Chapter 11 Section 2-5
Theories of Gender Development
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Biological factors such as genes, gonads, and
hormones are linked with a person’s biological sex
and their eventual psychological feelings of
gender.
Research done on infants attending to a face or
mobile (toy) demonstrated differences in gender
such that female babies spent more time looking at
the face,
while male infants spent more time observing the
toy.
This suggests these differences to be biologically
ingrained, as these children have not yet had social
experiences to influence gender development.
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Sexual selection means that the male and female
members of a species differ from each other
because of difference in competition and
choice.
Competition occurs among members of the same
sex, thus members of the opposite sex exercise
choice—selecting the lucky one (or ones).
The sex that invests the most in producing
offspring is the one that chooses, and the other
sex is the one that competes.
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Women are the sex that give birth, and as such
ought to do the choosing. Men show
characteristics that are thought to be well
suited for competing (i.e. physical size).
Sexual selection is more complicated in
humans than any other species, as sometimes
men get to be choosers and women are the
competitors vying for men who are likely to
invest in their children.
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Women can reproduce only about once a year and
have limited time of fertility, thus women must choose
sexual partners of high quality.
Comparatively, men can focus on quantity as they are
typically fertile from puberty through the rest of life.
However, due to the helplessness of infants it is
adaptive for men to invest in their offspring.
One challenge is that men may not be certain whether a
child whom he is investing in is genetically his. To
combat this challenge, evolutionary psychologists
point out that across cultures, men are more likely to
prefer women who are younger than they are, being
more interested in physical appearance (thought to
represent health and fertility).
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Social Cognitive approaches focus on how children
learn about gender and how they occupy a gender
identity.
Gender is learned through rewards and
punishments, observational learning, and
modeling.
Children may also be rewarded for engaging in
gender-conforming behavior and punished for
engaging in behavior that does not fit with
expectations for their sex, called gendernonconforming behavior.
Social and cultural factors have a strong influence
on the development of gender identity.
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Eagly’s perspective includes that men and women
are physically different (tributes to the
evolutionary perspective), and that these
differences resulted in a division of labor between
the sexes with women being more involved in the
home and with child rearing and men being more
likely to work outside the home.
This creates the idea of gender roles— a social
construct for how females and males should think,
act, and feel.
Gender roles are related to gender stereotypes which
are overly general beliefs and expectations about
what men and women are like.
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The most comprehensive view of gender and
its origin takes into account all of these
theories.
Each theory plays a role in its application and
explanation of gender identity and the
importance of taking all theories into account
to help psychologists understand such a
complex construct.
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Research on cognitive abilities shows no
differences between men and women in
general intellectual ability. And, girls tend to
perform better in school than boys.
Women tend to score higher on verbal ability
tasks; whereas, boys tend to outperform girls
on tasks related to visuospatial ability.
Cognitive Differences
math and science?
 verbal performance (female advantage)
 visuospatial ability (male advantage)
 general intelligence (no advantage)
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Differences due to:
- social expectations and support v. evolved roles
- gender similarities hypothesis
Differences in Aggression
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overt aggression (physical/verbal harm)
- males more than females
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relational aggression (harm social
standing)
- females more than males
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why the difference?
testosterone?
evolutionary pressures?
socialization?
Differences in Sexuality
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females more selective in regards to casual sex
males more often aroused, stronger sex drive, less
fidelity
women more likely to engage in bisexuality or be
aroused by bisexual stimuli
Explanations:
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biological - genetic/hormonal differences
evolutionary - sexual selection
social cognitive - learned behavior
social role - culturally constructed
…direction of erotic interests refers to
more than just sexual behavior
Orientations:
- heterosexual (90% of population)
- homosexual
- bisexual
Relationships
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report greater satisfaction than
heterosexuals
more likely to end relationships than
heterosexuals
Families
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less likely to have children
children of gay couples have not shown
differences from other children
What constitutes sexual behavior?
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infidelity or loss of virginity
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activities involved in reproduction
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arousal and sexual response
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unusually intimate and personal activity
as defined by the participants
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Kinsey’s (1948) research
Alfred Kinsey brought scientific attention to sexual behavior. He published The Kinsey Reports, which
reported the following: bisexuality was more frequent than thought, and 50 percent of married men
had been sexually unfaithful
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are most people promiscuous or faithful?
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50 percent of married men had been sexually unfaithful.
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does marriage decrease sexual activity?
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Married couples reported having sex more frequently than other categories
of couples.
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what percentage of the population are virgins? 10% M 8% W
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how often do we have sex (on average)? See chart for that one!
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who masturbates the most?
Human Sexual Response Pattern
1.
2.
3.
4.
excitement
plateau
orgasm
resolution/male refractory period
Cognitive factors in sexual behavior
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self-monitoring and self-regulation
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fantasy and imagery
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sexual scripts
Influence of Culture
Inis Beag (Off coast of Ireland)Taught that sex took too much
energy, quick & at night
 Mangaia (South Pacific)-Taught to
enjoy and how to at early age!
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Sex Education
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abstinence-only v. comprehensive
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Fetishes-An object or activity that arouses sexual desire.
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Paraphilias- Sexually arousing fantasies or
urges.
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Pedophilia- An adult or older adolescent fantasizes
about or engages in sexual behavior with someone who has
not reached puberty.
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disorders of sexual desire/response
female dysfunction in arousal
 erectile dysfunction, premature
ejaculation
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Sexually Transmitted Infections
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bacterial: gonorrhea, syphilis
viruses: genital herpes, HIV
Safe Sex
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abstinence 100% effective
risk reduction with condom use
Psychological Well-Being
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sexual activity is predictor of satisfaction in
relationships