PSYC355 Gender Development – Flashcards
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assertion
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one's attempts to exert influence over the environment
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affiliation
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making connections with others
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in general, most developmental psychologists content that when trying to understand differences in assertion and affiliation -
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the role of biology in the development of gender-related differences must be considered in the context of the social influences of family, peers, teachers, and the culture at large.
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two main questions when learning about gender development
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1) how similar or different are girls and boys in terms of psychological variables? 2) what might account for any differences?
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gender-typed
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behaviors associated with a given person's gender
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cross gender typed
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behaviors associated with the gender other than that of a given person
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gender typing
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the process of gender socialization and development
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themes involved in studying gender development
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nature and nurture - perspectives vary in emphasizing the roles played by biological and environmental factors in gender development Active child - cognitive theories of gender development that emphasize children's roles in discovering what it means to be male or female, and in socializing their peers into gender appropriate roles Sociocultural context - reflected in theories that emphasize the central roles that parents, teachers, peers, and the media play in shaping children's gender development Individual differences - account for the ways in which males and females are similar and different
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theoretical approaches to gender development
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influences of biological, cognitive-motivational, and cultural factors biological -influence of sex hormones and brain structure (evolutionary approaches, neuroscience approaches) cognition and motivation - learning gender-typed roles through observation and practice (cognitive developmental theory, gender schema theory, social identity theory, social cognitive theory) cultural factors - relative status of women and men in society (bioecological model, social role theory) *it is likely that gender development results from the complex interaction of all three sets of factors
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theoretical approaches to gender development; 1) Biological influences; ----- 1)Evolutionary Approaches
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different views regarding the proposal that females and males evolved different behavioral dispositions... (evolutionary psychology theory, biosocial theory)
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evolutionary psychology theory
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- certain behavioral tendencies occur because they helped humans survive during the course of evolution - particular gender differences in behavior reflect evolved personality dispositions - sex linked dispositions evolved to increase the chances that women and men would successfully mate and protect their offspring *study consistent with this theory: studies of children's play behavior show average gender differences consistent with evolutionary perspective - boys more physically active -boys more effortful in being dominant in groups -Geary (1999) - boys play fighting may represent an evolved tendency to practice the competencies that were associated with male-male competition - girls make more effort in establishing and maintaining positive social relations - girls spend time in smaller groups of friends - girls tend to avoid open conflict - girls play more pretend -- these behaviors reflect evolved dispositions - nurturance and other affiliated behaviors increased probability that offspring survive
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criticisms of evolutionary psychology theory
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- many of the theory's claims about sex differences in personality traits cannot be tested - some of the theory's explanations are based on circular reasoning (if an average sex difference in behavior occurs, it is seen as having helped humans survive during the course of evolution - the argument only asserts its premise and its conclusion, so it's difficult to test)
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biosocial theory
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an evolutionary approach that places more emphasis on the potential for behavioral flexibility while also acknowledging the impact of evolution on sex differences in physical characteristics -Wood and Eagly (2002) - emphasizes human evolution as maximizing our capacity for behavioral flexibility as an adaptation to environmental variability -evolution of physical differences between the sexes - proposes that these differences have behavioral and social consequences - most important physical differences: 1) men's greater average size, strength, and foot speed (made men more dominant) 2) women's childbearing and nursing capacities (limited mobility and involvement in many forms of economic subsistence such as hunting) - * both physical sex differences and social ecology shape the different gender roles assigned to men and women (as well as socialization of boys and girls)
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criticisms of biosocial theory
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- critics assert that the body and the mind evolved together and that biosocial theory addresses only the body's impact on gender development
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Biological influences --------2) Neurological approaches
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focus on testing whether and how hormones and brain functioning relate to variations in gender development (hormones and brain functioning, brain structure and functioning)
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Neurological approaches; Hormones and Brain functioning
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- study the possible effects of androgens *androgens: a class of steroid hormones that includes testosterone (during normal prenatal development, the presence of androgens leads to the formation of male genitalia in genetic males; in their absence, female genitalia are formed in genetic females) - androgens have organizing or activating influences on the nervous system
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(Hormones and brain functioning) "Organizing Influences"
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occur when certain sex linked hormones affect brain differentiation and organization during prenatal development or at puberty (example: sex related differences in prenatal androgens may influence the organization and functioning of the nervous system; in turn may be related to later average gender differences in certain play preferences)
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(Hormones and brain functioning) "Activating influences"
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occur when fluctuations in sex-linked hormone levels influence the contemporaneous activation of certain brain and behavioral responses (example: the body increases androgen production in response to perceived threats, possible implications for gender differences in aggression)
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Neurological approaches; Brain structure and functioning
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-male and female brains show small differences in physical structure -Corpus Callosum (the connection between the brains two hemispheres) (tends to be larger and to include more dense nerve bundles in women than in men) (cognitive tasks - male brains show activations in one hemisphere or the other, women show activations in both hemispheres - but does not result in any advantage)
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limitation to studying brain structure and functioning
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mostly based on brain imaging studies performed on adults - there is a continual interaction of genes and experience during brain development - unclear what extent the differences seen in adults are due to genetic or environmental influences also unclear to what extent these small differences in structure determine and gender differences in ability and behavior
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"wrong gender" situations (broaden the gender spectrum)
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- gender dysphoria disorder ("gender identity disorder" - when children identify with the other gender - usually favor cross gender typed play activities and clothing ) (the biological perspective points to the prenatal impact of sex hormones on the developing fetal brain) -Transgender (individuals whose gender identity does not match their genetic sex) (includes individuals who identify either with the other sex, with both sexes, or with neither sex) -intersex conditions (born with them; recessive genes that cause a person of one genetic sex to develop genetical characteristics typical of the other genetic sex) The two intersex conditions: 1) congenital adrenal hyperplasia 2) androgen insensitivity syndrome
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congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH)
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a condition that involves the formation of male (or partly masculinized) genitalia caused by high levels of androgens produced during the prenatal development of genetic females - adrenal glands produce high levels of androgens girls with CAH are more likely to choose physically active forms of play and avoid sedentary forms of play
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androgen insensitivity syndrome (AIS)
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a rare syndrome in genetic males which causes androgen receptors to malfunction genetic males may be born with female external genitalia
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theoretical approaches to gender development; 2) Cognitive and Motivational Influences
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cognitive theories stress children's active self-socialization, as well as the environment (the different role models, opportunities, and incentives that girls and boys might experience) the four cognitive theories of gender development: 1) cognitive developmental theory 2) gender schema theory 3) social identity theory 4) social cognitive theory
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self socialization
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"active process during development whereby children's cognitions lead them to perceive the world and to act in accord with their expectations and beliefs" children use their beliefs, expectations, and preferences to guide how they perceive the world and the actions that they choose occurs in gender development when children seek to behave in accord with their gender identity as a boy or girl
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1) Cognitive Developmental Theory
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Kohlberg (1966) -reflects Piagetian framework; proposed that children actively construct knowledge in the same way that Piaget says that children construct knowledge about the physical world - understanding of gender involves 3 stage process (between 2 to 6 years of age) 1) Gender identity: categorize as either girl or boy (by 30 months) -- but don't know that gender is permanent 2) Gender stability: come to realize that gender remains the same over time (by 3 or 4 years) -- but don't know that gender is independent of superficial appearance and think that a boy who puts on a dress turns into a girl 3) gender constancy: the understanding that gender is invariant across situations (by 6 years old) (this is the same age that Piaget says children begin to succeed on conservation problems - both achievements reflect same stage of thinking) *once gender constancy is attained, begin to seek out and attend to same-gender models to learn about how to behave
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2) Gender Schema Theory
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*also addresses ways that attaining a concept of gender can affect children's gender development - the motivation to enact gender-typed behavior begins as children can label other people's and their own gender (when they are toddlers) (understanding of gender develops through their construction of gender schemas) Gender schemas: mental representations incorporating everything the child knows about gender (memories of one's own experiences with males or females, gender stereotypes, and messages conveyed indirectly through the media) (concepts, beliefs, memories) ingroup/outgroup gender schema - classify people as being either "the same as me" or not motivation for cognitive consistency leads them to prefer to pay attention to and remember more about others of their own gender -- own-gender schema is formed own gender schema: detailed knowledge about how to do things that are consistent with one's own gender - learning that something is "for my gender" makes children like it more -gender schemas also responsible for biased processing and remembering information about gender (remember more about what they observe from same gender than from cross gender role models)
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*study testing gender schema theory (3 boxes)
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testing the impact of gender schemas on children's information processing 4-9 year olds given 3 boxes (each has unfamiliar, gender neutral objects) each was separately labeled as "boys," "girls" or "boys and girls/girls and boys" The children spent more time exploring boxes labeled for their own gender remembered more details about the objects they explored
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*another study testing gender schema theory (gender appropriate behavior)
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*children regularly look to their peers to infer gender-appropriate behavior observational study, preschool classroom boys were influenced by the number and the proportion of same gender children who were playing with a set of toys (approached toys that were being played with primarily by boys, and shunned those that were most popular with girls)
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*study about gender schema theory showing biased processing
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children who heard a story that featured a girl sawing wood often remembered it later as a story about a boy sawing wood children who saw pictures of a boy playing with a doll and a girl playing with a truck tended to misremember the gender and switch the pictures genders (shows a tendency to remember schema consistent information, and to ignore or distort schema inconsistent information -- perpetuates gender stereotypes that have little or not basis in reality)
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New additions to gender schema theory ; gender schema filter and interest filter
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children use two kinds of filters when processing information about the world gender schema filter: is this info relevant to my gender? (initial evaluation of information as relevant for one's own gender) interest filter: is this information interesting? (initial evaluation of information as being personally interesting) *when find new toy, decide if for boys or for girls, and explore or ignore it according to their own gender (using gender schema filter) ---- but at other times, sometimes find a new toy attractive without initially evaluating its gender -- using interest filter *children sometimes use their interest filter to modify their gender schemas ---- these modifications to gender schema theory account for findings indicating that children are often inconsistent in their gender-typed interests - children actively pursue certain cross-gender typed activities simply because they enjoy them.
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approach that showed that children's gender schemas can be modified through explicit instruction
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cognitive intervention program elementary school children learned that a person's interests and abilities (but not gender) are important for the kind of job that the person could have children were encouraged to see that if Mary was strong and liked to build things, a good job would be a carpenter ***children who participated in this week long program showed decreased gender stereotyping and also had better memory for gender inconsistent stimuli (but impacts of these interventions typically fade once the intervention ends - children gradually revert back to old gender stereotypes)
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3) Social Identity Theory
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Influence of group membership on people's self concepts and behavior with others (gender may be the most central social identity in children's lives - commitment to gender as a social identity apparent through primary affiliation with same gender peers) -two influential processes that occur when person commits to an ingroup: ingroup bias, ingroup assimilation 1) ingroup bias: the tendency to evaluate ingroup individuals and characteristics as superior to outgroup 2) ingroup assimilation: individuals are socialized to conform to group's norms - peers expect ingroup members to demonstrate the characteristics that define the ingroup *social identity theory helps explain why gender-typing pressures tend to be more rigid for boys than for girls (in most societies, boys more likely than girls to initiate and maintain role and group boundaries) **boys are more likely to endorse gender stereotypes and to hold sexist attitudes
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4) Social Cognitive Theory
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*primarily addresses cognition and motivation: - socio-cognitive modes of influence - observational learning processes -and self-regulatory processes Bussey and Bandura theory of gender development based on Bandura's social cognitive theory (learning occurs through tuition, enactive experience, and observation) theory depicts a triadic model of reciprocal causation among personal factors, environmental factors, and behavioral patterns
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tuition
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one of the three modes of learning according to social cognitive theory refers to direct teaching (through gender socialization) example: father teaches his son how to throw a baseball, mother teaches daughter how to change baby's diaper
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enactive experience
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second of the three modes of learning according to social cognitive theory occurs when children learn to guide their behavior by taking into account the reactions their past behaviors have evoked in others (boys and girls usually get positive reactions for behaviors that are gender stereotypical and negative reactions to counter stereotypical behaviors)
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Observational learning
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third of the three modes of learning according to social cognitive theory the most common form of learning occurs through seeing and encoding the consequences other people experience as a result of their actions children learn about gender by observing behavior of parents, siblings, teachers, and peers - also through television, films, and computer/video games
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Gender typing at home - parents convey messages about gender in many ways
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- division of household labor (mothers basic child care and cleaning, fathers household maintenance) -assignment of chores (consistent with gender stereotypes - natural division of labor may influence boys' and girls' emerging interests and preferences) - gender-essentialist statements (remarks about males' and females' activities and characteristics phrased in language that implies they are inherent to the group as a whole) (parents often convey these subtle messages) "boys play football" "girls take ballet" ---- nonessential statements like "those girls are taking ballet" don't have those implications *many studies find that parents tend to assume that boys are more scientifically inclined than girls
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observational learning of gender-role info involves 4 key processes
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1) attention (learn new info, must be noticed) 2) memory (notice info and store in memory) 3) production (practice the behavior) 4) motivation (motivation to repeat the gender-typed behavior will depend on the incentives they experience relative to the behavior) external sanctions are usually internalized as personal standards and become self sanctions that motivate behavior (social cognitive theory - children monitor their behavior and evaluate how well it matches personal standards) positive self reactions for behavior - gain sense of personal agency (self efficacy)
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theoretical approaches to gender development; 3) Cultural Influences
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theories that address the larger cultural and social -structural factors that can shape gender development (bioecological model, social role theory) ^both show how cultural practices mirror and perpetuate the gender divisions that are prevalent in society
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Cultural influences; 1) Bioecological model
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**"to the extent that children's development is largely an adaptation to their existing opportunities, changes in children's macrosystems and microsystems can lead to greater gender equality) biological model of human development differentiates among interconnected systems (from the microsystem to the macrosystem) microsystem - immediate environment macrosystem - the culture ^both influence children's development over time Fundamental feature of macrosystem: opportunity structure opportunity structure: the economic resources it offers and the people's understanding of those resources (opportunities for members of a cultural community can vary depending on gender, income, and other factors - reflected by the dominant adult roles within that cultural community) ^ bioecological approach - children socialization practices in particular microsystems serve to prepare children for adult roles traditional gender-typing practices perpetuate as well as reflect the existing opportunity structures for women and men in a particular community at a particular time in history
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Cultural influences; 2) Social Role Theory
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different expectations for each gender stem from the division of labor between men and women in a given society to the extent that family and occupational roles are allocated on the basis of gender, different behaviors (roles) are expected of women and men theory highlights ways that institutionalized roles impose both opportunities and constraints on people's behavior and beliefs in the home, schools, the labor force, and political institutions
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Milestones in Gender Development
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general patterns that tend to occur over the course of children's gender development changes evident in physical, cognitive, and social development begin during prenatal development (sexual differentiation occurs) infancy and toddlerhood Preschool years Middle childhood Adolescence
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Milestones in Gender Development; Infancy and Toddlerhood
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1st year - perceptual abilities figure out there are 2 types of people in the world; males and females (habituation studies of infant perception and categorization - 6 - 9 months of age, infants can distinguish males and females usually on basis of hairstyle, voices) (recognize physical differences) toddlerhood - distinct patterns of gender development, gender related expectations (children are surprised by gender inconsistent behaviors) (look at picture of man putting on lipstick longer) 2.5 years of age - clearest evidence of gender concept - begin to label other people's genders -gender identity understanding soon after by age 3 - use gender terms in speech correctly, refer to themselves as boy or girl
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Milestones in Gender Development; Preschool years
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-quickly learn gender stereotypes -gender segregation ------- stereotyping: 5 years - affiliative characteristics to females assertive characteristics to males lack gender constancy begin to avoid peers who violate gender-role norms, and by age 5-7 years, will actively tease peers who cross gender role boundaries ------- gender segregation: as children start to prefer playing with same gender peers and to avoid other gender peers increases steadily 3 to 6 years preference for same gender peers seen across cultures peers are both role models and enforcers of gender typed behavior "social dosage effect" of belonging to same-gender per groups (boys who spent more time playing with same gender peers showed increases over time in aggression, rough play, activity level and gender typed play ------- children's same gender peer preferences involve combination of temperamental, cognitive, and social forces around the time that children begin to exhibit a same -gender peer preference, they also establish a gender identity and therefore are further drawn to peers who belong to the same ingroup
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Milestones in Gender Development; Middle Childhood
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by age 7 attained gender constancy ideas about gender more consolidated flexibility in stereotypes by 9 or 10 start to show clearer understanding that gender is a social category start to recognize that some girls and boys may not want to do things that are typical for their gender *study found that children understood the notion of individual variations in gender typing, but they were also aware that violating gender role norms would have social costs -start to realize that gender discrimination is unfair and notice when it occurs *study of children being told story about a child who was excluded from a group because of the child's gender --despite their ability to see the exclusion as wrong, they commonly exclude other children based on gender ----- girls are more likely than boys to use both collaborative communication that affirms both the self and the other
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(Middle childhood milestone) Various factors that affect whether children recognize gender discrimination
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1) cognitive prerequisites (having an understanding of cultural stereotypes, being able to make social comparisons, having a moral understanding of fairness and equity) 2) Individual factors (awareness of sexism can be influenced by individual factors like self concepts or beliefs) 3) the specific situation (children more likely to notice discrimination against someone else than toward themselves)
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Milestones in Gender Development; Adolescence
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increased gender role intensification or increased gender role flexibility ------- intensification - heightened concerns with adhering to traditional gender roles flexibility - alternative to ^, may reject traditional gender roles as social conventions and pursue a flexible range of attitudes and interests (more likely among girls) --------- adolescents may believe it is ok to exclude cross gender peers from their peer groups because they feel that if they included them they would be violating the groups's gender norms ---- cross gender interactions more common during adolescence
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differences in gender flexibility (why girls more likely to do boy things but boys don't do much girl things)(why boys are more common with gender-role rigidity)
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(social identity theory and social role theory) ---> asymmetry tied to men's higher status stem in large part from male's avoidance of feminine stereotyped activities, in addition to their preference for masculine stereotyped ones boys' greater avoidance of feminine things - one reason is an asymmetry in the extent to which most people find it acceptable for boys and girls to engage in activities deemed more appropriate for the other gender (generally more negative for boys to do girl things) (different reactions to calling a girl a tomboy, and a boy a sissy) fathers generally react negatively to sons doing anything feminine (crying, playing with dolls)
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Gender differences tend to be fairly small ....
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only a few cognitive abilities, personality traits, and social behaviors actually show consistent gender differences different behaviors -- often the case that one gender only slightly differs from the other (overlap large) important to consider the effect size: both the magnitude of difference between two groups' averages and the amount of overlap in their distributions
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4 categories of effect sizes
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1) trivial (overlap 85%) 2) small (but meaningful) (overlap between 67% and 85%) 3) medium (overlap 53% to 66%) 4) large (overlap less than 50%)
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meta analysis
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to infer overall patterns (because there are a lot of contradictory findings due to different characteristics of samples and different methods used) summarize the average effect size and statistical significance across studies
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"the gender similarities hypothesis"
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when comparing boys and girls, it is important to appreciate that similarities far outweigh differences on most attributes even when there is a large difference on any particular measure, many girls and boys are similar to one another
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COMPARING BOYS AND GIRLS: Physical Growth (Prenatal development through adolescence)
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after emergence of genitalia differences very subtle until the onset of puberty there is a role of androgens in initiating prenatal sex differences there are average differences in male and female size, strength, and physical abilities in childhood
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sex differences in physical growth: Infancy
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similar in size, appearance, and abilities "Baby X" technique, frequently used to demonstrate the power of gender stereotyping --- adults who believe that they are playing with a boy will more likely encourage the infant to play with blocks or a football even if its a girl (stereotyped expectations)
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sex differences in physical growth: Childhood
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boys become notably stronger gender gap in physical and motor skills increases activity level - gender differences increase in magnitude (activity level: temperamental quality that refers to how much children tend to move and expend energy) boys level higher than girls (differences average to medium) -- increases may be from combination of practice effects and the greater encouragement commonly given to boys for sports and other physical activities
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sex differences in physical growth: Adolescence
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(physical changes, psychological changes, behavioral changes) puberty: the developmental period marked by the ability to reproduce considerable variability in physical maturation: *-genetic and environmental factors (genes - affect growth and sexual maturation in large part by influencing the production of hormones) (environment - evident in the changes in physical development that have occurred over generations) *body image: how an individual perceives and feels about his or her physical appearance (gender differences in body image may be due to the increased amount of body fat that girls experience in puberty) girls tend to have more negative attitudes toward their bodies than boys do *onset of sexual attraction: usually experienced at around 10 years of age (regardless of to other or same sex) ---- *Adrenarche: maturation of the adrenal glands, major sources of sex steroids other than testes and ovaries
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COMPARING BOYS AND GIRLS Cognitive abilities and academic achievement
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the amount of differences between girls' and boys' averages on achievement and test performance measures is usually small (overlap between two distributions is large) larger differences appear when it comes to interest and achievement in particular subjects (biological, cognitive-motivational, and cultural influences)
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(COMPARING BOYS AND GIRLS Cognitive abilities and academic achievement) - General Intelligence:
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boys and girls are equivalent in most aspects of intelligence and cognitive functioning more boys than girls fall at both the lower and the upper range of scores. (this means that more boys than girls are diagnosed with intellectual disabilities or classified as intellectually gifted)
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(COMPARING BOYS AND GIRLS Cognitive abilities and academic achievement) - Overall academic achievement:
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tend to differ in academic achievement from elementary school through college girls tend to show higher levels of school adjustment and achievement than do boys
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(COMPARING BOYS AND GIRLS Cognitive abilities and academic achievement) - Verbal skills
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girls tend to be slightly advanced in early language development, including fluency and clarity of articulation and vocabulary development girls tend to achieve higher average performance in reading and writing boys more likely to suffer speech related problems (poor articulation, stuttering, reading related problems like dyslexia)
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(COMPARING BOYS AND GIRLS Cognitive abilities and academic achievement) - Spatial skills
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boys perform better than girls do in some aspects of visual-spatial processing 3 and 4 years of age tasks like mental rotation of a complex geometric figure in order to decide if it matches another figure presented in a different orientation)
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(COMPARING BOYS AND GIRLS Cognitive abilities and academic achievement) -Mathematical and Related skills
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the gender gap in mathematics achievement has closed dramatically as a result of efforts made by schools to improve girls' performance
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Explanations for gender differences in cognitive abilities and achievement
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(biological influences, cognitive and motivational influences, parental influences, teacher influences, peer influences, cultural incluences)
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Explanations for gender differences in cognitive abilities and achievement - Biological influences
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male and female brains process different types of information (may be accounted for by sex differences in brain structure and function) *a slight biological difference can be exaggerated through differential experience (example: boys have higher spacial processing than girls in tests, but this could be due to the fact that boys play more video games) -influence of sex related hormones on the developing fetal brain (sex differences in brain structure) (androgens may affect parts of the brain associated with spatial skills) -boys are more vulnerable than girls to developmental disorders of mental functioning such as autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and language related and intellectual disabilities - differences may be linked to brain organization and sex hormones
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Explanations for gender differences in cognitive abilities and achievement - Cognitive and motivational influences
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the process of self socialization plays a role in children's academic achievement *Eccles's Expectancy-Value Model of achievement (children are most motivated to achieve in areas in which they view themselves as competent, and find interesting and important) (expectations for success and value) -gender stereotypes can shape the kinds of subjects that girls and boys tend to value - self concepts predict academic achievement and occupational aspirations
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Explanations for gender differences in cognitive abilities and achievement - Parental influences
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- parents' talking to their children is a strong predictor of children's language learning (mothers tend to talk to girls more than boys, and girls develop language faster -- what is influencing what?)(bidirectional influence) -Parents' gender stereotyping related to children's academic achievement (observational research - parents may communicate their own gender stereotyped expectations to their children through differential encouragement )
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Explanations for gender differences in cognitive abilities and achievement - teacher influences
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influence academic motivation and achievement in two ways 1) teachers sometimes are influential gender role models (woman as a science teacher - more girls interest in science careers) 2) many teachers hold gender stereotyped beliefs about girls and boys abilities (gender typed expectations = differentially assess, encourage, and pay attention to students according to their gender)
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Explanations for gender differences in cognitive abilities and achievement - peer influences
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interests often shaped by activities and values they associate with their classmates and friends peers can shape academic achievement types of play more likely to achieve in particular school subjects when they are viewed as compatible with peer norms peer norms regarding particular academic subjects may be related to how likely girls or boys are to value those subjects male dominance society norms undermine boys academic achievement in US (some subjects feminine?) gender role flexibility related to holding more positive scholastic self concepts in adolescent boys
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Explanations for gender differences in cognitive abilities and achievement Cultural influences
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social role theory socialization practices prepare children for their adult roles in society where there are cultural variations in girls and boys academic achievement, there should be corresponding differences in socialization consider the representation of women in higher education in the country gender differences in overall academic success and verbal achievement are less common in children from high income families and educated parents gender egalitarian parents
