Psychology of Women (PSYC 300) Exam 2

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT)

A medical treatment that replaces hormones in women whose levels drop after menopause

Mons pubis/mons veneris

A pad of fatty tissue covering the pubic bone

Bisexual

A person who is attracted to both men and women

Adolescent Growth Spurt

A rapid increase in height and weight, starts earlier in girls (around 9), and later for boys (around 11).

Adolescence is...

A time of learning more about oneself and others

Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD)

A woman must experience at least five symptoms during the week before her menstrual period, including depression, anxiety, mood swings, or anger/irritability. The symptoms must interfere markedly with work or social relationships and must be present only in the premenstrual phase of the cycle

Lesbian

A woman who is emotionally and sexually attracted to other women

Couples who report high levels of marital satisfaction use...

Active, problem-focused coping strategies; hold similar attitudes, goals, and values; and communicate well with each other

According to Sigmund Freud...

All individuals are initially bisexual

Sexual double standard

Allows and even encourages premarital sex for men, but not for women

Doula

An experienced and knowledgeable female labor and birth coach

Transgender

An individual whose gender identity differs from the gender she or he was assigned at birth

By what age are gender-typical toy choices are well established?

At 3, these differences persist throughout childhood

Gay man

Attracted to other men

At what age do children develop gender identity?

Between 2 and 3 years of age

Essential Differences

Biological and nature, innate at birth, hormone related, body structure, brain structure, you can't do anything about them

David Reimer

Born a boy, raised as a girl after a medical incident, later identified as a boy

Ways parents foster gender stereotypes:

Conversation, assigning chores based on gender, types of speech (i.e. talking about emotions with girls), give boys more autonomy and greater opportunities to take risks

What three main things influence sexual attitudes and behaviors?

Cultural norms, laws, moral and religious codes

Dating Scripts

Culturally developed sequence of expected events that guides an individual's behavior while on a date

Identity

Deciding who we are and what we want to make of our lives, involves commitment to a vocation and a philosophy of life

Girls are 2x more likely to suffer from what three things?

Depression, anxiety, eating disorders

What are two key issues in adolescence?

Developing a sense of who you are and how you feel about yourself

Boys are more likely to die by what, and successfully do what?

Die by accidents and successfully commit suicide

Self-esteem diminishes for both genders in...

Early adolescence, girls show it more than boys, usually boys' rebounds better but girls' can dip and never recover

Female orgasmic disorder

Experiencing the excitement has of the sexual response cycle but not achieving orgasm

Vulva

External female sexual organs

At 12 months children can match the ________ and _________ of men and women

Face and voice

Labia majora

Fatty hair-covered area between the legs that forms flaps

What predicts the level of voice? (Harter and colleagues)

Gender role identity

Premature Puberty

Good nutrition; reaching critical "fat"% sooner, childhood obesity, hormones/chemicals/pesticides added to food, even social dynamic of having a father in the home vs. not

High self-esteem has long been associated with...

Healthy psychological adjustment and good physical health

Prostaglandins

Hormone-like chemicals secreted by the uterine lining and other tissues as menstruation approaches

Four aspects of psychosocial development in the adolescent girl

Identity formation, self-esteem, gender intensification, and body image

Ovulation

In the second or ovulatory phase, about day 14, LH level peaks, causing rupture of the follicle and release of the egg near a fallopian tube

Cesarean section (C-Section)

Incisions are made in the abdomen and uterus and the baby is surgically removed

Gender Intensification

Increasing divergence in gender-related behaviors and attitudes of girls and boys that emerges in adolescence

Gender intensification

Increasing divergence in gender-related behaviors and attitudes of girls and boys that emerges in early adolescence

Body Image

Influenced by cultural ideal of extreme thinness for females

Sexual arousal disorder

Insufficient lubrication or a failure to be aroused

Vaginismus

Involuntary contraction of vaginal muscles

Luteal phase

LH stimulates the follicle to form a yellowish group of cells called the corpus luteum

Boys have more ____________ and ___________ disorders

Learning and developmental

Kelli Peterson

Lesbian high school student, founded the Gay Straight Alliance in 1996 and requested that it meet at her school. The local school board voted to ban all clubs from campus rather than allow her group to meet. In 1996 Utah passed a law that allowed rental of school property to groups so GSA was able to meet on campus (PBS Documentary Out of the Past)

Example of Neuroplasticity

London Taxi Cab Drivers

Silencing

Loss of identity, confidence; self-censored (more common among white girls)

Early maturers tend to have...

Lower self-esteem, higher levels of depression and anxiety, and a poorer body image than girls who mature later

Separateness

Meeting one's own needs

Dysmenorrhea

Menstrual pain, includes painful abdominal cramps and lower back pain during menstruation, about 55-73% girls/women report it

Mittelschmerz

Middle pain, pain on the side of the abdomen where the egg has been released

Gender intensification starts to decrease by...

Middle to late adolescence

Sports Identity

Mixed findings based on type of sport; cheerleading/dancing led to a higher body shame where as general physical activity or team sports lead to more positive effects, increased self-esteem, body imagine, delayed sexual activity, etc

Homophobia

Negative reactions to homosexuality and irrational fear of homosexuals

Secular trend with puberty

Over the past 150 years the onset of puberty and the attainment of adult height and weight have occurred at progressively earlier ages in the United States and western Europe, most likely a result of better nutrition and medical care

Dyspareunia

Painful intercourse

What affects gender development?

Parents, siblings, friends, teachers, media

Puberty

Period of life during which sexual organs mature and the ability to reproduce emerges; "to become hairy"; start with hormone production and progresses to menarche

Infibulation

Pharaonic circumcision, removing the clitoris, labia minor, and the inner two-thirds of the labia major, which are sewn together

Factors of Gender Intensification

Physical changes of puberty, the pressure to be "feminine", dating, starts to decrease by middle to late adolescence

Infants as young as 3-4 months of age can tell the difference between what?

Pictures of adult female and male faces

Between the ages of 2-2.5 children can accurately label what?

Pictures of girls and boys

Phyto-estrogens

Plant foods do not contain estrogen but affect the body in a similar manner

Rough-and-tumble play

Playful chasing, tumbling, hitting, and wrestling, often accompanied by laugher and screaming

Lamaze method

Pre-labor classes are conducted to teach the mother to control her pain through relaxation, breathing techniques, and focusing exercises

Connectedness

Satisfying the needs of those one cares for

What other elements convey gender typing messages to children?

School, peers, media

Individuate

See themselves as separate and unique

Sexual orientation consists of three components:

Sexual/romantic attraction, sexual behavior, and sexual identity

Who is the most frequent out-of-schol companions for children and young adolescents?

Siblings

Labia minora

Soft hairless flaps of skin

Miscarriage

Spontaneous loss of pregnancy before the 20th week of gestation

Gender segregation

Starts at age 3; particularly strong in elementary school. Girls tend to dislike rough, aggressive play and boys are unresponsive to girls' polite suggestions. Toy preferences are different and kids self-segregate

Primary sex characteristics

Structures that make reproduction possible (ovaries, fallopian tubes, uterus, and vagina)

Girls attempt what more often than boys

Suicide

Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)

Symptoms so severe that their normal function is impaired for a week each month preceding menstruation

Neuroplasticity

The ability to rehabilitate and retrain our brains after it is damaged, our pathways becoming more efficient or changing with use and adaptation

Selection effect

The attitudes of individuals who cohabit are more accepting of divorce and less committed to marriage than the attitudes of non-cohabiters

Resolution Phase

The body returns to its pre-arousal state within 15-30 minutes

Vagina

The canal leading to the uterus

Effacement

The cervix becomes flatter and thinner

Plateau phase

The clitoris shortens and withdraws under the clitoral hood

Menarche

The first menstrual period, symbolizes the end of childhood and the start of adulthood

Clitoris

The highly sensitive organ, whose only known function is sexual pleasure, consists of erectile tissue that swells during sexual stimulation

Menstruation

The low levels of estrogen and progesterone can no longer maintain the uterine lining, which is shed and exits through the cervix and vagina as menstrual flow

Orgasmic platform

The low third of the vagina becomes engorged with blood

Self-objectification

The masculine view of the body as a sexualized object to be looked at and evaluated, girls concerned with body weight and appearance

Orgasmic phase

The orgasmic platform, uterus, and anal sphincters contract strongly several times, at intervals of less than a second. These contractions constitute the orgasm

Sexual response cycle

The physiological responses of individuals to sexual stimulation from any source

One of the biggest determinants of martial satisfaction

The presence of children

Socialization

The process by which each generation passes along to children the knowledge, beliefs, and skills that constitute the culture of the social group, differences as a result of tendencies for men and women, can potentially change rapidly

Self-esteem

The sense of worth or value that people attach to themselves, high self-esteem is associated with good psychological and physical health

Cohabitation

The state in which an unmarried couple lives together

Female genital cutting (FGC)

The surgical removal of parts of the external female genitalia

Vasocongestion

The swelling of genital tissues with blood, a response in the excitement phase

Heterosexism

The view that heterosexuality is the norm and that homosexuality is abnormal

Adolescence

Transition period between childhood and adulthood; "to grow up"

On average, girls begin and finish puberty about how many years before boys?

Two years

Secondary sex characteristics

Visible signs on sexual maturity that are not directly involved in reproduction (breast development and the appearance of pubic and underarm hair)

At 6 months old a child can distinguish differences in male and female what?

Voices

Marital stress affects whose sense of well-being more?

Women more than men