Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display. C H A P T E R Copyright © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. McGraw-Hill 6 Gender “Don’t think that girls cannot be assertive and boys cannot be sensitive.” — Zoe, age 13 “Girls don’t understand guys, and guys don’t understand girls very well.” — Toby, age 17 “Don’t think that girls cannot be assertive and boys cannot be sensitive.” — Zoe, age 13 “Girls don’t understand guys, and guys don’t understand girls very well.” — Toby, age 17

Copyright © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. McGraw-Hill 2 What is Gender? Sex –Biological dimension of being male or female Gender –Sociocultural and psychological dimensions of being male or female Gender Roles –Expectations prescribing how females and males should think, act, and feel

Copyright © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. McGraw-Hill 3 Biological Influences on Gender Pubertal Change and Sexuality Freud and Erikson: Anatomy Is Destiny Evolutionary Psychology and Gender

Copyright © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. McGraw-Hill 4 Social Influences on Gender Social Role Theory- states that gender differences result from the contrasting roles of females and males with females having less power and status than males have and they control fewer resources Social Cognitive Theory of Gender- emphasizes gender development as an influenced by an interaction between social, behavioral, and cognitive processes. Parental Influences –(different treatment of daughter vs son) –(social cognitive theory of gender) Siblings –(younger tend to become like older) Peers –(peer approval and disapproval)

Copyright © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. McGraw-Hill 5 Social Influences on Gender Schools and Teachers –See page 175 in text Mass-Media Influences –Media shows adolescent males and females what they are supposed to focus on. –What are some of the messages in the media today?

Copyright © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. McGraw-Hill 6 Cognitive Influences on Gender Cognitive Developmental Theory of Gender –Children’s gender-typing occurs after they have developed a concept of gender –Once children think of themselves as male or female, they organize their world on the basis of gender. Thought then guides behavior. Consider dissonance theory

Copyright © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. McGraw-Hill 7 Cognitive Influences on Gender Gender Schema Theory –Schema- network of associations or a cognitive structure that guides an individuals perceptions (e.g. male or female) –Gender-typing emerges as individuals gradually develop gender schemas of what is gender-appropriate and gender- inappropriate in their culture –Gender Schemas fuel gender typing

Copyright © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. McGraw-Hill 8 Gender Stereotypes Broad categories that reflect our impressions and beliefs about females and males –Pervasive across many countries Sexism: –Prejudice and discrimination against an individual because of his or her sex –See next slide

Copyright © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. McGraw-Hill 9 Types of Items Developed to Measure Old-Fashion and Modern Sexism Fig. 6.1

Copyright © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. McGraw-Hill 10 Gender Similarities & Differences 1) Physical (what are they?) 2) Cognitive (what are they?); (see next slide) 3) Socioemotional –Aggression (physical vs relational) –Communication (rapport vs report talk) –Prosocial Behavior (e.g. empathy, kind) –Emotion and Emotional Regulation “There is more difference within the sexes than between them.” - Ivy Compton-Burnett

Copyright © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. McGraw-Hill 11 Gender Differences and Similarities Visiospatial Skills of Males and Females Fig. 6.2

Copyright © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. McGraw-Hill 12 Socioemotional Differences Rapport talk: –The language of conversation and a way of establishing connections and negotiating relationships –Females tend to prefer private, relationship-oriented conversation Report talk: –Talk that gives information. Males tend to hold center stage though such verbal performances as storytelling, joking, and lecturing with information

Copyright © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. McGraw-Hill 13 Socioemotional Differences Communication –Contextual Differences Group Size (girls in larger groups) Peers or Adults (no average difference) Familiarity (boys- self assertive speech) Age (female- affiliative speech)

Copyright © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. McGraw-Hill 14 Gender-Role Classification Fig. 6.4

Copyright © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. McGraw-Hill 15 Context, Culture, and Gender Roles The Utility of Expressive & Instrumental Traits May Vary Base on: Context Culture Education

Copyright © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. McGraw-Hill 16 Traditional Masculinity and Problem Behaviors in Adolescent Males Boy code: –Boys are socialized to not show feelings and act tough Boys could benefit from being socialized to express anxieties and concerns

Copyright © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. McGraw-Hill 17 Traditional Masculinity and Problem Behaviors in Adolescent Males Premarital sex Alcohol & drugs Delinquent activities

Copyright © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. McGraw-Hill 18 Gender Role Transcendence When an individual’s competence is at issue, it should be conceptualized not on the basis of masculinity, femininity, or androgyny, but, rather, on a person basis

Copyright © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. McGraw-Hill 19 Developmental Changes and Junctures Gender intensification hypothesis: –Psychological and behavioral differences between boys and girls become greater during early adolescence –This is due to increased socialization pressures to conform to traditional masculine and feminine gender roles Is Early Adolescence a Critical Juncture for Females?

Copyright © 2007 The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All rights reserved. McGraw-Hill 20 Taking it to the Net For more information on material covered in this chapter, visit our Online Learning Center: