How Do We View Men and Women?

Chapter 12

Gender Development and Stereotypes

Module Objectives:

What is the difference between sex and gender?

What are Gender differences?What are Gender stereotypes?

Pat is active, independent,

competitive, and aggressive.

Is Pat male or female?

Most people assume Pat is male.

Why? Although Pat is a common name for both males and females, the

adjectives used to describe Pat are

commonly associated with men rather than with

women.

Test yourself…

On the following slide, identify which traits are masculine and

which are feminine.

What Traits Characterize Males and Females?

Trait More Characteristic of Males More Characteristic of Females

1. Active

2. Considerate

3. Aggressive

4. Creative

5. Ambitious

6. Competitive

7. Emotional

8. Independent

9. Artistic

10. Displays leadership

11. Excitable

12. Empathic

13. Mechanical

14. Gentle

15. Outspoken

16 . Neat

17. Persistent

18. Understanding

The same chart has been used to assess gender

stereotypes among college students..

Did you choose the same traits as the consensus?

Even numbered - female traits Odd numbered - male traits

Features Judged by College Students to Be Characteristically Male or Female

Male Female

Independent Emotional

Aggressive Home-oriented

Not excitable Kind

Skilled in business Cries easily

Mechanical aptitude Creative

Outspoken Considerate

Acts as a leader Devotes self to others

Self-confident Needs approval

Ambitious Gentle

Not easily influenced Aware of others’ feelings

Dominant Excitable

Instrumental Traits (Roles) are traits associated with males

‐ They describe individuals who act on the world and influence it

Expressive Traits (Roles) are traits associated with females

‐ They describe emotional functioning and individuals who value interpersonal relationships

Gender Stereotypes

Broad categories that reflect our impressions and beliefs about females and males

‐ All gender stereotypes refer to an image of what the typical member of a particular social category is like

Children’s Stereotypes of Boys and Girls

Boys are… Girls are…

5-yrs-old 11-yrs-old 5-yrs-old 11-yrs-old

Strong Emotional

Aggressive Gentle

Disorderly Soft-hearted

Cruel Affectionate

Coarse Weak

Ambitious Appreciative

Dominant Excitable

Adventurous Sophisticated

Independent Fickle

Loud Meek

Jolly Submissive

Steady Talkative

Confident Frivolous

Why do we assume this is a girl?

Gender Stereotypes

Children understand gender stereotypes by the time they enter kindergarten

Their understanding grows throughout elementary-school years

‐ They begin to understand that gender stereotypes do not always apply

Children learn very young that we do not live in a gender-neutral society

By the age of 4, a child’s knowledge of gender-stereo-typed activities is extensive

Consider the reaction of one 6-year-old to a boy named George who likes to play with

dolls:Why do you think people tell George not to play with dolls?

‐ Well, he should only play with things that boys play with. The things that he is playing with now is girls’ stuff

Can George play with Barbie dolls if he wants to?‐ No!

What should George do?‐ He should stop playing with girls’ dolls and start playing

with G.I. Joe

Why can a boy play with G.I. Joe and not a Barbie doll?

‐ Because if a boy is playing with a Barbie doll, then he’s just going to get people teasing him… and if he tries to play more, to get girls to like him, the girls won’t like him either

Between the ages of 3 and 7, gender-related issues are very

important to children. This is the time when they are starting to

firmly classify themselves as boys and girls…. They are starting to know that they will always be

boys and/or girls.

As children develop they learn that gender

stereotypes don’t always apply

Older children are more willing than younger children to ignore

stereotypes when judging children

Is There Any Truth to Gender

Stereotypes?

Physical DevelopmentAs infants, boys are more active than girls‐ This difference increases during childhood

Girls tend to be healthier than boys‐ Female embryos are more likely than

males to survive prenatal development‐ Infant boys are more prone to diseases

and dysfunctions‐ Adolescent boys and young men are more

likely to engage in unhealthy, risk-taking behaviors

In a classroom, boys are more likely than girls to have a hard time sitting

still.On a playground, boys

more often play vigorously and girls more often play

quietly.

Intellectual AbilityFemales tend to have greater verbal ability than males

‐ Girls read, write, and spell better than boys

‐ More boys have reading and other language-related problems such as stuttering

Males tend to have greater spatial ability

than females

From childhood on, boys tend to have better mental rotation skill than girls

From adolescence on, boys are more accurate than girls on spatial tasks that

involve relations between objects in space

Let’s Test Your Spatial Ability!

Try the following activities on your own.

Spatial Ability

The items above test mental rotation.

The task is to determine which of the figures labeled A through E are rotated versions of the figure in the box on the left.

Did you get it?

The first row of cubes shows you how many cubes are contained in each pile. Figure out the number

of cubes contained in each of the piles above.

A.27 cubesB.15 cubesC.15 cubesD.18 cubesE.19 cubesF.40 cubesG.10 cubesH.22 cubesI. 13 cubesJ. 20 cubesK.50 cubes

Intellectual Ability Continued…

On standardized math tests:‐ Initially, girls excel in math computation,

but later boys excel in math problem solving

For grades in math courses:‐ Usually there is no difference between

boys and girls, BUT, if there is a difference it usually favors girls

Think on Your Own…

Why are girls doing worse on achievement tests but getting

better grades in the classroom?.

One idea is that girls are more confident on classroom tests than

on achievement tests. The achievement test questions are more novel than classroom test questions. Because they are not as confident… they don’t do as

well.

Boys are more confident in their math skills and like the challenge of novel problems. Math is also

a stereotypic male pursuit so girls tend to lack confidence in their math skills

Personality and Social Behavior

Starting at age 2, boys are more physically and verbally aggressive than girls.

They are more likely to be physically aggressive toward other boys rather than toward girls

Boys and men are more aggressive in virtually all cultures and in nonhuman

species

Why are boys more aggressive?

There is a Biological link to aggression in the hormone Androgens, which are secreted by the testes.

Androgen does not lead to aggression directly. Androgens make it more likely that boys will be aggressive by making boys more excited or angry and by making boys stronger.

Is there a Societal link?Media presents us with aggressive male role models - Jedi Knights to John Wayne

‐ These role models are rewarded for their aggressive behavior.

Parents are more likely to use physical punishment with sons than with daughters.

Parents are more likely to be more tolerant of

aggressive behavior in sons than in daughters.

So… experience encourages boys rather

than girls to express their aggression physically.

Girls display covert forms of aggression

snubbing others or undermining social status

or relationships.

What is actually the case?BOTH boys and girls are aggressive. BUT… the method of aggression is different between the sexes.

In American children (African American and Euro American ) in grades 3 to 6, when they want to harm their peers, boys try to hurt them physically whereas girls try to damage relationships with peers.

‐ Relational aggression (typical of girls) is less visually obvious.

Personality and Social Behavior Continued…

Girls are better able at expressing their emotions and interpreting others’ emotions

Girls are more willing to admit to feelings, but boys and girls are equally able to feel what others are feeling

Personality and Social Behavior

Females are more easily influenced by others - more persuadable

‐ Girls are more compliant than boys with the requests and demands of teachers, parents, and other authority figures.

‐ Young girls are more likely to seek an adult’s help

Rapport versus Report Talk

Rapport Talk‐ The language of conversation and a way

of establishing connections and negotiating relationships

‐ More characteristic of females than of males

Report Talk‐ Talk that conveys information such as

public speaking

‐ More characteristic of males than of females

The Peer Influence

Enabling interactions‐ Actions and remarks that tend to

support others and sustain the interaction

‐ Girls interactions with other girls

Constricting interactions‐ One partner tries to emerge as the

victor by threatening or contradicting the other, by exaggerating, etc…

‐ Boys interactions with other boys

Think about how boys and girls socialize

Males hold center stage through report talk with verbal performances that include story telling, joking, and lecturing with information. Think of play: boys tend to play in large groups that are hierarchically structured. They usually have a leader who tells the others what to do and how to do it. Boys games usually have winners and losers. Boys tend to do a lot of boasting about their skills and arguing about who is best at what.

Females enjoy private rapport talk more and conversation that is

relationship-oriented. Think about play: Girls tend to play in small groups

or pairs and at the center of a girls world is often a best friend. Intimacy is pervasive in girls’ relationships with peers and close friends. Turn taking is more characteristic of girls than of

boys.

Girls are more likely just to sit and talk with each other, and are more concerned about being liked by others rather than trying to achieve the leadership position of power.

Why is there a gender difference?

Think on Your Own…

Parents are more “feeling-oriented” with daughters than

with sons. They are more likely to talk about their emotions with daughters than with sons. They are more likely to emphasize the importance of considering others’ feelings with their daughter than

with their sons.

What Influences How Children Learn Gender

Roles?

ParentsFrom birth, fathers tend to interact more with sons than daughters while mothers interact more with daughters than sons

Mothers play traditional games like peek-a-boo whereas fathers play more physical, rough-and-tumble activities

Example: a dad might urge his frightened son to jump off a diving board (Be a man!) but not be so insistent with his daughter (That’s okay, honey!).

Parents treat sons and daughters

similarly, except for gender-related

behavior

PeersBy 3 years of age, most children’s play shows the impact of gender stereotypes:‐ Boys prefer blocks and trucks‐ Girls prefer tea sets and dolls

Young children are even critical of peers who engage in cross-gender play

Once children learn rules about gender-typical play, they often harshly punish peers who violate those rules

Peers Continued…Between 2 and 3 years of age, children begin to prefer playing with same-sex peers

‐ Children spontaneously select same-sex playmates. Adult pressure is not necessary.

Children resist parents efforts to get them to play with members of the opposite sex.

‐ Girls are often unhappy when parents encourage them to play with boys, and boys are unhappy when parents urge them to play with girls.

Boys and girls prefer same-sex playmates even in

gender-neutral activities such as playing tag or

doing puzzles.

This preference increases during childhood, reaching a

peak in preadolescence

What are your five favorite television

programs?

Count the number of major characters in them.How many of them are male? How many of them

are female?Which characters are highly active and/or have

positions of power? How would you characterize the general nature of

the programs action-packed, romantic comedies, sports shows, soap operas?

What were your results?

Most of the list of characters will probably be male (except for soap operas).

More males will likely chose action and sports shows as their favorites.

More females will likely choose romantic shows or soap operas.

TelevisionWomen on television tend to be cast in romantic, marital, or family roles

‐ They are depicted as emotional, passive and weak

Men on television tend to be cast in leadership or professional roles

‐ They are depicted as rational, active, and strong

Children who watch a lot of television end up with more stereotyped views

of males and females

Children who watch a lot of television prefer gender-typed activities to a

greater extent than do children who are less avid viewers

Gender Identity

How do we develop a sense of being male or female?

What do you think?

Imagine you meet a 1-year-old named Leslie who is dressed in gender-neutral clothing and is sporting a bowl-cut hairstyle, so that you cannot tell whether Leslie is a boy or girl.

How long would it be before you become curious about Leslie’s sex? How would you determine whether a 1-year-old like Leslie is a boy or a girl?

Development of Gender Identity

The first step is to discriminate males from females and to place oneself in to one of these categories

By 1 year, infants can discriminate male photographs from female photographs

By 2-3 years, children tell us they know about gender

‐ They use “mommy” and “daddy” labels correctly

‐ They use “boy” and “girl” labels correctly‐ They accurately label themselves as either a

boy or girl

Gender Identity Continued…

Between 3-5 years, children still believe they can change gender identities if they want to

Between 5-7 years, children have a firm, stable, future-oriented identity as a boy or a girl

Age Gender IdentityGender

StereotypingGender-typed

behavior

0 - 2.5 years

Ability to discriminate males from

females emerges and improves.

Child accurately labels the self as

a boy or a girl

Some gender stereotypes

emerge.

Gender-typed toy/activity preferences

emerge.Preferences for

same-sex playmates emerge

(gender segregation).

3 - 7 years

Conservation of gender

(recognition that one’s gender is

unchanging) emerges.

Gender stereotyping of

interests, activities, and occupations

becomes quite rigid.

Gender-typed play/toy

preferences become stronger,

particularly for boys.

Gender segregation intensifies.

AgeGender Identity

Gender Stereotyping

Gender-typed behavior

8 - 11 years

Gender stereotyping of personality traits and achievement domains emerge.

Gender stereotyping becomes less rigid.

Gender segregation intensifies.

Gender-typed toy/activity

preferences continue to strengthen for

boys; girls develop (or retain) interests in

some masculine activities.

12 and beyond

Gender identity

becomes more

salient.

Intolerance of cross-sex mannerisms increases early in

adolescence. Gender stereotyping

is becoming more flexible.

Conformity to gender-typed

behaviors increase early in adolescence.Gender segregation

becomes less pronounced.