Psych 339 Final

How might social regulation foster sex differences in aggression?

Gender stereotypes are prescriptive (emphasis on nice, kind behavior for women), complexity in masculinity norms (get a fight if necessary/serve as a protector), more social approval of male aggression, especially in sanctioned activities

What did Brescoll (2012) found about the relationship between volubility and the ratings of male and female leaders?

Higher-rated female leaders tended to speak less often. Higher-rated male leaders tended to speak more often. These results were found for both CEOs and Congress representatives.

Why are egalitarian partnerships difficult to achieve?

1) Demands for paid work and child care have increased 2) Jobs are more insecure than in the past 3) Divorce rate remains high 4) Masculinity norms may prevent men from wanting to achieve equality

What does research suggest about achieving happiness? List three things.

1) Find a long-term, committed partnership 2) Wait to have children until age 30 or later 3) Have a job that is fulfilling

In which contexts do women provide more emotional support?

1) Friendships and romantic relationships 2) Marital relationships 3) Friendships of kids

Why might women be more predisposed to depression?

1) Genetic aspects - potentially higher heritability 2) Self-regulation - internalization of less favorable aspects of femininity, and engaging in rumination 3) Social aspects: negative life events may affect girls more often, and childhood adversity and marital problems may have stronger negative effects on women

Why might men be more predisposed to externalizing disorders?

1) Genetic aspects - potentially higher heritability 2) Self-regulation - internalization of negative aspects of masculinity, use easy but harmful forms of coping with emotional problems 3) Social aspects, esp. antisocial peer groups

Describe trends of sexual harassment in the workplace.

1) Men are more likely to be perpetrators, and women are more likely to be victims 2) Little change between 1980 and 1994, but decrease in 2016 study

Describe some the results from the College Social life survey on hook-up attitudes

1) Men more likely to say they wish they had more hook-up opps 2) Both sexes agree (>80%) that consensual sex is okay as long as both persons agree to it 3) Both sexes say they respect women less if they hook-up frequently, and are less interested having partner who has hooked-up frequently... 4) But women more likely to respect men less if they hook-up frequently (67 v 37%) 5) Both sexes say men initiated more sexual activity, but men more likely to say women initiated more sexual activity, compared to women.

Describe some of the results from the College Social Life survey on hook-up behaviors.

1) Most men and women hook-up at least once 2) Intercourse is most common, followed by kissing 3) Intercourse less likely when first encounter with a particular hook-up partner 4) Hook-ups with complete strangers are rare 5) Many students engaged in binge drinking before/during their most recent hook-up 6) Most not interested in relationship after hook-up, but percentage increases after the hook-up, and women more interested in general

What are some reasons for more similar partner preferences in more gender-equal nations?

1) SES makes physical attributes of men and women less relevant (women less likely to reproduce, less relevance for male size and strength) 2) Men and women's lives are more similar

What factors may underlie gendered patterns of psychopathology?

1) Temperamental sex differences 2) Socialization can build on temperamental tendencies in unhealthy ways

Define "hook-up" as in the Garcia et al. reading.

A brief uncommitted sexual encounter among individuals who are not romantic partners

Define the sexual borderland, as provided by Callis (2014)

A place of sexual and gender fluidity, where identities can change, multiply, or dissolve

What did Livingstone et al. (2012) find about how race may impact the double bind problem?

Agentic African American women leaders faced no backlash, while agentic white women and African American men were penalized. However, they also found that African American women faced harsher penalties for mistakes

What is the aggression paradox?

Aggression can be facilitated by both antagonistic and protective motives.

Why have sexual expressions in heterosexual couples changed in recent years?

An emphasis on careers for both sexes may prompt marrying later, which leaves more time between puberty and marriage, and frees both sexes (but especially women) from demands of early partnering

How do boys and girls fair on math ability tests?

Average performance is roughly equal, but more boys at the top (and bottom) of the distribution

Define aggression.

Behavior whose goal is the injury of another person. Aggression can be physical or verbal, and verbal aggression can be either direct or indirect (relational)

What does social role theory say about mate preferences?

Both sexes adjust their partner preferences to current society, creating variation in sex differences across societies and time. Preferences are socially constructed to accommodate current/future divisions of labor

What spatial location tasks do boys do better on? What about girls?

Boys do better on mental rotation and spatial perception tasks. Girls do better on spatial location memory.

Describe the research on boys and girls' interest in scientific activities and careers?

Boys tend to be more interested in activities that relate to following scientific principles, while girls tend to be more interested in activities and careers that more explicitly help others

What is meant by "semi gender equality?"

Division of labor shifts in 20th/21st centuries reflect changes primarily in women's lives; men have still remained reluctant to enter female-dominated spheres

How might self regulation foster sex differences in aggression?

Due to self-stereotyping tendencies, women have more negative beliefs about engaging in aggressive behavior

What do evolutionary psychology and social role theory predict about changes in sexual behavior?

EP predicts greater male interest in short-term mating. Social role theory predicts that greater similarity in men and women's lives produce more similar sexual behavior.

What have studies found about sex differences in indirect aggression? What about correlates with indirect aggression?

Early studies found women more likely to engage, but more recent research suggests it's gender balanced. Indirect aggression is correlated with direct aggression and maladjustment in childhood

Describe the results from the Davies et al. experiment on stereotype threat for leadership roles.

Exposure to stereotypic content led women to have a stronger preference for a "problem solver" role over the "leader" role in a group task

Describe the difference between externalizing and internalizing disorders.

Externalizing disorders turn problematic feelings towards other. Internalizing disorders turn problematic feelings toward the self.

What is assortative mating? In assortative matings, are positive or negative associations more common?

Form of sexual selection in which individuals with similar genotypes and phenotypes mate more frequently than predicted by chance. Positive associations (similarities) are much more common.

Describe the results of the badmiton players on how T changes before/after winning or losing a match. What might effects not always replicate for women?

In percentage terms, T decreases similarly for men and women after losing a match, and increases similarly after winning a match. In other studies, women might not always interpret some situations as competitive, which may reflect on "tend and befriend" tendency

What is the intimacy paradox?

Intimacy can occur as the result of a sexual or nurturant relationship.

What has other research found about affirmative action reducing the quality of faculty?

It doesn't appear to be an issue - when male candidates are slightly stronger, slight female advantage disappears

What role may oxytocin play in antisocial behavior?

Low OT may be related to social withdrawal or behavioral contexts not tied to promoting social bonds

Describe the trends on women's career interest in leadership.

Majority of women say that career is important, and express interest in leadership roles - even more so than men. However, ambition may fade after being on the job for a few years. However, women consistently express less interest in politics than men

How does evolutionary psychology explain some of the sex differences in cognitive abilities?

Male hunters may have required greater spatial abilities, whereas childrearing and other domestic tasks may have favored the development of women's superior verbal abilities

What are the cross-cultural differences in spatial sex differences?

Male spatial advantage is larger in more economically developed nations

What are the stereotypes for gender performances on cognitive tasks?

Males are better at math and spatial tasks, women are better at verbal tasks.

Which sex is more approving of aggressive actions and social policies, such as gun control and war?

Men

Which sex engages in more heroic helping of strangers? Cite two pieces of evidence

Men 1) Carnegie Hero models overwhelmingly awarded to men 2) Men much more likely to be listed as public heroes (personal heroes more gender balanced)

Describe the research on which sex is more likely to help strangers.

Men are more likely to help strangers, especially if an audience is present, or if they are bystander. If requested help, if the victim is male, or if they are alone, differences vanish. Moreover, men are more likely to help women (and less likely to help men) in Southern cities.

Describe research findings on the sex differences in criminal violence.

Men are much more likely to engage in criminal behavior, especially violent crime. Women are only more likely to engage in prostitution and embezzlement

What are the sex differences in workplace aggression?

Men engage in more organizational and interpersonal aggression at work. Such aggression is often nonsexual

What did early studies show about sex differences in direct aggression and the targets of aggression?

Men more likely to be aggressive and to be target for physical aggression. Differences are very small for verbal aggression.

Describe the sex differences in orgasm rate in hook-ups. What do they suggest about equality in sexual relationships?

Men orgasm more than women in every context. They suggest that hook-ups don't actually bring sexual equality, and women may hook-up for other reasons

Describe some of the sex differences in mate preferences in heterosexuals.

Men report they value physical attractiveness, domestic skills, and youth more, while women report they value SES, ambition, and older age more. Both sexes, however, place good character qualities at the top of their preference lists

What types of careers do men with high spatial skills tend to go into? What about women?

Men tend to go into STEM, women into visual arts

How do career goals differ for men and women?

Men tend to seek careers that will fulfill agentic goals (power, status, money), while women tend to seek careers that will fulfill communal goals (helping others, making friends)

What is the major sex difference in way finding?

Men tend to use cardinal directions more, women use landmarks more

How do work-hours change for men and women based on the number of children they have?

Men work more if they have more kids, women work less (more work at home)

What types of partnerships are relatively common? Less common

More common: Neo-traditional: Both partners work, but men earn more, and committed singles Less common: Reversers (gender roles flipped from neo-traditional), and egalitarian

What is the modernization hypothesis, with regards to assortative mating?

More sorting now occurs on achieved characteristics (e.g. SES, education) than on acquired traits (e.g. race)

What is objectification? Self-objectification?

Objectification is the act of treating a person as an object or thing without regard to their individuality. It often reduces a person down to their body or appearance. Self-objectification occurs when someone (typically women) view themselves as objects to be evaluated on. This may result in body surveillance and body shame, which may lead to depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and sexual dysfunction

Which sex tends to be happier? How has this changed in recent decades?

Overall, women are slightly happier than men. However, women's happiness decreased after obtaining equality, perhaps as the result of shifting expectations and exposure to their inferior status to men

What are some nurture causes for sex differences in cognitive abilities?

Parents build on basic temperamental differences. Specifically, boys' greater surgency may facilitate play that fosters spatial abilities, while girls' greater control may facilitate more conversation with adults, building verbal skills

Describe the results from the Eagly et al. (2009) study on anticipatory processes and their influence on mating preferences.

People assigned to homemaker or secondary breadwinner roles more likely to choose "male"-typed partners, while those assigned to breadwinner roles choose "female"-typed partners.

How has sorting on educational similarity changed over time?

Positive sorting has increased over time (i.e. mate with someone more similar). In the past, men were more likely to marry a woman with a lower education level, but this has reversed.

What types of leadership roles tend to have more women?

Public good roles (university provosts, school principals, nonprofit CEOs)

What are some cognitive abilities that women tend to be better at than men?

Reading comprehension, writing, sentence fluency

How might the lack of few women leaders be reversed?

Reducing the cultural masculinity of leadership, or encouraging women to be more agentic. There is evidence for the first trend: leadership now requires more interpersonal/communal skills, and is thus more androgynous than in the past

What has recent research suggested about the need for female role models in STEM to encourage girls to pursue STEM?

Role models are helpful, but they need to be realistic and relatable - they cannot be painted as exceptional overachievers

Which two forms of psychopathology are gender balanced? How might they present themselves differently in men and women?

Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, possibly the result of their strong genetic patterns. With schizophrenia, men are likely to have an earlier onset and experience greater severity of symptoms With bipolar disorder, women experience more depressive symptoms, rapid cycling, more hopsitalization, and co-morbidity with eating disorder. Men experience greater rates of alcohol and drug abuse, pathological gambling, and conduct disorders

Describe sexual scripts theory.

Sexual scripts are cultural scripts about sexual/romantic encounters that are acquired from culture. Local peer norms may also play a role.

What outcomes tend to follow from female leadership?

Since women tend to have more compassionate, benevolent, and other-oriented attitudes and values, they may be more likely to pursue more public good initiatives, and move priorities in a more communal direction

What are some factors that have smaller effects on why women don't pursue STEM? Which probably have larger effects?

Small: Ability sex differences, Stereotype threat, Discrimination Large: Differences in career goals, work-family issues, lack of female role models/support

Describe the mate preferences in the Wodaabe tribe, and what it may suggest about sex differences in mate preferences.

The Wodaabe tribe places greater emphasis on men's physical attractiveness. This may suggest that a heterosexual man's emphasis on attractiveness is not necessarily built in

How do mating preferences change?

Social regulation (people observe other couples and choose mate who reflects their division of domestic and provider responsibilities) and self regulation (people anticipate consequences of different partner preferences and choose accordingly)

What have studies, including Davies et al (2002), found regarding stereotype threat for math abilities?

Stereotype threat has a small effect on women's math test performance

Describe the results that resume studies have found about who receives fewer callbacks.

Studies have found that mothers and childless men are evaluated less favorably, receive lower salary recommendations, and are less likely to receive a callback than fathers and childless women

What types of behavior do women leaders NOT face backlash for?

Subtly dominant behaviors, such as a direct speaking style, expansive posture, or dominant face shape

Describe patterns of T in mating and parenting behavior.

T facilitates mating success, but partnering and parenting reduce T in both sexes.

Describe the relationship between T and aggression.

T itself does not cause aggressive behavior but can facilitate aggressive behavior when exposed to certain situations.

Describe the results from Seabrook et al (2017)'s study on television use, acceptance of gendered sexual scripts, and sexual agency.

Television exposure and perceived realism of content were related to greater endorsement of gendered sexual scripts, which then linked to lower sexual agency

Describe the differences between classic and new heterosexual scripts.

The classic script states that a man pursues a sexually less experienced women, who controls sexuality in exchange for commitment. In this script, high activity is frowned upon for women. New scripts state sexual agency is acceptable for both sexes, but low agency is disparaged, especially for women

Describe the role incongruity problem for women in leadership roles

The cultural stereotype of women and leaders does not match well, which may lead women to shy away from leadership positions.

Describe the double bind problem.

The double bind is the pressure for women leaders to follow both the prescriptions of the leader role (being agentic) and the prescriptions of the female role (being communal), which are contradictory. If a woman leader follows either role too closely, they may receive disapproval.

How do children impact the rates at which women are employed full time?

The more children a woman has, the less likely she is to hold a full-time position. This is not true for men.

How do attitudes about sexuality change across cultures?

The more gender equal a culture is, the smaller the gender difference in sociosexuality

What are the cross-cultural differences for sex differences in math ability?

The more gender equality, the more male advantage in math erodes

What has recent evidence suggested about discrimination in hiring women in science professorships?

There is no discrimination - if anything, women are slightly favored once they apply

Describe the results of the "think manager, think male" task.

There was significantly more similarity in the traits used to describe managers and men, than managers and women. The gap is higher for men rates, but is still present for women raters

What does EP say about mate preferences?

They are relatively fixed and universal, because they express fundamental adaptations shaped in distant path. Specifically, males choose women based on signs of fertility, and females choose men based on how well they can provide for her and potential offspring

Describe the results from the Buss (1989) meta-analysis, and the evidence it provides from an EP account of mate preferences.

They found consistent differences in age, provider status, and physical differences across cultures, arguing that these differences were universal. These findings would support EP

Describe the results from the Zenter and Mitura (2012) meta-analysis on mate preferences, and the evidence it provides for a social role account of mate preferences.

They found that sex differences in mate preferences were smaller in more gender-equal nations. However, these sex differences do not disappear entirely

How have attitudes towards sexual behaviors change across time?

They have generally become more gender-equal (although men still favored for most behaviors). Both sexes are also more likely to endorse more permissive attitudes

How might extreme forms of agency and communion result in externalizing and internalizing disorders, respectively?

Unmitigated agency may result in too strong of a focus on the self at the expense of others, predisposing one to acting out or antisocial behavior. Unmitigated communion may result in neglect of the self, predisposing one to low self-esteem, depression, and guilt

Describe the results of the "Draw A Scientist" task, and how they've changed over time

When asked to draw a scientist, children draw more men than women (only 0.5% were women in original study). Percentages have become more equal over time, but men still dominate

Which sex engages in more prosocial behavior at work?

Women - more likely to have more communal relationships with co-workers an provide relational support

Who is more likely to donate a kidney - men or women?

Women - they view kidney donation as extension of family role.

Describe the general pattern of results on sex differences in heterosexual couple violence.

Women are generally slightly more aggressive, but usually takes milder forms. Men are more likely to exhibit more extreme forms of violence.

How do the leaderships styles of men and women differ?

Women are more democratic and participative. Men are more autocratic and directive. Women are also follow a more transformational style, and when they use a transactional style, they use more positive rewards (men use more punishing strategies)

Describe some of the sex differences on volunteering.

Women are slightly more likely to volunteer. Moreover, women tend to volunteer for care work positions, while men tend to volunteer more for leadership, sports coaching, or transportation work. Women are also more likely to volunteer for the Peace Corps

Overall, how has representation of women in leadership roles changed over time?

Women are still generally the minority, but greater change has occurred in less powerful roles (small business CEOs, managers). Progress has been slow in most powerful corporate and political positons

Why is the labyrinth metaphor more apt at describing women attaining leadership roles than the glass ceiling metaphor?

Women can attain leadership positions, but face several additional difficulties at each step that men do not face (or to a lesser degree)

What types of prosocial behavior are more common in women, and which are more common in men?

Women engage in more prosocial behavior with a communal focus and more relational, while men engage in more prosocial behavior with an agentic focus that requires greater strength, or allows for expression of dominance

Are women necessarily better leaders than men? Explain.

Women have more favorable transformational/transactional style profile, but these differences could be tempered by being seen as less legitimate. Moreover, simply adding women does not necessarily make groups more effective, or improve financial performance (although women may be more helpful with sensitive negotiations)

Describe the double standard that women face for leadership positions.

Women have to display greater agency in order to rise within their organizations. The standard is particularly strong for mothers, who may be seen as less dedicated to their careers

Describe the findings from the swimsuit experiment.

Women in swimsuits experienced greater body shame and performed worse on a math test compared to men. They also ate less candy regardless of condition. This may reflect that worrying about appearance consumes cognitive resources, which may hinder performance

Describe the goal incongruity problem, and how it might contribute to a lack of women in leadership roles.

Women place greater emphasis on communal life goals, while men place more emphasis on agentic goals. Many private profit leader roles are more suited for these agentic goals.

Which sex engaged in more Holocaust rescuing tasks?

Women, but only slightly

Which sex tends to give more to charity - men or women?

Women, even after controlling for income differences. They tend to give more and are more likely to give

Describe some changes in partnering for young adults between the 1980s/1990s and 2000s/2010s.

Young adults are less likely to marry, are more likely to have had zero partners, and are more likely to have had at least one same sex partner. In addition, sex experiences are more likely to be with a hook-up or friend, and less likely with a committed partner