Module 12 CULTURE, GENDER, AND OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES

 In our early years there are so many neural networks forming – wired to master certain skills (grammar, accent of language, visual perception)  A stimulating and enriching environment helps create and maintain these networks – “use it or lose it” (pruning)  Rosenzweig and Krech’s rat experiment  Touch and massage – extremely important – helps premature babies gain more weight and develop faster neurologically EARLY LEARNING EXPERIENCES

 Despite “popular psychology” – parental influence is limited to: values, education, religion, politics, manners  Parents don’t influence personality (genes)  Parents influence at the extreme end – abuse/neglect  Peers influence food willing to eat, accent of language/slang, styles, music, habits, popularity path  Selection effect – similarity to peers may result from kids seeking peers with similar attitudes and interests PARENTAL AND PEER INFLUENCE

 Culture – the enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, and traditions shared by a large group of people  Our norms – understood rules for accepted and expected behavior – vary across cultures influencing different behaviors  Cultural variation can occur even within one culture  These cultural changes occur too fast to be rooted in genetic change. CULTURAL INFLUENCES

 Individualism – giving priority to one’s own goals over group goals and defining one’s identity in terms of personal attributes rather than group identifications  Westerners – US, Western Europe, Australia  Still want group harmony but will switch groups more easily to fit own needs  Seek independence, value self-esteem, personal goals, personal rights, and liberties  Raise children to be independent and pursue dreams CULTURAL INFLUENCES

 Collectivism – giving priority to the goals of one’s group and defining one’s identity accordingly  Easterners – Asia, Africa  Duty to family, great respect for elders/superiors, value interdependence, tradition, and harmony  Raise children to honor the family  More differences within cultures than across cultures  Differences between race/ethnicity a result of biological/cultural interaction  Cultural diet differences, educational values CULTURAL INFLUENCES

GENDER  Gender – the biologically and socially influenced characteristics by which people define male and female  Biological differences  Mental/behavioral differences  Aggression  Social power  Social connectedness differences

Nature of Gender  XX=females, XY=males  7 weeks hormones surge creating external gender difference  Testosterone – male hormone but present in both sexes. Responsible for stimulating the growth of male sex organs in the fetus and the development of the male sex characteristics during puberty  4-6 months of pregnancy – sex hormones bathe fetal brain creating difference  Thicker frontal lobe women – verbal fluency  Thicker parietal lobe in men – space perception  Differences in hippocampus and amygdala as well

Nature of Gender  Excess testosterone in female embryo (affect through puberty)  masculine appearing genitals,  More aggressive in play, dress like males  BUT still view self as female  Some are lesbian but most are heterosexuals  Biological and environmental influence (interaction)  Behave/look more masculine – influences how people respond  Sex-reassignment not successful for genital damage in males – proof of genetic influences on gender  Genes and environment together result in behavioral and cognitive differences between the sexes

Nurture of Gender  Role – set of expectations about a social position, defining how those in the position ought to behave.  Gender role – set of expected behaviors for males or for females  Gender roles and gender attitudes vary over time and place  Social learning theory – we learn social behavior by observing and imitating and by being rewarded or punished  From this we develop a gender identity – our sense of being male or female  Gender typing – the acquisition of a traditional masculine or feminine role.  Can happen despite parents discouraging it  Cognition matters – form schemas(concepts), gender schemas  Transgender – describing people whose gender identity or expression differs from that associated with their birth sex. 

BIOPSYCHOSOCIAL APPROACH