References
Llewelyn, S. (1990). Women's Lives. New York: Routledge.
This book has been extremely helpful in my research. It has given me a framework to use as I look into
different topics related to the loss of voice that middle school aged girl’s experience. The book explains
several traditional theories of development and explains the reasons why they do not accurately portray
the experiences of girls and women. It also explains some of the traditional feminist developmental
theories that the feminists proposed.
This source has been of great assistance to me. The majority of the information that the book offers is
extremely relevant to my research interest. I consider the information in this book to be very reliable.
This book has helped me to shape my argument by providing me with the information I need to explain
and convince my audience that females have a very different developmental experience than their male
counterparts.
Gilligan, C. (1993). In a different voice: psychological theory and women's development. Cambridge:
Harvard University Press.
This source has helped me in a very similar way to the book Women’s Lives. Both of these books have
been extremely helpful in assisting me with making my point about the life experiences of girls and
women. This book is well known for starting a revolution, or in other words, opening the eyes of
individuals who are unaware of the unique experiences of women on our society.
Many of Carol Gilligan’s ideas are thought provoking and important to include in my literature in order
to make my readers aware of the standpoint and perspective that I am coming from. I will use the
information that I gather from this source throughout my literature review but mostly in the section
where I explain the different theories that support or refute my point of view.
Nishizawa, S. (1997). Differences between males and females in rates of serotonin synthesis in human
brain. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 94,
5308-5313.
This article studied the rates of serotonin synthesis in the human brain and compared males and
females in this respect. This study uncovered a marked difference between the serotonin synthesis
rates of males and females. The findings of this study were statistically significant. It is difficult to
determine the reliability of this study and these findings because the article mentioned that this study
was one of the first to come up with these results.
I will use the information I found in this article to explain some of the cognitive and biological
differences between males and females. It is important for me to make this point in my literature
review because low brain serotonin levels or function have been pin pointed in several types of
psychopathology, including depression, suicide, aggression, anxiety, and bulimia. The fact that
serotonin synthesis in the brain is a biological process that has significant effects on the person as a
whole, it grants credibility to my perspective on the difficulties that girls tend to experience early in life
and beyond.
Seeman, M.V. (1997). Psychopathology in women and men: Focus on female hormones. The American
Journal of Psychiatry, 12, 1641-1647.
This article explores the differences in psychopathology between men and women and how hormones
play a role in these differences. Women and men are very genetically similar except that different
hormones enter the brain at different times and tempos. The study found that females hormones have
a powerful effect on the expression of several forms of psychopathology. These include anxiety,
schizophrenia, Alzheimers, and alcoholism.
The article did not mention that the findings were statistically significant. The information in the article
will help me to form my argument as to why I believe females have a markedly different life experience
than males. I trust the information in this article because the vast majority of it is biologically based.