Child Psychology, A Canadian Perspective Third Edition Younger, Adler, Vasta

Chapter 16 Gender-Role Development and Sex Differences Younger, Adler, Vasta/Child Psychology, Third Edition, Chapter 16

Learning Objectives Learning Objective 16.1: Understand four theoretical approaches to gender development. Learning Objective 16.2: Describe physical, cognitive, and social/personality sex differences that have been found. Learning Objective 16.3: Understand the role of biological influences in the development of sex differences. Younger, Adler, Vasta/Child Psychology, Third Edition, Chapter 16

Learning Objectives Learning Objective 16.4: Understand how society, parents, peers, and the self contribute to gender-role socialization. Learning Objective 16.5: Trace the development of gender-role knowledge and behaviour. Learning Objective 16.6: Discuss the development of sexual relationships and behaviour. Younger, Adler, Vasta/Child Psychology, Third Edition, Chapter 16

Gender-Related Definitions Sex: biological maleness or femaleness of an individual Sex difference: an observed difference between males and females Gender: differences resulting from socialization Gender-role: pattern of behaviours that are considered appropriate for a female or male in a particular culture Sex typing: process by which children develop a gender role Younger, Adler, Vasta/Child Psychology, Third Edition, Chapter 16

Theories of Gender-Role Development and Sex Differences Evolutionary and biological approaches Evolutionary approach: Sex differences reflect the different reproductive challenges faced by mails and females in our ancestral past Psychobiological approach: Genes and hormones set gender-role development in motion; the environment completes the process Sociocultural approaches: Gender roles develop as children interact with their social and cultural environment. Younger, Adler, Vasta/Child Psychology, Third Edition, Chapter 16

Theories of Gender-Role Development and Sex Differences Cognitive-Developmental: Stage theory suggests that children develop Gender identification Ability to categorize themselves and others as male or female Gender stability Knowledge that gender does not change with age Gender constancy Notion that gender is a fixed part of ourselves Younger, Adler, Vasta/Child Psychology, Third Edition, Chapter 16

Theories of Gender-Role Development and Sex Differences Information processing models focus on concepts such as: Gender schema Cognitive representation of the characteristics of being either male or female Gender script Cognitive representation of a familiar routine or activity that is usually only associated with one gender Younger, Adler, Vasta/Child Psychology, Third Edition, Chapter 16

Theories of Gender-Role Development and Sex Differences Environmental/Learning theory Gender role is learned through experience Sex differences are not inevitable Younger, Adler, Vasta/Child Psychology, Third Edition, Chapter 16

Some Perceived and Real Sex Differences Physical differences Infancy Physiological Female newborn is healthier, less muscular, more sensitive to pain Behavioural Female newborns spend less time awake, and display less motor activity than do male newborns Preschool Sex differences in large and fine motor development are evident Girls have better fine motor skills Boys do better in activities that require strength Younger, Adler, Vasta/Child Psychology, Third Edition, Chapter 16

Some Perceived and Real Sex Differences Cognitive differences Language and verbal abilities Females have better language and verbal abilities than do males Suggestion that mothers provide a stronger language environment for female infants Quantitative abilities In elementary school, girls are better at computation while boys are better at math reasoning problems By high school, boys perform better at math Less math anxiety, more effective strategies? Younger, Adler, Vasta/Child Psychology, Third Edition, Chapter 16

Some Perceived and Real Sex Differences Figure 16.3 In this task, male and female subjects are asked to mentally rotate the images to determine if they are the same (a) or different (b) Males outperform females in this spatial task Younger, Adler, Vasta/Child Psychology, Third Edition, Chapter 16

Some Perceived and Real Sex Differences Social and personality differences Temperament Female infants are more likely to regulate their arousal than male infants Emotion Girls are generally more emotionally expressive than boys Girls are better at hiding negative emotions Self-control Girls exhibit greater self-control than boys Activity and exploration Boys show greater activity and are more likely to explore (rough-and-tumble play) Younger, Adler, Vasta/Child Psychology, Third Edition, Chapter 16

Some Perceived and Real Sex Differences Social and personality differences (cont’d) Prosocial behaviour Girls are rated as more helpful, generous, and cooperative than boys Aggression Males are more aggressive than are females Aggression is the largest sex difference Males use physical violence whereas females are more likely to use relational or social aggression Social Influence Boys are more likely to use threats or physical force Girls are more likely to use verbal persuasion Younger, Adler, Vasta/Child Psychology, Third Edition, Chapter 16

Biological Influences on Gender-Role Development Genetic and hormonal influences Prior to six weeks, the fetus is bipotential Can develop as a female or a male, depending on genetic/hormonal circumstances XX fetus will develop as a female XY fetus will develop testes at 6 weeks of age, the testes secrete androgens Androgens organize the fetus as a male Peripheral organs appear male (internal and external) Brain is lateralized in a male pattern Hormone activity in adulthood is set in male pattern Younger, Adler, Vasta/Child Psychology, Third Edition, Chapter 16

Biological Influences on Gender-Role Development Brain lateralization Brain hemispheres are specialized for specific functions Left hemisphere is specialized for language/speech Right hemisphere is specialized for quantitative and spatial abilities Conclusions are based on brain damage studies as well as imaging studies Males are more lateralized than females Left hemisphere brain damage produces greater impairment in males than females Younger, Adler, Vasta/Child Psychology, Third Edition, Chapter 16

Socialization and Gender-Role Development Gender-role socialization occurs at many levels—society, family, peer, and the self Differential treatment of males and females fosters the development of different skills, abilities, and attitudes Children spend most of their time with same-sex peers who serve as an important socialization force Younger, Adler, Vasta/Child Psychology, Third Edition, Chapter 16

Socialization and Gender-Role Development Children imitate sex-typed behaviours shown by models in the laboratory Sources of modelling in real life Parents serve as models Mass media portrays traditional gender roles for characters on television Children’s storybooks are another source of modelling of gender roles Younger, Adler, Vasta/Child Psychology, Third Edition, Chapter 16

Understanding Gender Roles and Stereotypes Gender role knowledge develops from about two years of age Children display gender stability by age 4, and gender consistency by age 5 Sex-typed labels influence children’s behaviours in terms of preference and performance As children grow older, they begin to use gender information to draw inferences about other people and also become more flexible and tolerant of gender role violations Younger, Adler, Vasta/Child Psychology, Third Edition, Chapter 16

The Family as a System Around middle childhood Children become interested in others as future sexual partners While most children develop heterosexual orientations, a minority of children develop gay, lesbian, or bisexual orientations Most contemporary research indicates that both biology and the environment are associated with sexual orientation—though the mechanisms by which this occurs remain largely speculative Younger, Adler, Vasta/Child Psychology, Third Edition, Chapter 16

Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd. All rights reserved Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd. All rights reserved. Reproduction or translation of this work beyond that permitted by Access Copyright (the Canadian copyright licensing agency) is unlawful. Requests for further information should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons Canada, Ltd. The purchaser may make back-up copies for his or her own use only and not for distribution or resale. The author and the publisher assume no responsibility for errors, omissions, or damages caused by the use of these files or programs or from the use of the information contained herein. Younger, Adler, Vasta/Child Psychology, Third Edition, Chapter 16