Chapter 12
Gender Development and Stereotypes

Module Objectives:
What is the difference between sex and gender?
What are Gender differences?
What are Gender stereotypes?

Most people assume Pat is male.
Why? Although Pat is a common name for both males and females, the adjectives used to describe
Pat are commonly associated with men rather than with women.

On the following slide, identify which traits are masculine and which are feminine.

Trait
1. Active
2. Considerate
3. Aggressive
4. Creative
5. Ambitious
6. Competitive
7. Emotional
8. Independent
9. Artistic
10. Displays leadership
11. Excitable
12. Empathic
13. Mechanical
14. Gentle
15. Outspoken
16 . Neat
17. Persistent
18. Understanding
What Traits Characterize Males and Females?
More Characteristic of Males More Characteristic of Females

The same chart has been used to assess gender stereotypes among college students..
Did you choose the same traits as the consensus?
Even numbered - female traits
Odd numbered - male traits

Features Judged by College Students to Be
Characteristically Male or Female
Male
Independent
Aggressive
Not excitable
Skilled in business
Mechanical aptitude
Outspoken
Acts as a leader
Self-confident
Ambitious
Not easily influenced
Dominant
Female
Emotional
Home-oriented
Kind
Cries easily
Creative
Considerate
Devotes self to others
Needs approval
Gentle
Aware of others’ feelings
Excitable

Instrumental Traits (Roles ) are traits associated with males
‐
They describe individuals who act on the world and influence it
Expressive Traits (Roles ) are traits associated with females
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They describe emotional functioning and individuals who value interpersonal relationships

Gender Stereotypes
Broad categories that reflect our impressions and beliefs about females and males
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All gender stereotypes refer to an image of what the typical member of a particular social category is like

Boys are…
Strong
Aggressive
Disorderly
Cruel
Coarse
Ambitious
Dominant
Adventurous
Independent
Loud
Jolly
Steady
Confident
Children’s Stereotypes of Boys and Girls
Girls are…
5-yrs-old 11-yrs-old 5-yrs-old
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Emotional
Gentle
Soft-hearted
Affectionate
Weak
Appreciative
Excitable
Sophisticated
Fickle
Meek
Submissive
Talkative
Frivolous
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Why do we assume this is a girl?

Gender Stereotypes
Children understand gender stereotypes by the time they enter kindergarten
Their understanding grows throughout elementary-school years
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They begin to understand that gender stereotypes do not always apply

Children learn very young that we do not live in a gender-neutral society
By the age of 4, a child’s knowledge of gender-stereo-typed activities is extensive

Consider the reaction of one 6-year-old to a boy named George who likes to play with dolls:
Why do you think people tell George not to play with dolls?
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Well, he should only play with things that boys play with. The things that he is playing with now is girls’ stuff
Can George play with Barbie dolls if he wants to?
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No!
What should George do?
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He should stop playing with girls’ dolls and start playing with G.I.
Joe
Why can a boy play with G.I. Joe and not a Barbie doll?
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Because if a boy is playing with a Barbie doll, then he’s just going to get people teasing him… and if he tries to play more, to get girls to like him, the girls won’t like him either

Between the ages of 3 and 7, genderrelated issues are very important to children. This is the time when they are starting to firmly classify themselves as boys and girls…. They are starting to know that they will always be boys and/or girls.

As children develop they learn that gender stereotypes don’t always apply
Older children are more willing than younger children to ignore stereotypes when judging children

Physical Development
As infants, boys are more active than girls
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This difference increases during childhood
Girls tend to be healthier than boys
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Female embryos are more likely than males to survive prenatal development
Infant boys are more prone to diseases and dysfunctions
Adolescent boys and young men are more likely to engage in unhealthy, risk-taking behaviors

In a classroom, boys are more likely than girls to have a hard time sitting still.
On a playground, boys more often play vigorously and girls more often play quietly.

Intellectual Ability
Females tend to have greater verbal ability than males
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Girls read, write, and spell better than boys
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More boys have reading and other languagerelated problems such as stuttering

From childhood on, boys tend to have better mental rotation skill than girls
From adolescence on, boys are more accurate than girls on spatial tasks that involve relations between objects in space

Let’s Test Your Spatial Ability!
Try the following activities on your own.

Spatial Ability
The items above test mental rotation.
The task is to determine which of the figures labeled
A through E are rotated versions of the figure in the box on the left.

Did you get it?

The first row of cubes shows you how many cubes are contained in each pile. Figure out the number of cubes contained in each of the piles above.

A.
27 cubes
B.
15 cubes
C.
15 cubes
D.
18 cubes
E.
19 cubes
F.
40 cubes
G.
10 cubes
H.
22 cubes
I.
13 cubes
J.
20 cubes
K.
50 cubes

Intellectual Ability Continued…
On standardized math tests:
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Initially, girls excel in math computation, but later boys excel in math problem solving
For grades in math courses:
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Usually there is no difference between boys and girls, BUT, if there is a difference it usually favors girls

Why are girls doing worse on achievement tests but getting better grades in the classroom?
.

One idea is that girls are more confident on classroom tests than on achievement tests.
The achievement test questions are more novel than classroom test questions.
Because they are not as confident… they don’t do as well.
Boys are more confident in their math skills and like the challenge of novel problems. Math is also a stereotypic male pursuit so girls tend to lack confidence in their math skills

Personality and Social Behavior
Starting at age 2, boys are more physically and verbally aggressive than girls.
They are more likely to be physically aggressive toward other boys rather than toward girls

Boys and men are more aggressive in virtually all cultures and in nonhuman species

Why are boys more aggressive?
There is a Biological link to aggression in the hormone Androgens, which are secreted by the testes.
Androgen does not lead to aggression directly.
Androgens make it more likely that boys will be aggressive by making boys more excited or angry and by making boys stronger.

Is there a Societal link?
Media presents us with aggressive male role models - Jedi Knights to John Wayne
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These role models are rewarded for their aggressive behavior.
Parents are more likely to use physical punishment with sons than with daughters.

Parents are more likely to be more tolerant of aggressive behavior in sons than in daughters.
So… experience encourages boys rather than girls to express their aggression physically.

Girls display covert forms of aggression snubbing others or undermining social status or relationships.

What is actually the case?
BOTH boys and girls are aggressive. BUT… the method of aggression is different between the sexes.
In American children (African American and Euro
American ) in grades 3 to 6, when they want to harm their peers, boys try to hurt them physically whereas girls try to damage relationships with peers.
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Relational aggression (typical of girls) is less visually obvious.

Personality and Social Behavior
Continued…
Girls are better able at expressing their emotions and interpreting others’ emotions
Girls are more willing to admit to feelings, but boys and girls are equally able to feel what others are feeling

Personality and Social Behavior
Females are more easily influenced by others more persuadable
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Girls are more compliant than boys with the requests and demands of teachers, parents, and other authority figures.
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Young girls are more likely to seek an adult’s help

Rapport versus Report Talk
Rapport Talk
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The language of conversation and a way of establishing connections and negotiating relationships
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More characteristic of females than of males
Report Talk
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Talk that conveys information such as public speaking
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More characteristic of males than of females

The Peer Influence
Enabling interactions
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Actions and remarks that tend to support others and sustain the interaction
Girls interactions with other girls
Constricting interactions
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One partner tries to emerge as the victor by threatening or contradicting the other, by exaggerating, etc…
Boys interactions with other boys

Think about how boys and girls socialize
Males hold center stage through report talk with verbal performances that include story telling, joking, and lecturing with information. Think of play: boys tend to play in large groups that are hierarchically structured. They usually have a leader who tells the others what to do and how to do it. Boys games usually have winners and losers. Boys tend to do a lot of boasting about their skills and arguing about who is best at what.

Females enjoy private rapport talk more and conversation that is relationship-oriented.
Think about play: Girls tend to play in small groups or pairs and at the center of a girls world is often a best friend. Intimacy is pervasive in girls’ relationships with peers and close friends.
Turn taking is more characteristic of girls than of boys.
Girls are more likely just to sit and talk with each other, and are more concerned about being liked by others rather than trying to achieve the leadership position of power.

Why is there a gender difference?
Think on Your Own…

Parents are more “feeling-oriented” with daughters than with sons. They are more likely to talk about their emotions with daughters than with sons. They are more likely to emphasize the importance of considering others’ feelings with their daughter than with their sons.

Parents
From birth, fathers tend to interact more with sons than daughters while mothers interact more with daughters than sons
Mothers play traditional games like peek-aboo whereas fathers play more physical, rough-and-tumble activities
Example: a dad might urge his frightened son to jump off a diving board (Be a man!) but not be so insistent with his daughter (That’s okay, honey!).

Peers
By 3 years of age, most children’s play shows the impact of gender stereotypes:
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Boys prefer blocks and trucks
Girls prefer tea sets and dolls
Young children are even critical of peers who engage in cross-gender play
Once children learn rules about gender-typical play, they often harshly punish peers who violate those rules

Peers Continued…
Between 2 and 3 years of age, children begin to prefer playing with same-sex peers
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Children spontaneously select same-sex playmates. Adult pressure is not necessary.
Children resist parents efforts to get them to play with members of the opposite sex.
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Girls are often unhappy when parents encourage them to play with boys, and boys are unhappy when parents urge them to play with girls.

Boys and girls prefer same-sex playmates even in gender-neutral activities such as playing tag or doing puzzles.
This preference increases during childhood, reaching a peak in preadolescence

Count the number of major characters in them.
How many of them are male? How many of them are female?
Which characters are highly active and/or have positions of power?
How would you characterize the general nature of the programs action-packed, romantic comedies, sports shows, soap operas?

What were your results?
Most of the list of characters will probably be male (except for soap operas).
More males will likely chose action and sports shows as their favorites.
More females will likely choose romantic shows or soap operas.

Television
Women on television tend to be cast in romantic, marital, or family roles
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They are depicted as emotional, passive and weak
Men on television tend to be cast in leadership or professional roles
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They are depicted as rational, active, and strong

Children who watch a lot of television prefer gender-typed activities to a greater extent than do children who are less avid viewers

How do we develop a sense of being male or female?

What do you think?
Imagine you meet a 1-year-old named Leslie who is dressed in gender-neutral clothing and is sporting a bowl-cut hairstyle, so that you cannot tell whether Leslie is a boy or girl.
How long would it be before you become curious about Leslie’s sex? How would you determine whether a 1-year-old like Leslie is a boy or a girl?

Development of Gender Identity
The first step is to discriminate males from females and to place oneself in to one of these categories
By 1 year, infants can discriminate male photographs from female photographs
By 2-3 years, children tell us they know about gender
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They use “mommy” and “daddy” labels correctly
They use “boy” and “girl” labels correctly
They accurately label themselves as either a boy or girl

Gender Identity Continued…
Between 3-5 years, children still believe they can change gender identities if they want to
Between 5-7 years, children have a firm, stable, future-oriented identity as a boy or a girl

Age Gender Identity
Gender
Stereotyping
Gender-typed behavior
0 - 2.5 years
Ability to discriminate males from females emerges and improves.
Child accurately labels the self as a boy or a girl
Some gender stereotypes emerge.
Gender-typed toy/activity preferences emerge.
Preferences for same-sex playmates emerge
(gender segregation).
3 - 7 years
Conservation of gender (recognition that one’s gender is unchanging) emerges.
Gender stereotyping of interests, activities, and occupations becomes quite rigid.
Gender-typed play/toy preferences become stronger, particularly for boys.
Gender segregation intensifies.

Age
8 - 11 years
Gender
Identity
Gender Stereotyping Gender-typed behavior
Gender stereotyping of personality traits and achievement domains emerge.
Gender stereotyping becomes less rigid.
Gender segregation intensifies.
Gender-typed toy/activity preferences continue to strengthen for boys; girls develop (or retain) interests in some masculine activities.
12 and beyond
Gender identity becomes more salient.
Intolerance of cross-sex mannerisms increases early in adolescence.
Gender stereotyping is becoming more flexible.
Conformity to gendertyped behaviors increase early in adolescence.
Gender segregation becomes less pronounced.