From paper 3 psychology with the exam board AQA. This document includes a wide variety of AO1 and Ao3, incorporating issues and debates into evaluation to enhance your essays.
Gender
Contents
Sex and gender Pg
Chromosomes & hormones Pg
Cognitive explanations Pg
Psychodynamic Pg
SLT applied Pg
Atypical development Pg
,Sex and gender
Sex and gender
Sex biological characteristics of a person (genes / chromosomes – reproductive anatomy)
Gender psychological / behavioural characteristics of a person relating to sex – feel / act
Sex is innate (male / female). Gender is nurture-based (masculine / feminine)
Sex-role stereotypes are a set of beliefs and preconceived notions about what is expected and
appropriate for males and females in a given society.
Gender identity is an individual’s perception of their own masculinity or femininity.
Gender dysphoria, a condition where person experiences discomfort / distress because of
mismatch between biological sex & gender identity, also known as gender incongruence.
Research into sex and gender
Rubin et al:
Aims If new parents stereotype their babies
Procedure Parents asked to describe their babies w in 24 hours of baby being born
Findings Baby boys described as alert / strong –baby girls described as soft /delicate
Conclusions Parents stereotype children from early stage, even when no stereotypical
behaviour is shown. For a lot of parents who know sex of baby before
birth, stereotyping starts before baby is born – e.g., blue or pink room
Seavey et al:
Aims Does gender label attached to baby affect adult response
Procedure 3-month-old dressed in yellow baby suit – 1/3rd told infant was male,
female, no gender. Pts interacted w child for 3 mins. Toys in the room:
ball, rag doll and a plastic ring
Findings If baby female, pts more likely to use doll. When male, pts more likely to
use plastic ring. Female pts interacted more w no gender baby than males
– all pts decided baby’s sex based off how it was perceived physically
(boy because he’s got good grip / girl because she’s soft)
Conclusions Adults interact different w infants depending on whether they believe
they are male or female
Imperator-McGinley:
Aims
Procedure Families from 3 villages in Dominican Republic. 37 children w a mutant
recessive gene (*)
Findings Reported no difficulty in adopting male gnd, despite being reared as girls
Conclusions Suggests role of socialisation in sex – can override biological factors.
Ability to adopt male gender identity suggests testosterone may have pre-
programmed masculine brain
Supports idea that gender may be biological
, (*) had been born w female genitals and raised as girls but had XY chromosomes – at
puberty, hormonal surge, dihydrotestosterone, caused belated masculinisation and sudden
development of male genitalia
Evaluation:
Practical applications – supports existence of sex-role stereotypes
o Sood et al found 12% primary school teachers & 3% nursing staff in Britain
are male
o Early years teaching seen as female profession – women thought to have better
nurturing ability and males unsuitable (SRS of intimidating / threatening)
o May impact individuals job choices, having a significant impact on society as
these created ‘suitable job’ categories placing restrictive barriers on +ve roles
that both men and women could play
Negative stereotypes and sexism
o SRS had implications on historical studies in psychology and who studied
them – making them hard to challenge
o Studies which reinforce SRS are more likely to be published (publication
bias), overemphasising typical behaviour – e.g., girls crying, whilst similar
behaviour in males is stressed as not typical
o Research which contradicts stereotypes may have been marginalised or
ignored
o Therefore, psychology could be criticised for being institutionally sexist as a
discipline, which has created bias in both theories and studies into gender
Socially sensitive – contributing factors to discrimination and prejudice in society and
can create barriers to education and careers
o Girls are socialised to be believe that men are stronger and braver
May never pursue career in sport or emergency services
o Boys are socially conditioned to believe that they should not be emotional
May never be able to consider selves as primary caregiver
o Negative impact on people and society by imposing outdated norms and views
o Research that promotes sex-role stereotypes is socially sensitive as they ignore
the need for equality
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