1. Cynthia K. Shinabarger Reed
Psychology
Stephen F. Davis Emporia State University
Joseph J. Palladino University of Southern Indiana
PowerPoint Presentation by
Cynthia K. Shinabarger Reed
Tarrant County College
This multimedia product and its contents are protected under copyright law. The following are prohibited by law: any public performance or display, including transmission of any image over a network; preparation of any derivative work, including the extraction, in whole or in part, of any images; any rental, lease, or lending of the program.
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2. Copyright © Prentice Hall 2007
Chapter 10
Sex and Gender
Prepared by Michael J. Renner, Ph.D.
These slides ©1999 Prentice Hall Psychology Publishing.
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3. Sex and Gender: An Introduction
The word sex refers to a biological classification based on genetic composition, anatomy, and hormones.
Gender refers to the psychological and social phenomena associated with being feminine or masculine as these concepts are defined in a given culture.
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4. Sex and Gender: An Introduction
Hermaphrodites have both ovarian and testicular tissues.
Pseudohermaphrodites possess two gonads of the same kind, but their external genitalia and secondary sex characteristics do not match their chromosomal makeup.
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5. Sex and Gender: An Introduction
Genetic inheritance is the most basic determinant of whether an individual is male or female.
The 23rd pair of chromosomes determines a person's sex.
A male has an X and a Y chromosome, whereas a female has two X chromosomes.
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6. Sex and Gender: An Introduction
Early in development, human embryos have an undifferentiated, or all-purpose, gonad (sex gland) that can become either a testis or an ovary.
The presence of a Y chromosome directs this undifferentiated gonad to develop into a testis.
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7. Sex and Gender: An Introduction
Genetic abnormalities that occur at conception can have major implications for later development.
Genetic abnormalities include Klinefelter's syndrome (XXY), in which a male has smaller-than-normal genitals, enlarged breasts, poor muscular development, and may be mentally retarded.
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8. Sex and Gender: An Introduction
Males are more vulnerable than females to developmental disorders and certain fatal diseases.
Males have a greater chance of experiencing developmental difficulties such as reading problems and delayed speech, environmental health problems (such as cancer resulting from exposure to a toxic substance), and physical diseases.
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9. Sex and Gender: An Introduction
Among the possible causes are biological factors, social roles, differing stressors men and women face, gender differences in behavioral risk factors, and gender differences in personality.
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10. Sex and Gender: An Introduction
The action of hormones during the embryonic and fetal stages as well as during adolescence gives rise to what is termed anatomical sex.
In males an increase in the level of testosterone at puberty is responsible for the development and growth of the penis and testes as well as the secondary sex characteristics.
In females an increase in estrogen at puberty is responsible for the growth of the uterus and the vagina and the development of the secondary sex characteristics.
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11. Sex and Gender: An Introduction
Development during puberty consists of changes that occur in a range of physical attributes, from height and weight to changes associated with sexual maturation that make sexual reproduction possible.
The most basic change in boys is growth of the penis and scrotum.
In girls, menarche—the first menstrual period—is an indication of sexual maturity.
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12. Sex and Gender: An Introduction
Adrenogenital syndrome is a condition caused by exposure to excessive amounts of androgens during the fetal period; it can result in a female with genitals resembling those of males.
Androgen insensitivity syndrome refers to failure by a male embryo to respond to male hormones.
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13. Sex and Gender: An Introduction
Human sexual behavior is a function of the complex interplay of genetic, prenatal, and environmental factors; thus human beings are not slaves to their hormone levels.
Both men and women have measurable quantities of the hormones estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone.
The amounts of these hormones, however, differ in men and women.
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14. Sex and Gender: An Introduction
Sexual orientation is the tendency for a person to be attracted to members of the same sex, the other sex, or both sexes.
The term homophobia refers to an irrational fear of homosexuality often manifested in prejudice and hate crimes (gay bashing) against gay men and lesbians.
Growing evidence suggests that biological factors play an important role in the development of sexual orientation.
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15. Sex and Gender: An Introduction
The testes are the primary sex organs in males; they are located in the scrotum, which is a sac-like structure beneath the penis.
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16. Sex and Gender: An Introduction
Semen is ejaculated through the penis, which also serves to rid the body of urine.
The shaft of the penis is composed primarily of erectile tissue, which fills with blood during an erection.
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17. Sex and Gender: An Introduction
The vagina is an elastic muscular tube that extends between a woman’s cervix and her external genitalia.
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18. Sex and Gender: An Introduction
The vagina serves several purposes:
it provides a passageway to eliminate menstrual fluids;
it receives the penis during sexual intercourse and holds the sperm before their passage to the uterus; and
during childbirth, it forms the lower portion of the birth canal.
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19. Sex and Gender: An Introduction
The two ovaries produce ova (or eggs) and also secrete the hormones estrogen and progesterone.
The human sexual response cycle moves through several stages: excitement, plateau, orgasm, and resolution.
In comparison to lower animals, human sexual behavior is not as controlled by purely biological factors such as hormones.
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20. Sex and Gender: An Introduction
Surveys of sexual activity among adolescents reveal several trends over past decades: earlier initiation of intercourse, increased premarital intercourse, a greater number of partners, and ineffective and inconsistent use of contraceptives.
Males and females differ in a number of ways in their attitudes and behavior concerning sexual behavior.
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21. Sex and Gender: An Introduction
A sexual dysfunction is a persistent impairment of sexual interest or response that causes interpersonal difficulties or personal distress.
Hypoactive sexual desire disorder refers to persistently or recurrently deficient (or absent) sexual fantasies and desire for sexual activity.
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22. Sex and Gender: An Introduction
People with sexual aversion disorder have an active dislike and avoidance of genital contact with sexual partners.
Men with erectile disorder have recurrent partial or complete failure to attain or maintain an erection during sexual activity.
The term impotence was used in the past to describe this condition, but it is no longer used.
Premature ejaculation, occurs when a man reaches orgasm in a sexual encounter long before he or his partner wishes it to occur.
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23. Sex and Gender: An Introduction
Two dysfunctions involve the reporting and experience of pain associated with sexual activity.
Dyspareunia involves recurrent or persistent genital pain before, during, or after sexual intercourse.
Vaginismus affects only females and involves recurrent or persistent involuntary spasms of the outer muscles of the vagina, which makes intercourse either difficult or impossible.
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24. Sex and Gender: An Introduction
Most children between the ages of 2 and 3 can label themselves as boys or girls; they can also classify other people as members of the same or the other sex.
Children learn how gender roles, or behaviors considered appropriate for males and females in a given culture, relate to clothing, games, tools, and toys.
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25. Sex and Gender: An Introduction
According to Freud’s psychodynamic theory, young boys develop a sexual attraction to their mother and young girls develop a similar attraction to their father.
Children soon learn, however, that they cannot prevail in any competition against the parent of the same sex.
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26. Sex and Gender: An Introduction
Thus the child settles for the attention that results from identifying with the parent of the same sex.
If the child becomes like that parent, he or she will take on that parent’s characteristics and acquire what society deems to be appropriate gender roles.
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27. Sex and Gender: An Introduction
Observational learning theory proposes that children learn gender roles from parents (or other caregivers) through rewards and punishments, along with imitation and modeling.
Cognitive developmental theory is an explanation for the learning of gender roles that holds that cognitive factors give rise to gender identity, gender stability, and gender constancy.
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28. Sex and Gender: An Introduction
Gender-schema theory is an explanation for the learning of gender roles that suggests that children form schemas of masculine and feminine attributes, which influence memory, perception, and behaviors.
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29. Sex and Gender: An Introduction
A stereotype is a set of socially shared beliefs that we hold about members of a particular group.
Stereotypes can be limiting and can constitute a form of social control.
The use of stereotypes based on sex is reflected in behaviors ranging from the courses students select to the occupations people enter.
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30. Sex and Gender: An Introduction
By the age of 5, most children around the world associate being aggressive and strong with males and being appreciative and soft-hearted with females.
Developmental psychologists have found that gender stereotyping continues into middle adulthood.
By age 8, children have learned a great deal about the concepts of masculinity and femininity.
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31. Sex and Gender: An Introduction
In most studies of gender stereotypes, characteristics viewed as masculine (for example, being adventurous) are described as instrumental or agentic (task-oriented) because they emphasize achievement, assertiveness, and independence.
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32. Sex and Gender: An Introduction
The characteristics associated with being feminine (for example, meekness) have been labeled expressive or communal; they are associated with emotional responses as well as interactions and relationships with other people.
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33. Sex and Gender: An Introduction
Individuals who have high levels of characteristics associated with both males and females are termed androgynous.
Gender stereotypes are not limited to a set of adjectives; they include prescriptions for behaviors, occupations, and physical appearance.
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34. Sex and Gender: An Introduction
Parents are not a child’s only source of information concerning gender stereotypes; relatives, peers, teachers, and the mass media also influence stereotypes.
In television commercials, men and women are portrayed much the same way they were portrayed three decades ago.
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35. Sex and Gender: An Introduction
Women are likely to be represented with domestic products, men with nondomestic products.
The print media, from elementary school textbooks to newspapers to comic strips, present and strengthen messages about what is appropriate for women and men.
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36. Similarities and Differences Between Males and Females
Obvious physical differences exist between males and females in hormones, physical size, and musculature.
In the ultimate game of life, however, females are the winners.
Females have a longer life expectancy than males.
Most physical differences have less impact today in industrialized and technologically advanced societies than was true in earlier eras.
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37. Similarities and Differences Between Males and Females
Magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography scans suggest the existence of some slight structural differences in the brains of men and women.
Many contemporary researchers have concluded that the differences, if any, are small and unlikely to account for differences in everyday behaviors.
What’s more, such differences are open to varying interpretations.
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38. Similarities and Differences Between Males and Females
Meta-analyses have revealed a range of gender differences from small to large, depending on the particular behavior or characteristic examined.
Although meta-analysis can tell us whether a difference exists and its approximate size, it cannot tell us how the difference originated.
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39. Similarities and Differences Between Males and Females
In the past, females were reported to outperform males in verbal ability.
The difference has narrowed to the point where it is essentially zero.
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40. Similarities and Differences Between Males and Females
Males seem to perform better than females on tasks involving mathematical and spatial ability, although the difference is narrowing rapidly.
The difference in mathematical ability seems limited to nonclassroom tests; in class, girls obtain higher grades in mathematics than boys.
Gender stereotypes and differential opportunities may have an impact on differences in mathematical and spatial ability.
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41. Similarities and Differences Between Males and Females
The most consistent finding concerning spatial ability is that males outperform females on mental rotation tasks.
Men are better at manipulating objects in space; women are better at locating objects.
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42. Similarities and Differences Between Males and Females
A number of researchers have noted that men and women view communication differently.
For most women, communication is a primary way to establish and maintain relationships.
By contrast, men tend to view communication as a way of exerting their control, preserving independence, and enhancing status.
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43. Similarities and Differences Between Males and Females
A meta-analysis of research on helping behavior revealed that most of the data had been collected in situations in which a person was called to give or not give aid to a stranger on a short-term basis.
This kind of heroic helping is more consistent with the traditional masculine role than with the traditional feminine role that emphasizes helping within established relationships, as when a mother helps a daughter, her husband, or her father.
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44. Similarities and Differences Between Males and Females
The vast majority of crime committed in the United States is committed by men, who are also responsible for more violent crimes than are women.
In a meta-analysis of laboratory studies of aggression, Janet Hyde found that a person’s sex accounted for a small proportion of aggression in those studies.
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45. Similarities and Differences Between Males and Females
A second meta-analysis of gender differences in aggression found two trends in research on the topic:
in unprovoked situations, men are more aggressive than women, and
in provoked situations, the gender difference is much smaller.
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46. Copyright © Prentice Hall 2007
Social Issues
The perpetuation of gender stereotypes can produce what has been termed sexism—differential treatment of an individual on the basis of his or her sex.
This term is often used to describe discrimination against women, such as differential treatment in educational settings and limited access to job opportunities, but it can also be applied to discrimination against men.
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47. Copyright © Prentice Hall 2007
Social Issues
There is clear evidence that males and females receive differential treatment in educational settings starting early in life.
Elementary school teachers asked to nominate their best students are more likely to nominate boys than girls.
The materials used in teaching classes reflect a gender bias.
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48. Copyright © Prentice Hall 2007
Social Issues
Boys are taught to be assertive and independent, whereas girls are taught to be dependent and passive.
The patterns of sexism established in elementary school classrooms often continue into high school and higher education.
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49. Copyright © Prentice Hall 2007
Social Issues
A survey of social science graduate students at several universities revealed that virtually all respondents had observed gender-biased behavior on the part of a professor and that less than 5% had reported the problem to someone in an official capacity.
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50. Copyright © Prentice Hall 2007
Social Issues
Science textbooks tend to perpetuate gender stereotypes: They include numerous pictures of male scientists but few of female scientists.
There is a deep-seated cultural bias against science as an activity appropriate for women that directs most girls away from science even before they begin their formal education.
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51. Copyright © Prentice Hall 2007
Social Issues
When students are ready to enter the job market, they continue to face the influence of gender stereotypes.
During recent decades, increasing numbers of women have entered the workforce for both personal and financial reasons.
A person’s career choices are influenced by a variety of factors, some of which can reduce the influence of sexism on the individual.
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52. Copyright © Prentice Hall 2007
Social Issues
The stark reality of the working world is that women earn less than men.
One reason for this gap is that women tend to work in a rather narrow range of occupations—for instance, as secretaries, as child-care providers, and in the food service and health care fields.
Another reason is that women tend to take on the primary responsibility of caring for the home and family.
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53. Copyright © Prentice Hall 2007
Social Issues
Compared to men, women are more likely to be called upon to care for elderly relatives, including parents.
This situation has led to what has been termed a second shift—a woman returns home from work to take on the additional responsibilities of caring for infirm relatives.
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54. Copyright © Prentice Hall 2007
Social Issues
Finally, there is discrimination that must be dealt with in the workplace.
Because discrimination is illegal, it tends to be practiced in subtle ways.
For example, women working in large companies often encounter a glass ceiling—a level to which women may rise in a company but above which they are not likely to go.
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55. Copyright © Prentice Hall 2007
Social Issues
Incidents of sexual harassment can take two forms:
quid pro quo, in which a sexual proposition is tied to either a direct threat such as loss of a job or a direct offer such as a promotion, and
a hostile work (or educational) environment.
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56. Copyright © Prentice Hall 2007
Social Issues
Over several decades, surveys have revealed that sexual harassment in the workplace is widespread.
A number of surveys of the frequency of sexual harassment converge on the conclusion that approximately one out of every two U.S. women has been harassed during her working life.
Sexual harassment of men is rare; however, reports of harassment of men tend to receive significant media attention when they result in legal proceedings.
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57. Copyright © Prentice Hall 2007
Social Issues
Females of all ages, races, and marital statuses have been harassed in the workplace and in educational settings from elementary school to medical school.
The incidence of sexual harassment may be higher in workplaces where women have traditionally been underrepresented, such as the trades, transit operations, and firefighting.
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58. Copyright © Prentice Hall 2007
Social Issues
The gender roles of the predominant group in a workplace influence expectations not only for the job but also for the treatment of women.
Most victims of sexual harassment try to ignore the offensive behavior; consequently, they do not file complaints, often fearing retaliation or believing the organization will not respond to their complaint.
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59. Copyright © Prentice Hall 2007
Social Issues
In several workplace and school surveys, significant numbers of women have described incidents that would qualify as instances of sexual harassment, yet only about 5% of them have reported these incidents to someone in authority, such as a work supervisor.
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60. Copyright © Prentice Hall 2007
Social Issues
Men and women do not differ in their perceptions of sexual harassment in explicitly coercive situations (for example, fondling a student).
Men, however, tend to view less explicit instances (such as suggestive jokes or comments about a women’s body) as trivial or innocuous.
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61. Copyright © Prentice Hall 2007
Social Issues
The way men and women perceive interpersonal behaviors, especially women’s friendliness, may be a key to understanding some incidents of sexual harassment.
The circumstances surrounding an event are also important in determining whether that event constitutes sexual harassment.
A key factor is abuse of power.
Several programs have been developed to train people to recognize and deal with incidents of sexual harassment.
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62. Copyright © Prentice Hall 2007
Social Issues
Research shows that stereotyping of behavior is more likely to occur when the targeted person is isolated or somehow stands out in a homogeneous environment.
Stereotyping is also more likely when there is a perceived lack of fit between a person’s category and the occupation in question.
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63. Copyright © Prentice Hall 2007
Social Issues
Women in leadership positions receive lower evaluations than men, although the difference is not large.
A recent review of the effectiveness of men and women in the role of leaders or managers found that men and women were equally effective.
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64. Copyright © Prentice Hall 2007
Social Issues
Gender has the potential to influence evaluations of managers, even though there may be no general tendency to devalue the managerial contributions of all women.
Many women face workplace obstacles such as gender stereotyping that can have detrimental effects on their chances for advancement.
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65. Copyright © Prentice Hall 2007
Social Issues
Over the course of three decades, the difference in household labor and child care has decreased.
The decrease seems to be due to two factors: (a) women are spending less time on such activities and (b) men are spending more time on such activities.
Yet there is still a large difference in the number of hours men and women spend on household chores and child care.
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66. Copyright © Prentice Hall 2007
Social Issues
Many married women may have hoped that when they entered the workplace, their husbands would take on more of the responsibility for caring for the children and the home.
For many, however, this hope has not been realized.
Faye Crosby uses the term jugglers to describe women who perform both job and family roles.
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67. Copyright © Prentice Hall 2007
Social Issues
Contrary to expectations, Crosby found no evidence that role jugglers experience more stress than homemakers or other women with fewer roles.
In fact, their multiple roles appear to insulate these women (and men also) against depression.
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