gender

• Sex


  A person's biological status as male or female, biologically determined by different chromosomes, leading to different hormonal influences, resulting in differences in physical anatomy
• Gender


  A person's psychosocial status as either masculine or feminine, including all the attitudes, roles and behaviours associated with 'being male' or 'being female', heavily influenced by social norms, cultural expectations and sex role stereotypes
• Sex role stereotypes


  A set of shared expectations that people within a society or culture hold about what is acceptable or normal behaviour for males and females, which can be reinforced by parents, peers and the media
• For most people their biological sex and gender identity match, but some people experience gender dysphoria where their biological sex doesn't reflect the gender they identify with
• Androgyny


  A personality type characterised by a mixture of masculine and feminine traits, attitudes or behaviours
• How the BSRI was developed

  Bem asked 50 males and 50 females to rate 200 traits in terms of how desirable they were for men and women, the highest scoring traits for each category became the 20 masculine and 20 feminine traits on the scale, Bem also introduced 10 positive and 10 gender-neutral items
• Measuring Androgyny using the BSRI

  Individuals rate themselves on 20 masculine traits, 20 feminine traits, and 20 neutral items using a 7-point Likert scale, the scale provides an average score for femininity and masculinity
• BSRI Scoring


  • High masculine & low feminine = Masculine
  • High feminine & low masculine = Feminine
  • High masculine & high feminine = Androgynous
  • Low feminine & low masculine = Undifferentiated
• Bem found that 34% of males and 27% of females are psychologically androgynous
• BSRI


  • It appears to be valid and reliable, Bem piloted it with over 1000 students at Stanford University and found the results corresponded with the participants' own perceptions of their gender identity, it has high test-retest reliability
• Evidence to support link between androgyny and psychological well-being

  Androgynous females scored significantly lower for depression and social introversion than feminine females, androgynous males scored lower on social introversion than feminine males
• The link between androgyny and psychological health has been challenged, argued that people who display more masculine traits are better adjusted because masculine qualities are more valued in Western society than feminine ones
• Chromosomes


  Collections of DNA in the nucleus of cells, the 23rd pair determines biological sex, females have XX chromosomes, males have XY chromosomes
• Chromosomal determination of sex

  All human eggs have an X chromosome, half the sperm have an X chromosome and half have a Y chromosome, the SRY gene on the Y chromosome causes testes to develop and androgens to be released, masculinising the embryo
• Testosterone


  Masculinises the brain, leading to greater development of brain areas associated with spatial skills, and is associated with 'male-type' behaviours such as competitiveness and aggression
• Oestrogen


  Determines female sexual characteristics and is involved in controlling the menstrual cycle, associated with 'female-type' behaviours such as sensitivity and cooperation
• Oxytocin


  The 'love hormone' involved in bonding, females typically produce more than males, reduces stress hormone cortisol
• Evidence shows that testosterone and oestrogen do influence gender related behaviours, but the biological model takes a reductionist approach and ignores other factors that affect gender development
• The case of David Reimer provides evidence that chromosomal influence is more powerful than socialisation in gender development
• Research has found many cross-cultural differences in what's considered 'masculine' and 'feminine' behaviours, suggesting gender is socially constructed and more influenced by nurture
• Klinefelter's Syndrome


  Affects biological males, XXY chromosomes, results in physical and psychological characteristics including tall stature, breast development, reduced facial/body hair, poor language skills, difficulties with problem-solving, and lack of interest in sexual activity
• Turner's Syndrome


  Affects biological females, XO chromosomes, results in physical and psychological characteristics including short stature, webbed neck, broad chest, no menstrual cycle, higher than average reading ability, tendency to be socially immature, and lower than average performance on spatial, visual and mathematical tasks
• Studying people with atypical sex chromosome patterns can provide insights into the nature/nurture debate, but we need to be cautious in drawing conclusions as social and environmental differences may also play a role
• Kohlberg's cognitive developmental theory

  Suggests children go through a series of stages in their understanding of gender, linked to underlying changes in the way they think, such as the ability to conserve and realise that gender remains constant
• There is also the issue that people who look different due to their unusual chromosomes are treated differently to their peers
• This makes it difficult to draw conclusions about the contributions of nature and nurture in terms of behavioural and psychological differences
• Cognitive developmental theories


  Refer to the way our thinking changes with age, so that our understanding of the world also gradually changes
• Kohlberg's cognitive developmental theory


  Suggests that children go through a series of stages in their understanding of gender
• Kohlberg's stages of gender development

  1. Gender identity (age 2-3)

  2. Gender stability (age 3-4)

  3. Gender constancy (age 5-7)
• Kohlberg's theory


  • There is a biological element - as a child gets older there is biological maturation of the brain
  • There's also a social element as imitation of other children is also important in gender development
  • The cognitive change comes first and then the change in behaviour
• Kohlberg based his theory on Piaget's ideas that children automatically seek to understand the world around them
• The process of understanding the world is spontaneous; it doesn't require direct teaching from adults
• Evidence to support Kohlberg's sequence of stages

  • Slaby and Frey study - children spent longer looking at same sex model
  • Ruble et al. study - children who'd reached gender constancy only played with toys modelled by their own sex
• Kohlberg's theory


  • Holistic approach - comprehensive and incorporates a number of different approaches
  • Emphasises the importance of thought processes
  • Incorporates ideas from other approaches
  • Role for biology as maturation of the brain underlies the changes in thinking
  • Role for learning, observation and modelling of same sex children
• Kohlberg can be criticised for ignoring other important biological and social influences such as the role of hormones and the importance of reinforcement from parents
• Research opposes Kohlberg's theory - Bussey and Bandura found that children as young as 4 reported 'feeling good' when playing with 'gender-appropriate' toys but 'felt bad' when playing with 'gender-inappropriate' toys
• Kohlberg's theory is nomothetic - it applies to all children which ignores individual differences
• Gender schema


  An organised set of beliefs and expectations related to gender that are learnt through experience
• Gender Schema Theory


  • Claims that from a very early age, children are actively seeking to understand which behaviours are appropriate for their gender and build to schemas for masculine and feminine behaviour
  • Children are information processors - they actively sort out the information they are exposed to and try to make sense of the world
• Gender schema development


  1. Understand that they are male or female and will stay that way

  2. Begin to categorise objects and activities as appropriate to one gender or the other

  3. Develop a sense that their own gender is the 'in-group', and identify with that, rejecting 'out-group' activities

  4. Concentrate on activities they have decided are gender appropriate, and ignore activities they have come to view as suitable for the opposite sex

  5. Pay more attention to information that is consistent with their schemas, and reject or ignore inconsistent information

  6. Develop more detailed gender schemas for both genders by age 8