Gender

Sex; the biological differences between males and females including chromosomes, hormones and anatomy. Refers to a person's biological status.

Gender; The psychological and cultural differences between males and females, including attitudes, behaviours and social roles. It is a fluid concept. Someone may be more masc or fem depending on the social context they are in.

Gender identity disorder; GID is when a person's biological sex does not reflect the gender they identify with. Some people have gender reassingment therapy to bring their sexual identity in line with their gender identity.

Sex-role stereotype; A set of beleifs and ideas about what is expected/appropriate for males and females in society. These expectations are transmitted and reinforced by peers parents and the media.

Ingalhalikar (2014) found that women's brains have better connections between the hemisphere's where as men's brains display intense activity in the indiividual brain parts. 

The Batista boys; McGinely et al. Four children identified as girls at birth then turned into boys. They were affected by a rare genetic disorder whereby a chemical step was missed during prenatal development. At puberty the chemical that was missed in the womb (dihydrotestosterone) was produced and their true sex was revealed. McGinely found that the boys easily abandoned their female identity with few problems. Suggesting that gender identity is flexible.

Androgyny; displaying a balance of masc and fem traits. E.g. a man or woman who is aggressive and competetive in the workplace but a loving and caring parent. An over representation of opposite sex traits does not qualify as androgyny, there must be a balance.

Measuring androgyny: The Bem Sex Role Inventory; Bem developed a method for measuring androgyny. The scale presents 20 masc traits and 20 fem traits and a further 20 neutral traits. Respondants rate themselves on each trait on a seven point scale, 1 being 'never true of me' and 7 being 'always true of me'. 

High fem - high masc; androgynous.

High fem - low masc; feminine.

Low fem - high masc; masculine.

Low fem - low masc; undifferentiated.

Scale is valid and reliable; It was developed by 50 males and 50 females who were asked to rate 200 traits in terms of how aproppriate they were for males and females. The traits with the highest scores became the 40 masc and fem traits. It was piloted on 1000 students whose results corresponded with their own gender identity meaning it has good validity,

Androgyny and psychological well-being; Bem suggested androgynous people are more psychologically healthy as they can deal with any situation. This has been challenged by Adams and Sherer who argued that people who display more masc traits are better adjusted as they are more valued in Western society. Bem's research may not have takrn adequate account of the social and cultural context in which it was developed.

Oversimpliflies a complex concept; It's suggested that dender identity is too complex to be reduced to a single score. Golombok and Fivush have suggested that gender identity is a more global concept than just a scale and in order to understand it, broader issues should  be considered such as a person's interests and view of their own abilities.

Cultural and historical bias; The BSRI was developed 40 years agoand behaviours that were typical and acceptable in relation to gender have changed. The scale is made from stereotypical ideas of masc and fem and is lacking in temporal validity.

Measuring gender identity using questionnaires; People answering the questionnaire may not have a clear understain of their personality and behaviour. Also it could lead to response bias. 

Chromosomes; Made from DNA. 46, 23 pairs, the last pair determines sex. Fem **. Male XY. The Y chromo carries a gene called the SRY. They produce androgens; male sex hormones. Not all babies follow this pattern. 

Hormones; influence gender. Active prenatally on a baby's brain development and cause the development of reproductive organs. Hormonal activity triggers th development of secondary sexual characteristics like pubic hair. M & F produce the same hormones but in different quantities.

Testosterone; Controls the development of male sex organs, begins to be produced at 8 weeks of foetal development. Research is mainly into behavioural effects of testosterone. Nanne Van de Poll (88) showed that female rats who had been injected with testosterone became more physically and sexually aggressive.

Oestrogen; Female hormone that determines female sexual characteristics and menstruation. Oestrogen causes heightened emotions and irritability during their menstrual cycle. PMS. PMS has been used to defend cases of women shoplifting and even murder. Golombok and Fivush however has not found any consistent evidence that oestrogen is not responsible for the psychological symptoms women report.

Oxytocin; Women produce more of this than men in general, mainly as a result of giving birth. The hormone stimulates lactation, making it possible for mothers to breastfeed. It also reduces the stress hormone cortisol and facilitates bonding.It is released in massive quantities during labour and after childbirth to make mothers feel 'in love'.

Evidence supports chromo/hormo; David Reimer to support the influence of chromoomes on gender identity. Dabbs et al (for hormones) found in a prison pop that offenders with the highest levels of testosterone were more like to of committed violet crimes.

Contradictory evidence; Tricker et al conducted a double blind study where 43 males were given a weekly injection of testosterone or a placebo. No effect was found after a 10 week period. Slabbekoorn (99) demo'd that sex hormones had no effect on gender-related behaviour. Generalistion cannot be made.

Objections to PMS; people have questioned the effects of oestrogen levels on a woman's mood. It is suggested that PMS is a female sterotype and experience. Feminists like Rodin (92) claim that PMS is a social construction. Feminists have also explained women's emotions through biological terms.

Overemphasis on nature; If gender identity was down to just biology then there would be more differences in male and female behaviour. Maccoby and Jacklin (74) found significantly more differences in behaviour within the sexes than between. SLT points to the importance of social context in the learning of our gender identity and gender role. The influence of social norms explains cross-cultural differences in gender role.

Oversimplifies a complex concept; Biological explanations that nail gender development down to the role of just chromo and hormo are ignore other explainations uch as the cognitive approach. This draws attention to the changing thought process that underpins gender developement. 

KIinefelters syndrome; Affects between 1 in 500 and 1 in 1000 males. They have an additional X chromosome (XXY). 10% of cases are identified before birth but 2/3's of people with it are not aware they have it. Some physical effects include gangly limbs, breast development and clumsiness. Some psychological characteristics include poor language skills and reading ability, passive and shy and struggle in stressful situations.

Turners syndrome; Affects 1 in 5000 females have it,, it is caused by an abscence of one X chromosome. (X0). They have 45 chromosomes insteadof 46. Some physical effect include no menstrual cycle, no breasts but a braod chest and low set ears and a webbed neck. Some psychological characteristics include a higher than average reading ability, poor visual, spatial and math skills than average and being socially immature.

Contribution to the nature-nurture debate; Studies into atypical sex chromosome patterns contribute to this debate. Comparing people with these conditions with normal individuals it becames possible to see the psycho and behavioural differences between the two. Suggesting that nature has a powerful effect on psychology and behaviour.

Environmental explanations; The relationship between abnormal chromosomes and differences in behaviour seen in these disorder are not causal. It may be environmental and social influences that are responsible for the differences seen. E.g. social immaturity in Turner's syndrome women may arrise due to them being treated immaturely as they look pre-pubescent. This shows it is wrong to assume that observed psycho and behavioural differences are due to nature.

Practical application; There is continued practical application into atypical sex chromosome patterns and this is going to lead to a more accurate diagnosis of the syndromes.A study with 87 males with K syndrome showed that those who had been identified at a young age gained significant benefits from this.

Unusual sample; People with these syndrome's are unrepresentatitive and unusual so caution should be taken in generalising results from these studies. 

The idea of typical vs atypical; The presumed contribution of these syndromes to the nature-nurture debate is based on the idea that there are typical gender behaviours associated with males and females. E.g. the idea that Turner's individuals are socially immature is based on the idea that there is a typical level of social maturity for the majority of females. 

Stages in development; Kohlberg's cognitive-developmental theory of gender (66) is based on the idea that a child's understanding of gender becomes more sophisticated with age. Gender development is thought to progress through three stages. The ages suggested by Kohlberg are approx.

Stage 1: Gender identity; At the age of 2, children can identify themselves as a boy or a girl. This is gender identity. At 3, children can identify other people as male or female. They can also identify a person who is the same gender as them. Their understanding of gender does not stretch further beyond labelling.

Stage 2: Gender stability; At age 4, children aquire gender stability. They realise that they will always stay the same gender and this is an aspect of themlseves that remains consistent over time. Children at this age cannot apply this logic to other people. They are confused by external changes in appearance.

Stage 3: Gender constancy; It is the final stage. At the age of 6, children recognise that gender remains constant and consistent across time and situations. They are no longer fooled by change in outward appearance.

Immitation of role models; Gender constancy is also singnificant because children begin to seek out gender appropriate role models to identify and immitate. This connects with ideas of the SLT. 

Evidence supports the sequence of stages; Slaby and Frey (75) present split-screen images of males and females performing the same tasks. Young children spent the same time watching both sexes where as children in the constancy stage spent longer watching the same sex. Suggesting that Kohlberg's assumptions are correct. 

Constancy not supported; Kohlberg's theory is undermined by the observation that children begin to demonstrate gender-appropriate behaviour before constancy is achieved. Bandura found children as young as 4 reported feeling good about playing with gender appropriate toys and bad about doing the opposite.

Methodological issues; The theory was developed using interviews and with children. This presents a problem as the young children don't possess the vocab needed to express their understanding. They may have a very good ideas about gender but cannot articulate them.

Comparison with SLT; SL theorists suggest that gender development occurs as a consequence of natural processes of maturation. SLT places much more emphasis on external influences on the child's development, such as the role of socialisation. E.g. boys are much less flexible in their view of gender, this could be due to the social/cultural norms placed upon them.

Bio approach; Kohlberg's theory is in line with a biological viewpoint, suggesting that gender development is genetically governed. His stages are heavily influenced by changes in the developing child's brain.

Gender schema; An organised set of beleifs and expectations related to gender that are derived from experience. Such schema guide a person's understanding of their own gender and gender aproppriate behaviour.

Gender schema acquired with gender identity; Schema was introduced in the cognitive approach. Martin and Halverston said tht once a child has established GI at the age of 2-3 years, they will begin to search the environment for info that encourages development of the gender schema. This contrasts with Kohlberg's theory that this process begins after the final constancy stage.

Schema direct behaviour and self understanding; Schema expands to a wide range of behaviours and personality traits. For young children, schema are likely to be formed around stereotypes, as these provide a framework that directs experience as well as the child's understanding of itself. By 6, the child has a fixed and stereotypical idea about what is aproppriate for its gender. Therefore, children are less likely to forget info that does not fit with their existing schema. 

Ingroups and outgroups; Children have a better grasp of the schemas that are appropriate to their own gender (the ingroup). This fits in with the idea that children play more with other children of their own gender, rather than the other (the outgroup). It's not until children are older (around 8) that they develop more complex schemas for both gender, as opposed to just their own. 

Evidence that supports gender schema theory; Martin and Halverson (83) study found that children under the age of six were more likely to remember pictures of gender consistent behaviour than inconsistent. Children changed the sex of the person in the picture carrying out gender-inconsistent activity. This supports the idea that memory may be distorted to fit with existing gender schemas.

Rigidity of gender beliefs; This theory accounts for the fact that young children have fixed and rigid gender attitudes. Info that conflicts with existing schema would be ignored in favour of info that confirms ingroup schema. Also children display a strong ingroup bias in terms of how they process info, this is explained by the fact that children pay more attention to info that is relevant to their own experience.

Complement Kohlberg's theory; Stagner and Ruble (89) suggest that schema and constancy are actually two different processes. Schema is concerned with how organisation of info affects memory where as constancy is linked to motivation. Once a child has established a concept of what it is to be a boy or girl, they are motivated to find outmore about this role and engage in gender appropriate activities. Therefore they can work together.

Overemphasis on the role of the individual in gender development; It is probable that the importance of schemas are exaggerated within gender development. Both theories do not pay enough attention to the role of social factors such as parental influence. Therefore, the theories do not actually why gender schemas devleop and take the form they do.

Key assumptions; It is assumed that the gender schema theory that it should be possiblle to change child's behaviour by changing stereotypes. Its actually very difficult to do this due to rigid beliefs. E.g. many married couples have strong views in the equality of sexes and equal division of labour in the home. (Kane and Sanchez (94)).

Pre-phallic children; Out of Freud's psychosexual stage, he suggested that the third phallic stage is when gender development occurs. Before this, children have no concept of gender identity. Freud describe pre-phallic children as bisexual as they not masculine or feminine. In this stage the focus of pleasure is the genitals which leads to the Oedipus and Electra complexes.

Oedipus complex; Boys develop incestuous feelings towards their mother. They develop a murderous hatred towards their father as he stands in the way of possessing his motehr. The boy recognises how powerful his father and fears he may be castrated by his father, To resolve this boys give up feelings for their mother and begins identify with his father.

Electra complex; Girls experience penis envy, whereby they see themselves and their mother as being in competition for their fathers love. Girls also blame their 'lack of penis' on their mother, beiliving that their mother castrated it. Freud (09) was less clear of the Electra complex, the concept came from Carl Jung.

Identification and internalisation; Boys adopt the attitudes and values of their father and girls adopt those of their mother. This involves children taking on board the gender identity of the same sex parent, Freud referred to this as internalisation. 

Little Hans; 5 year old with a fear of being bitten by a horse. His fear stemmed from an incident where he saw a horse collapse and die. Freud's interpretation is that Han's fear of being bitten is being represented by his fear of castration. He did this via the unconcious defence mechanism of displacement.

Research does not support the Oedipus complex; There have been many criticisms about the Little Hans study. It could have been subject to response bias because his father conducted the analysis and also it lacked scientific rigour. It is also a case study and so isn't generalisable.

Inadequate account of female development; Much of the Electra complex was not developed by Freud but by Carl Jung. Freud admitted that women were a mystery to him and his notion of penis envy has been criticised for being reflective of the Victorian era he lived in. 

What about non-nuclear famlies?; Freud's theory does not take non-nuclear families into account, but it would be logical to assume that Freud's theory would have an affect on a child's gender development. Evidence from Golombok (83) does not support this assumption. She demo'd how children from single-parent families went onto to develop normal gender identities.

Lack of scientific rigour; Freud is criticised for having a lack of rigour in his methods because they are untestable for example the unconcious. This contrasts with other explanations of gender that are based on objective, verifiable evidence from controlled lab studies for example the biological approach. Popper (59) suggested Freud's theories are pseudoscientific as his key ideas cannot be falsified.

Disagreement over gender identity; Frued argued that GI is formed at the end of the phallic stage, He also describes them as bisexual before this, and sees no developent in GI than the complexes. This contrasts with other explanations such as Kohlberg's theory which suggests a child's concept of gender develops gradually.

SLT; SLT achknowledges the role that the social context plas in development and states that all behaviour is learnt from others. It draws attention the the influence of the environment and culture and the media. Direct reinforcement is when children are praised for showing behaviour that is gender-appropriate. The way boys and girls are encouraged to show distinct gender appropriat behaviour is a differential reinforcement. Behaviours that are reinforced and imitated again. Vicarious reinforcement is when a child sees a behaviour recieving a reward then imitating it. If the consequences of behaviour are punished, behaviour is less likely to be imitated.

Identification and modelling; Identification is process where a child attaches themselves to a person who is seen to be like them from their view or wants to be like them. The person possesses qualities that the child sees as rewarding. These people are role models. They tend to be attrative, of high status and of the same sex. Modelling is the demonstration of a behaviour that may be imitated by an observer. A mother may model stereotypically feminie behaviour when tidying the house or doing dinner. When a little girl copies this, she is modelling the behaviour she witnessed.

Mediational processes; SL theorists suggested four mediational processes that are central to the learning on gender behaviour: 

Attention-a little girl will want to be like her mother by paying close attention to what she does e.g. putting on makeup.

Retention- remembering the skills she watched her mother use and trying to recreate these with makeup.

Motivation- wants to be like her mother.

Motor reproduction- be capable of putting make up on.

Suporting evidence; Smith and Lloyd (78) dressed 4-6 month old babies in girls clothes for one half of the study then boys clothes for the other. They observe them interacting with adults, the babies assumed to be boys were given a hammer shaped rattle and encouraged to be adventurous where as 'girls' were given a doll and called 'pretty'. Suggesting that gender appropriate behaviour is stamped in at an early age through differential enforcement so supports SLT.

Explains changing gender roles in Western society; There is not a clear cut distinction of what people regard as stereotypical masc and fem behaviour compared to in the 1950's. This can be explained by a shift in social expectations and cutural norms. This has meant that over the years, new forms of acceptable gender behaviour have been reinforced. 

Not a developmental theory; SLT does not provide an explanation of how learning processes change with age. There are age limitations e.g. motor reproduction as a mediational process suggests that children may struggle to perform behaviours if they are not physically or intellectually capable. Dubin (92) suggests that the child takes not of same sex role models at an early age but selection and imitation of gender role behaviour does not come until later. Meaning SLT does not factor in the influence of age and maturation.

Bio approach; We've seen how it is not possible to raise a biological male as female and override chromosome influence (Reimer). Modern researchers tend to accept the biosocial theory of gender that there are innate bio differences between boys and girls that are reinforced through social interaction.

Psycho approach; Freud would point out the unconcious forces in gender development and change the SLT view of identification to a more encompassing psychoanalytic theory that would include a whole host of gender-appropriate role models.