Gender Psych Exam 2
T/F. men are more influence by a woman if she uses a more masculine way of getting things done (e.g. 'do this, do that')
False
What do homicide rates show as far as which gender is more aggressive?
Homicide rates show that males are more aggressive than females.
does 'gender-appropriate' information effect what one remembers? Give an example
Yes. E.g. Males outperform females in memorizing direction
Do different tasks have an effect on which sex emerges as a leader?
Yes. wedding plans- woman fixing a car- man
In domestic violence, does it matter if the victim is male or female?
Yes. Males have more physical power. So in domestic violence, when the victim is male the situation tends to be minimized.
Sex chromosomes are on what chromosome pair?
the 23rd
T/F. Gender differences appear larger for verbal aggression than physical aggression
False
Women that have a higher _____ have more of an influence on other women then does a man.
Status
Jon/Joan Video
-Jon was 8 months and about to be circumcised and the doctor destroyed his penis beyond repair. -Jon's mom heard a theory on t.v. that boys could be nurtured into girls, so she decided to raise Jon as a girl. They went on with their lives as if Jon was a girl. Jon was now Joan. -Joan's only friend was his twin brother. His twin learned to shave. Joan learned to play dolls. -Joan didn't like to play with girls. She built forts and wrestled. Joan was outcast and lonely because she didn't fit in as a girl. -Would visit Dr. Money and would go through gender identification therapy. A lot of the therapy was unorthodox, and humiliated Joan. -The study got a lot of recognition as being a success, and Dr. Money declared it as a success, but the family didn't agree. -Dr. Money really wanted Joan to get a vagina, but Joan didn't want to. He refused to see Dr. Money again. -Joan became really depressed and made 3 suicide attempts, the last one which left him in a coma. Discussion: -This video led to inter-sex individuals choosing what gender they want to be. -It shows the power of biology -Because of the researcher bias that Dr. Money had, he wanted the study to work so bad that he did not listen to what Joan's amyl or Joan was saying. -there is a committee in the hospital to decide inter-sex individuals.
How does the male and female reproductive tract form?
-Male: Androgens organize the internal ducts into male reproductive tract. MIS (Mullerian Inhibiting Substance) causes female ducts to weaken. -Female: In the absence of androgens, internal ducts are organized into fallopian tubes, uterus, and inner vagina
How is the male and female genitals formed?
-Male: Genital tubercle develops into a penis and scrotum -Female: Genital tubercle becomes the clitoris, and labia
How do male and female gonads form?
-Male: H-Y antigen influences the gonadal tissue to organize into embryonic testis -Female: if male differentiation did not occur, about 2 weeks later the gonadal tissue is organized into an ovary
What hormone do the male testis secrete? What hormone does the female ovary secrete?
-Male: testis secretes testosterone and MIS -Female: Ovary secretes estrogen
What is the brain organizing hypothesis as a biological explanation for gender difference in cognition?
-Prenatal exposure to different levels of sex hormones causes sex differences in brain organization (e.g., differences in hemispheric specialization). -Some researchers have zeroed in on the idea that men's brains are more lateralized than women's brains. Such differences in organization are hypothesized to lead to female-male differences in cognitive performance.
What implications did male variability have on Mary Kalkins?
-She studied at Harvard University but was not allowed to register there. -Produced great studies and became part of the psychology movement. -Became part of the APA presidency, even though she didn't have a degree.
Research support for circulating hormones hypothesis
-Some research finds differences in women's performance on certain cognitive tasks during different parts of the menstrual cycle. -Some research finds correlations between levels of certain sex hormones and performance on cognitive tasks among elderly women. -Seasonal fluctuation in performance on some spatial tasks have been observed in men.
How is lateralization an explanation for gender differences?
-in men, when left hemisphere is damaged, mens verbal ability is impaired -in men, when right hemisphere is damages, non verbal ability is impaired -in women, there is no difference of impairment between right and left hemisphere damage.
Research support for the brain organizing hypothesis
-research on brain-damage patients does not provide strong support for the idea that men's brains are more lateralized than women's brains. -some research with brain damaged patients indicates that, for certain specific abilities there may be sex differences in how focused or diffuse the abilities are in the brain. -studies of auditory and visual laterality conclude that men are, to a small degree ,more lateralized than women. -there is conflicting evince about whether the corpus callosum is larger in women than in men.
In her study at a house for mental defectives, What did Hollingworth conclude on why males may be/or be seen as more variable?
-there were more boys than girls in the house -she found that the reason for this was because boys were less restricted in terms of behavior, and that they are also more noticeable compared to girls (e.g. they are expected to go out and work, while girls are put in the household)
What is AIS? What are the symptoms?
Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome -this is a genetically transmitted disorder that makes a males cells unable to respond to their levels of androgens. (so about genetics, not hormones) -they may be born with external genitalia (e.g. labia, clitoris) but they do not have internal female reproductive organs (e.g. fallopian tubes, uterus) -they are usually reared as females because they look feminine (e.g. breasts, feminine body shape, clear skin)
Males and females tend to be motivated to perform well in what type of areas?
Areas to which they attach value (e.g. areas they like or that are important for future goals) The two groups have sometimes learned to attach different values to achievement in particular areas, such as mathematics.
Why was there no differences in empathy in the lab studies?
Because the researchers can control the social context and therefore assess the potential behavior rather than the actual behavior. Also the participants know they are being observed.
Who is more likely to be aggressive when provoked by insults or other means?
Both males and females are equally likely to be aggressive
What is CAH? What are the symptoms?
Congenital Adrenal Hyperplasia -this is a genetically transmitted syndrome that causes an overgrowth of the adrenal glands. -boys that have this have extra androgen and thus have larger genitalia -girls that have this are born with masculinized genitalia, but their internal reproductive organs are female. They get rid of the overgrowth through surgery at birth.
Udry (2000) Investigated the notion that levels of prenatal hormones might be linked to gender-role behavior of women even in adulthood and that hormone levels might limit the impact of feminine role socialization. What was the problem with his measure?
E.g. 'Married to a man'- yes is feminine, no is masculine. 'Importance of career'- yes is masculine, no is feminine. Problems: -Other interpretations may be possible. e.g. instead of hormone levels controlling gender-specific desires, maybe it was a tendency toward compliance/or a tendency toward low self-esteem. -How are masculinity/femininity defined? Do the qualities he listed in his measure form an adequate definition of feminine behavior?
Though for both sexes, there is a positive relationship between experience and performance on visual-spatial, verbal, and quantitative tasks, what is important to remember in a classroom setting?
Even though males and females are in the same classroom, they do not necessarily receive the same treatment (e.g. males may receive better treatment in a math class)
What is essentialism?
Gender differences are already in our blood (nature)
What is social constructionism?
Gender differences come from our social interactions (nurture)
What two things would influence one's confidence in how they will perform on a test?
If they believe that their own gender group usually does better on the test If they are not influenced by Stereotype threat
Explain the Janet Hyde Study and what was concluded from it.
In the study, children were dressed so you couldn't tell their gender. -When the child was aggressive towards a girl, they were rated as being very aggressive. -When the child was aggressive towards a boy, they were rated as being not as aggressive. -When the raters were told that the child was a girl, they thought that the girl was aggressive overall. -When the raters were told that they child was a boy, they thought that the boy was aggressive towards girls, but not as aggressive towards other boys (they thought it was more playful) Conclusion: 95% of aggression, cannot be explained by gender.
Explain the Bettcourt & Miller Study and what it concluded about gender-role norms.
In the study, they used different types of provocation physical provocation both genders reacted equally as aggressive intellectual provocation males reacted more aggressively than females. This is because intelligence is a part of the male role to provide. Conclusion: Gender role norms (the social expectations toward a gender) play a large part in the gender differences in aggression.
Is there still male variability today? Give some examples?
It has NOT died off, it is still around today. Dumb: E.g. Immigrants were given IQ tests in english and were sent away because they were "dumb" Psychologist tested immigrant soldiers and because they did poor on the IQ test they were classified as "dumb" and sent to be on the frontline. Smart: E.g. Differences between SAT math section between males and females was 30 pts higher for boys than girls, but the ratio was 2:1 for boys. If one gets more than 600 on the section the ratio is 4:1 for boys. If one gets more than 700 on the section the ratio is 13:1 for boys.)
What does research show the effect of gender-role socialization has on how students perform on realms that are 'gender appropriate'?
It shows that students express more interest in and perform better in realms that they have learned are "appropriate" for their gender.
What is the circulating hormones hypothesis as a biological explaination for gender differences in cognition?
Level of sex hormones (such as testosterone or estrogen) circulating in the bloodstream affects cognitive performance.
What does exposure to hormones do to the male and female brain and nervous system?
Male-The brain and nervous system may become "masculinized" and "defeminized" Female-The brain and nervous system may become "feminized" and "demasculized"
Who is more likely to be spontaneously aggressive?
Males
Give an example of how economic/political power effects aggression?
Males aggression towards women are greater in cultures where women have less economic and political power. When soldiers invade a city, they rape women not because they want to get sexual pleasure out of it, but because they want to show their power/control over them.
Who's chromosomes are XY and who's are XX?
Males- XX Females- XY
Who is more likely to believe that social aggression is an appropriate way to get what they want (to obtain power)?
Males. Women are more powerless so there are more restrictions for them.
How do males and females differ in their emotional reactions to aggressive provocation?
Men react more quickly to stimuli, and they have more difficulty interpreting so they just retaliate without thinking. Women more fearful and scared when they see aggressive behavior. They tend to analyze the situation better than males. (e.g. if i punch her she might punch me)- this shows the woman's role of submission.
What is the best predictor of dominance, gender or personality?
Personality E.g. when someone suggests an idea for a group project, those who accept the idea and those who don't is a matter of personality.
What is the best predictor of how someone will do on the SAT, GRE, and if they will drop or not?
Socioeconomic status
Who is better at verbal memory?
Some research finds women are better than men at verbal memory; however, this may be because women are better than men at describing what they remember.
What is male variability?
The hypothesis that men are more variable regarding intelligence- very genius to very dumb, and that women are all at about an average range of intelligence.
Explain what the Eisenberg and Lennon Meta-analysis concluded about gender differences in regards to empathy/nurturance?
The meta-analysis found that in self-report measures females scored much higher than males on empathy, but in studies measuring emotional responses to situations simulated in the lab or on videotape there were no gender differences
T/F. If rewards and punishments are the same for both genders than there are no gender differences in aggression.
True
T/F. There are no gender differences in general intelligence.
True
Women tend to be more sensitive than men to _____ sensation, while men tend to be more sensitive than women to _____ sensation.
Verbal. Visual. The gender differences are small
Aggression Hypothesis Elevated levels of circulating androgens make an individual more likely to engage in aggressive behavior.
What Research says: Correlations have been found between men's levels of circulating testosterone and some measures of aggression. However, it is not clear whether the hormone levels cause the aggression or the aggressive station or behavior causes a change in hormone levels. A small amount of experimental research on humans show s that anabolic steroids administered in high doses increase the likelihood of aggression, and animal research suggests a mechanism through which this effect can occur.
Aggression Hypothesis Elevated prenatal androgens influence the central nervous system to differentiate in such a way that the individual is more predisposed toward high-energy active play.
What Research says: Research for CAH girls has not provided compelling evidence for a link between elevated prenatal androgens and aggressive behavior.
Gender-typical activity hypothesis Elevated prenatal androgens predispose individuals to learn skills and performa activities that are male typical.
What Research says: some studies of CAH girls report they are more likely than other girls to have male-typical interests and less likely to have female-typical interests. Studies of normal girls, but not boys, show a correlation between prenatal testosterone and male-typical behavior. This kind of correlation has been found among adult women too.
What is gender disphoria? When does it occur and why?
What: A sense of discomfort or unhappiness with the gender category in which one is placed. When: Many people report that this dissatisfaction began at an early age and never diminished. Why: Since scientists do not know exactly what controls gender identity, they are not sure why some people do not form a comfortable gender identity that matches the category in which they are placed by society.
What is gender identity? When does it occur and why?
What: An individual's sense of belonging to a particular gender category. When: Researchers believe it is usually formed before the age of 2 and is difficult to change after that. Why: Scientists are not completely sure what accounts for gender identity formation. Whereas some argue that there is a biological basis, many others attribute it to the processes of learning and cognitive development.
What is gender-role socialization?
When parents, teachers, and peers reinforce stereotypes about males-female differences in cognitive abilities, and children learn early to label certain tasks feminine and certain tasks masculine.
What is relational aggression? and who is more likely to use this type of aggression?
aggression that hurts or threatens another person by damaging his or her relationships, sometimes call indirect or social aggression (e.g. the movie 'mean girls') females are more likely than males to show this.
What is overt aggression? and who is more likely to use this type of aggression?
aggression that physically hurts or threatens another person) males are more likely than females to show this.
How do all male groups and mixed-sex groups show that males tend to be more socially dominant? Why is this?
all-male groups shown more to agree with dominance than do all-female groups. mixed-sex groups men are more likely than women to emerge as leaders. -This pattern may be largely explained by our learned tendency to ascribe more status to men than to women.
What is an inter-sexed individual?
baby that is born with ambiguous external genitalia or with genitalia that are not congruent with internal reproductive structures.
Which is more harmful- overt or relational aggression?
cant really conclude which is more harmful.
what is the basis for sex assignment of an inter-sexed individual?
it is based on an assessment of how well the child will be able to function as a female or male later in life.
What is a motivational reason behind why more males take math courses than females?
people who have math and science skills tend to make more money, a male role is to be the bread winner
the study by Bernbaum (1999) which compared CAH girls with unaffected girls found what?
that early androgen exposure may increase male-typical activities and reducing female-typical interests.
what is a gender-role norm?
the social expectations toward a gender
If males/females experience physical/sexual abuse, who is more likely to abuse their kids?
women are 600 times more likely to abuse their kids.
How is brain size an explanations for gender differences?
women's brains are smaller
