Sex and Gender: Sex Roles Study Notes

• Study notes on gender content provided

Sex and Gender: Sex Roles

• Sex refers to biological differences, such as chromosomes (XX for females, XY for males), hormonal profiles, and reproductive anatomy.
• Gender encompasses social and psychological attributes associated with being male or female, including roles, behaviors, activities, and expectations defined by society.
• Gender is a social construct that varies across cultures, whereas sex is biological and more consistent.
• Sex-role stereotypes are preconceived ideas about behaviors, traits, or roles appropriate for males and females in a given culture.
• These stereotypes are learned through socialization from family, media, and education.

Examples of Common Sex-Role Stereotypes

• Females are expected to be nurturing, empathetic, cooperative, and focused on domestic responsibilities.
• Males are expected to be assertive, competitive, independent, and career-oriented.
• Stereotypes limit potential by confining individuals to traditional roles, influencing personal aspirations, career choices, and behaviors.
• Behavioral Conformity: Individuals may follow societal expectations even if it limits personal interests or potential.
• Psychological Effects: Non-conformity can lead to social exclusion or internal conflict, affecting mental health and self-esteem.
• Societal Implications: Stereotypes can perpetuate gender inequalities in areas like the workplace and education.

Influence of Media on Reinforcing or Challenging Stereotypes

• The media plays a significant role in shaping gender roles, either reinforcing or challenging sex-role stereotypes.
• Examples include portrayals of women in leadership or men in nurturing roles, which promote more even expectations.
• Influential examples are TV, film and general ads

Impact of Education and Policy Changes

• Educational initiatives and policy reforms are useful when challenging traditional sex-role stereotypes.
• Aided initiatives are programs encouraging girls to pursue STEM fields, that help reduce gender disparities in these areas.

Negative Impact of Stereotypes

• Adherence to sex-role stereotypes can limit individual potential and perpetuate gender inequalities, like discouraging women from STEM or men from caregiving.

Ethnocentric Bias in Research

• Research on sex-role stereotypes is often based on Western cultures, which limits its applicability to other cultural contexts.

Androgyny and BSRI

• Androgyny is a personality type with a balance of masculine and feminine traits.
• Sandra Bem (1974) identified androgynous individuals are more psychologically healthy as they adapt to different situations.
• Bem developed the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI), a self-report questionnaire with 60 personality traits to measure androgyny.
• The BSRI consists of 20 masculine traits (assertiveness, independence), 20 feminine traits (nurturing, sensitivity), and 20 neutral traits (reliability, adaptability).
• Participants rate themselves on a 7-point Likert scale to indicate identification with each trait.
• Based on scores, individuals are categorized as masculine, feminine, or androgynous.

Research Support for Androgyny and Psychological Well-being

• Bem (1974) suggested that androgynous individuals are more flexible and psychologically healthy.
• Research by Prakash et al. (2010) found that Indian women with high androgyny scores had lower depression and stress levels, with supporting evidence that androgyny is linked to better mental health.

High Reliability of the BSRI

• The BSRI has good test-retest reliability (Bem, 1974), meaning results are consistent when people take the test multiple times.
• The BSRI was developed using 1000 students
• Later research indicates that the BSRI is internally valid - suggesting it measures what it claims to.

Cultural and Temporal Bias

• The BSRI was developed in the USA in the 1970s, based on ideas of masculinity and femininity from that time and place.
• Modern gender roles changed significantly since then.
• Meaning the BSRI may not reflect modern understandings of gender, making it lack temporal validity.

Self-Report Method Issues

• The BSRI relies on self-report questionnaires, which are subjective and prone to social desirability bias.
• Participants may not accurately report their traits or may give answers they think are socially acceptable rather than truthful.

The Role of Chromosomes in Gender Development

• Chromosomes determine biological sex, with humans having 23 pairs of chromosomes.
• Chromosomes: XX = Female, XY = Male
• The Y chromosome contains the SRY gene, which causes the gonads to develop into testes.

The Role of Hormones in Gender Development

• Hormones influence the development of sex characteristics and gender-related behavior.
• Three main hormones are testosterone, estrogen, and oxytocin.

Testosterone (Male Hormone)

• Testosterone is produced in the testes and plays a crucial role in male development.
• Linked behavioral changes: Increased aggression ((Dabbs et al., 1995 found higher testosterone levels in violent offenders) Linked spatial abilities, tested (Van Goozen et al., 1995 found that testosterone exposure improved spatial skills in transgender men).

Oestrogen (Female Hormone)

• Oestrogen is what produces the ovaries and plays a role in female sexual development and menstrual regulation.
• Associated with emotional sensitivity and nurturing behaviors & can contribute to mood swings

Oxytocin (Bonding Hormone)

• Oxytocin is produced in both sexes, but higher in females due to its role in childbirth and breastfeeding.
• Oxytocin-related behavioural changes: Promotes bonding and attachment and reduces stress responses

Hormonal Influence Supported by Animal Studies

• Animal research supports the idea that hormones shape gender-related behavior.
• Example: Young et al. (1966) found that injecting female monkeys with testosterone made them behave more aggressively.

Real-World Applications

• Understanding hormonal influences has practical benefits such as helping individuals with hormone imbalances.
• Example: Testosterone therapy is used to treat low libido in men, and hormone blockers are used in gender-affirming medical treatments.

Oversimplification of Gender Identity

• The explanation assumes that gender identity is directly tied to biological sex, but many individuals do not conform to this
• David Reimer's case showed that despite being raised as a girl due to a medical error, Reimer identified as male

Ethical Issues and Social Sensitivity

• Research into biological explanations of gender can be socially sensitive because it may reinforce stereotypes or be used to justify discrimination.
• Could suggest testosterone leads to aggression

Klinefelter Syndrome - Male XXY

• Cause: Affects males who have an extra X chromosome, leading to a 47 XXY karyotype instead of the typical 46 XY Affects about 1 in 600 males.
• Physical traits: Taller than average; reduced muscle mass; broader hips; infertility
• Psychoogical traits: Poor language and reading ability
• Lack of interest in sexual activity

Turner Syndrome - Female XO

• Female missing an X chromosome - resulting in only one X sex chromosome
• 1 in 5,000 females affected
• Physical traits: Short stature; Webbed neck; Underdeveloped ovaries (leading to infertility)

Practical Applications - Early Diagnosis and Treatment

• The research led to hormonal treatments to assist managing symptoms
• Testosterone therapy for Klinefelter's (muscle growth) & Oestrogen therapy for Turner's (prevent infertility and induce puberty)

Research on Turner's and Klinefelter's Syndromes provides strong evidence for the biological basis of gender development.

• Research also challenges social learning theories, which argue that gender differences arise purely from environmental influences.

issues with Generalisability

• Small samples used to conduct research making it difficult to generalise to a larger population
• The syndrome affects few males anyway (1 in 600) so it would be hard to gather data from the wider population

Ethical and Social Sensitivity Concerns

• Labelling people with syndromes may lead to labelling e.g. people with poor language skills

Supporting Evidence from Slaby and Frey (1975)

• Research to support gender-specific interest
• Procedure:Showed children split-screen videos of men and women performing different tasks, children focused mainly on members of their sex

Cross-Cultural Research Supports Universality

• Kohlberg's stages appear across different cultures - with development is biologically driven.
• Munroe (1984) found evidence that Kohberg's stages can be seen across different countries.

Methodological Issues with Supporting Research

• Research involved very young children who may want to appease the researchers rather than give realistic answers

Gender Schema Theory (Martin & Halverson, 1981)

• The gender schema suggests metal frameworks develop to interpret information.
• Different from Kohlberg's since gender schemas influence memory rather than intellectual capability

Gender Schemas Develop at an Early Age (Around 2-3)

• When a child realises gender they begin forming gender schema with appropriate behaviours

In-Group and Out-Group Schemas

• Focus on own behaviours/activities and ignore info from those of the opposite gender.
• A gir may pay attention to girls playing with dolls rather than boys with toy cars

Rigid Gender Beliefs and Selective Attention

• Children seek information to cofirm beliefs (girls wear pink)

Gender Schema Influences Memory and Perception

• Children are more likely to remember an action when associated with their sex - more likely ti remember a girl playing with dolls, not a boy

Schemas Become More Flexible with Age

• Early childhood is rigid; older = begin to accept and allow more

Applicability Across Different Contexts strength

• The schemas can be recognised in child education and in media adverts

Cultural Limitations Critique

Theory doesn't apply in cultures less inclined to stereotypes, which limits its universal applicability.

Additional Limitation: Limited Ecological Validity

• The theory is based solely in lab studies, not real-world setting.
• Artificial setting might not accurately capture behaviour.

Psychodynamic explanation of gender

• Freud's theory on personality + gender identity are derived from experiences and unconscious conflicts
• The most inluenical part of gender involves interactions with parents (Oedipus and Electra complexes) during the Phallic Stage (3-6).

Empirical Support for Cross-Cultural Studies

The idea is not falsifiable, due to an emphasis on the theory. Freud suggested that a female who realises they don't have the ability to develop 'penis envy'

Social Learning Theory explanation of gender

• SLT understands the effect that observation and imitation has on gender development.
• SLT is broken into 1) obervation and imitation 2) vicarious reinforcement 3) direct reinforcements 4) identification with roles 5) meditational

Explains Cross-Cultural Differences in Gender Roles Strength

Mead performed a tribal study in New Guinea and found that gender roles vary significantly across cultures, suggesting that social learning plays a key role in shaping gender. SLT is based on empirical learning over biology.

Accounts for Changes in Gender Roles Over Time Strength

• SLT understands the evolutionary properties that can arise as media changes, with increasing roles for females and decreasing roles to males.
• The strength is unlike biological and adapts to historical reasons, providing current relevance

Limitation: Does Not Fully Explain Biological Influences on Gender

• A criticism stems from too much focus on environmental influences with not enough awareness of biological factors that has great impact on the development within genders.

Fails to Explain Why Some Children Resist Gender Norms

• Another fault is that SLT does not outline the norms that may arise.
• e.g many boys still prefer dolls while some girls pursue STEM. The SLT does not account for this.

Empirical Support for Media's Influence Strength

• The media has clear effects on what is seen in children to what they absorb.
• Media can influence greatly portrayals/images for genders in stereotypes.
• There a lots of empirical evidence for children's behaviour and what they've seen.

Role Models and Imitation

It supports with media representations of female scientists on TV encouraging behaviours from the individual.

• People tend to inluence the views to the individual.

Limitations: Underestimates Biological Influencne

While media undoubtedly plays a role in shaping gender perceptions, it may not fully account for biological factors that influence gender development.

Challenges in Establishing Causality

Critique It can be difficult to separate cultural influences from other factors, such as economic conditions or political structures, when examining their impact on gender roles.

Biological explanations of gender dysphoria

What plays the most effect in genetic, hormone and neuro studies on the incongruity between sex at birth/experienced gender.

Support from Brain Studies Strength

That studies are useful and suggest to identify biological factors, which have greatly determined what contributes to gender identity.

Twin Studies Lack Reliability Limitation

Research on the number of twins in small, so it's difficult to generalise certain findings.

Support from Case Studies

One may suggest that mother-son/father daughter has great effects within trans genders and to trans-identities.