Psychology of Gender Exam 2

Roles do not only foster stereotypes, but create reality:

1) people become socialized to enact certain traits (e.g. girls taught to be nurturing, rewarded for that behavior) 2) people adopt traits associated with their social groups (girls more likely to define themselves as nurturing than boys) 3) performing gender-linked roles increases the degree to which people exhibit the traits + behaviors those roles require e.g. motherhood

fear of achievement: two criteria example

1) person must perceive achievement is possible 2) person must associate achievement with negative consequence for females, there tend to be negative consequences associated with success because it doesn't fit in with the traditional stereotype/gender role of what it means to be feminine.

Changes in Psychiatric Classification

1940s: homosexuality is a felony in all 50 states. assumes a person can choose this behavior (has some volition) 1950s: homophilia movement -- they have a disorder they cannot control. we need to be loving towards homsoexuals because they're sick 1952 - DSM 1: homosexuality as a sociopathic personality disturbance (person is sociopathic because he/she is continually engaging in illegal behavior 1956 - Evelyn Hooker's research. Shows that expert psychologists cannot differentiate personality tests of 30 gay men and 30 straight men. this challenged the view that it is a sociopathic personality disturbance because rate of categorization is about the rate of chance 1956 - DSM 2: homosexuality as a sexual deviation, but still mental illness 1970s: Protests (gay liberation front, H Anonymous, John Fryer) -- gay psychiatrists communicated how alienated they felt in the psychiatric community. Protested that the APA really needed to investigate homosexuality empirically rather than from preexisting beliefs or opinions 1973 - Robert Spitzer and Task Force -- wanted to change the DSM 2 and make DSM 3 very different -- more clear cut and objective (DSM 2 was very objective). wanted to make sure there is solid empirical evidence to consider the conditions psychiatric disorders. After objectively reviewing research on sexual orientation and psychopathology, he found there wasn't any evidence that homosexuality interferes with people's ability to meet the demands of life 1980 - Ego Dystonic Homosexuality: if they experinece attraction ot memebrs of the same sex and be disturbed bythat (want to change that characteristic). but more and more research came out leading to the conclusion that just because a person wants to change that characteristic, it doesnt mean that it comes from personality. Rather it could be from social stigmatizaton 1987: Removed/Eliminated DSM3-R

meta-analyses of CAH found possible explanations

Females w CAH had superior spatial skills, and are more aggressive than non-CAH CAH females slightly more likely to identify as homosexual (Very slight) CAH males inferior to spatial skills compared to non-CAH males (too much testosterone) possible explanations: 1) androgens may affect areas of the brain linked to spatial skills, masculine social behaviors and sexual orientation 2) androgens may affect cognition and behavior 3) expectations of child/parents

gene contribution: gender atypical behavior

Genetics contribute to a moderate amount of variability in gender atypical behavior, but environment was stronger. Genetic also stronger for females

results from meta-analyses: cognitive domain mathematical ability

Recent studies have found virtually no sex differences in math. Men slightly outperform women on math achievement tests (SAT). Women tend to receive better math grades in school. Gender differences in math-related attitudes may account for the differences we're still seeing in math

Self Confidence

Sex differences in self confidence depend on the nature of the task. In masculine tasks, women tend to underestimate their performance in self confidence. Part of the sex difference in self confidence is due to women appearing less confident. They are more reluctant than men to display confidence when they have outperformed another person, believe others' self esteem would be threatened by such displays. The extent that a sex difference in self confidence exists appears to be a combination of women being underconfident and men being overconfident.

the achievement motive

a stable personality characteristic that reflects our tendency to strive for success. Achievement is associated with masculine traits such as assertiveness, independence, and competitiveness. Women my thereby recognize that achievement is inconsistent with gender role. This could lead to stereotype threat, and activating the female stereotype hinders women's performance Females are also more likely to conceal achievements

gender schema theory definition of schema

a type of cognitive theory where children acquire gender roles due to their tendency to process information into sex-linked categories. schema is a construct that contains information about the features of a category as well as its associations with other categories. it enables us to process information and helps us make sense of the world around us and organize information and make sense of new situations

results from meta-analyses: social domain empathy

ability to experience the same emotion as another person or feel sympathy or compassion for another person females score higher on self-report measure of empathy, but no clear sex-differences when physiological measures are used. the differences we see on self-report may be due to social expectations rather than true sex differences . sex differences are larger when measures of kindness and consideration are used rather than measures of instrumental help: women tend to do kinder and considerate things (thank you note, buying someone flowers) but men are more likely to help if there's a true need for help

results from meta-analyses: cognitive domain spatial ability aiming at target object identity memory object location memory

ability to think about and reason using mental pictures rather than words (read a map, jigsaw puzzles, fitting things into a trunk, etc) moderate sex difference for spatial perception and mental rotation (mental rotation largest and strongest over time) men rotate the entire object versus women compared specific features of the object . but women tend to examine all options to be sure that they have found the correct match before moving on, men find two matching stimuli and move on. women take longer -- it's not that they can't do it men consistently score better at aiming at target then women women outperform men on object identity memory and objet location memory

hunter-gatherer society - how does it explain sex differences in social behavior and cognition ?

according to the evolutionary theory, the hunter gatherer society developed from women's stronger investment in children compared to men. with women caring for children, men were left to hunt. men behave aggressively because aggression was required to hunt and feed the family women are more nurturing because nurturance was required to take care of the children. women are also more emotionally expressive and sensitive because they were the primary caretakers of children. men's greater spatial skills and geographic knowledge could have stemmed form their venturing farther from home when hunting women's greater ability to locate objects could be linked to their having to keep track of objects close to home

cognitive development theory

according to this theory, children actively interpret the world around them. this builds on piaget's theory of cognitive development, which holds that children learn through acting on the world around them and are actively interpreting what is going on. children cognitively organize what they see and they learn gender roles based on active thoughts -- beliefs of what it means to be male versus female. once they acquire gender identity they are motivated to behave in ways consistent with the self concept. here, the theory focuses on how the child is acting on the environment, versus other theories were the environment is acting on the child.

Narrative Reviews Problems

authors decide on their own which studies they want to include and come to their conclusions about whether the majority of the studies provide evidence for or against sex differences. In narrative reviews, there's no way to control the sample size. There might have been studies with smalls ample size which can influence the ability to detect significant differences. When you count studies with a small sample size the way you do studies with large sample size, it can be problematic

obstacles to gender non-conformity example

backlash effects women in power/leadership role must disconfirm female stereotypes in order to be perceived as a competent leader. The qualities that make a leader, such as responsibility, assertiveness, confidence, influential, etc are all regarded as masculine qualities. Women in high powered jobs should lower their voice, have a firm handshake, etc. But there are negative reactions toward ambitious and capable women, and this presents a difficult hurdle for women in performance settings. Women viewed as capable leaders are also rated as unlikable

psychobiosocial model example

biological factors operate within a social context. while biological differences may exist, there are still strong environmental influences as well e.g. aggression - there are brain/genetic links, however, there are no differences in children before age 4 - only after that do gender differences truly emerge

twin studies

control for environment and focus on genes (it is assumed that twins have the most similar environment) compare monozygotic versus dizygotic twins

Block 1976

criticized Maccoby & Jacklin's review, claiming their work is flawed in a number of ways (methodologically) they didn't take into account the construct validity of the tasks and age bias (most studies involved participants under 12). Overall agreed with Maccoby and Jacklin but found additional differences (maccoby and jacklin missed a lot of information based on the way they conducted their review).

results from meta-analyses: cognitive domain overall sex differences have __________ over time, although ________________________________________

decreased although some of it might not even have to do with actual differences, but the way we've been measuring them (narrative vs meta analysis)

gender dysphoria in adults

desire to live or be treated as the other sex want to pass as the other sex conviction that he or she has the typical feelings and reactions of the other sex persistent discomfort with his or her sex or sense of inappropriateness in the gender roels of that sex (uncomfortable with assigned gender) spends a lot of time trying to get rid of primary and secondary sex characteristics, or belief that he or she was born the wrong sex

social role theory example

differences in men's and women's behavior are a function of the different roles they hold in society focuses more on the abstract social conditions of society rather than on the ways that individuals behave toward women and men e.g. division of labor between women (primarily responsible for domestic labor and taking care of children) and men (responsible for work outside the home) in society accounts for why women become communal and men become agentic

what makes a behavior abnormal?

distressing to the individual and others interferes with their ability to function does not fit society's norm

psychiatrists approach human behavior with an ______ approach, and focus on ___________

entity pathology (either have or don't have, and it is a pathological illness, not normative human behavior )

evolutionary theory + sociobiology

evolutionary theory applies principles of evolution to the study of cognition and behavior sociobiology examines the biological origins of social behavior because males and females face different challenges in ensuring the survival of their genes, sex differences in sexual behavior have evolved. males prefer to have sex with as many fertile women as possible, and females prefer to have sex with a male who can provide economic resources to ensure the survival of their children. Men face uncertainty about the paternity of their mate's offspring. because men are in competition with one another over women, men behave in aggressive ways especially when trying to establish dominance.

Maccoby & Jacklin 1974

first researchers to publish a review looking at whether or not sex differences existed . The narrative review of sex differences concluded there are only significant sex differences in 4 domains: verbal ability, visual spatial ability mathematical ability and aggression

gender differences in attribution and self serving bias

gender differences in attribution of perceivers are minimal except when it comes to math performance. gender differences in attribution of self are also highest in math. self serving bias is more common in young girls compared to boys, no difference in early adolescents, more common in men than women

Gender Non-conformity Examples

gender-role incongruent appearance, attitudes, and behavior. One can exhibit gender incongruent behavior while still identifying with your biological sex male nurse female construction worker male wearing makeup female with short hair

congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH)

genetic disorder resulting from malfunction in the adrenal glands that results in prenatal exposure to high levels of male hormones and a lack of cortisol. female genitals may be masculinized

gene contribution: aggression

higher in MZ vs DZ twins Genetics account for approx. 40% of variability in antisocial behavior, criminality, behavioral aggression XYY pattern (extra Y chromosome in men) linked to aggression

gene contribution: homosexuality

higher in mz twin pairs than dz twin pairs

gender dysphoria in children

identified as strong and persistent cross-gender identification for at least 6 months repeatedly stated desire to be or insistence that he or she is, the other sex wearing stereotypical attire of the opposite gender strong and persistent preferences for cross sex roles in make believe play or persistent fantasies of being the other sex strong preference for playmates of the other sex intense desire to participate in stereotypical games and pastimes of the opposite sex strong dislike of one's sexual anatomy

Reparative Therapy - debate over ethicality

if a conditon is pathological, then therapy is ethical. but following removal from DSM, it was criticized as unethical -- if it is not an illness, it's unethical to try to cure it. Throckmorton & Yarhouse argues that it is consistent with the APA ethical value of self-determination and autonomy to allow reparative therapy. Since the field of psychology is grounded on the value of self determination and autonomy, if a person wants to change, we should support that. Plus some people seek therapy for things that aren't necessarily psychological illnesses (too perfectionist, want to be more confident, etc) However others argue that if treatment doesn't work, it is unethical for psychologists to claim that it does work. Research on effectiveness were not able to be published, and APA concluded there is no credible evidence that reparative therapy has promised effect. IT violates the principle of integrity to conduct treatment in the absence of supportive evidence that therapy is effective. Further, research on harm shows increasing suicdiality, anger, depression, deteriorated relationshps, loss of faith, social isolation and sexual dysfunction -- there's evidence of harm

possible biological basis for gender identity

in a study of male to female transsexuals, researchers found one area of the brain (the hypothalamic uncinate nucleus) more similar to that area of the brain in women than men

limitations of evolutionary theory

inability to account for behaviors that do not maximize reproductive success (homosexuality) doesn't account for individual or cultural differences in behavior

intersex conditions

inconsistency between chromosomal and phenotypical sex e.g. congenital adrenal hyperplasia

internal attribution vs external attribution stable vs unstable attribution

internal: located within the person (i studied hard, i worked hard) external: located in the environment (the teacher made the test hard, my roommate kept me up all night) stable: this is the case all the time unstable: it could change

intrarole vs interrole conflict examples

intrarole: experience of conflict between expectations within a given role. e.g. woman in an unhappy marriage expected to be emotional and express feelings but also expected to be sensitive to the needs of others interrole: experience of conflict between two or more roles that are assumed simultaneously (take on more than one role and now there is conflict between the two) e.g. females in power, male student working on group project, female student in a seminar debate class

results from meta-analyses: social domain helping behavior

males are more likely to help than females, bu tthis is mediated by an important variable: context of strangers/dangerous situation. men are more likely to help in dangerous situations or emergencies, but women are more likely to help within the context of relationships or in nonthreatening situations. males are also more likely to help females than another male

Self-Esteem

males have higher self esteem than females, although the differences are minor. The largest differences are found during adolescence. Self esteem decrease in early adolescence for both genders, but male self esteem increases in middle/late adolescence and becomes significantly higher than females. African American females report higher self-esteem than caucasian females (in general the largest gender differences are found in Whites compared to minority groups)

results from meta-analyses: social domain aggression

males more likely to be aggressive and this is consistent across ethnicity and culture. it may also be linked to the ability to regulate emotions

results from meta-analyses: social domain sexuality

men are more likely to report more sexual partners, more casual sex, greater use of pornography. women more likely to report favorable attitudes towards gay men additional research needed to examine age, ethnic, and cultural differences

gender-role socialization

people and objects in the environment shape a child's behavior to fit gender role norms. focus on the individual being being shaped by others/environment (Parents, peers, books, toys, TV, ads, etc )

gender non-conformity is linked to a variety of social problems, such as

physical, sexual and psychological abuse depression anxiety suicide

confirmatory hypothesis testing

process of noticing information that confirms stereotypes and disregarding information that disconfirms stereotypes

biology, the brain: lateralization

researchers entertained the theory that women's brains were more bilateral (used both sides of the brain), while men's brains were more lateralized. So far, research results are either insignificant or very slight, and only in specific abilities (e.g. spatial skills)

gender aschematic

someone who doesn't give gender much thought at all -- does not process or interpret the world from a gender schema

gender schematic

someone who uses the gender category as the guiding principle in behavior and in processing information about the world

self-serving bias examples

the tendency to take credit for our successes and blame others for our failures e.g. performance on an exam: when you do well, you attribute it to working hard and studying hard, but when you do badly, you blame it on the teacher (knit picky, exam wasn't structured well, etc)

gene contribution: sex-typed behavior

studies with mz vs dz twins found that that it is a combination of genes + environment that contribute to sex-typed behavior although genetic contribution is slightly higher for female mz twins

meta-analysis advantages disadvantages

takes into account whether difference was found as well as the size of the difference (effect size) takes into account effect size researchers can examine moderating variables (variables that alter the relationship between the IV and DV) file-drawer problem: studies failing to detect a differences are less likely to get published. Maybe we're only reading a small portion of studies that have been conducted because only ones that found significant differences were published. many that found no differences were not

influence of teachers & feedback

teachers pay more attention to boys (elementary through college) make more eye contact with male students praise male students more than female students ask higher level questions to male students expand upon males' comments in class more wait time more behavioral issues with male students and this sets up particular expectancies about school for males -- puts them at a disadvantage teachers give equal amounts of feedback to males vs females but the type of feedback differs: boys more likely to receive positive feedback about intellectual abilities, girls receive more positive feedback about non-intellectual abilities. girls receive more negative feedback about intellectual performance compared to boys and they internalize this more than boys. boys receive more negative feedback about classroom conduct

sexual identity therapy (SIT) Mark Yarhouse

the goal is not to change a person's attraction, but to emerge from therapy recognizing one of that person's struggles is that they are attracted to members of the same sex

expectancy value model of achievement

theory that acheivement-related choice area is a function of our expectancy for success (will i succeed?) and our value in the area (how important is this to me? needs to be important in order for me to even want to succeed). researchers thinks this explains why less women go into computer science. it's not about self-esteem, confidence, ability, etc. it's just that they're not interested in it and it's not important to them. expectancy predicts involvement in activities and interpretation of outcomes

how does gender dysphoria differ from transgender or transex?

transgender/transex does not create dysphoria anymore. No anxiety or discomfort about it. With gender dysphoria, there's emotional turmoil going inside the person. Most trans individuals have gone through a period of gender dysphoria

who are we more likely to imitate?

we are more likely to imitate same-sex models, especially when they display gender-congruent behavior, models who are reinforced for their behaviors, models we like

social learning theory example: aggression

we learn behavior in two ways: we learn behavior that is modeled and we learn behavior that is reinforced applied to the acquisition of gender role behavior aggression - reinforced in males than females by parents, teachers, peers.

results from meta-analyses: cognitive domain verbal ability

women outperform men in verbal tasks, especially in speech production and writing men are also more likely to have dyslexia and stuttering difficulties, which may account for the differences