Evolutionary explanations of gender roles
- Created by: Kelsie
- Created on: 27-05-14 12:10
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- Evolutionary explanations of gender roles
- The evolutionary perspective
- Division of labour
- Man = hunter. Woman = gatherer, domestic goddess
- Role division may have evolved because women spent adult life pregnant, producing milk or both
- If a women went out hunting, the groups reproductive success would fall
- Women could grow vegetables + make clothes
- it also was important for avoiding starvation
- further adaptive advantage
- Kuhn + Stiner suggest this gender division explains why humans survived + neanderthals did not.
- Neanderthals= men + women both hunted.
- Mate choice
- key to adaptive behaviour is reproductive success
- gender role behaviours are related to reproductive strategies
- BUSS - Men look for women who are physically attractive
- BUSS - Women look for men who are able to provide with resources
- Males should mate as frequently as they can + select women who are young and healthy (more fertile)
- Smooth skin, glossy hair, red lips, thin waist.
- Females also seek signs of fertility in partners but are also concerened to find someone who can provide for them.
- Wealthy, powerful, owning powerful cars
- Cognitive Style
- E-S Theory
- Research shows that women are better at empathising (understanding what others think and feel) whereas men are better at systematising (understanding and building systems)
- Baron-Cohen calls this E-S theory: Empathising + Systematising
- + proposes that this gender difference may be the result of a selection pressure for males (who develop better hunting strategies) and females (who are focused on rearing children)
- + males who were able to systematise with greater precision would have gained an evolutionary advantage
- + proposes that this gender difference may be the result of a selection pressure for males (who develop better hunting strategies) and females (who are focused on rearing children)
- Baron-Cohen calls this E-S theory: Empathising + Systematising
- Research shows that women are better at empathising (understanding what others think and feel) whereas men are better at systematising (understanding and building systems)
- Tend and Befriend
- Women may not just be better at empathising but may also be more focused on interpersonal concerns i.e relationships between people
- Taylor have proposed that this may stem from the different challenges faced by men + women
- Men = deal with threats by getting ready to fight or flee
- Women = protect themselves + their young by grouping together with other family units.
- Taylor have proposed that this may stem from the different challenges faced by men + women
- Women 'tend and befriend' at times of stress. Men become defensive.
- Women may not just be better at empathising but may also be more focused on interpersonal concerns i.e relationships between people
- E-S Theory
- Division of labour
- Commentary
- Speculative theories
- Common criticism of evolutionary explanations = ignore social explanation + determinist + speculative i.e. they don't have a firm basis
- The idea that the Neanderthals died out because of division of labour is plausible but there is no direct evidence
- Other theories (Tzedakis) e.g. climate change are equally plausible
- Research support
- Mate Choice
- Waynforth + Dunbar confirmed the predicted difference in how males and females advertise themselves to the opposite sex
- Researchers used personal adds to assess what men and women were seeking + what they were advertising
- They found 44% of males sought physically attractive partner compared to 22% of women.
- 50% of women offered attractiveness whereas only 34% of males did
- They found 44% of males sought physically attractive partner compared to 22% of women.
- Researchers used personal adds to assess what men and women were seeking + what they were advertising
- Waynforth + Dunbar confirmed the predicted difference in how males and females advertise themselves to the opposite sex
- Tend and Befriend
- Ennis conducted a natural experiment to test male-female stress responses. They sampled levels of cortisol a week before exams (low stress) and right before exam (high stress)
- In males there was a significant increase in cortisol levels whereas females decreased.
- supports the view that women respond to the stress in different ways
- In males there was a significant increase in cortisol levels whereas females decreased.
- Taylor showed that in women oxytocin levels increased with stress, a hormone which reduces anxiety + makes people more sociable.
- Ennis conducted a natural experiment to test male-female stress responses. They sampled levels of cortisol a week before exams (low stress) and right before exam (high stress)
- Mate Choice
- Implications
- The meat-sharing hypothesis
- When humans went from veg to meat diet men became the hunters because of selective pressures
- Stanford: Men used meat as a means of attracting female interest
- Hill + Kaplan: studies of modern hunter-gatherer societies have found that men use meat as a means of gaining access to women
- When humans went from veg to meat diet men became the hunters because of selective pressures
- Autism
- Baron-Cohen proposed autism may be an example of the extreme male brain that excels at systematising+ lacks ability to empathise
- Autism is characterised by difficulties with social relationships and social communication + appears strongly linked to an inability to understand what other people are thinking/feeling
- Baron-Cohen found that autistics score high at systematising and low on empathising i.e. they have an extreme male brain
- Baron-Cohen proposed autism may be an example of the extreme male brain that excels at systematising+ lacks ability to empathise
- The meat-sharing hypothesis
- Speculative theories
- The evolutionary approach is biological, suggesting that aspects of human behaviour have been coded into our genes because they were, or are, adaptive.
- The alternate view is that behaviour is effected by nurture,a view proposed by the social approach.
- Another criticism is that the approach is determinist i.e. our genes specify exactly how we will behave.
- Genes specify that men naturally take the roll of the hunter and have a natural inclination to seek younger women as partners.
- This determinist interpretation fails to take into account the view of evolutionary psychologists that genes only predispose us to behave in certain ways but do not dictate.
- Other factors also determine behaviour e.g. culture,personal experiences.
- This determinist interpretation fails to take into account the view of evolutionary psychologists that genes only predispose us to behave in certain ways but do not dictate.
- Genes specify that men naturally take the roll of the hunter and have a natural inclination to seek younger women as partners.
- Support for evolutionary explanations comes from a number of sources e.g. historical records, experiments, questionarries + cross cultural studies.
- CCS: used to test whether behaviours are universal or influenced by cultural practices.
- One of the main difficulties with such research is the degree to which data collected actually represents the behaviour of people from different cultures
- e.g. people do not always represent themselves honestly in questionnaires and sometimes the questions may not make sense.
- One of the main difficulties with such research is the degree to which data collected actually represents the behaviour of people from different cultures
- CCS: used to test whether behaviours are universal or influenced by cultural practices.
- The evolutionary perspective
- Women = protect themselves + their young by grouping together with other family units.
- Taylor showed that in women oxytocin levels increased with stress, a hormone which reduces anxiety + makes people more sociable.
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