2. Sex Differences Real or Imagined?

3. Traditionally, we documented and remember the differences 4 Religious writings 4 Plato’s wandering uterus 4 Germanic soldiers and system of fines 4 Mythology 4 Studies of brain differences

4. Yes, there are some sex and gender differences Are they due to nature or nurture????

5. 3 broad areas of differences 4 Biological 4 Cognitive 4 Personality

6. Biological- Physical Attributes 4 Genes - chromosomes, sex-linked traits 4 Hormonal differences 4 Physical features - height, strength, % body fat, hemoglobin, temperature regulation,bones, iron deficiency 4 Health

7. Cognitive Abilities 4 Until recently, thought there were 3 areas of big differences - verbal, spatial, mathematics Today new research casts doubt 4 General Intelligence 4 Brain & Cognitive Processing

8. Cognitive Abilities 4 Verbal 4 Quantitative and Spatial 4 Mathematics –math abilities –attitudes about math

9. So what does this info say/mean? 4 There may not be glaring male/female differences 4 differences in attitude (anxiety,self- confidence, attribution for success) may be different for men and women 4 stereotypic beliefs still exist for some parents, teachers, others

10. Eccles’ Expectation X Model Examines the variables that affect/ determine whether girls take math courses in high school

11. So here’s the BIG question: 4 If women don’t have some genetic inferiority regarding math and math- related occupations, why are females less likely to choose advanced math classes? 4 Think about how earlier choices in math courses affect college major choice and career options

12. We need to look not only at genetic abilities but at the influences of society, stereotypes, unconscious assumptions and attitudes

13. Sex Differences Real or Imagined?

14. Physical/Personality Differences 4 Body Space 4 Body Posture 4 Touch 4 Facial Expressions –Smiling –Eye Contact

15. Personality Differences/Similarities 4 Sociability 4 Nurturance, Helping behavior 4 Self-Esteem 4 Emotionality –sadness, tears, joy, etc. –aggression

16. What causes aggression and the differences between m & f?? 4 As a small group - design a graphic model to shows the factors that contribute to aggression 4 Then we’ll share different models on the blackboard

17. Why do we see ‘mixed’ findings? 4 Behavior is situation specific 4 Hawthorne effect - people act differently when being observed 4 Difficult to measure subtleties - we use stereotypes to fill in gaps 4 Social situations reward people differently toys, childhood experiences, practice to performance,self-esteem, individual motivation, power differential 4 Wide variations & overlap between men & women

18. So-- are gender differences due to nature or nurture?