chapter 13 sex differences and gender-role development

Chapter 13Sex Differences and Gender-Role Development

INTRODUCTION

• Sex – person’s biological identity– Chromosomes; physical manifestations of

identity; hormonal influences• Gender – person’s social and cultural identity

as male or female• Gender typing – process of acquiring a

gender identity and the motives, values, and behaviors considered appropriate for their biological sex

CATEGORIZING MALES AND FEMALES: GENDER ROLE STANDARDS

• Gender role standard – value, motive, or behavior considered more appropriate for members of one sex than the other– Expressive role – female – kind, nurturing,

cooperative, sensitive to others’ needs– Instrumental role – male – dominant,

assertive, independent, and competitive

• Table 13.1 Sex Differences in the Socialization of Five Attributes in 110 Societies. NOTE: The percentages for each attribute do not add to 100 because some of the societies did not place differential pressures on boys and girls with respect to that attribute. For example, 18% of the societies for which pertinent data were available did not differentiate between the sexes in the socialization of nurturance. SOURCE: Adapted from BARRY, BACON, & CHILD, 1957.

SOME FACTS AND FICTIONS ABOUT SEX DIFFERENCES

• Actual Psychological Differences Between the Sexes– Verbal Ability – girls are superior– Visual/Spatial Abilities – boys are superior

• Evident by 4, persists across life span– Mathematical Abilities

• In adolescence, boys better at arithmetic reasoning

• Girls better at computational skills

• Figure 13.1 A spatial task for which sex differences in performance have been found. FROM LINN & PETERSEN, 1985.


– Aggression• Beginning at age 2, boys are more

physically and verbally aggressive• Girls more likely to display covert

aggression


– Other Sex Differences• Activity level – boys are more physically

active (even before birth) • Fear, timidity, and risk-taking – girls are

more fearful, timid, and take fewer risks–No difference in cognitive impulsivity

• Developmental vulnerability – boys are more vulnerable to prenatal and perinatal hazards and disease


• Emotional expressivity / sensitivity–Beginning in toddlerhood

»Boys express more anger»Girls express most other emotions

more frequently• Compliance – girls are more compliant


• Conclusions–Differences reflect group averages–Differences are small–Differences are most apparent at the

extremes–Males and females are much more

psychologically similar than they are different

• Figure 13.2 These two distributions of scores-one for males, one for females-give some idea of the size of the gap between the sexes in abilities for which sex differences are consistently found. Despite a small difference in average performance, the scores of males and females overlap considerably. APAPTED FROM HYDE, FENNEMA, & LAMON, 1990.

CULTURAL MYTHS

• Most gender-role stereotypes are “cultural myths”– No basis in fact

• Due to well-ingrained cognitive schemas–Interpret and distort behavior

CULTURAL MYTHS

• Do Cultural Myths Contribute to Sex Differences in Ability/Vocational Opportunity?– Self-fulfilling prophecy actually promotes

sex differences in cognitive performance– Home Influences

• Parents expect sons to outperform daughters in math

• Son’s successes are due to ability, daughter’s due to hard work

CULTURAL MYTHS

– Home Influences, continued• Children internalize parent’s views, boys

become self-confident• Girls lose interest in math, due to

perceived lack of ability– Scholastic Influences

• Teachers have similar views affecting children in a similar manner

DEVELOPMENTAL TRENDS IN GENDER TYPING

• Development of the Gender Concept– By age 2 ½ to 3, accurately label oneself

as a boy or girl– 5 to 7 years – gender is unchanging


• Development of Gender-Role Stereotypes– Present at 2 to 3 years, once children can

label pictures of children as boys or girls– 3 to 7 – view gender-role standards as

rules – 8 to 9 – more flexible, distinction between

moral rules and gender-role standards


– Cultural Influences• Collectivist societies tend to encourage

conforming to gender-role standards– Adolescent Thinking About Gender

Stereotypes• Less flexible again; increased pressure

to conform – gender intensification• Later in high school, may be more

flexible again

• Figure 13.3 Children’s rankings of the wrongness of gender-role transgressions (such as a boy’s wearing nail polish) and violations of moral rules (such as pushing another child from a swing). Notice that children of all ages deplore immoral acts but that only kindergartners and adolescents view gender-role violations as wrong. Elementary school children come to think about gender-role standards in a more flexible way than they did earlier in life, but adolescents become concerned about the psychological implications of deviating from one’s “proper” gender identity. ADAPTED FROM STODDARD & TURIEL, 1985.


• Development of Gender-Typed Behavior– 14 to 22 months – prefer gender

appropriate toys– Gender Segregation

• 2 years, girls prefer playing with girls• 3 years, boys prefer playing with boys

–Due to differences in play styles–Cognitive and social-cognitive

development

• Figure 13.4 Two- to 3-year-old toddlers already prefer playmates of their own sex. Boys are much more social with boys than with girls, whereas girls are more outgoing with girls than with boys. ADAPTED FROM JACKLIN & MACCOBY, 1978.


– Sex Differences in Gender-Typed Behavior• Males have greater status• Males feel stronger pressure to adhere

to gender appropriate codes• Most girls do comply with prescriptions

for the feminine role by adolescence–Be attractive to opposite sex–Concern of others evaluations

• Table 13.2 Percentages of Boys and Girls Who Requested Popular “Masculine” and “Feminine” Items from Santa Claus. SOURCE: Adapted from Richardson & Simpson, 1982.


– Subcultural Variations in Gender-Typing• Middle class adolescents hold more

flexible gender-role attitudes then low SES peers

• African American children hold less stereotyped views of women than European American children

–Both due to differences in education and family life

THEORIES OF GENDER-TYPING AND GENDER ROLE DEVELOPMENT

• Evolutionary Theory– Males and females face different

evolutionary pressures– Natural selection created fundamental

differences in male and female roles• Females need to be nurturing• Males need spatial skills for hunting


– Criticisms of the Evolutionary Approach• Applies to differences that apply cross-

culturally• Ignores differences limited to cultures or

historical periods• Social roles hypothesis

–Cultures assign roles based on gender

–Socialization practices


• Money & Ehrhardt’s Biosocial Theory of Gender Differentiation and Development– Inherit X or Y chromosome from father– If Y, testes secrete testosterone and MIS

• Resulting in male genitals– At birth, social factors become important

• Child is labeled by society– At puberty sex characteristics and urges

combine with label

• Figure 13.5 Critical events in Money and Ehrhardt’s biosocial theory of sex typing. FROM MONEY & EHRHARDT, 1972.


– Evidence for Biological Influences on Gender-Role Development• Genetic influences

–50% of the differences in masculine, 0-20% of the differences in feminine self-concepts

–Strong masculine self-concept and experience with spatial toys increases abilities


• Hormonal influences–If females are exposed to excess

androgen prenatally, result is masculinized external genitalia

»Alters play behavior»Increases interest in same-sex

relationships»Influences career and family

choices


– Evidence for Social-Labeling Influences• Surgery and gender reassignment are

generally successful for androgenized females

–Prior to 18 months of age–After age 3, very difficult

»Masculine gender typing»Labeling of self as a boy


• Cultural influences–Mead’s study of tribal societies

»Arapesh – both males and females were taught to be expressive

»Mundugumor – both genders were taught to be “masculine”

»Tchambuli – from Western standards, males more feminine, females more masculine


• A psychobiosocial viewpoint–Prenatal hormone exposure

influences brain development»Creates different sensitivities for

males and females»Coupled with others’ beliefs,

provides more exposure to gender consistent materials


• Freud’s Psychoanalytic Theory– Males become gender typed as they

identify with their father to resolve the Oedipus complex

– Fathers encourage feminine behavior in females (modeled after mother)

– Lack of research support


• Social Learning Theory– Direct tuition – children are encouraged

and rewarded for gender-appropriate behaviors• Parents begin the process• Siblings and peers reinforce it


– Observational learning – children adopt the attitudes and behaviors of same-sex models• Also important is the label attached to

the attitude or behavior• Same-sex models become more

important at ages 5 to 7, when gender is unchanging aspect of the self

• Media influences


• Kohlberg’s Cognitive Developmental Theory– Children first establish a stable gender

identity• Basic gender identity:

–By age 3, label themselves as a boy or girl

• Gender stability: –Occurs next


• Gender consistency:–By 5-7, gender is consistent across

situations – After achieving gender consistency

• Children actively seek out same-sex models to determine how to act


– Criticisms of Kohlberg’s Theory• Gender-typing begins well before

children acquire a mature gender identity

• Gender reassignment is very difficult after age 3


• Gender Schema Theory (Martin & Halverson)– Children acquire a basic gender identity

• Motivates child to learn about the sexes and create gender schemas

–Begin as simple in-group/out-group schemas

–Also create an own-sex schema–Schemas serve as scripts for

processing social information

• Figure 13.6 Gender-schema theory in action. A young girl classifies new information according to an in-group/out-group schema as either “for boys” or “for girls.” Information about boys’ toys and activities is ignored, but information about toys and activities for girls in relevant to the self and so is added to an ever-larger own-sex schema. ADAPTED FROM MARTIN & HALVERSON, 1987.


• An Integrative Theory– Biological theories account for major

biological developments – Social-theories account for differential

reinforcement processes– Cognitive development explains the growth

of categorization skills– Gender schemas are also important as are

models as children age

• Table 13.3 An Overview of the Gender-Typing Process from the Perspective of an Integrative Theorist.

PSYCHOLOGICAL ANDROGYNY: A PRESCRIPTION FOR THE 21st CENTURY?

• Historically, masculinity and femininity were at opposite ends of a single dimensions

• Androgyny – sees them as 2 separate dimensions, allowing individuals to be high in both masculine and feminine traits

• Figure 13.7 Categories of sex-role orientation based on viewing masculinity and femininity as separate dimensions of personality.


• Do Androgynous People Really Exist?– In a college student sample

• 33% were masculine men or feminine women

• 30% were androgynous• 27% undifferentiated or gender-type

reversed

• Table 13.4 Sample Items from a Gender-Role Inventory for Grade-school Children. Source: Adapted from Boldizar, 1991.


• Are There Advantages to Being Androgynous?– More highly adaptable to the situation– Higher self-esteem– More likeable – Perceived as better adjusted

• The masculine traits are more important for adjustment


• Applications: On Changing Gender Role Attitudes and Behavior– Parents must teach that biological sex is

unimportant other than for reproduction– Delay exposure to gender stereotypes – Interventions work best with younger

children – Programs work best if the adult in charge is

male

chapter 13 sex differences and gender-role development

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