psych of women and gender exam

Expectancy role value theory (sex/gender differences)

*Focuses on how environmental factors and gender socialization promote sex/gender differences *Centers on the notion that women and men have internalized stereotypes about how they're supposed to act -Men may have a difficult time assuming care taking roles *People make decisions about what activities to pursue based on: the expectation that doing the activity will lead to success and the value that person puts on this activity

What are the transitioning obstacles?

*Impediments outside of a person's control that influence when and if they're able to transition *Money and time, insurance not covering parts -cost for male-to-female=$140,450 -cost for female-to-male=$124,400 *Family leaving your side *Finding healthcare providers *Being called mentally ill *Gender dysphoria -characterized by a strong desire to be treated as the "other" gender or to want to change "one's sex characteristics" Minority Stress Theory *Suggests that having a marginalized identity, such as being transgender, carries additional social stressors that can negatively affect mental and physical health outcomes Stigma awareness *Given the negative effects of the stressors, transgender individuals experience with violence and discrimination may create a justifiably heightened fear of encountering future discrimination *Also experienced by people with other marginalized identities Internalized Transphobia *they may internalize negative messages about transgender people

Social role theory (sex/gender differences)

*Or social structural theory, emphasizes how gender roles are responses to, rather than causes of, different roles in society *Holds that differences between women and men arise from the roles they've traditionally held rather than from biologically based differences *Cognitive and personality differences reflect adaptation to social roles

What are the lowered expectations for the STEM/EMCP fields?

*biases based on disability, race, or sex/gender may contribute to differential expectations for women in EMCP fields *lowered expectations leads to self-fulfilling prophecy *women in STEM/EMCP careers often have to provide more evidence of competence in order to be seen as credible

How might sex/gender terminology reflect sexism?

*historically sex/gender differences have served to justify sexism, and this practice continues today *sexism is more subtle now than it used to be (books describe women as different from men, women are seen as good communicators, intimate, and connection, benevolent sexism) *belief in sex/gender differences is related to both hostile and benevolent sexism -men who believed in large sex/gender differences were more likely to endorse hostile sexism -women who believed in large sex/gender differences were more likely to endorse benevolent sexism -sexism increased who read a paragraph how men and women are different, decreased who read on how they are similar *biopsychosocial model

What are the causes of the lack of representation of females in STEM/EMCP fields?

*lowered expectations *self-fulfilling prophecy *stereotypes *goal congruity *discrimination *women made up only 13% of people employed in engineering and 25% in math and computer science, and even lower for people of color (2.1% of STEM positions)

Psychologist Stephanie Shields (1975, 2007)

*studied how gender differences have been understood historically and noted that in the 19th century claimed that women were fundamentally inferior to men *one theory blamed women's reproductive capacity, arguing that menstruation consumed biological resources that otherwise could have promoted further brain development *scientists initially thought that men had larger brains than women since their skulls were larger, which supposedly would justify women's inferiority but when measured brain weight as a ratio to body weight and found that women's brains are actually larger than men's, brain size lost favor as an area of research *Much early scientific research was explicitly sexist that when women began to enter the field of psychology, they dedicated almost all of their energies to debunking problematic stereotypes about women *Conducted studies showing that menstruation did not impair mental or motor abilities and that women and men were actually more similar than different on most psychological traits

What is the biopsychosocial model?

A model that shows how biological, psychological, and social factors interact

What is gender conforming?

A person whose gender expression is consistent with cultural norms expected for that gender

What is cisgender?

A person whose gender identity matches the biological sex that they were assigned at birth Someone who either was assigned F at birth and identifies as a girl/woman, or was assigned M at birth and identifies as a boy/man

What is coming out?

A process by which the LGBTQ individuals accept, appreciate, and inform themselves and others about their LGBTQ identity Lifelong process continually have to decide and how to share information about their sexual orientation and or gender identity with others Can be easier or harder depending on one's social context Religion is identified as another factor contributing to difficulty in coming out Less is known about the experiences of bisexual identities (women) and lesbians of color

What is binegativity?

A social stigma directed specifically at bisexual people; it can come from people who identify as heterosexual as well as from those who identify as lesbian or gay Bisexual identities are often viewed with suspicion by both the straight and the lesbian/gay communities because of unstated assumptions that bisexual people in either gay or straight relationships will become unsatisfied and cheat

What is intersex?

A term that describes a wide variety of conditions in which a person's body isn't sex typical

What is gender non-conforming?

A term used to refer to individuals or communities who may not identify as transgender but who do not conform to traditional gender norms

What is androgynous?

A term used to refer to individuals who have complete gender neutrality, they may be people whose gender identity is both female and male or neither female nor male

What is a transman, transmasculine individual?

A transgender individual who identifies as a man and/or has a masculine gender expression

What is a transwoman, transfeminine individual?

A transgender individual who identifies as a woman and/or has a feminine gender expression

What are the three hormonal conditions that complicate gender assignment?

Androgen-insensitivity syndrome (AIS) *When testosterone is present but cannot connect with cell receptors, the developing tissue cannot use the testosterone to promote male genital growth *1/20,000 people *Have XY chromosomes, no female typical internal organs, and active testes, typical male levels of testosterone, but cannot process it so masculinization of the genitals and the development of the secondary sex characteristics don't occur *Complete androgen insensitivity (CAIS)= Have genitals that appear female and are typically assigned female at birth Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia *Inherited, causes the adrenal glands to over produce androgens *This impacts fetal genetic development and can affect development later on *The increase in androgens causes fetuses with XX chromosomes to develop varying degrees of male-typical genitalia *1/15,000 *When infants with XX chromosomes are born with classical CAH, their genitalia don't typically fit into F or M (surgery performed) *Often depressed due to constant medical surveillance 5-Alpha Reductase Deficiency *Have XY chromosomes, but because they don't have sufficient 5-alpha reductase, they're unable to convert testosterone to dihydrotestosterone, and then cannot masculinize their external genitals in utero *Assigned F at birth

What are the sexual orientations beyond the binary of heterosexuality and homosexuality? (less well-known)

Asexuality *a sexual orientation in which a person has low sexual attraction or no experience of sexual attraction Bisexuality *a sexual orientation characterized by having attraction to both women and men Demisexuality *a sexual orientation in which attraction occurs only when a person forms a strong emotional connection with another person Heteroflexible *this term refers to self-identified persons (either cis or trans) who are mostly attracted to cis- or transgender individuals of the other gender but who are occasionally attracted to other individuals (e.g. cis or transgender individuals of the same gender; those who are genderqueer) Pansexuality *a sexual orientation in which an individual is sexually and/or romantically attracted to all genders based on an individual's personality Queer *a sexual orientation in which an individual does not identify with any specific sexual orientation; also, an umbrella term sometimes used for those who are not heterosexual and/or gender-binary Skoliosexuality *a sexual orientation in which a person experiences attraction toward non-binary identified individuals

What is ambiguous genitalia?

Child born with external genitalia that don't nearly fit into F or M categories If we assume that only two types of genitals are possible There is actually tremendous variability in the appearance of genitals The term hermaphrodite was used to describe those with ambiguous genitalia and/or both ovarian and testicular tissue

Dyan is taller than the average male, very muscular, has a deep speaking voice, and is prone to getting into physical fights. Dylan's medical doctor recently conducted genetic testing and noticed a hormonal abnormality. Dylan would most likely be diagnosed with which of the following?

Congenital adrenal hyperplasia

What is the Sexual Configurations Theory (SCT)?

Created by feminist psychologist Sari van Anders Developed to better account for the fact that sexuality is multi-faceted, socially situated, and dynamic Argues that an individual's sexuality must be understood along a variety of dimensions Example: someone may have fantasies about people of one sex/gender but engage in sexual behavior with those of another sex/gender

What is transgender?

Describes individuals whose gender identity and/or gender expression do not conform to societal expectations for the sex they were assigned at birth Umbrella term that encompasses a variety of self-labels and definitions

Which of the following individuals would be described as having a monosexual identity?

Diane, a lesbian cisgender woman

What are the medical management for intersex?

Doctors can now intervene when intersex conditions were identified Aimed at "fixing" the bodies to fit the binary model of sex, considered an emergency due to psychological trauma Pressure from family or doctors to "do something" Medical procedures performed on intersex bodies are purely cosmetic and don't benefit and can even harm physical health Genitoplasty *any surgery on the genitals Clitoroplasty *a type of surgery that reduces the size of the clitoris and often have more surgeries as they age Phalloplasty *procedure used to increase the size of the penis and to relocate the placement of the urethral opening Medical gaze *a process of dehumanization that occurs when medical providers treat a persons' body separate from that persons' sense of self

What are the four basic questions we need to pose when we encounter sex/gender differences in the literature?

Does everyone show this difference? *Are the differences consistent, or does it change based on other aspects of one's social identity? ·-Recent research shows that many sex/genders differences change when other intersecting variables such as age, race, or socioeconomic status are considered ·-Other studies show that sex/gender differences disappear when race and or ethnic background is considered Does the difference change in different contexts? *Much research on sex/gender differences hasn't accounted for the ways in which context may influence findings *Does the difference depend on context, or does it occur in any situation? -Gender differences can change, and even reverse, depending on the situation -Men were more likely to help when people were watching then women, but they were equal when no one was watching Is the difference categorical or dimensional? *If a sex/gender difference is categorical (occurring in two distinct forms), then women and men can be treated as truly different groups or separate categories *Is the difference categorical (women are on way, men are another way) or dimensional (any differences between women and men are a matter of degree)? -Taxonomic analysis is a statistical technique for determining whether observed groups can be classified as categorical or dimensional -If women and men are categorically different, then they're so different that they can be considered completely different groups (or class or taxon's) -Simply knowing someone is a woman or a man would enable others to predict what the person is like on a given trait -The differences between women and men were better described as dimensional than categorical What is the source of the difference? *If an observed sex/gender difference persists over time and across situations and is found to represent categorical difference between women and men, it isn't clear what causes the difference

What are the methods used to study sex/gender similarities and differences?

File drawer problem *studies that don't find differences are often filed away (in metaphorical circular file, or trash bin) *the field is biased toward finding and explaining difference Effect size or a d statistic *when from many studies are combined in a meta-analysis or meta-synthesis *this number indicates how big or small a difference is -an effect size of 0.1 (or less) is negligible, meaning any difference is essentially assumed not to exist -an effect size of 0.2 is considered small -an effect size of 0.5 is considered medium -an effect size of 0.8 is considered large difference between groups Degree of overlap *a high % indicates a low effect size *a low % indicates a high effect size *96.01%= negligible, 0.1 (d) *92.03%= small, 0.2 (d) *80.26%=medium, 0.5 (d) *68.92%=large, 0.8 (d) Variability *the degree to which the scores are spread out *if the numbers are about the same numbers= low variability *if the numbers are spaced out= high variability *men and women may have similar scores on average, but their scores may differ in variability -even though the groups don't differ on average, there may be more of one group who score very low and very high Mean

How is sexual orientation different from gender identity

Gender Identity *Refers to one's understanding of oneself as gendered (as a girl, a boy, or as holding an identity that does not fit into the binary) Sexual orientation *individual predisposition toward sexual and/or romantic attraction for persons of the same sex/gender (homosexual) and/or the other sex/gender (heterosexual)

What are the specific findings and interpretations related to sex/gender differences in the cognitive areas?

General intelligence *Women and men typically score similarity on tests of general intelligence -IQ are designed to be free of sex/gender bias -Meta-analyses indicate that women consistently score better on memory tasks, with effect sizes in the small to moderate range (d= -0.20 to -0.56) -Another component woman outscore men is processing speed or the ability to maintain concentration and perform quickly while under pressure -small sex/gender differences in variability on IQ tests -Men's scores generally have greater variability than women's Mathematical ability *More attention has been given to differences between women and men on tests of specific cognitive abilities such as math skills, spatial skills, and verbal skills *The stereotype is that women excel in verbal skills and men excel in math skills *However data represents very complex findings -An effect size of -0.05 was found in a meta-analysis on math skills done meaning the difference in math skills was negligible -Researchers found a very small male advantage in various domains of math skills (d <0.15 for each skills) *This small effect indicates large gender similarities *gender stratification hypothesis -the idea that differences found between women and men (especially on cognitive skills) relate to the level of gender equality in a country *countries that have smaller sex/gender gaps in mathematics also tend to have large sex/gender gaps in reading, with girls outperforming boys Spatial skills *There are a wide variety of spatial skills, but mental rotation- the ability to imagine what an object would look like when rotated in three-dimensional space- has been the subject of much research *mental rotation shown male advantage effect size (d=0.70) implies 72% overlap between the groups *men do well on this task under time limits *women outperform men on memory tasks (d=-0.23) Verbal ability *Data show that women generally have higher verbal abilities than men, although the difference is relatively small, meaning there is more similarity than difference (d= -0.11) *moderate female advantage in reading comprehension Academic achievement *The data on cognitive differences between women and men paint an overall picture of sex/gender similarity rather than difference *Small differences in various domains, they vary according to race, culture and social class

Evolution (sex/gender differences)

Hold that differences between women and men stem from pressures for survival and reproduction throughout human evolutionary history Sexual strategies theory *Argues that as humans evolved, men impregnated as many women as possible in order to maximize the chance that some of their children would survive *Even today men should be more invested in short-term mating strategies and have lower standards for short-term relationships *Women had greater maternal investment in each child in order to aid their survival and therefore preferred long-term stable mates who would contribute resources to promote their children's survival Differential parental investment theory *an evolutionary explanation for why women are more invested in child care than men Paternity uncertainty *Another reason man may be less invested relates to the fact that early human men could never be 100% sure that a child was theirs *Help explain why men developed aggression toward and control over women -Ensured that the children the men they were supporting hadn't been fathered by other men Attachment fertility theory *Focuses on how evolutionary forces may have selected for similarity in reproductive strategies *Suggests that survival was enhanced when women and men worked together to ensure the survival of their offspring *Implies that it wouldn't be adaptive for men to impregnate women and then leave their offspring to potentially die, instead, it was more adaptive for men to stay with their mating partner and help nurture infants to ensure survival

What is internalized homophobia/biphobia/homonegativity?

Individuals who are uncomfortable with their sexual orientation identity may have internalized feelings of negativity toward being LGBTQ and wish that they didn't experience attraction to members of the same sex/gender

What is sexual orientation?

Is generally understood as an individual predisposition toward sexual and/or romantic attraction for persons of the same sex/gender (homosexual) and/or the other sex/gender (heterosexual)

What are the two genetic conditions that complicate gender assignment?

Klinefelter syndrome *Harry Fitch Klinefelter, explored variations in sex chromosomes *Several men with enlarged breasts, long arms, and small testes *Includes any chromosomal type that has more than one X chromosome plus one or two Y chromosomes *Because of the presence of the Y chromosome, individuals with KS have a penis and are generally assigned M at birth *Not all identify as male, some intersex *1/800 individuals assigned M at birth carry one or more extra X chromosomes *Hypogonadism= Difficult to produce sperm Turners syndrome *A chromosomal pattern of XO *Has 45 chromosomes, sperm carrying an X chromosome fertilizes an egg with no X chromosome or when a chromosome becomes lost during fetal development *1/2700 *Have female-typical external genitalia, with a uterus but no ovaries *Assigned F at birth, but often intersex *Typically shorter than their peers- average height is 4'8"

Biology (sex/gender differences)

Most research on biological explanations for sex/gender differences has focused on the brain and on hormones *Some studies find small differences between the brains of women and men, the differences often disappear when other variables are considered *One belief is that women have a bigger corpus callosum and some have used this supposed difference to justify sex/gender stereotypes -Does not necessarily lead to women and men acting different *While there may be small sex/gender differences in the brain, that doesn't mean individual women and men have clearly gender-typed brains *Even if there are brain differences between women and men, one can't assume that different brains cause different abilities or behaviors Plasticity *Brains demonstrate the ability to change to a certain degree in response to aspects of the environment and learning experiences *Biological explanations also focus on the hormones' potential for shaping sex/gender differences *Variations in testosterone levels appear to be linked to the ability to nurture -Testosterone levels are linked to power and aggression- men have higher levels

What does the Genderbread Person Diagram represent?

One way to visually represent the gender bundle illustrates the complexity of sex/gender orientation Argues that an individual's sexuality must be understood along a variety of dimensions Sam Killermann

What are the medical concerns for becoming transgender?

Passing *A common term used in transgender literature which is the degree to which a person is perceived as their gender- usually based on gender expression and conformity to gender norms Recognition *Some prefer this term, which focuses on the social context rather than the individual *Highlights the reality that transgender individuals must continuously prove the authenticity of their gender- something that cisgender people don't have to do because of cisgender privilege GnRH agonist *A hormone and medical intervention that can be helpful for adolescents, in which they take at the beginning of puberty that postpones the onset of further pubertal changes *This gives adolescents (and their guardians) time to evaluate the risks and benefits of starting cross-sex hormone treatment, which typically begins around age 16 Sex reassignment surgery (SRS) *Often now called gender-confirming surgery or gender-affirming surgery *Involved in changing one's sex Transsexual (transgender) *People who believe their bodies don't represent their sex and who have a strong desire for body modification

How similar or different are women and men in personality and behavioral variables, and what role does cultural context play in these patterns?

Personality traits *Sex/gender difference and similarities for personality traits: -men more assertive than women (more true for self-report than behavioral observations) -women more tender-minded and slightly more anxious *even for differences with large enough effect sizes, there is more overlap than not *differences tend to reflect sex/gender stereotypes, and vary by nation *the Big Five in notes Emotions *gender differences emerge in emotional responses to hypothetical situations -self-ratings map onto gender stereotypes -disappear when close in time to an actual even *a number of studies about how people perceive and react to females expressing emotions are listed -the same reaction might be interpreted as different emotions depending on the gender of the person -women can be socially punished for displaying certain emotions *no differences of emotional expressions in infancy, small differences in young children *stereotypes -women cry more, more emotional, and are expected to show traditionally feminine emotions, not angry (if so, punished) *expression of emotion -expressed is influenced by what they consider appropriate for their gender (women cry more) -gender similarities and differences are not consistent across life span -96% overlap (similar) Sexuality *there is considerable overlap in men and women's sexual behavior *no differences for frequency of intercourse, sexual satisfaction and attitudes toward extramarital affairs Self-esteem *men have slightly higher self-esteem than women -not found in samples of black participants -men are higher in appearance-based and athletic self-esteem -women are high in moral/ethical self-esteem -no differences for family, social acceptance, or academic self-esteem *negative consequences when people have a high but unstable self-esteem, feel threatened Helping and morality *both men and women use both approaches -ethic of care (more women)= thinking about one's actions will affect interpersonal relationships and the well-being of others -ethic of justice (more men)= making moral judgments based on abstract principles of right and wrong *men were more likely to help when watched and helping women *women more likely than men to provide emotional support and both genders would rather turn to a women for support *women more likely to donate to relative *both men and women use reasoning based on justice and care when making moral judgments Interests *large sex/gender difference in interests -women more interested in social tasks -men more interested in hands-on practical tasks *despite large effect size (d=0.93), 63% of males and females overlap

What is gender identity (transgender identity)?

Refers to one's understanding of oneself as gendered (as a girl, a boy, or as holding an identity that does not fit into the binary) It is based on a fundamental sense of belonging to a sex/gender category regardless of assignment at birth

What are the hormones?

Sex differentiation *The process of developing sex-specific characteristics, begins during the sixth week pregnancy *A pair of sex glands (gonads) then appear, which have the potential to become ovaries (which will produce eggs and female sex hormones) or testes (which will produce sperm and male sex hormones) Androgens *shape the development of the typical male body Testosterone *a specific androgen, promotes the growth of internal male reproductive organs Dihydrotestosterone *a component of testosterone that promotes the growth of a penis and testicles 5-alpha reductase *testosterone converts into dihydrotestosterone with the help of this

What is the difference between the traditional model of sex and gender binary and more recent gender bundle?

Sex/gender binary *the idea that there are only two sexes, dictates that a person must be assigned a sex of either female (F) or male (M) that will align with a predictable gender *widely held despite significant medical and social evidence that some people cannot be classified in this way Traditional assumptions about how biological factors, gender identity, and sexual orientation relate to one another *XX= no prenatal masculinizing hormones= vulva: its a girl, i'm a girl, I like boys *XY= prenatal masculinizing hormones= penis: its a boy, I'm a boy, I like girls Gender bundle *metaphor that is useful because it suggests that aspects of sex/gender (gender assignment, gender identification, and gender bodily expression) aren't necessarily ordered or connected in a meaningful way -instead they're all part of the personal and social understanding of gender

What is sexual fluidity?

Sexual and romantic attraction and desire as well as sexual orientation identity and sexual behavior can be fluid and changeable over time

What is generally assumed about sexual orientation?

Sexual orientation implies that you are attracted to someone's sex, rather than someone's gendered characteristics, not always true! If an individual is attracted to men, is that person attracted to penises or masculine gender expression like having facial hair or a short hair cut

What are the two perspectives on similarities and differences?

Similarities perspective *Because claims about sex/gender differences have been long linked to sexism, many feminist psychologists, especially liberal feminists take this perspective *This is the idea that women and men are more similar than different -Stems from the hope that if women and men are seen as more similar than different, then barriers that keep women from achieving in traditionally male-dominated domains would disappear *Helen Thompson-Woolley -Argued that if women were given the same educational opportunities as men, those differences would disappear -Example of how focusing on a similarity's perspective provided evidence to refute sexist ideas that women and girls shouldn't advance in academic and professional settings Differences perspective *They view women and men as more different than similar and think people should appreciate and value women's unique experiences and attributes *May appear to advocate for gender essentialism, this can be a strategic choice to help support social causes that uniquely affect large numbers of women (strategic essentialism) *Generally, view women as a unified social group, despite the fact that women vary on numerous other social identity dimensions -Can be a way to mobilize for social activism (controversial) *Ignoring differences between women and men can be harmful, especially if knowledge is gained from studying only men is applied to women -Doctors might not know when are having heart attack due to different symptoms than men Strategic essentialism *although those who take a differences perspective may appear to advocate for gender essentialism, this can be a strategic choice to help support social causes that uniquely affect large numbers of women

What is genderqueer?

Someone whose gender identity is neither man nor woman, is between or beyond genders, or is some combination of both

What is gender bender, pangender, polygender?

Terms used to refer to individuals who are non-binary; they may identify with all genders

What is the self-fulfilling prophecy, according to Rosenthal, for the STEM/EMCP fields?

The Pygmalion effect and the power of positive expectations *Where beliefs about the person correlate to how they perform -Teachers would say students are late bloomers and then the students would perform better -Teachers would say students are behind and then they would perform worse Randomly assigned "bloomers" actually bloomed and did better on IQ tests than other students Teachers led to believe particular students will bloom: *Created a warmer emotional climate for those students, giving them more personal attention, encouragement, and support *Gave "bloomers" more challenging material *Gave "bloomers" more and better (differentiated) feedback *Gave "bloomers" more opportunities to respond in class and give them longer to respond Self-fulfilling prophecies can have serious consequences: *Many teachers, even if they are women themselves, believe that males are brighter and more likely to succeed academically than females *Parents hold similar beliefs about the talents of their children, and so do adolescents about their own talents Model minority *seemingly positive stereotypes that Asian-American people are hard-working, smart, and over-achieving *ideal example of a minority group

What is gender essentialism?

The belief that there is something fundamentally different between women and men *it is usually assumed that these differences are caused by biological and genetic factors and therefore encompasses the essence of the person *what is problematic- the fact that it perpetuates gender stereotypes and contributes to sexism *intuitive appeal- women and men are more similar than different (Zell et. al demonstrated this) *gender essentialism quickly gains traction, in response to press release, usually reflecting that women are inferior to men

What is gender dysphoria?

The medical diagnosis for being transgender as defined by the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders

What is sexuality stress shift?

The stressors associated with changed is sexual orientation as a function of gender transitioning, can also influence intimate relationships

What is two-spirited?

The term comes from the traditions of some Native North American cultures to describe Native people who display characteristics of both male and female genders; this often associated with having a third gender

What is goal congruity in the STEM/EMCP fields?

The work expectation in STEM/EMCP careers (e.g. long hours, constant availability) are not compatible with people seeking work-life balance Many women want a career that meets their interests in working with people and their goals for caring for others Goal congruity perspective: the idea that people want to engage in activities that meet their goals Stereotypes of STEM/EMCP careers are that they involve working primarily alone, but in fact they are highly collaborative 75 U.S. introductory physics students rate how much each of several careers was likely to fulfill agentic goals (power, achievement, seeking new experiences) or communal goals (intimacy, affiliation, altruism) 241 U.S. undergraduate psychology students read about the typical day of an entry-level scientist whose daily activities were framed to either be highly collaborative or highly independent and then shared perceptions of the careers Goal congruity (Diekman et al., 2011) *In terms of satisfying agentic versus communal goals -Participants perceive STEM field jobs similar to male-stereotypic jobs in general *When the same laboratory position is described with collaborative framing -Female interest increases dramatically

What are the stereotypes that causes differences in women in the STEM/EMCP fields?

There's a pervasive stereotype of a scientist as a white man in a lab coat *People who don't match that stereotype can feel discouraged or unwelcome, as well as experience discrimination Stereotypes can affect performance *Stereotype threat -Fear of confirming a negative stereotype about one's group -Letting down or failing your group -The concern that one might do something to confirm a negative stereotype about one's group, either in one's own eyes or the eyes of someone else -Undermines test performance when the situation makes a stereotype salient Who is affected by stereotype threat? *Any group stereotyped negatively in a particular context -African-Americans underperform European-Americans (when reminded of race) -Women underperform men (when reminded of gender, can be subtle, marking a form, being only minority/female in classroom) -Other examples: impairs memory performance of older adults, driving performance of women, men's emotional sensitivity, task performance, and women's negotiation skills Steele and Aronson (1995) *Studied stereotype threat among female students -Men performed higher than females when there were gender differences addressed -Men and women performed about the same when there were no gender differences addressed *Black college students performed significantly worse when a task was framed as a diagnostic test of verbal ability rather than as a non-diagnostic laboratory exercise The effect is strongest under these conditions: *Stigmatized identity is made salient (noticed) in the situation *Identity is chronically salient, due to high group identification *The task is a diagnostic ability measure for which the group is stereotyped as inferior *Individuals believe their performance will be compared with members of a group stereotyped as superior on a task *Individuals are explicitly reminded of stereotype Consequences *Subtle primes can elicit threat with dramatic consequences -E.g. discounting stereotyped domain ("I don't care about school")

What are the three particular stressors that impact transgender individuals?

They are exposed to discrimination and prejudice They may internalize negative messages about transgender people (internalized transphobia) Its estimated that over half of the transgender individuals experience violence at one time in their lives

What is tokenism in the STEM/EMCP fields?

Token *A member of a socially marginalized group whose groups makes up less than 15% of the workforce in a workplace setting Women who are tokens report a number of negative effects *Increased visibility leads to more scrutinized work *Pressure to represent all people of her group *Social isolation *Seen in sex/gender-stereotyped ways

What is neurosexism? (essentialism)

Using biology to make claims about gender essentialism has a long history, and generally these claims justify stereotypes of women's inferiority Claiming that we are fixed, biologically based differences between women and men as a means to justify or reinforce gender stereotypes

What is the disorders of sex development (DSD)?

Was supposed to represent an "enlightened advancement", but some with intersex worry about stigmatizing Word used to replace intersex, but with disorder, people may think of it as somethings wrong with the person "differences of sex development" instead of disorders

What is discrimination in the STEM/EMCP fields?

Women in STEM/EMCP face discrimination based on sex/gender, race, and disability Study conducted by Moss-Racusin et. al 2012 *It was a randomized double-blind study with 127 science faculty in research-intense universities -Faculty rated the application materials of a student, who was randomly assigned either a male or female name, for a laboratory manager position Results: *Faculty rated the male applicant as significantly more competent and hirable than the identical female applicant *Faculty also selected a higher starting salary and offered more career mentoring to the male applicant *The gender of the faculty participants did not affect responses, such that female and male faculty were equally likely to exhibit bias against the female student *Mediation analyses indicated that the female student was less likely to be hired because she was viewed as less competent

What does the non-binary concept of gender recognize?

a continuum or spectrum of identities where individuals can choose how they want to self-identify and where they can fall anywhere within the range of the spectrum (e.g. intersex individuals, genderfluid individuals)

What is meta-analysis?

a process that statistically combines results from a large number of studies a study of studies in which findings from existing studies serve as the data used in the new summary study has the potential of combining data from thousands of studies that look at millions of people can be used with some level of confidence to determine the level of sex/gender difference meta-synthesis- statistically combines the results of many meta-analyses

What did Alfred Kinsey develop?

developed the Kinsey scale *to illustrate how people fall on a continuous scale of sexual orientation ranging from same sex/gender attraction to other sex/gender attraction *has weaknesses: assumption that all people experience both sexual and romantic attraction (and that the two always align)

What are the four broad explanations for sex/gender differences?

evolution, biology, social role theory, and expectancy role value theory

What is aromantics?

experience little to no romantic attraction still form relationships with others, but usually friendships

What is the difference between sex and gender?

gender is based on social distinctions, sex is based on biological distinctions *Unger boldly asserted that questions about sex differences, which seemed to dominate psychological research and the popular press, were "someone else's questions" *to Unger, questions of the difference maintained the status quo couldn't be disentangled from their history, which involved a false assumption of female inferiority *Unger believed biological sex is fixed, but how one behave is a product of socialization (considered gender) *many new challenges with separating sex and gender such as that it mistakenly suggests an exclusionary relationship between biology and psychology (they are interdependent) -Unger was strategic by separating the two terms and so it focused less on biological essentialism

Solange and Brittany have just come out to their families. Solange's parents and siblings have all reacted positively, providing her with unconditional support and acceptance. Brittany's family has expressed disapproval and rejected her identity as a lesbian. Compared to Brittany, Solange is likely to experience?

higher self-esteem and lowered levels of depression

What is heterosexism?

many people assume that others are heterosexual (at least until proven otherwise) more desirable to be heterosexual (a bias)

What does the binary concept of gender consist of?

only two options XX/XY, male/female

For LBGTQ individuals, the coming out process tends to be a

reoccurring, lifelong process

What is panromantics?

romantic attraction regardless of sex or gender

What is heteromantics?

romantic attraction to a different sex/gender

What is biromantics?

romantic attraction to more than one sex/gender

What is homoromantics?

romantic attraction to the same sex/gender

What is monosexual?

sexually attracted to only one sex/gender

Around the world,

some societies have a third sex/gender category

What is gender expression?

the way in which a person expresses their gender identity, typically through their appearance, dress, and behavior

What are the negative and incorrect beliefs about asexual individuals?

they were sexually abused as children they use their orientation as an excuse for them being single (unattractive) being diagnosed with an illness