Personality Psych 3
Biological Influences on Gender Differences
Testes begin to develop only in embryos with XY chromosomes. The testes produce sex hormones: some progesterone and estrogen but a much larger amount of androgen. The genetically male fetus then develops the internal/external male sex organs. When the embryo has XX sex chromosomes, the gonad buds begin to develop into ovaries at about 12 weeks gestational age. It appears that in the absence of testes producing large amounts of androgen, female external and internal genitalia develop. Prenatal hormones may affect the brain by influencing the manner in which the hypothalamus will regulate the pituitary gland as it controls the secretion of gonadal hormones after puberty. Hormones affect behavior but behavior can affect hormones so differences are more indicative of societal influences
Mischel
psychologist who claimed no matter what trait or topic, you could not validly predict what an individual was going to do based on a previous measure of that person's traits Person's behavior varies so much from situation to situation that it makes no sense to think in terms of broad personality traits.
Gender vs Sex
sex (the anatomy of an individual's reproductive system, and secondary sex characteristics) from gender, which can refer to either social roles based on the sex of the person (gender role)
Environmental Press
the push of the situation emphasized in Murray's approach to personality; it is a directional force on a person that arises from other people and events in the environment
Social Self
Idea that who we are and how we think of ourselves arises from our interactions with those around us. We become "different" people in different social situations. In each social situation, we imagine how others think of us and respond accordingly. Personality emerges as a combo of individual inclinations and the social situation. We have as many personality as we have interpersonal situations
Errors of Scientific Inference
Ignorance of social/cultural influences can lead to scientists to errors of judgement. Subtle cultural prejudices and influences were distorting the judgements of even the most educated men in America such as in the exclusion of Jews in Yale college because their different culture was different from academy life
Ethnic Socialization
In diverse societies, parents have to instill pride in their children without encouraging feelings of superiority, and preparing their children for prejudice without instilling anxiety. People who believe that traits are fixed show greater attention to stereotype consistent information. People who better understand the complex nature of personality may be more flexible in changing their views. These varying perceptions in turn affect minority group members as they move between associating with and identifying with various groups throughout the general culture
The influence of hormones during puberty
Increase in male testosterone and aggression are commonly linked which may be related to dominance and achievement. During puberty males undergo increases in androgens and females in estrogens. When female athletes are found to produce very high levels of testosterone, hyperandrogenism, they are barred from competing unless they get surgery to reduce their levels. This tends to arise during their late teen years when their adult gender identity is being established. Most persistent personality characteristics associated with female hormone cycles is emotionality, but the actual influence appears to be quite small in most women but such reasoning original limited women from being involved in high status positions.
Social Interaction Categorization
Independent Dimensions Affiliation dimensions of warmth and harmony versus rejection and hostility and assertiveness dimension of dominance and task oriented versus submission and deference. explaining group behaviors based on how the group perceives itself in relation to those who are outside of the group.
Countering Stereotype Threat
Individuals who are especially conscious of their group stigma are at high risk and individuals with high self-esteem have a greater capacity to shift focus from a stigmatized element of their identity to a favorable element of their identity and thus reduce their susceptibility to stereotype threat.
Instrumental behavior versus Expressiveness
Instrumental behavior involves being oriented to objectives that are task focused and separate from interpersonal system, whereas expressive behavior involves emotional well being of one's social family. Women are identified as engaging in more expressive actions while men are more instrumental. Both styles require skills and both are useful. Being expressive does not imply being emotion driven and incompetent, not does instrumentality intimate an utter lack of interpersonal skills.
Language and Identity
Keeps out those who do not proficiently speak a group's language, and reinforcing the ties among those who do. Language can be used to assert the speaker's membership in a group and to prevent outsiders from understanding communications among members Issue of identity is central, with language functioning as an expression of cultural solidarity.
Clark and Hatfield Conley
75% of men said yes to casual sex, 0% of women said no to being asked for casual sex thinking it was for evolutionary sex drives But Conley recreated the experiment the women explained that it was due to social safety differences for why women said no. But when they envisioned a famous celebrity asked for casual sex, both genders has equal consent
Religion Influences on Atheists
A nonreligious person might be equally committed to the causes of a religious person, but the underlying motivations and associated behavior (such as whether the activities are accompanied by prayer) could be different. Sometimes non religious people will strive unknowingly to act according to religious directives, as the religious ideas have become embedded in the secular culture in a non religious formation
Thema Murray
A typical combination of needs and environmental presses. Measured with his Thematic Apperception Test, in which a person is presented with ambiguous pics and composes a story. Interaction between needs and presses provided the cornerstone for interactionist approaches to personality
System of Multicultural Pluralistic Assessment
Assumes that test results cannot be divorced from the culture. Therefore, the focus of comparisons is among individuals within a cultural group rather than between cultural groups. Have been applied mostly to ability and intelligence testing because of concern about misclassification of disadvantaged minority students as having less intellectual potential.
Culture Fair Tests
Attempt to control for or rule out effects that result from culture rather than individual differences. Such as a test that sees how quickly individuals respond to presentation of a stimulus such as a sound or picture. Include some subscales that are known to be culturally biased and other subscales that are culture-fair. Then if an individual scores differently on the two types of subscales, we'll know that standard testing may be inappropriate for this person. Tests have no value outside the contexts in which they are created, but they may be quite useful when the context is well understood. There are no simple rules that can be developed to ensure the complete validity of all tests
Idiolect
Because we have different experiences, each individual speaks a unique version of their language, called an idiolect. A form of self-expression and thus a part of personality. The greater the similarities between any two people in terms of factors such as where they have lived, where they were educated, their class, religion, the greater the similarities is likely between their idiolects
Nineteenth Century Views
Behavior and thought evolved as a result of their functionality for survival. Maternal instinct, which was defined as "an inborn emotional tendency toward nurturance that was triggered by contact with a helpless infant". Most of woman's energy was to be expended on pregnancy, childbirth, and breastfeeding; as a result women had no remaining resources for other abilities. These theories were used to explain and justify the dominant positions of men and the submissive positions of women.
.30 isn't so Bad
Behavior has multiple influences so a trait has .30, the consistency like booze, other people, and the consistent behavior are part of a whole behavior .30 is meaningful Argued that the situation matters more than personality However, the situation is NOT stronger than personality. Situation-behavior correlation is also .30 Not small because we don't expect it to predict perfectly.
Stereotypes
Beliefs about the personality traits that are perceived to be characteristics of members of some group Attitudes, good/bad appraisal -> prejudice "I don't like people from NJ" Behavior, actions or intentions -> discrimination "I cut people off when I see NJ plates" Cognition, Beliefs
Fundamental Attribution Error
Biases that cause people to overemphasize internal characteristics to explain other people's behavior Under emphasis with regard to the impact of external factors in explaining other people's behaviors
Psychoanalytic Gender Theory
Biological theory assuming differences in variety of traits including aggression, passivity, and rationality arise from emotional responses to difference in physical structure of boys and girls. If the basic mechanism by which gender specific personality traits are attained is that of identification with the same sex parents. Castration anxiety from boys desiring their moms but fearing their dads has been enhanced 1) importance of penis to pleasure 2) threats from his parents about masturbating To deal with the anxiety, the boys identify with the dad and vicariously live through them. This resolution of the Oedipus crisis results in boys incorporating male characteristics into their own personalities, including paternal ethics and values Girls also have a strong maternal love but lack a penis so they are overwhelmed with inferiority and envy. To resolve the crisis, the little girl withdraws her affection from her equally inferior mom and takes on her dad as a love objective. And replaces desire for a penis with desire for a child, thus the female incorporates the feminine characteristics. Focuses way too much on the penis and very heterosexist
Sullivan Mental Disorders
Blames society for most of the individual's problems. Promoted idea that locking people away who are mentally ill is harmful. Believed healthy, positive interpersonal relations could help other people overcome their problems.
Evidence for Gender Differences
Boys and men have better spatial abilities whereas girls are more verbally advanced. Girls usually start to talk at a slightly earlier age, have larger vocabs, and have higher grades than boys Men are more physically aggressive than girls, males commit more violent crimes. Females are better at nonverbal communication, sensitive to nonverbal cues. Men are more likely to take charge in small groups, women are more likely to be concerned about and involved in child rearing, but not definite as men can be nurturing and women being independent Although women on average outlived men, masculine men and masculine women were more likely to die at a young age, while more feminine women and feminine men were relatively less likely to succumb Emphasis on gender differences can have caring women being seen as incompetent for workplace Communication equality is good for romantic relationship
Murray Personality
Branch of psychology which principally concerns itself with the study of human lives and the factors which influence their course, which investigates individual differences. integrated both external demands and internal motives Viewed personality as the study of human lives across time, he necessarily watched and analyzed the interactions of individuals and the situations they encounter throughout their lives
Turner's syndrome
Children born with an X0 sex chromosome. Have female genitals but no ovaries. Because they are not exposed to androgen they are sterile. At puberty, the young women must receive hormone supplements if they are to develop secondary sexual characteristics. There is evidence that these girls engage in timid and feminine behavior and may display weaker math and spatial skills which have been used to argue that at least certain aspects of feminine behavior have a direct genetic basis.
Mischel Four Personality Variables
Competencies: The person's abilities and knowledge Encoding strategies: The schemas and mechanisms one uses to process and encode information Expectancies: including outcome expectancies for our own behavior and self-efficacy expectancy Plans Individual's actions are the result of both environmental constraints and internal, cognitive characteristics of the individual.
Etic Approach
Cross cultural, searches for generalities across cultures, like all cultures have a way of saying hello. Problems arise when concepts, measures, and methods developed in one culture are carelessly transferred to another culture in an attempt to make cross cultural generalization about personality. The ways in which a personality construct is reflected in a cultural environment may differ between cultures. Potential inadequate translations
Religion
Cultural and religious expectations can be contradictory, and people can find themselves in situations where there are 2 or more sets of rules to follow, especially as a member of a minority religion. With multiple religious existing within a shared cultural framework, religious beliefs and practices can clearly differentiate the reaction patterns of many individuals; religion can be a key part of identity Very relevant to self-regulation, health, and social integration. Protestants put more emphasis on the individual's direct private relationship with God, this is often offered as an explanation of the individualistic nature of Americas. Religious practices can contradict cultural practices
Emic Approach
Culture specific, focuses on a single culture, understood on its own terms. Like the ways Americans toilet train their kids Focuses on a single, culture; rich understanding of culture, immersed within culture
Stressful situation make all people sad, especially depression, vulnerable people
Depression vulnerable will experience higher sadness than non vulnerable in high stress situations
Interactionism Limits
Difficult to define situation and to study the many complexities of interactions Extreme positions can fail to take into account the complexity of the relationship between personality, behavior, and the situation May overlook biological influences
Emic vs Etic
Emic approaches call for indigenous, locally derived methods that are sensitive to the culture specific elements. These are then completed by etic approaches, which rely on translated, imported methodology that facilitate quantitative comparisons across cultures. Use both of measures that are developed within the cultural context being studied (the emic) and measures that are imported from another culture context to produce a more useful and more accurate overall description of personality in a specific cultural environmnt Like doing Emic approach followed by Etic approach or where they're used simultaneously
Individualist vs Collectivists
Emphasize autonomy and independence, whereas collectivists are more interdependent and group focused. American, individualistic tendency to perceive oneself as unique and worthy is confirmed by studies showing that individualistic cultures report themselves to be more competent, smarter, and attractive than their average peers. Cultural distinctions in how people perceive, understand, remember and think about themselves and their environment are important parts of personality Personal responsibility is not likely to develop if a focus on collective identity interferes with the initial development of personal identity and responsibility Within the US, hispanics, asians, and blacks are more collectivists than anglos. Women are more collectivist than men
Interactionism advantages
Emphasize interpersonal influences Can draw on best aspects of other approaches Understands that we are different selves in different situations Often studies personality across time
Interactionism
Environments affect personality features and personality features affect the environment Reciprocal, how they both mutually affect one another Personality and situations interact to influence behavior Must attend to both personality and situations to understand behavior Personality and situation are equally important
Erikson Gender Differences
Erik's conceptualization described male traits such as activeness, exploring, warring and pragmatic in a sense corresponding to their external, outwardly extended genitals. Portrayed female characteristics such as nurturance, gentleness coinciding with the internal nature of female genitals.
Race as Flawed in Grouping People
Ethnic groups, who are grouped based on cultural habits or extended family customs. Races, Groupings based on physical characteristics tied to geographical origin, such as skin color, eye shape, or height. Source of confusion because they confound culture and tradition with physical appearance, assuming that the physical characteristics are inherently tied to the customs. People can change parts of their culture but not their skin color, and we can see if someone is black or white but not if they're catholic or Buddhist
Ethnocentrism
Evaluating others from one's own cultural point of view
Humanism and Gender Maslow
Everyone is capable of becoming self actualized, who have a range of traits and transcend traditional gender roles Society's lesser treatment of women drives gender differences in personality Empathy, creativity, and autonomy are present in self actualized people which is a mix of female and male traits
The effects of prenatal sex hormones on gender behavior
Evidence for the possibility of an effect of prenatal hormones on gender behavior are experimental data from animal studies and studies of humans who have experienced prenatal genetic or hormonal anomalies. Higher androgen levels for both genders caused animals to have more aggressiveness and activity levels. There is little evidence that extra Y sex chromosomes in XXY has much influence on behavior, there is no greater tendency toward aggression in these XYY males. Both genders increase in testosterone when thinking about sex
Attribution Theories
Examine the ways we draw inferences about other people's behavior. Because we do not see those situational forces in people's lives, we sometimes overexplain incorrectly in terms of personality Personality judgements by your acquaintances show better interjudge agreements than do judgements by strangers. But understanding and prediction are much enhanced when the situation is simultaneously considered Biases cause us to over attribute to personality and emphasize its importance, there is good reason to believe that many aspects of our inferences about personality are valid.
Jack Block Longitudinal Study
Examining people over time because we are ever changing. There is no alternative scientific approach that can begin to discern the specific influential factors conjoining with each other as the individual reaches out to life, is enveloped by circumstance and forges character according to Jack Block, the close, comprehensive, systematic, objective, sustained study of individuals over significant portions of the life span
Interactionist Approaches to Personality
Explicitly attempt to consider the social situations in which people find themselves or create for themselves. Converging influences changed our notions of personality to be more situation and interactionist.
Cognitive Approaches to Gender
Gender Schema: stereotypes on what it means to be a male or female which influences our behavior Gender schematic: relies heavily on gender categories to make choices Gender aschematic Highly gender typed individuals are more likely to organize their conceptions of themselves and others around the gender schema than are individuals who are not as gender typed.
Behaviorist Approach to Gender Social Learning Theory
Gender typed characteristics are attained through reinforcement, modeling, conditioning, generalization, vicarious learning. Parents are the primary sources of modeling and reinforcement, serving as primary socializers of sex typed traits. See gender differences as deriving from the society and changeable by society. Boys are encouraged in rough and tumble play like toy guns. Sexual orientation of parents unrelated to sexual orientation of children Early experiences of abuses no related to sexuality
Nancy Chodorow
Girls connect with mom -> focus on relationships. Girls never break free from the mom's bond so they want to recreate it Boys separate from mom -> focus on independence The self is not fully autonomous, but fundamentally influenced by relations with others. Children develop their gender identity in the context of their relationship with their mom, who is influential for the process in boys and girls who have a primary identification with her. The gender identity that develops in the daughter will match that or her mom. The son must develop a male gender identity in the context of his relationship with his mom, as well as developing his self-identity. This distinction between boys and girls in their process of developing gender identity is universal Does not account for sexual orientation, ignores other factors like race or class besides maternal bond
American Dilemma
How America believes all men are created equal but allowed slavery. Modern research has shown no support for simple notions of national "character" as captured by common stereotypes; ideas that the English are especially reserved. The actual personality differences that are found between cultural groups do not correspond to those stereotypes. Makes sense to take into account that personality is influenced by the reactions of others and that others often react to us based on perceived physical characteristics. It is more beneficial to study the effects of ethnic identification, history, family, subculture, religion and social class as thy interact with temperament and affect personality
contemporaneous cause Lewin
Kurt Lewin's concept that behavior is caused at the moment of its occurrence by all the influences that are present in the individual at that moment Did not see earlier events such as a childhood conflict or repressed drives as directly causing adult behavior.
Language and Thought
Language functions as an influence on how people communicate and an expression of the world view of their culture. The requirement of the language become part of how the speaker casts an intended communication into words, as well as how those words are interpreted by the listener. The specifics of your language not only determine how your thoughts are transformed into words, but also shape the very nature of the thoughts you can think.
Language as Cultural Influence
Language in its oral form are pervasive mode of interpersonal interaction in all human societies, and a central part of who we are. Particular characteristics of a particular language help shape us toward being a particular type of human being
Culture and Theory
Lewin knew that personality is not located solely inside a person but also dependent on the social and cultural environment. Personality theories that are developed by a researcher will depend in part on the researcher's culture. Culture influences theory
Gender and Language
Masculine pronoun is closely linked to males. When people hear "he" and "his" they are not likely to think of female examples. But most of the people who have had significant influence in the codification of language rules over the centuries have been male and have reflected the male experience. The absence of a gender neutral third person singular pronoun in English makes some things hard to say gracefully.
Trait Approaches Masculinity and Feminity
Masculinity and Femininity are two poles and ends on a continuum Either more nurturing or communal, or more assertive and task oriented and thus more masculine But someone is able to be high on both so more modern approaches conceptualize as two separate dimensions
Gender differences in Skills
Math skills: Tiny difference in math test scores, starting in HS, favoring boys Small average difference. The overlap is greater than the difference Women do better at spatial visualization Men do better in spatial perception But these tasks only have relevance in certain domains like math but not very important in other domains of life Although there are differences in cognitive abilities, the differences are quite small More gender similarities than differences in skills
Gender Aggression and Dominance and emotional
Men on average more assertive, violent Probably not innate and just because of societal differences Women are emotional, subjective, fearful, and irrational Men are unemotional, logical, controlled, fearless Older kids and adults: more crying and fear in females preschoolers: boys and girls similarly adventurous and fearless babies and toddlers: momre crying in males Conclusion: gender differences in emotionality result from social influences, not something inborn
Male and Female Differences
Men tend to be stronger than women, girls and women appear to be constitutionally stronger than boys and men. Male children are more susceptible to diseases and disabilities than are females, girls are more neurologically mature than boys at birth and through puberty. Women tend to outlive men.
Learning through occupational models
More female role models in male occupations Girl career aspirations now include such jobs Few male role models in female occupations, boys career aspirations have NOT expanded
Feminism
Movement for gender equality women are important members of society and inherently equal to men, deserving equal rights and opportunities There needs to be a social change to benefit women Feminism is not a single belief system and encompasses a diversity of beliefs Most abilities show no consistent gender differences besides a tiny difference in verbal skill. A lot of overlap
Personological system
Murray's term for his theory of personality that emphasizes the richness of life of each person and the dynamic nature of the individual as a complex organism responding to a specific environment The richness of people's lives, approach is to study personality across time
Whiting and Edwards
Observed children in 13 cultures and found 2 gender differences across cultures Girls were more nurturing and more helping Boys were more competitive Gender differences in their settings such as girls being in settings with young children and infants while boys were more likely to be in settings with older male peers Different settings seem to socialize boys and girls to perform different behaviors
Culture and Testing
One problem arises when the assumption underlying the test are culturally biased. The item content of a test may not adequately capture some cultural experience. So general knowledge questions or psychological reaction questions could be appropriate for one group but not for the other group. Tests developed in one cultural context may view some characteristics are pathological, even when they're desirable in other cultural contexts. Test scores are also known to be affected by such things as motivation, previous test-taking experience, the qualities of the examiner, and socioeconomic status
Illusion individuality Sullivan
One single non changing personality regardless of situation The incorrect notion that people have a single fixed personality
Linguistic Relativity
Our interpretation of the world is dependent on the linguistic system by which we classify it. People who to tend to use active verbs tend to have field independent personalities, their perceptions are less passive. Languages invented by dictators make it impossible to express or even think rebellious thoughts
Interactionist Approach To Gender
Our societal stereotype that girls are more nurturing than boys is grounded in differences that can be empirically measured with good reliability. Suggestions that females are more sociable than males has very little empirical basis. Little evidence of significant differences in attachment behaviors of boys and girls. When women are raised to be nurturing and are placed into social roles that expect nurturing, they act in a caring manner Reason that women are better at expressing and decoding nonverbal messages depend on a host of socialization pressures, different experiences, and situational demands with many compound any biological predispositions that may exist. Sometimes male-female differences in empathic accuracy are a function of differential motivation, rather than differential ability Social roles genders roles are the determinants of behavior
Life Course Approach Avshalom Caspi
Pattern of behavior change as a function of age, culture, social groups, life events as well as cause of internal drives, motives, abilities and traits. These internal aspects unfold or develop in certain ways in certain context, interactionist. People can create their own personas via situation interactions, by varying how they interpret situations, eliciting reactions from mothers, and seeking out certain situations.
Bilingualism
People behave in line with the language they are speaking at a time, especially if they see their two cultural identities as compatible. If one grows up speaking two languages, then certain thoughts and behavior patterns are learned in, and triggered by, a certain linguistic cultural context. Bicultural individuals are not stuck between two cultures but are generally well adjusted
Cognitive Interference
People will spend too many resources blocking out stereotype influence that they will not have enough for the task at hand
Replies to Mischel
Personality (traits) and situations interact to influence behavior Neither the setting or person alone are sufficient in understanding how a person behaves and feels If traits do not predict behavior well, then focus on situations. However, we find that situations are not better predictors. Situations also have an effect size of .30
Life Course
Personality generally seems most stable for people in their 50s. But longitudinal studies of personality change often reveal individual and trait differences. For example one study found that neuroticism tended to change at a more rapid rate than did extroversion in later years, and that individual trajectories were influenced by social factors like marriage. As people mature, most people continue to become less impulsive, more reliable and content Each experience has its effects in the context of previous experience. Thus, we should not expect personality always to lead to the same behavior in the same situation. After all, people learn from and react to their experiences. We are more affected by certain environments at certain times in our lives.
Harry Stack Sullivan, personality in social context
Personality molded by social interactions, shaped by society, and is closely tied to social situations Interpersonal theory of psychiatry: Idea that you cannot separate society from the personality, personality psych should focus on interpersonal relations and not the person itself We become different people in different social situations. In a sense, we may have as many personalities as we have interpersonal situations.
Situation
Physical: Climate, geographic region, food supply Social: Family, friends, partner, teachers, etc Cultural: TV, books, music, magazines, language, etc Historical: Wars, economic change, inventions Situation variables: how much alcohol is available at a party or how much alchohol someone drinks at a party Study: does alcohol availability at a party predict hookups
Biological Approaches to Gender
Prenatal exposure to sex hormones Little solid evidence of links to personality Strongest effect (still small) found for female's exposure to androgen Males, little clear evidence of links between prenatal hormones and personality Strict societal rules may override
MORE biological approaches to gender
Pubertal/adult exposure to sex hormones Greater monthly hormonal fluctuation in females Few links to personality for most women Only 5% of women go through PMS so hormonal cycles have little influence on most women Evolution of theories: size, ratio, lobes, variability Evidence is weak, inconsistent, inconclusive for brain sizes Men are more variable in extremes, like men are more likely to be diverse in intelligence and stupidity
Sandra Lipsitz BEM's approach
Researches have shown it's more adaptive to be masculine but only in America
Gender Schema Theory
Schema are patterns of thought that help us organize new information Pay attention to schema consistent info, forget inconsistent information Gender differences are perpuated because people pay additional attention to schema consistent info Children reversed the gender of the actor in inconsistent photos Good at remembering info that fits into existing schema D statistic, how big a difference is across all studies
Survival Analyses
Show that the protective effect of conscientiousness is partly but not primarily linked to a reduction in risk of injury, also protective against cardiovascular disease and cancer. The unconscientious have less healthy habits, but a significant effect of conscientious still remains after controlling for factors like smoking. This aspect of childhood personality sets in motion a whole string of adult actions that lead to shortened lifespan. Early personality can sometimes have very long term and far reaching effects, even on how long we live
Incorporating Culture into Personality Theory
Solution is not to try to eliminate culture but rather to bring culture into consideration as a basic element of personality. Everyone grows up in some culture. And culture is part of what it means to be a person, so it makes sense to incorporate culture into personality theories and personality research Allport proposed a mix of societal, economic, historical and communication factors as complementary to internal personality dynamics like a competing job market leading to discrimination
Power of the situation
Some situations are so "strong" that they override our inclinations or personality
Steele and Aronson
Steel saw black students performing more poorly than white students Black and white students took a hard exam One group were told the exam was diagnostic of their intelligence and the other group was not related to intelligence so the stereotype has been made irrelevant Everyone takes the GRE verbal test In the diagnostic intelligence exams, the black students performed much poorly than whites but in the nondiagonistic group their scores were nearly identical
Emotionality
Stereotyped beliefs that women are subjective, sentimental and illogical. Men are expected to be controlled, rational, logical, and unemotional. Male characters are portrayed to be angry and girls are sad Girls report more shame, sadness and guilt Boys feel empathy they just learn to control expressing it Parents are more okay with girls showing more emotion than boys, mothers talk about emotions more with daughters than with sons
Biological Approaches to Gender Differences
The sex differences that exist are explained as resulting from natural selection. It is evolutionary imperative for men to have many sexual contacts as possible in order to perpetuate their genes. Men have a large amount of sperm to impregnate with and cannot be 100% sure a child is theirs. This can result in men trying to make as many women pregnant as possible. Females have limited child bearing years, must be more selective in their mating practices to avoid wasting their limited reproductive chances on pregnancies with unfit sperm, followed by child raising. Thus evolutionary rationale provides men being more sexually promiscuous and active than women, and women being more nurturing and sensitive to men's character. Men care more about sex because they don't have to invest as much time into pregnancy and want to spread their seed. Women have a lower sex drive to a bigger time investment Doesn't explain gender differences due to violating the scientific method. Homosexuality does not fit into the evolutionary perspective
Cultural Effects
The shared behaviors and customs we learn from institutions in our society. Even within the same city, school, people might develop a lot different reaction patterns as a function of their history of their ethnic group and social class. Important to understand that cultural as well as biological and social influences profoundly shape personality.
Social Roles Theory
The social behaviors that differ between the sex are embedded in social roles in gender roles as well as in many other roles pertaining to work and family life. Men and women tend to occupy social roles including gender, occupation, and family roles that elicit different social behaviors from ne and women who enter these roles with caring inclinations Women tend to compare themselves to other women, and as a result cross-gender inequities in status and pay are more likely to be ignored
Alice Eagly Gender Roles
The study of gender differences has focused on biology and childhood development and socialization rather than examining what actually maintain the difference in adulthood. Her theory describes the function of social roles as the determinants of gender differences. Different roles in which men and women find themselves specify behavior. Roles women occupy evoke communal behaviors of relationship maintenance and caring for others. Roles men find themselves in evoke independence and self-reliance.
Stereotype Threat
The threat that others' judgements or their own actions will negatively stereotype them (and will lead to inadvertent confirmation of the stereotype). Such as people reacting poorly to exams if they see themselves identified with a group expected to do poorly. If they come to believe that the test or evaluation is not relevant to these characteristics then their performance improves. Focusing on positive stereotypes can also improve performance. Example of how we become ma different person in different situations, in line with person-situation interactionist aspects of personality.
Cumulative Continuity
The various ways in which personality tends to remain stable even though it is possible to change. By interpreting situations as similar, eliciting similar reactions from others, and seeking out certain similar situations the average adult maintains a fairly consistent personality.
The Great Trait Debate
Theory: Traits are stable, can predict behavior across situations Actuality: Trait behavior correlation = .30 Implies personality and traits are not useful concepts
Situation Might Elicit Cultural Difference
There are times when ethnic identity must be elicited from the social situation. Hispanics were intensely competitive when they were in a minority of a group; but they cooperated when they were in the majority. In contrast, the behavior of Anglo's exposed to cooperative feedback was not affected by changes in the ethnic balance of the group. The Hispanic students functioned like the Anglos, except when the cooperative norms of their culture were salient; in that case, the ethnically influenced part of their personality emerged. Such situationally influenced aspects of cultural identity may be especially likely to occur in cultures of subcultures.
Situational Trait Measures
Try to focus on how each individual evaluates, interprets and reacts to the different situations they encounter. Might measure people on self reported or physiologically assessed anxiety and then place them in different situations. No two situations are ever exactly alike; the world changes over time.
Dialects
Variations between groups of people who share regional or cultural characteristics. When two groups speak related by distinguishable dialects, it can be an important aspect of group identity. In childhood, preference for an unfamiliar person is more strongly determined by the person's accent matching that of the child's community Encompasses variations in vocabulary and unique syntactic forms
Freud Gender
We develop gender perceptions by identifying with parents Phallic stage: oedipal crisis -> identify w/dad Girls: Electra crisis -> identify w/ mom Girls have penis envy Problems with Freud's theory No empirical support Based on unhealthy patients
Aggression and Dominance
When differences in aggression are found, they tend to be in the direction of male aggressiveness including greater verbal aggression in males than in females. The impact of higher levels of trait aggression in young males has a power consequence for their survival, young men between18-24 are way more likely to die than their female peers, with the vast majority of deaths among people due to car crashes, homicide, and suicide. If leadership qualities or controlling behaviors that resist control are included, gender differences in dominance pale. Boys engage in more behaviors that are commonly thought to establish dominance including, interrupting, commanding and threatening, resisting the requests of others, and so on. Girls take turns in conversation, make requests politely, and agree with one another.
Romance and Love
Whereas some of the physical changes accompanying female puberty such as menstruation are not attended by sexual pleasure, the boy's pubertal manifestations of erections and sexual dreams do draw his attention to the gratification that his dong can provide. Teenage boys find themselves more focused on their genitals as a source of pleasure. Boys discuss their genitals/masturbation with their peers more often than girls do. Girls focus their growing interest in the opposite sex more on romance and love.
Karen Horney
Women don't feel inferior because they lack a penis, they do so because women treat them lower than men. Boys have womb envy because they cannot bear children so boys try to achieve a lot to make up for their sense of inferiority
Achievement Motivation Gender
Wrong belief that women were not as motivated to achieve as men. Women do no run major institutions of society like government and corporate to the same extent that men do. In addition, some explanations suggest that women's higher need to be accepted and liked disrupts achievement. However, trait theories overgeneralize and over interpret their data. No gender differences in person versus task oriented for rewards. Another characteristic of women sometimes said to be responsible for their lack of professional success if their fear of success but empirical evidence shows no such phobia exists. Gender differences in occupational/professional success seem to derive from something other than gender differences in personality
Culture Free Tests
a test (usually for intelligence) that does not put anyone taking it at adisadvantage, for instance, as regards material or cultural background
aggregation
according to Seymour Epstein, the averaging of behaviors across situations (or over time), to improve the reliability of behavior assessments
Gender Similarities Hypothesis
men and women, as well as boys and girls, are more alike than they are different
