Psychology 320:
Psychology of Gender and Sex Differences
October 16
Lecture 16
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Office Hour Invitations
October 18, 11:30-2:30, Kenny 3102
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Exam Preparation Tips
• The upcoming midterm exam will include questions
unique to the textbook content (~25%), questions unique
to the lecture content (~40%), and questions that reflect
overlap between the two sources of information (~35%).
You are encouraged to study both sources of information
thoroughly.
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• With respect to the textbook content:
 Construct learning objectives for each section of the
textbook (what should I take away from this section?).
 Create questions with the titles and subtitles of
sections. Use the content of each section to answer
the questions that you have generated.
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 Identify the primary points of each section with key
words or phrases and use these to test yourself.
 Familiarize yourself with all terms that are bolded or
italicized.
 Study all figures and tables.
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• With respect to the lecture content:
 Use the learning objectives to guide your studying.
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• You need not memorize the names of researchers
who conducted idiosyncratic studies or the dates of
those studies. However, you should familiarize
yourself with the names of all major theorists (e.g., Bem).
• The goal of the exam is to assess your mastery of the
course content and “jargon” of gender psychology.
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• In order to demonstrate your mastery of the course
content on the extended response questions, you
should provide thorough and detailed responses to the
questions asked. The instructions for the extended
response section will read:
“Please respond to each of the questions below. Note
that point form answers are acceptable. Your
responses should be thorough and detailed. If
necessary, you may write on the back side of the page.
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• The exam questions will assess your ability to recall,
synthesize, and apply course content. Examples:
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Recall:
Which of the following is not among the attributes
associated with the Cult of True Womanhood?
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
Purity.
Submissiveness.
Domesticity.
Piety.
Emotionality.
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Synthesize:
Compare and contrast traditional sexism, modern
sexism, hostile sexism, and benevolent sexism.
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Apply:
Research has identified a sex difference in aggression;
the mean score for males is higher than the mean
score for females. Considering sex differences in
reproductive capacity and minimal parental investment,
generate an evolutionary explanation to account for this
documented sex difference in aggression. That is,
generate a theory to explain this finding that is based
on sex differences in reproductive capacity and minimal
parental investment.
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• In order to correctly respond to questions that require
synthesis and application, recall is necessary. The
correlation between recall questions and synthesis/
application questions typically exceeds .70.
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• The exam will cover:
Chapters 1-4
All material discussed in class since the start of term.
• Reminder: In the case of a discrepancy between the
material presented in the textbook and the material
presented in class, please rely upon the material
presented in class for the purpose of exam preparation.
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• The exam will be held over two classes:
Part A: October 23 (multiple choice questions)
Part B: October 25 (extended response questions)
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Announcement
I will hold additional office hours and an exam review
session in preparation for the exam:
Friday, October 18: 11:30-2:30 (Kenny 3102)
Monday, October 21: 5:00-6:00 (Kenny 2101, “Q&A” exam
review session)
Tuesday, October 22: 12:00-2:00 (Kenny 3102)
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Reminder
The peer mentors (Derek, Natalie) will hold a tutorial
tomorrow:
When? 5:00-6:30 (Note change in time; study strategies
and exam writing strategies will be discussed at the start of
the tutorial.)
Where? Kenny 2101
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A little R&R ….
(Review and Reflect)
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Biological Theories of Sex Differences
1. What biological theories have been proposed to
explain sex differences? (continued)
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By the end of today’s class, you should be able to:
1. describe the process of prenatal sex differentiation.
2. review evidence that supports genetic contributions
to sex differences in psychological characteristics.
3. discuss the heritability of sex-related psychological
characteristics.
4. discuss the causes and symptoms of Klinefelter
syndrome.
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What biological theories have been proposed to explain
sex differences? (continued)
2. Genetic Theories (continued)
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NO ANDROGENIC
HORMONES
ANDROGENIC
HORMONES
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 Research suggests that, in addition to sex
differentiation, genes influence the psychological
characteristics of the sexes.
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 Example 1: Twin Studies
 Lippa and Hershberger (1999; also see Loehlin et al,
2005; Knafo et al., 2005)
• Analyzed data collected from 839 same-sex pairs of
twins.
• Among the measures that participants completed were:
the Adjective Checklist, occupational interests, and
frequency of everyday activities.
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• Heritability statistics obtained:
“Masculine” instrumentality = .36
“Feminine” expressiveness = .38
GD (0: “femininity”; 1: “masculinity”) = .53
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 Example 2: Genetic Atypicalities
 Klinefelter Syndrome
• Occurs among individuals with an XXY chromosomal
pattern.
• Incidence: 1/1000 – 3/1000 live births.
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• Physical symptoms include:
small firm testes
small penis
underdeveloped muscles
rounded body type (i.e.,
wide hips)
atypical body
proportions
tall build
gynecomastia
reduced facial/body hair
language learning impairment
decreased libido
infertility
epilepsy
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By the end of today’s class, you should be able to:
1. describe the process of prenatal sex differentiation.
2. review evidence that supports genetic contributions
to sex differences in psychological characteristics.
3. discuss the heritability of sex-related psychological
characteristics.
4. discuss the causes and symptoms of Klinefelter
syndrome.
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