Psychology 1230: Psychology of Adolescence

Don Hartmann Spring 2005

Lecture 12b: Gender II (Theories

& Androgeny)

Administrative Announcements

• Item #7 of Study Guide #5 should be tossed out! (Thanks, Laura!)

• The essay exams and Supplemental Project #1 papers that are not picked up by Friday, October 14th will be trashed!

• The disciplinary technique is called INDUCTION!

Discussion Topic #18

#18. Santrock’s Handling of Sexuality: 4♂+1♀ III (Summary-Evaluation due on Thursday October 20th): What is your opinion of the manner in which our text author, Santrock, handles sexuality (Chapter 7). Is it too preachy? Does he tip-toe around issues that should be handled more frankly? Does he focus too much on the negative, and not enough on the positive? Were you embarrassed by any of the coverage? Comment on another’s responses if you like.

WEB Discussion Process

Group #1 due #2 due #3 due #4 dueWhippets 09/12 (09/19) 10/03 (10/03) 10/18Hotties 09/13 (No takers) 10/054♀+1♂ 09/19 (09/19) 10/04 (10/20)GypsyMafia 09/20 (09/20) 10/07JusticeLeague 09/21 (09/28) 10/17Psyched 09/22 (09/22) 10/12PithHelmets 09/23 (09/23) 10/10MAJACS 09/26 (09/26) 10/13

----------Note: Anyone can contribute to any WEB discussion; group members are responsible to

summarizing the discussion. The last day to contribute to any discussion is 3 days before the due date. Dates in parenthesis indicate the date handed in. Bolded dates indicate that material handed in was incomplete; more is required.

Handout Summary Handout WEB

Date Date• 20. Lect. #6: Method I 09/07• 21. Lect. #7: Method II 09/09• 22. Lect. #8: Puberty 09/13• 23. Lect. #9: Piaget 09/16• 24. Lect. #11a: Social Inform. Process. 09/20• 25. Lect. #10: Social Cognition 09/26• 26. Study Guide #5 09/30• 27. Lect. #11: Identity 10/03• 28. Study Guide #6 10/05• 29. Lect. #12a: Gender—Introduction 10/05• 30. Lect #12b: Gender—Theory & Androgyny 10/05

Radical Feminism for Tykes

Supplementary ReferencesRuble, D. N., & Martin, C. L (1998). Gender development. In n. Eisenberg (Vol. Ed.), & W. Damon (Series Ed.), Handbook of child psychology: Vol. 3, Social, emotional, and personality development (5th ed., pp. 933-1016). New York: Wiley.

Bem, S. L. (1978). Beyond androgyny: Some presumptuous prescriptions for a liberated sexual identity. In J. A. Sherman & F. L. Denmark (Eds.), The psychology of women: Future directions in research. New York: Psychological Dimensions.

Overview: Gender II (A)

•Goals: •To make conceptual sense of the gender differences literature? •To review a couple of old theoretical friends and introduce a new & interesting theoretical approach, gnder schema theory. •To acquaint you with the notion of androgyny

• Prototypic Question: Why do we imitate same-gender models? •Intersects with text, pp. 208-210 & 216-218

Overview: Gender II (B)

Lecture•Important “New” Theoretical Positions

•Sociobiology•Cognitive Developmental Theory

•Contrasted with Social Cognitive Theory

•Gender Schema Theory•Androgyny

•Bem’s work•Androgynous boys & girls

Next: Lecture #13: Gays & Lesbians

Oh, How It Almost Was!

Sociobiology

• Evolutionary principles can explain it ‑‑ gender differences that made for reproductive effectiveness were strengthened. – So women have soft voices and skin

because they soothe children– Men have facial hair because it makes

them look bigger and fiercer. – Problems: Little difficult to test

Cognitive Developmental Theory (A)

Grew out of Piaget; Kohlberg most important conceptualizer

1. Gender-role development depends on cognitive development. • Sex‑role identify has its beginning in the gender

cognitively assigned to the child—usually at birth—and subsequently accepted by him/her while growing up.

• Children must acquire certain understandings about gender before they will be influenced by their social experiences, such a same-sex models.

Cognitive Developmental Theory (B)

2. Children actively socialize themselves—they are not merely passive pawns of social influences. At the time when individuals develop a sense of gender constancy (late preschool?), their self‑definition of belonging to one or the other gender results in: Gender‑congruent behaviors being reinforcing Imitation of gender-congruent models. So if we

define ourselves as female, we imitative female models.

So our self-definition motivates gender‑consistent behavior.

Well, maybe!

Cognitive Developmental Theory versus Social Cognitive Theory

• Social Cognitive Theory (e.g., Bandura) states that individuals gain a sense of gender identity by means of differential reinforcement of gender-appropriate behavior and imitation of same sex models. “I am treated like a boy, so I must be a boy.”

• Cognitive Developmental Theory says that certain behavior are imitated and are reinforcing because they are consistent with the gender we have adopted. “Hey, I’m a boy, therefore, I’d better do everything I can to find out how to behave like one.”

Gender Schema Theory

Developed by Martin & Halverson• We develop gender schemas—the concept of male

and female with all it associates—and these schemas determines our gender behavior. That is, an individuals' attention and behavior are guided by an internal motivation to conform to gender‑based sociocultural standards and stereotypes.

• For example, we remember information consistent with out gender schema—so, for example, children will distort (misremember) the gender of characters who engage in gender "inconsistent" behavior, such as female doctors, male nurses, and the like.

Test of Gender Schema Theory

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

"Boy"Stuff

"Girl"Stuff

Females

Males

1. Identify a set of gender neutral objects (e.g., pizza cutter, burglar alarm.

2. Arbitrarily identify some of these as guy things and others as gal things.

3. Note how much time males and females spend with the two sets of objects.

4. Check back a week later and determine what the participants can remember about the objects.

Exp

lora

tion/

Rec

all

Angrogyny (a)

• A little history: When gender was first discussed, individuals talked of masculinity and femininity. – Well‑adjust males were those that behaved in a

stereotypic masculine fashion– Well-adjusted females were those who behaved in

a stereotypic feminine manner• During 70s, females became unhappy with the

stigmatization of the feminine label ‑‑ which is largely defined with the opposites of the males stereotypes. And it is the male characteristics that are positively valued.

Androgyny (b)

• Androgyny ‑‑ a combination of the feminine and masculine. Individuals who score high on both masculinity and femininity.

•

M

ascu

lin

e

Low

Hig

h

Feminine

Low High

Masculine Androgynous

FeminineUndifferen- tiated

Your Ordinary Undifferentiated Person

Angrogyny (c)

So how do androgynous kids do?• Androgynous girls feel better about themselves

than either very masculine or very feminine girls.

• Masculine boys feel better about themselves than either feminine or androgynous boys.

• Peer acceptance follows this same trend• Results consistent with the notion that males

not conforming to traditional masculine sex‑role norms are judged more deviant than females whose behavior departs from exclusively feminine roles

Summary of Gender II

• PositionsSociobiology, Cognitive

Developmental Theory, & Gender Schema Theory

• Androgyny: Bem’s work; Androgynous boys & girls

• Next: Lecture #13: Gays & Lesbians

• Go in Peace