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