Section 5.1
GENDER DEVELOPMENT
A. Sex: the biologically influenced characteristics by which people define male and female
B. Gender: the socially influenced characteristics by which people define boy, girl, man, and
woman
1. HOW ARE WE ALIKE? HOW DO WE DIFFER?
A. Aggression
a. Aggression: any physical or verbal behavior intended to harm someone physically or
emotionally
B. Men generally admit to more aggression
a. Romantically, most violent acts are committed by men
b. In romantic relationships, minor physical aggression in men and women are roughly
equal
C. Women are slightly more likely to commit acts of relational aggression: an act of aggression
intended to harm a person’s relationship or social standing
D. SOCIAL CONNECTEDNESS
a. By their teen years girls become less assertive and more flirtatious.
i. Boys appear more dominant and less expressive
2. THE NATURE: OF GENDER OUR BIOLOGICAL SEX
a. Genetically males and females have differing sex chromosomes
b. Physiologically males and females have differing concentrations of sex hormones, which
trigger other anatomical differences
3. Prenatal Sexual Development
a. X chromosome: the sex chromosome found in both males and females. Females
typically have two X chromosomes; males typically have one. An X chromosome from
each parent produces a female child
b. Y chromosome: the sex chromosome typically found in males. When paired with an x
chromosome from the mother, it produces a male child.
c. Testosterone: the most important male hormone
i. About seven weeks after conception a single gene on the Y chromosome throws
a master switch, causing the testes to develop and produce testosterone
ii. Females also have testosterone, but less of it
4. Adolescent Sexual Development
a. Puberty: the period of sexual maturation, of which a person becomes capable of
reproducing
b. A variety of changes begin at about 11 in girls and 12 in boys
c. Primary sex characteristics: the body structures (ovaries, testes, and external genitalia)
that make sexual reproduction possible
d. Secondary sex characteristics: nonreproductive sexual traits, such as female breasts and
hips, male voice quality, and body hair
e. Spermarche: the first ejaculation
f. Menarche: the first menstrual period
i. Early menarche is more likely following stresses related to
, 1. Father absence
2. Sexual abuse
3. Insecure attachments
4. Mother's smoking during pregnancy
5. Sexual Development Variations
a. Intersex: a condition present at birth due to unusual combinations of male and female
chromosomes, hormones, and anatomy; possessing biological sexual characteristics of
both sexes
b. Sex related genes and physiology result in behavioral and cognitive differences between
males and females. Yet environmental factors matter too.
1. THE NURTURE OF GENDER: OUR CULTURE AND EXPERIENCES
a. Gender Roles
i. Role: the set of norms about a social position, defining how those in that
position ought to behave
ii. Gender roles: a set of expected behaviors, attitudes, and traits for males or for
females
iii. Sexual aggression: any physical or verbal behavior of a sexual nature that is
intended to harm someone physically or emotionally. Can be expressed as
either sexual harassment or sexual assault.
2. How Do We Learn Gender
a. Gender identity: our sense of being male, female, or some combination of the two.
b. Social learning theory: the theory that we learn social behavior by observing and
imitating and by being rewarded or punished
c. Some critics think that there’s more to gender identity than imitating parents and being
repeatedly rewarded or punished for acting in certain ways
d. Gender typing: the acquisition of being male, female, or some combination of the two
e. Children may drift towards what feels right for them, regardless of parental influence.
f. Androgyny: displaying both traditional masculine and feminine psychological
characteristics
g. Gender stereotypes are most rigid at about five or six
h. Transgender: an umbrella term describing people whose gender identity or expression
differs from that associated with their birth designated sex
i. In most countries it's not easy being transgender
ii. Some transgender people may experience profound distress and be diagnosed
with gender dysphoria
i. Gender identity is different from sexual orientation
LECTURE
Difference across sexes
Sex: the biologically influenced characteristics by which people define males and females
Gender: the socially influenced characteristics by which people define men and women
,Our gender is the product of the interplay between our biology and our environment
Women enter puberty sooner and live about five years longer
Express emotions more freely
Have twice the risk of developing depression and 10 times the risk of developing an eating
disorder
Men are four times more likely to die by suicide or to develop alcohol use disorder
Are more likely to have a childhood diagnosis of ASD, color deficient vision or adhd
At more risk for antisocial personality disorder
Aggression: any physical/verbal behavior intended to harm someone physically or emotionally
-intention matters
Relational aggression: an act of aggression intended to harm a person’s relationship or social standing
Women commit slightly more relational aggression than men
Who has more social power?
Leadership
Group leadership: more likely assigned to males
Elections: women less successful
World govt: 78 percent of seats held by men in 2015
Salaries
Higher salaries paid traditionally in male occupations
Behavior
Men offer more opinions
Women more often offer support
Men tend to talk more assertively, initiate touched. And stare
Women tend to smile and apologize more
Social Connectedness
Boys and men are often independent girls and women are often interdependent
Men often prefer working with things women often prefer working with people
, Men more often driven by money and status; women often opt for fewer work hours and tend to have
greater responsibility for family obligations
These gender gaps subside by around age 50
Biological sex
Biology does not dictate gender, but it can influence it
Genetic: males and females have differening sex chromosomes
Physiologically: males and females have differing concentrations of sex hormones, which trigger
Prentatal sexual dvevelopment
Contribution to 23rd pair: Mother=x father = x or Y
Around 7th week: Y chromosome prompts testes to develop and produce testosterone
Between 4th and 5th month, sex hormones in fetal brains support female or male wiring
Testosterone and Estrogen
T: male sexual hormone, males and females both have it, but females have less
The additional testosterone in males stimulates the growth of the male organs in the fetus
E: the female sexual hormone
Females tend to have more, both sexes have it
Both hormones are key to the development of the sex characteristics that develop during puberty
Puberty
Surge of hormones triggers a two year period of rapid physical development
Primary sx characteristics: body structures
Secondary: nonreproductive traits: breasts and hips, male voice quality and body ahir
Spermarche: first ejaculation
Menarche: first period
Height
At puberty girls surge ahead briefly, but then boys overtake them at about age 14
Disorder of sexual development: a condition present at birth that involves unusual development of sex
chromosomes and/or anatomy
GENDER DEVELOPMENT
A. Sex: the biologically influenced characteristics by which people define male and female
B. Gender: the socially influenced characteristics by which people define boy, girl, man, and
woman
1. HOW ARE WE ALIKE? HOW DO WE DIFFER?
A. Aggression
a. Aggression: any physical or verbal behavior intended to harm someone physically or
emotionally
B. Men generally admit to more aggression
a. Romantically, most violent acts are committed by men
b. In romantic relationships, minor physical aggression in men and women are roughly
equal
C. Women are slightly more likely to commit acts of relational aggression: an act of aggression
intended to harm a person’s relationship or social standing
D. SOCIAL CONNECTEDNESS
a. By their teen years girls become less assertive and more flirtatious.
i. Boys appear more dominant and less expressive
2. THE NATURE: OF GENDER OUR BIOLOGICAL SEX
a. Genetically males and females have differing sex chromosomes
b. Physiologically males and females have differing concentrations of sex hormones, which
trigger other anatomical differences
3. Prenatal Sexual Development
a. X chromosome: the sex chromosome found in both males and females. Females
typically have two X chromosomes; males typically have one. An X chromosome from
each parent produces a female child
b. Y chromosome: the sex chromosome typically found in males. When paired with an x
chromosome from the mother, it produces a male child.
c. Testosterone: the most important male hormone
i. About seven weeks after conception a single gene on the Y chromosome throws
a master switch, causing the testes to develop and produce testosterone
ii. Females also have testosterone, but less of it
4. Adolescent Sexual Development
a. Puberty: the period of sexual maturation, of which a person becomes capable of
reproducing
b. A variety of changes begin at about 11 in girls and 12 in boys
c. Primary sex characteristics: the body structures (ovaries, testes, and external genitalia)
that make sexual reproduction possible
d. Secondary sex characteristics: nonreproductive sexual traits, such as female breasts and
hips, male voice quality, and body hair
e. Spermarche: the first ejaculation
f. Menarche: the first menstrual period
i. Early menarche is more likely following stresses related to
, 1. Father absence
2. Sexual abuse
3. Insecure attachments
4. Mother's smoking during pregnancy
5. Sexual Development Variations
a. Intersex: a condition present at birth due to unusual combinations of male and female
chromosomes, hormones, and anatomy; possessing biological sexual characteristics of
both sexes
b. Sex related genes and physiology result in behavioral and cognitive differences between
males and females. Yet environmental factors matter too.
1. THE NURTURE OF GENDER: OUR CULTURE AND EXPERIENCES
a. Gender Roles
i. Role: the set of norms about a social position, defining how those in that
position ought to behave
ii. Gender roles: a set of expected behaviors, attitudes, and traits for males or for
females
iii. Sexual aggression: any physical or verbal behavior of a sexual nature that is
intended to harm someone physically or emotionally. Can be expressed as
either sexual harassment or sexual assault.
2. How Do We Learn Gender
a. Gender identity: our sense of being male, female, or some combination of the two.
b. Social learning theory: the theory that we learn social behavior by observing and
imitating and by being rewarded or punished
c. Some critics think that there’s more to gender identity than imitating parents and being
repeatedly rewarded or punished for acting in certain ways
d. Gender typing: the acquisition of being male, female, or some combination of the two
e. Children may drift towards what feels right for them, regardless of parental influence.
f. Androgyny: displaying both traditional masculine and feminine psychological
characteristics
g. Gender stereotypes are most rigid at about five or six
h. Transgender: an umbrella term describing people whose gender identity or expression
differs from that associated with their birth designated sex
i. In most countries it's not easy being transgender
ii. Some transgender people may experience profound distress and be diagnosed
with gender dysphoria
i. Gender identity is different from sexual orientation
LECTURE
Difference across sexes
Sex: the biologically influenced characteristics by which people define males and females
Gender: the socially influenced characteristics by which people define men and women
,Our gender is the product of the interplay between our biology and our environment
Women enter puberty sooner and live about five years longer
Express emotions more freely
Have twice the risk of developing depression and 10 times the risk of developing an eating
disorder
Men are four times more likely to die by suicide or to develop alcohol use disorder
Are more likely to have a childhood diagnosis of ASD, color deficient vision or adhd
At more risk for antisocial personality disorder
Aggression: any physical/verbal behavior intended to harm someone physically or emotionally
-intention matters
Relational aggression: an act of aggression intended to harm a person’s relationship or social standing
Women commit slightly more relational aggression than men
Who has more social power?
Leadership
Group leadership: more likely assigned to males
Elections: women less successful
World govt: 78 percent of seats held by men in 2015
Salaries
Higher salaries paid traditionally in male occupations
Behavior
Men offer more opinions
Women more often offer support
Men tend to talk more assertively, initiate touched. And stare
Women tend to smile and apologize more
Social Connectedness
Boys and men are often independent girls and women are often interdependent
Men often prefer working with things women often prefer working with people
, Men more often driven by money and status; women often opt for fewer work hours and tend to have
greater responsibility for family obligations
These gender gaps subside by around age 50
Biological sex
Biology does not dictate gender, but it can influence it
Genetic: males and females have differening sex chromosomes
Physiologically: males and females have differing concentrations of sex hormones, which trigger
Prentatal sexual dvevelopment
Contribution to 23rd pair: Mother=x father = x or Y
Around 7th week: Y chromosome prompts testes to develop and produce testosterone
Between 4th and 5th month, sex hormones in fetal brains support female or male wiring
Testosterone and Estrogen
T: male sexual hormone, males and females both have it, but females have less
The additional testosterone in males stimulates the growth of the male organs in the fetus
E: the female sexual hormone
Females tend to have more, both sexes have it
Both hormones are key to the development of the sex characteristics that develop during puberty
Puberty
Surge of hormones triggers a two year period of rapid physical development
Primary sx characteristics: body structures
Secondary: nonreproductive traits: breasts and hips, male voice quality and body ahir
Spermarche: first ejaculation
Menarche: first period
Height
At puberty girls surge ahead briefly, but then boys overtake them at about age 14
Disorder of sexual development: a condition present at birth that involves unusual development of sex
chromosomes and/or anatomy
