GCSE Psychology
B541:
Biological Psychology Sex and
Gender
Revision Booklet
Specification - What you need to know
Key concepts
Candidates should be able to:
•
distinguish between sex and gender
•
explain the key concepts of masculinity, femininity and androgyny
Core theory: Biological Theory of Gender Development
Candidates should be able to:
•
describe the role of chromosomes and hormones in sex and gender development
•
explain why psychologists think gender development is instinctive
•
explain how evolution has influenced gender development
•
describe the criticisms of the biological theory of criminal behaviour;
Alternative Theory
• consider Freudʼs Psychodynamic theory as an alternative explanation for gender development with
specific reference to the oedipus and electra complexes.
Core study: Diamond and Sigmundson (1987)
Candidates should be able to:
• describe Diamond and Sigmundsonʼs case study of the castrated twin boy raised as a
girl. • outline limitations of Diamond and Sigmundsonʼs case study.
Application of research into sex and gender: Equal opportunities in Education, Work and Leisure
Candidates should be able to:
• explain how psychological research can be applied to provide equal opportunities in education, work
andleisure
Key Terms
Sex
Gender
Masculinity
Femininity
Androgyny
Gonads
Hormone testosterone
oestrogen
Evolution
Oedipus Complex
Electra Complex
Castration Anxiety
Penis Envy
Gender Gap
A biological term that tells us whether someone is male or female
A psychological term that tells us whether someone is masculine, feminine or
androgynous
A gender term associated with male traits/roles
A gender term associated with female traits/roles
A type of gender where an individual shows high levels of both masculine and
feminine traits
Male and female sex organs ( testes and ovaries)
A chemical produced by the body that affects cells and organs.Male sex
hormone produced by testesFemale sex hormone produced by ovaries
A process by which species adapt to their environment in order to survive
andreproduce
Boys desire their mother
Girls desire their father
Boys fear their father will cut off their penis in anger over their desire for
their mother
Girls desire a penis, blame mother for not having one.
Males and females develop and perform at different rates at school
Key Concepts - Distinguishing between Sex and Gender
Sex is determined at conception when a sperm fertilises an egg. A personʼs sex is either male or female. A
personʼs sex cannot change - each sex has fixedcharacteristics e.g males have a penis and females a vagina
and breasts. Evenpeople who have had a ʻsex changeʼ will still have male or female internal organs
andbrain, and still have to have their original sex on their passport.A better description of a sex change
would be ʻGender Re-assignmentʼ. Our gender is more to do with the way a person behaves or thinks and
this can change over time e.g. a girl maybe a tomboy as a child but later becomes feminine. There are
three main categories of gender - masculine, feminine and androgynous. Masculine traits include being
aggressive, playing sport, being daring, feminine traits include being caring and sensitive. An androgynous
person is someone who displays many masculine and feminine behaviours (e.g the previously mentioned
tomboy).It is thought androgynous people are psychologically healthier than those displayingjust
masculine or feminine traits. People are also thought to be more androgynous now than in the past.Most
males behave in a more masculine way, females in a more feminine way - both can display androgynous
traits. However sometimes females can display mostly masculine behaviour and males feminine behaviour so sex and gender do not always match
Core Theory - Biological Theory
The Biological theory believes that someoneʼs gender is decided at the same time as their sex - at
conception. Each human foetus has two sex chromosomes in its genetic make up of 23 pairs of
chromosomes. This pair will decide whether the foetus will be male or female - the biological (theory)
argues that the sex chromosomes also decide if the individual will be masculine or feminine. Females have
2 identical chomosomes (XX), males have an XY pairing.
The large chromosome in this photo is X and the small Y.
Some baby boys can be born with XXY - they often grow up with more feminine
traits and bodies, XYY boys tend to be very aggressive showing how important
chromosomes are to gender development.
The Effect of Chromosomes and hormones - until 6 weeks male and female
foetuses look identical. Their gonads look the same. At 6 weeks the Y
chromosomeʻswitches onʼ a hormone in the male foetus. This makes the gonads develop into testes,
without the hormone the femaleʼs gonads develop into ovaries. Different levels of sex hormones are
produced in the foetus which affect gender development.The testes produce high levels of testosterone
-it is thought this can affect the brainand behaviour of boys, making them more aggressive and better at
maths and spatial skills. The ovaries produce high levels of oestrogen which is thought to make girls more
sensitive and a lack of testosterone gives them better verbal skills.The effects of hormones on gender
behaviour can be seen when individuals deliberately change their levels of have sex hormones - e.g. when
female athletes took steroids it increased the production of testosterone and improved their
sportingperformance and they felt more aggressive. Those males undergoing gender reassignment take
drugs to raise their oestrogen levels - they even do better on verbal tests.
Instincts and Evolution - The biological theory also suggests that human behaviour is instinctive and has
evolved to help humans survive and reproduce. Thus it argues that gender behaviour is also instinctive. It
is an advantage for males and females to be
different physically and psychologically to increase reproduction and survival of the species.The different
levels of hormones can affect psychological characteristics e.g it makes females coyer than males and so
choosier about who they will mate with. Females need to make the right choice of mate as they only have
a limited supply of eggs (400) and donʼt want to waste them on a poor mate. Males, however canproduce
millions of sperm per day so are less choosy (maybe why males ʻplay the fieldʼ!)Females also need to be
equipped to care for their babies as it is they that will carry them during pregnancy and breastfeed
after. Males, meanwhile, need to be aggressive and competitive to fight for
resources to provide for their family. Good spatial awareness is also an
advantage as it enables the male to use tools andweapons and to seek out the
best places to shelter, hunt and find their way back from hunting
trips!!Females good communication skills help them to teach their offspring and
share childcare with other mothers.
Evaluating the Biological Approach (Theory)
Criticisms of the Biological theory include..
•
It ignores the idea that gender roles can be learnt - evidence shows that families and communities
ʻsocialiseʼ males and females differently e.g boys are rewarded for being tough and girls for being
ʻlady-likeʼ, but punished for behaving like the oppositesex. This may be the reason males and females have
different roles in society.
•
It doesnʼt explain why the male and female sexes have such wide range of behaviours -some
males can have the same chromosomes and levels of testosterone, but one can be very masculine and the
other very feminine
•
Biology is relatively fixed, but gender roles can change - People are more androgynous nowadays
but our biology hasnʼt changed. Gender roles can change across cultures, but human biology is the same
across the world. In Japan males and females normally display high levels of what people in the UK would
class as feminine. Some tribes also have different roles for males and females - e.g. female warriors.
Alternative Theory - The Psychodynamic Approach
This says that gender is less to do with biology (nature) more to do with upbringing (nurture) focusing on the role of parents.
Freud believed children developed in stages.Between 3 and 6 years old children develop a strong
attachment to the opposite sex parent (boys to mum, girls to dad) , causing a psychological problem with
their relationship with their same sex parent. Freud called this the Oedipus Complex in boys and the
Electra Complex in girls.Oedipus complex - boys fear their father will be so angry about their desire for
their mother that he will cut off the boyʼs penis (castration anxiety). To resolve this the boy realises that
he should identify with his father (i.e. behaving in a masculine way) andso his masculine identity
develops.Electra complex - girls desire fathers because they desire a penis (penis envy). They blame their
mothers for not having a penis and feel castrated. As they realise they willnever get a penis, they then
desire a baby (penis substitute) instead. This makes them identify with their mother and they develop
feminine behaviour. Freud suggested that this all occurs in the unconscious mind (i.e we are not aware of
it), but has a big influence on our actions. He went on to argue that if a parent is missing or a weak model,
a childʼs gender identity does not develop properly.
Core Study - Diamond and Sigmundson (1987)
Aim - To show that a child cannot be socialised to take on the role of the opposite sex.
Procedure - They researched a Case study of a twin boy Bruce in Canada who hadbeen raised as a girl in
the 60ʼs, after his penis was accidentally burnt off at 8 months old, on the advice of a psychologist (Dr
Money) who was doing research to test his theory that babies are not born with their gender, it was
their upbringing that made them masculine or feminine. His testes were removed at 17 months, he was
renamed Brenda and brought up as a girl, his twin brother remaining male. Money hadobserved and
interviewed both twins and taken note of gender behaviour.
Results (Findings) - Money reported that as a small child Brenda had adapted to her new gender role well,
playing with girls toys and feeling no different to other girls. But,when Brenda reached puberty problems
arose. She needed hormones to help her develop breasts and hips, but still had masculine appearance and
mannerisms. She reported feeling like a man inside - finding other girls attractive and rejecting boys that
were attracted to her. She also preferred masculine activities like sport.At 13 her parents told her the
truth and she was relieved as it explained why she hadthese masculine feelings. She then decided to
spend the rest of her life as a man and renamed herself David - he had his penis reconstructed, married a
woman andadopted her children.
Conclusion - The effect of Davidʼs chromosomes had outweighed the efforts to socialise him as a girl.
Therefore gender is more a product of nature than nurture
Evaluating the Core Study - Methodological Limitations
•
It was a case study, a sample of one person, so it is difficult to generalise to allhumans. Just
because Bruce could not adapt to his new gender role, does notmean other boys would not be able to. He
may have been an exception.
•
As it was a case study of a natural situation it was not possible to control keyvariables -He had
a brother who was a masculine role model who he may have imitated. He had been raised as a boy for 17
months maybe it would have been easier to socialise him if his parents had done so from birth. Because hi
parents knew he was really a boy they may not have treated him in exactly the same way as they would
have done if he had been a real daughter.
•
There may have been experimenter effects - Dr Money may have stopped being objective,
because he was so heavily involved in the case study - he may haveinterpreted Brendaʼs behaviour to suit
his approach (theory). He may have been sokeen to show that boys can be raised as girls that he failed to
report that she was struggling with her feminine gender identity.
Applications of Research into Sex and Gender: Equal Opportunitiesin Education and Work
In real life situations it is important that psychologists which gender differences children are born with.
There is little that can be done if males and females naturally havedifferent strengths and abilities, but
if if they are born more or less the same then they all have the potential to achieve the same things.
Education - If it is true that males are naturally better at maths and spatial skills thangirls and weaker at
literacy skills than them, then it is useful for educators to know this and use positive discrimination to
create better opportunities for the disadvantagedsex. So support can be put into place to help boys with
reading and writing early onand likewise for girls and maths, science and sport and skills like map reading.
Even though evidence seems to suggest the differences in abilities are small, females are doing
significantly better than males at GCSE and A level - this is sometimes known asthe ʻgender gapʼ. How can
this be explained? - many psychologists believe it is related to socialisation - we bring girls up to perform
better at school - in the 1980s boys did better than girls in the UK - is this because girls werenʼt
encouraged or the curriculum didnʼt take girls natural abilities into account? Work - Men still seem to do
better in the workplace than women, in terms of promotion and pay. This suggests there needs to be more
equal opportunities in the workplace for women. There are obviously some jobs that women or men are
more suitable for,but both sexes should be given the chance to do whatever job they choose. The same
applies for leisure activities.