Psychology
what is the difference between sex and gender ?
Sex- Whether a person is biologically male or female ( what sex organs and chromosomes they have )
Gender - Whether a person is psychologically masculine or feminine ( how they act and what they identify as)
What is sex-role stereotypes?
Sex-role stereotypes are cultural and social expectations of how males and females should behave.
Give examples of sex-role stereotypes
*Women are more nurturing than men
*Men are more aggressive than women
*Men like football women don'y
* Pink is a girls colour but blue is a boys colour
What is androgyny?
androgyny is when a person of both masculine and feminine traits
What is bems sex-role inventory?
Bem (1974) created the Bems sex-role inventory to measure a persons masculine and feminine traits. It is a self report method that asks participants to rate themeselves on a scale of 1-7 for 60 items (20 m, 20 f, 20 n) .
what are the 4 personality types that are captured by the bem sex role inventory?
Bem (1977) described 4 broad personality types
*Masculine: Low femininity and high masculinity
*Feminine: High femininity and low masculinity
* Androgynous: High femininity and High masculinity
*Undiffereniated: Low femininity and Low masculinity
Evaluate androgyny in bems sex-role inventory
Bem argues that androgyny -scoring highly both in masculinity and femininity- is psychologically healthy and advantageous. One reason why androgyny may be advantageous is that having a mix of masculine and feminine traits enables a person to adapt and excel in more situations whereas a person who scores highly one way but not the other is likely to have a more limited skillset
What are the biological influences on gender development?
Chromosomes determine a persons biological sex, which influences their natural hormome levels. In addition to physical effects these biological factors have physchological effects that influencd gender development
What are chromosomes ?
Each cell in the body has chromosomes which carry genetic information. Humans have 46 chromosomes so 23 pairs. The 23rd chromosome pair determines a persons biological sex
How can we tell if a human is male or female biologically?
Females have two pairs of X chromosomes whereas males have one X chromosome amd one Y chromosome.
It is genes in the Y chromosome that are responsible for male development such as the formation of testes and higher levels of the hormone testosterone
What are Atypical sex chromosome patterns ?
When a person has a 23rd chromosome that is something other than the typical XX pattern for females or XY pattern for males. These atypical sex chromose patterns cause differences in development compared with typical sex chromosome patterns
What are hormones?
Hormones are chemicals produced in the body by glands
What hormones do males and females produces?
Men produce much higher levels of testosterone whereas women produce much more oestrogen. At puberty, hormone levels increase causing the devopment of secondary sex characterisitcs. for example breasts in women and growth of facial hair in men
Testosterone Key facts
*Genes in the Y chromosome cause testes rather than ovaries to form.
Around 8 weeks testes start producing testosterone
*Testosterone causes physical changes such as development of male sex organs and also physiological ones such because prenatal testosterone causes masculinisation of the brain.
Evaluate testosterone. and give a case study example with year
After birth, testosterone is associated with stereotypical male behaviours such as aggression and competitiveness.
For example: Albert et al (1989) found that injecting female rats with testosterone made then act more aggressively,
Oestrogen key facts
Females have 10x as much oestrogen than males. Having an X chromosome instead of a Y chromosome means ovaries form instead of testes.These higher levels of oestrogen have feminising effects on the brain.
Evaluate oestrogen
Oestrogen is associated with stereotypical female behaviours such as compassion and sensitivity. After puberty, oestrogen also regulates the menstrual cycle in women
What is Oxytocin?
Sometimes called the love hormone because it is associated with bonding, Nurture, trust and sociability higher in women
What are some important facts about oxytocin
*oxytocin causes contractions
*oxytocin stimulates lactation to enable breastfeeding
*oxytocin helps form an emotional bond between mother and baby
Kohlbergs theory of gender development (1966)
*gender identity
*gender stability
*gender constancy
What is gender identity in kohlberg(1966) gender development?
Gender Identity-18months-3years
The child identifies themselves as male or female and can categorise others as female and male
However thr childndoes not recognise the stability of the gender e.g girls will grow up to be women and boys will grow up to be men
What is gender stability in kohlbergs (1966) gender development?
3-5years - The child realises that their gender is stable. However they do not apply this same stability for other people for example if a women cuts her hair short (male activity) they might think she is a man
what is gender constancy in kohlberg gender development?
6years+The child realises that their gender and others genders are permanant even if a women does a male activity
Evaluation of kohlbergs theory of gender using gender schema theory
Gender schema theory - martin and bem argue that chikdren start developing gender schema mental frameworks to understand gender at around 2-3 years of age.E.g boys develop a schema that dolls are a girls toy so the boy would most likely play with "trucks"
What is the comparison of gender schema theory and Kohlbergs theory?
Gender schema theory states that children behave in gendered ways from a much earlier age.Kohlberg argues that children start imitating gender appropiate role models at around 6 years of age ( resching gender constancy)however the gender schema theory states that children start developing gender schemas at age of 2
Psychodynamic explanations of gender devolpment
The id , the ego, and the superego
According Freud which psychosexual stage is where gender develops
Phallic stage (3-5years) The child develops a sexual attraction to their opposite parent and a dislike to their same sex parent. The boy develops an unconscious sexual desire for his mother. this leads to unconscious feelings of jealousy and hatred towards his father because the father has what the boy desires which is the mother. The boys id which is the unconscious part of the mind that is only concerened with pleasure wants to kill the father in order to have mother for himself
The boys ego in pyschosexual stage
the practical part of the mind that mediates between the desires of the id and reality recognises that the father is stronger than him. This leads to fear of father. The boy thinks that if his father discovers that he desires his mother for himself the fathed wilk removd his penis