Chapter 11-13 PSY 335

Approximately what percentage of people were in favor of legalizing gay marriage in 2013?

54%

Be able to describe the discrepancy between some people's perspective on what is an appropriate display of public affection for heterosexual versus homosexual couples

"If you're gay, fine. But don't go kissing your bf or gf in public. That's gross and disrespectful lol"

What are common misconceptions about bisexuals

-Bisexuals seen as "greedy" and promiscuous -As "closeted homosexuals" -Mental health professionals rate bisexuals as more likely to have sexual and romantic difficulties and as more confused and conflicted than gay or heterosexual clients

In 2011, approximately what percentage of people believed a homosexual orientation was something people are "born with" versus due to upbringing and environment?

-Born with: 40% -Upbringing/Environment: 42%

What is ageism?

-Evaluative judgements about someone simply due to their advanced age -The reality is that even though most people slow down with age, many also find that middle and old age bring stability and happiness

Explain the terror management perspective on where "ageism" might come from. Identify examples of how young people can physically and psychologically distance themselves from older people. Understand how studies show they are more likely to do these things when their own mortality is made salient.

-It is the fear of death that makes aging threatening (terror management theory) -Young people cope by psychologically and physically distancing themselves from older people

As people age, do they often report feeling younger than they actually are? Is this a way of distancing oneself from the negative connotations associated with being older?

-Many people report feeling younger than they are ("subjective" age is younger than chronological age) -Many people report believing other people see them as younger than their actual age -People in their 40s say "old" starts around 63 -People in their 70s say it starts around 75 -Probably because of the negative connotations associated with being "old"

Are children who are gender non-conforming at very young ages during childhood more likely to be gay?

-More gender nonconforming children more likely to be gay -Pattern true for men and women -Difference emerged early in childhood -No social or biological evidence to support that gay and straight children raised differently

Be able to describe some recent results regarding discrimination in the hiring process. Is there evidence sexuality impacts likelihood of being hired? How does region in the United States impact this, or the perception that one will have to publicly account for one's decision?

-Often there is no formal discrimination. Many organizations are explicitly coming out against this -Interpersonal or informal discrimination -53% of LGB and transgender employees still feel compelled to lie about their personal life at work -Ahmed, Andersson, and Hammarstedt (2013): Sent job apps to 4,000 Swedish employers that varied by gender and orientation. Heterosexual male applicants were 14 percent more likely to receive a positive response than gay males; for heterosexual females compared to lesbians, a positive response was 22 percent more likely. Using a similar procedure in 7 US states, Tilcsik (2011) found that in Midwestern and southern states, gays were 70 percent less likely to receive an interview invitation (no impact of sexuality in California, NY, and Pennsylvania). -Norms/social pressures matter, and we have a new norm to not discriminate based on sexuality: One 2014 study revealed that undergrads rated gay and heterosexual job applicants similarly only when they believed they would have to account for their decision.

How do the media portray older adults? Understand the following: Prime time programming tends to portray positive themes when older adults appear, but news/documentaries tend to focus on negative events. And overall, older adults simply appear in the media very rarely (compared to the percentage of the actual population that they represent)

-Older adults appear relatively rarely in print media or on television -Older adults in prime-time programming are generally portrayed positively -However, when older adults are in the news or documentaries, the focus is usually on negative events or problems

Gender Polarization

-People believe what is masculine is not feminine and what is feminine is not masculine -Person who is masculine on one trait is seen as masculine on other characteristics and vice versa

What is the forgetfulness stereotype? Do younger people tend to rate the same act of forgetfulness as more serious for someone who is older than someone who is younger? Do older people show a similar pattern of results?

-People firmly believe that memory declines with age and does so precipitously after age 40 -Not all memory failures are equally serious -Younger people saw identical acts of forgetfulness as more troublesome for 70-year-olds than for 30-year-olds -Older people saw little difference in the seriousness based on age

Summarize recent survey data regarding attitudes towards men working at home

-Stay at home dads exist in less than 1% of married households with kids under age 15 -51% of Americans say kids are better off if mom is at home -8% said same about dads

On average, who has a greater intolerance for gay men, straight women or straight men?

-Straight men have a greater intolerance than straight women for gay men -Most research reveals that their attitudes toward lesbians does not differ from one another -People associate homosexuality with an "other sex gender role" and this association is held more firmly for gay men than lesbians

When somebody is "out", be able to identify the types of questions that he/she might often be asked, that a heterosexual person would rarely report being asked

-When did you decide to be straight? -How do you know you're straight if you haven't had sex? -What do you think caused your straight-ness? -Is it possible that your heterosexuality is just a phase that you may grow out of? -If you've never slept with a person of the same sex, is it possible that all you need is a good gay lover? -Why do you straight people try to seduce others into your lifestyle? -The great majority of child molesters is straight. Do you consider it safe to expose your children to straight teachers? -Why do you flaunt your heterosexuality? Can't you just be who you are and keep it quiet?

What is the "older brother" birth order finding in predicting homosexuality? (i.e. If you are a male, does the likelihood that you will be gay increase/decrease with the number of older brothers you have?

-With every older brother, chances of homosexuality increase. No effects for women -Immune response from mothers leads to molecules in male brains involved in sexual differentiation being affected

7. Change: Think about agentic and communal traits. There have been some changes over time in the degree to which men and women self-report possessing agentic and communal traits, and corresponding changes in the degree to which other people perceive that men and women possess these traits. What has been the pattern of change for men vs. women for each of these? Think about whether things have gone up or down on each (i.e. have men gone up or down on agentic traits? How about communal? Have women gone up or down on agentic traits? How about communal?)

-Women are seen as having more agentic characteristics today than 20 years ago -People predict more change in the future -Unchanged: Women's communal traits and men's agentic and communal traits

9. What is meant by the discrimination-affection paradox?

-Women are viewed positively, but still experience discrimination -Gender-based prejudice is still widespread: Affects women more negatively than men (wage gap)

What is the double standard of aging? Has research provided support for this double standard? Do people usually perceive that women enter old age earlier than men? In addition, think about whether there has been evidence for a double standard regarding physical appearance, evaluation, behavior/behavioral intentions, and competence. What is meant by each of these things?

-Yes, but not always -There is some good evidence for a double standard in the domain of physical appearance, some evidence for a very inconsequential/small double standard in the domain of evaluation, some evidence for a larger double standard in the domain of behavior/behavioral intentions -There is actually a reverse double standard in one area: competence -The idea that aging occurs at an earlier age and has more serious consequences for women than for men -Women are believed to enter middle and old age about two years earlier than men -Physical attractiveness declines with age for men and women, but the decline is greater for women -Femininity declines with age more than masculinity -Women are more likely to conceal signs of aging -When men/ women are rated on the following dimensions: Evaluation (e.g., good/bad), behavior/behavioral intentions (e.g., offers to help; proposed treatment for a hypothetical patient), and competence, older adults are rated more negatively than younger adults, but difference is bigger for women. With the exception of COMPETENCE -Exception/reversal of double standard: Men are viewed as having a greater loss in COMPETENCE as they age, compared to women -And other research provides more mixed evidence for the more sharp decline in ratings for women compared to men in the other domains. The "double standard" isn't clear

When do people perceive "old age" as beginning? Know the number cutoffs for the categories researchers tend to use

-Young: 20-30 -Middle Aged: 35-60 -Young-Old: 60-75 -Old-old: 75-85 -Oldest-old: 85+

What are some individual differences that predict the positivity of people's attitudes towards gays and lesbians?

-Younger people are generally more accepting than older people, internationally -People with most negative attitudes are more likely to be high on RWA and SDO and hold fundamentalist religious beliefs -People who know someone who is gay or lesbian are more likely to hold positive attitudes -People who believe you are "born with" your sexual orientation are more likely to hold positive attitudes

Be able to list/explain and identify examples of the 4 misconceptions about gay people we discussed in class

1. Lesbians and gay men are dysfunctional and unhappy -Straight and gay couples equivalent to each other on measures of relationship satisfaction and commitment 2. All gay people are promiscuous -Many gay form durable relationships 3. Gay adoption will lead to the child being gay -Sexual and gender identities develop in much the same way among children of lesbian mothers 4. Gay people molest children at higher rates than heterosexuals -A series of studies found no evidence that gay men molest children at higher rates than heterosexual men

Approximately what percentage of the 3 different age groups of people that were surveyed in 2013 said that homosexual behavior was morally acceptable? What has been the trend in this attitude over the past ten years?

2013 -18 to 34: 74% -35 to 54: 54% -55 and older: 51% 2001 -18 to 34: 52% -35 to 54: 42% -55 and older: 27%

According to twin studies, what percentage of identical twins (vs. fraternal twins and adopted siblings) are concordant for homosexuality? Is this evidence for a strong genetic component to sexual orientation? (lecture) However, is the correspondence in identical twins 100%? Does environment also play a role in sexual orientation?

50% of identical twins, 20% of fraternal twins, and 10% of adopted siblings were concordant for homosexuality

Approximately what percentage of people were accepting of gay adoption in 2012?

61%

Be able to describe the theme of some of the content of age-related stereotypes from each of the 5 factors that have been identified

Age is a basic social category Factors of age-related stereotypes: -Intolerance --Gets upset easily, grouchy, rigid -Health/Physical appearance --Have health problem, walks slowly, talks slowly -Personality --Old-fashioned, think about good old days, gives good advice, likeable -Dejected --Poor, hopeless, unhappy, lonely -Activity/Sociability --Unproductive, has lots of friends, has hobbies, active outside home, physically inactive These reflect the stereotype content model characterized by warmth and competence (high in warmth, low in competence)

2 Constellations of Traits: Which is associated with men and which with women? What are some of the gender associated characteristics of each cluster?

Agentic/Instrumental -Competence cluster that represent men's traits -Independence, strong, self-confident Communal/Expressive -Warmth-expressive cluster that represents women's traits -Emotional, helpful, kind

23. What is meant by homophobia?

An extreme and irrational aversion to homosexuality and gay people (including bisexuals)

Is nature vs. nurture the right way to frame the debate over how sexual orientation is determined? If both of these things interact/contribute to the development of sexual orientation, do we at least know that sexual orientation seems to be resistant to change and determined very early in development?

Are we all "born this way"? -Research suggests in part yes, but that doesn't mean it is strictly genetic -The nature/nurture question is the wrong way to frame this debate -It appears that a variety of genetic, hormonal, and psychosocial factors interact to determine sexual orientation and gender identity at an early point in development Research suggests homosexuality is normally not very amenable to change, nor is transgender amenable to change outside of hormonal or sexual reassignment methods There is no scientifically adequate evidence that reparative therapy is effective - it actually appears to be dangerous

Are young boys demonstrating feminine traits judged more or less harshly than young girls demonstrating masculine traits?

As children, boys demonstrating "feminine" traits are judged more harshly than girls demonstrating "masculine traits"

Face-ism

Facial prominence is the relative prominence of the face in the portrayal of men and women; media tend to focus more on men's faces and women's bodies

What is meant by cisgender? What individual differences predict prejudice against transgender people?

Cisgender -People who are gender conforming and/or don't identify as transgender Individual differences variables that predict attitudes toward homosexuality also predict transphobia Men's attitudes toward transgender people are more negative than women's. Results of a national probability sample of heterosexual U.S. adults found that greater transphobia was associated with being male, and with anti-egalitatian, politically conservative, and authoritarian beliefs

What is meant by heterosexism?

Discrimination or prejudice against gay or bisexual people on the assumption that heterosexuality is the norm

Be able to describe the effects of ideas about gender roles and the requirements of STEM careers on women's career choices

Expectations about roles with certain jobs can affect career paths: -STEM careers are seen as agentic -Women want careers that require communal traits

Do gay and straight couples have similar levels of relationship satisfaction and commitment (on average?) On average, compared to straight/lesbian couples, are gay men more/less skilled at making up after a fight? Do they use higher levels of humor when navigating disagreement?

Gay and straight couples have similar relationship satisfaction and commitment Compared to straight couples, gay and lesbian couples: -Use more affection and humor in conflict and disagreement -More likely to remain positive after a small disagreement -Display less belligerence, fear, and domineering behavior with one another Compared to straight and lesbian couples -Gay men may be less skilled at making up after a fight Any greater strengths in gay relationships may be due to a lack of gender-role conflicts

Be able to describe how gay people receive differential treatment in the domain of "helping behavior". Describe the results of the Page 1998 hotel/bed and breakfast study. What about retail sales help?

Gay people receive less help, favors, & services than straight people Renting rooms -Confederates try to rent rooms for them and a partner -Gay confederates told they are unavailable 38% of the time -Vs. 15% for same rooms for straight confederates

Are heterosexual men more, less, or equally likely to help lesbians compared to gay men?

Gay people receive less help, favors, & services than straight people Retail sales help -Gay and straight confederates held hands, smiled, and talked in a retail store -Gay couples received help much slower and 1/3 received no assistance at all -Lots of staring at and talking about the gay couples Help for a "wrong number" caller -Gay men and women received less help than straight people -Gay men receive less help than lesbians by men

What is a gender belief system? Does it include both descriptive and prescriptive elements?

Gender Belief System: Set of beliefs about men and women. - The traits and roles they should possess - Perceptions of role violators - Can be descriptive and prescriptive - Conveyed through media, parents, and peers

What is meant by gender identity, gender expression, biological sex, and sexual orientation? Is sexual orientation related to gender expression and gender identity?

Gender Identity: -How you, in your head, define your gender, based on how much you align (or don't align) with what you understand to be the options for gender Gender Expression: -The ways you present gender, through your actions, dress, and demeanor, and how those presentations are interpreted based on gender norms Biological Sex: -The physical sex characteristics you're born with and develop, including genitalia, body shape, voice pitch, body hair, hormones, chromosomes etc. Sexual Identity, Sexual Behavior, and Sexual Attraction (Orientation) are all different -Their attributes are not mutually exclusive: you can be both, or neither

What is meant by heterosexuality, homosexuality, bisexuality, and asexuality?

Having emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions to: -The other sex: heterosexuality (straight) -The same sex: homosexuality (gay) -Both sexes: bisexuality (bi) -No attraction: asexuality (~1%)

What is meant by hyper masculinity?

Hyper-masculinity: -Men are expected to be strong and tough, not feminine --Negative consequences: o Low self-esteem o Drug use o Anti-gay prejudice

Be able to explain the problem described by Michael Kimmel regarding the change in ideas regarding men's roles vs. the change in ideas regarding women's roles

In the last 40 years, women have said "wait a minute, we are competent and assertive and ambitious", claiming a wider range of roles. But men have not said "wait a minute, we're kind, gentle, compassionate and nurturing"

What health benefits do lesbians, gays, and bisexuals who are "out" experience?

Lower stress hormone levels -Contributes to "wear and tear" on biological systems Fewer symptoms of anxiety Less depression Less burnout (physical/mental collapse from stress)

Be able to describe how the problem described by Michael Kimmel regarding the change in ideas regarding men's roles vs. the change in ideas regarding women's roles creates a possible division of labor problem that we discussed in class when both parties work

Male anxiety about whether they are properly fulfilling the male role when they chip in at home, female burnout when they are expected to do it all... how is the continuing expectation that women, even when they work, will be doing all the "home" chores as well, manifested in different expectations regarding whether males vs. females who have kids should need a flexible schedule at work to help out with kids?

What are some components of the common idea of what a male should be? How is this male gender role limiting?

Men are expected to be strong and tough and are discouraged from showing feminine characteristics. Expectations have negative consequences including low self-esteem, drug use, and anti-gay prejudice

Modern Sexism? Hostile vs. Benevolent Sexism?

Modern Sexism -Indirectly express negative attitudes toward women in nontraditional roles Hostile Sexism - negative beliefs -Punishes nontraditional women Benevolent Sexism - more positive beliefs -Rewards traditional women Affection(Benevolent)-Discrimination(Hostile) Paradox

There are some positive stereotypes of older people, in addition to negative ones. Understand that the stereotypes that are activated are normally determined by what particular subtype has been activated (offer some examples of positive vs. negative subtypes)

Negative subtypes -Severely impaired -Shrew/Curmudgeon -Despondent -Recluse Positive Subtypes -John Wayne conservative -Golden ager -Perfect grandparent

Is there any currently existing strong evidence that a child can reliably be raised to be straight or gay?

No

Are gay people more likely to be pedophiles?

No evidence to support

However, what is often a more important determinant of whether somebody views someone as "old" (other than the number of their age?)

Often specific age matters less, however, than the perception that someone is senile or useless then that person is old

10. 10. Approximately how many gender subtypes have been identified? (hint: over 200) Know that people tend to group subtypes based on gender, traditional vs. modern, and then age.

Over 200 People tend to group subtypes based on gender, traditional vs. modern, and then age Gender stereotypes can also be categorized based on: -Low vs. High Warmth -Low vs. High Competence Housewife - high warmth, low competence Feminist - low warmth, high competence

What is the sexual orientation hypothesis?

People are more likely to believe that feminine men are gay than to believe that masculine women are lesbian

Unresolvable Bind? What does research show about student evaluations of female vs. male teachers? What are the results of research conducted with online instructors where researchers were able to manipulate people's perceptions of whether an online teacher was male vs. female Did female instructors just actually seem to be worse teachers? Did creating the impression that an instructor was female lead toa drop in evaluations?

Perceptions of a faculty member are: -Similar to male gender role -Different from the female gender role Women can and do meet the demands of the leadership role -But resolving the double bind is not easy: --Being too similar to a man can actually work against a women --She then violates the expectations of her own gender role No female instructors didn't seem to be worse teachers. When comparing evals of a female vs. a male online teacher amongst people who believed the teachers to be the same gender, the female didn't get lower ratings Yes, creating the impression that an instructor was female did result in her getting lower rating. People rated the same teacher lower when they thought he/she was a female

Are there physical differences in the brains of gay men? Are there differences in handedness for gay and straight men? Gay men are more likely to be left or right handed?

Portions of the hypothalamus and suprachiasmatic nucleus differ in gay men when compared to their heterosexual counterparts -Hypothalamus involved in control of sexual behavior Gay men, in particular, are more likely to be left-handed or ambidextrous -Can be observed in fetuses -May be related to differences in the corpus callosum

What were the 3 common motivations for concealing sexual orientation that we discussed? What are the common costs of concealing one's sexual orientation?

Reasons for concealment -Fear of social/familial rejection -Loss of support -Loss of employment -Threat of physical violence Costs of concealment -Stress and anxiety -Guilt -Being exposed to prejudice not tempered by rules of decency -Secret relationships = lower commitment, self-esteem -Coming out offers health benefits

Is there any currently existing strong evidence that "reparative therapy" aimed at changing sexual orientation is successful? Do people who receive reparative therapy typically experience decreased same-sex attractions and increased opposite-sex attractions? Is the main effect of reparative therapy on sexual orientation or sexual behavior?

Reparative therapy is also called "ex gay" therapy, conversion therapy, or sexual orientation change efforts (SOCE) Psychotherapy and/or behavioral methods aimed at changing a person's sexual orientation based on the view that homosexuality is a mental disorder, unnatural, or sinful Every group uses different methods, and conversion therapy is now being banned in many states -Cut off opposite-gendered relationships -Behavioral modification: aversive conditioning -Conditioning a person to traditional gender roles The vast majority did not have experimental methods that could show that the therapies achieved their goals Participants continued to report same-sex attractions, and usually not more opposite-sex attractions Negative effects include "loss of sexual feeling, depression, suicidality, and anxiety" Sexual behavior is different from sexual orientation There has been no scientifically adequate research to show that therapy aimed at changing sexual orientation is safe or effective

What is meant by sexual orientation? How is it different from sexual behavior?

Sexual Orientation: -An enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions

What is meant by sexual prejudice and sexual stigma?

Sexual Stigma (societal level): -Negative regard, inferior status, and relative powerlessness that society collectively accords to any nonheterosexual behavior, identity, relationship, or community Sexual Prejudice (personal level): -Negative attitudes based on sexual orientation Sexual minorities are stigmatized: -Societal level through laws -Personal level through others' anti-gay prejudice

Sticky Floor? Glass Ceiling?

Sticky Floor -Traditionally female jobs do not offer many advancements Glass Ceiling -An invisible barrier that prevents them from reaching the highest levels

8. Men are perceived to be higher in status than women.... On average, do people also report that they "like" men more than women? What is meant by the "women are wonderful" effect?

The basic category "woman" is viewed more positively than the basic category "man"

Role Congruity Theory?

Two types of prejudice prevent women from pursuing high-level positions 1. Belief that women are less likely than men to be successful in leadership roles -Can prevent women from seeking high-level jobs and from being selected for them when they do seek them 2. Higher probability of women receiving negative evaluations if in jobs -Female leaders violate expectations about what leaders and women should be like

What is benevolent ageism?

Weak but wonderful

Are male adults occupying "feminine" occupations judged more or less harshly than female adults occupying "male" occupations?

When evaluating adults, people think it is less acceptable for men to have feminine occupations than for women to have masculine occupations

Workplace discrimination: What often happens to older people who lose their jobs? What are 3 of the main beliefs employers hold that foster workplace discrimination? Has research provided evidence for the accuracy of these beliefs?

Workplace discrimination has been called the most common type of economic discrimination against older people The case is particularly easy to see for older workers who lose their jobs -they often have difficulty securing a new one -often take a greater earnings loss than younger workers in the same situation Workplace discrimination is rooted in inaccurate beliefs, such as people over 55 are unable to meet the physical demands of the workplace -high rates of absenteeism -productivity declines with age Evidence has failed to support any of these beliefs

Compare to other stereotypes, do gender stereotypic beliefs tend to be relatively persistent and stable across age, region, and time?

Yes

Are gender stereotypes "accurate" in the sense that people's stereotypes tend to map on pretty well with real on-average differences that emerge when you ask men and women to describe themselves? What is the danger of taking that fact and proceeding to treat all men/women as if they fit stereotypes?

Yes... There are small "on-average" differences in how men vs. women describe themselves and even if people are right about the domains in which the "on average" differences occur, inaccuracies can still exist when applying these stereotypes to a particular individual, given that there is wide variability within each sex as far as how much a particular man or particular woman exhibits a certain trait. Just because when you average everybody's self-descriptions, you might see some small "on average" group differences. This does not mean that there is no overlap between the gender and it does not mean that there aren't in fact many individual men out there who exhibit more of a supposedly "female" trait than a lot of women do. A stereotype is prescriptive instead of descriptive.