summary

• Sex


  The biological, anatomical and genetic differences between males and females from conception due to inheriting chromosomes XY or XX
• Gender


  The psychological, behavioral distinction between masculine and feminine personality traits that may not match biological sex
• Sexual stereotype


  A culturally shared set of expectations of correct male and female behavior learnt by socialization
• Androgyny


  Having a balanced mixture of both masculine (e.g. competitive) and feminine (e.g. caring) personality traits
• Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI)


  A measure of androgyny where participants rate themselves on a seven point scale on 60 characteristics or traits and are scored on two dimensions: masculinity and femininity
• BSRI traits


  • 20 masculine including aggressive, independent, and risk-taking
  • 20 feminine including warm, cheerful, and shy
  • 20 neutral including reliable and adaptable
• Bem's argument


  Androgynous people with a high balance of masculine and feminine traits are more psychologically healthy than other types
• Bem's research using the BSRI showed gender-matched sex in most males and females, but 24% of males and 27% of females were androgynous
• The BSRI has shown high test-retest reliability and has been used successfully in a number of gender studies
• The undifferentiated type was added by Bem in 1981 to identify people with few masculine or feminine traits
• Awareness of gender identity as separate from sex and androgyny may reduce gender stereotyping
• Masculine males and females were found to be better adapted in measures of assertiveness and self-efficacy
• The BSRI score oversimplifies gender identity as gender expression often adapts depending on context such as work role or social groups
• The BSRI lacks temporal validity due to social changes, for example including traits like 'childlike' and 'gullible'
• Adults playing with babies dressed as the opposite sex gave toys according to sex role stereotypes
• Mead found examples of feminine males and masculine females in tribal communities in New Guinea
• Chromosomes


  The 23rd chromosome pair determines biological sex, with XX being female and XY being male
• Testes


  Develop due to an area on the Y chromosome called the sex-determining region, producing androgens (male sex hormones) resulting in other sex differences
• Hormones


  Influence biological development, brain, and anatomy before birth and at puberty, potentially influencing gender identity and gendered behavior
• Testosterone


  Found in much higher concentration in males, starts the development of male genitals before birth due to the SRY gene on the Y chromosome, and leads to changes in the hypothalamus and other brain changes, also linked to aggressive male behavior
• Estrogen


  Found in much higher concentrations in females, produces female secondary sexual characteristics and regulates menstruation, linked to irritability and caring behavior
• Oxytocin


  A stress reducing 'love hormone' produced during sex by both males and females, promoting pair bonding, also produced in high levels in females during breastfeeding, helping bonding with newborn babies
• 70% of the variance in gender identity between 8,000 monozygotic and dizygotic twin pairs was linked to genetics
• Research on 13 transgender genetic sequences revealed 21 gene variations linked to pre-birth estrogen reception
• Mice who stopped producing oxytocin temporarily stopped maternal behaviors, and castrated male mice had reduced aggressive behavior which returned when injected with testosterone
• Animal studies are often used to have high experimental control and avoid ethical issues, but are limited in application to humans
• Klinefelter's syndrome


  XYY chromosomal pattern affecting 1 in 660 biological males, resulting in physical characteristics like lacking facial hair, being tall with long limbs, small testes, and the development of breast tissue, as well as psychological effects like cognitive difficulties and being passive but having aggressive outbursts
• Turner syndrome


  X0 chromosomal pattern affecting 1 in 2,000 biological females, resulting in physical characteristics like no menstrual cycle, being sterile, having short stature, limited breast development, a wide chest and short webbed neck, and an immature appearance, as well as psychological characteristics like a high level of verbal skill in reading and writing but low visual ability and being socially mature
• Research on people with Klinefelter's syndrome and Turner syndrome has led to hormone therapies that treat some of the physical and psychological symptoms, but using this research to make assumptions about typical development is problematic as these people are statistically rare and may have had unusual personal experiences
• Kohlberg's theory of cognitive gender development

  Suggests children's understanding of gender actively develops due to intellectual development and experience, going through stages of gender identity, gender stability, and gender consistency
• Children in the consistency stage (over 5 years old) recognize that everybody's gender is consistent over time despite unusual contexts like hairstyles, and identify with and imitate same-gendered individuals
• Kohlberg's theory cannot explain the reason for gender differences, with boys showing stronger sex typing than girls, and there are biological explanations available that have evidence to suggest gendered behavior is innate, not learned
• Research on children might lack validity due to the limited ability of young children to communicate and relies on researchers' interpretation
• Gender schema theory


  Suggests that children start to develop gender schemas (mental representations of what is stereotypically male and female) around 2 years old, focusing more on members of their own gender in-group and reinforcing this through adult behavior
• Children as young as 3 have shown strong sex preferences for and stereotypical understanding of toys and clothes, and prefer novel objects labeled for their own gender
• Vervet monkeys with no prior experience preferred to play with masculine toys like cars if male and feminine toys like dolls if female, suggesting preference for gendered objects is instinctual
• The focus on cognition and information processing in gender schema theory makes sense as we are aware of our own thoughts on how our and other people's behavior matches gender norms, and see children develop in their understanding of behavior
• Psychodynamic theory of gender development

  Suggests gendered behavior comes from unconscious thought processes, with gender development happening at the phallic stage around 4-5 years old as a result of the resolution of the Oedipus complex for boys and the Electra complex for girls
• Freud's case study of 'Little Hans' and his phobia of horses was interpreted as fear of castration, but case study research is seen as unscientific by modern psychologists due to issues of subjectivity and generalizability
• Psychodynamic theory lacks temporal validity as it was constructed when non-nuclear and single-gender families were rare, and it lacks testability as unconscious processes like the Oedipus complex cannot be tested and are therefore unscientific