AQA A-level Psychology Gender notes

Gender

, Sex and gender
Sex

• biological term (nature) based on chr , hormones sex organs
• Across time + culture , term more fixed in an individual than gender
• Defined in terms of reproduction + other observable measurable bio aspects:
• Anatomy, chromosomes, hormones
• All societies make the same distinction
• Usually 2 distinct bio groups: males + females


Gender
The ideas we hold about the behaviour, personality + attitudes of males + females within a given
society

• psychological state (nurture)
• concepts can change over time + differ between cultures
• Not directly observable as is psych state
• May be indirectly obs through emotions + behaviour

• Terms : masculinity + femininity + androgyny


Sex Gender


• women have ovaries • women never stop talking
• Men have a Y • Men should not wear skirts
chromosome + a penis • Men should be the breadwinners




Both

• I am a woman
• Men can't multitask
• Women have on av superior verbal reasoning abilities
=

,Sex role stereotypes
👦👧
a set of shared expectations that people within a society or culture hold about what is acceptable
behaviour for males and females

• expectations for males and females communicated through society
• Reinforced by parents, peers, schools and media
• Learn through socialisation + passing of beliefs and attitudes from one generation to next




I
Traditional F sex roles Traditional M sex roles

• nurturing • strong
• cooperative • Breadwinner
• Domestic • aggressive
• Emotional • Dominant
• Passive
• pretty



• sex role expectations taught from early age
• Such as how they are treated
• Males treated more physically

• Different games/ types of play:
• girls = dolls, fake kitchen
• Encouraged, caring, and domestic roles
• Cooperative play (friends round for tea)

• boys = rough, and tumble play, cars
• Encourage movement and competitiveness

• boys and girls conform to expected roles quickly
• Police, other children's roles
• Individuals, exhibiting incorrect stereotype, subjected to hostility and pressure to assume
'correct' sex role

• at school, may experience pressure to study 'gender-suitable' subjects
• Boys = maths + engineering
• Girls = food tech + languages
• Then certain careers

• act as shortcut to ap beh in given context - girl behave way understand to be female

, Media

• powerful source of sex-role stereotypes

• e.g:
• Women always have to be pretty
• Makeup, relationships

• Men strong and powerful
• sports, cars, business + career


Effes of raising a child as gender neutral
• more choices
• More accepting of others
• Difficult to form friendship



Strengths Weaknesses


1. SEAVEY ET AL: 1. SRS DIFFERS ACROSS CULTURES
• study, examining how people interacted • sex roles are culturally transmitted
with three months old infants • Environmental learning experiences, stronge
• Told no information other than child than biological forces in determining sex role
sex stereotyping
• Results demonstrated people interacted
with infant differently, depending on • MEAD:
sex, they were told • cultural differences in sexual existed between
• Toy trucks and tools, more likely given, tribes in New Guinea
if infant was a boy
• Chosen if they were a girl
• Suggest sexual expectations taught
from a young age 2. SRS MAINLY LEARNED THROUGH
ENVIRONMENTAL EXPERIENCE
• appliers negative sex role stereotyping
2. LANGLOIS + DOWNS could be addressed by providing learning
• compare pairs and mothers reactions to experiences for children
preschoolers playing with opposite gender • that reinforce idea of positive sex roles
toys being equally applicable to males and
• Mothers, accepted females
• Peers ridiculed and even hit them
• Support, peers influence + 'police' SR st