Influences on gender development

• what is meant by culture

  it's the rules, morals, customs and practices that bind a group of people together
• where do cultural influences vary

  cultural influences on behaviour not only vary from culture to culture, but also within a single culture over time
• give an example of how cultural gender roles have changed in the UK over time

  women still do more domestic work and occupy less powerful occupational positions, but this difference is narrowing
• how can cultural research indicate nature and nurture

  NATURE: the more a behaviour (gender roles) is found cross-culturally, the more likely it is to be evolutionary

  NURTURE: the more different a behaviour is across the world, the more it must be affected by environmental influences
• who carried out research on tribal groups in New Guinea

  Mead 1935)
• what did Mead find in the different tribes - give an example

  the Arapesh = men and women were gentle and responsive - similair to Western views on femininity

  The Mundugumor = men and women were agressive and hostile - Westernised view of masculinity

  The Tchambuli men = passive and considered to be decorative - reversed Western stereotype
• what does Mead's research suggest about the nature/nurture of gender roles

  it supports that gender rolees are culturally driven by NURTURE and there may not be a biological relationship between sex and gender roles
• what was Mead's research criticised for

  later conceded that she had underestimated the universal nature of many gender typical behaviours

  it was also told that the people told her what she wanted to hear, lacks validity
• what research into cultural similarities did Buss find (1989)


  consistent patterns in mate preferences in 37 countries worldwide, he found that in all cultures women sought men who could offer wealth and resoures, whilst men sought attractive young partners
• what research into cultural similarities did Williams and Best perform (1989)

  evidence of cultural similarities in gender stereotypes,

  they tested 2800 students in 30 countries, using a 300 item adjective checklist and p's were asked to decide whether each word was associated with men or women more
• what did they find and what does this suggest

  they found a broad consensus across countries, men were seen as more dominant, aggressive and autonomous, whilst women were more nurturing and interested in affiliation

  this suggests that there are universal stereotypes about gender
• What research has been conducted into cultural differences

  observations and interviews were conducted on native American
• what did they find - what does this suggest

  findings: women were often warriors and more aggressive than men

  This indicates that aggressiveness could be culturally/socially caused, instead of being influenced by solely biology (testosterone)
• what is imposed etic - how is this an issue with cross cultural research


  imposed etic is where researchers use methods and tools relevant/applicable to their own culture, to then measure another culture's behaviour

  this is an issue because it can lead to faulty conclusions or interpretations of behaviour
• how can an imposed etic be avoided - example

  some researchers (like Buss) include at least 1 member of the local population in their research team, this enables customs and traditions to be respected and for measuring tools to be changed

  e.g: Buss adapted his mate preference questionnaire to reflect that some countries practice polygyny (Nigeria)
• what is another issue with cultural research - nature v nurture

  - it's difficult to conclude if the changes in behaviour are due to nature or nurture, because it's most likely to be an interaction of both that produces gender roles and no amount of cross cultural similarity can rule out any influence of the environment
• what is the influence of the media

  culture is also exterted through the media:

  media provides role models with whom children identify with and imitate, they are more likely to select role models that are the same sex and who engage in gender appropriate behaviour = more likely to be reinforced
• what does the media show about gender stereotypes

  clear stereotypes:

  men = independant, ambitious, advice givers, in control

  women = dependant, unambitious, emotional, mercy of others
• what has research shown about the portrayal of males and females - example

  men are often portrayed in occupational roles whilst females are within domestic, familial roles (2000)
• as well as gender-typical behaviours, what else does the media show

  Furthermore the media doesn't only show gender-typical behaviours, it also shows the outcomes of performing the behaviours:

  children learn through vicarious reinforcement, as to which gender behaviours to imitate to recieve the same rewards
• what is meant by self efficiancy (term by Bandura)


  it is beleived that seeing people perform gender appropriate behaviours increases the child's belief that they are capable of carrying out such behaviours in the future:

  seeing someone else succeed raises belief in a person's own capabilities
• who did a longitudinal study into the influence of the media on gender - what did it involve

  McGhee, over 15 months:

  they found that children aged 6-12 who watched more than 25hours per week held more sex-stereotype perceptions than those who watched less than 10hrs per week
• what does McGhee's study support

  This supports that children who have more exposure to the media display more gender typical views in their own behaviours and attitudes
• who else researched into the influences of media - what did he find

  Pingree (1976):

  found that stereotyping was reduced when children were shown commercials with women in non-traditional roles
• what does this suggest

  this suggests that it's been found the media can change stereotypes when men or women are portrayed in unusual roles - counter-stereotyping
• what are the practical applications of this research

  + program makers could be encouraged to alter stereotype attitudes and include more counter-stereotype roles
• what is a however point to practical applications

  However, it has been found in some male adolescents that stronger stereotypes were seen after being exposed to counter-stereotyping

  therefore it would need to be done with caution if it's aim is to reduce stereotypes
• what was found by Martin and Halverson about counter-stereotypes

  it's less likely to be remembered or remembered correctly, so may be ineffective to use
• what methodological issue may occur with influences of the media research

  - lack of a control gorup comparism, the media is widespread so it's difficult to find people that haven't had media exposure to act as controls
• why is this an issue

  therefore it can be difficult to draw conclusions about whether the media really is the cause of these differences in behaviour, it could just reflect norms rather than being the cause of it
• what did gender dysphoria used to be called

  gender identity disorder - GID
• what is gender dysphoria according to the DSM-5

  DSM-5 classifies gender dysphoria as a condition where individuals esxperience a mismatch between their biological sex and the gender they 'feel' they are, which causes discomfort
• does GD affect males or females more

  GD affects males more than females

  estimated 1 in 4000 recieve treatment for the condition
• what are the early indications of GD

  children being unhappy wearing clothes of their biological sex, or playing with gender appropriate toys
• how do many people with GD identify themselves

  as transgender

  not all will opt for gender reassignment surgery to change their external genitalia to that of the desired sex
• what is the diagnosis of GD (4 traits)

  1. feel a strong sense of discomfort with own biological sex

  2. must experience ongoing identification with the opposite sex

  3. not related to a physical intersex condition

  4. experience will affect ability to function in everyday life and cause distress
• what are the 2 biological explanations for GD

  1. genetics

  2. brain sex theory
• what do biological theories argue

  biological theories argue that gender identity is encoded in the brain during foetal development due to hormones (testosterone)
• how does genetics explain GD

  there is something in the genetics that leads to the disorder
• what evidence supports the genetics explanation

  Hare (2000) examined the genetics of M to F transsexuals and found a difference in the Androgen Receptor Gene whe compared to controls