GAD101 Week 4-5: Theories of Gender Development PDF

GAD101 WEEK 4 - 5  Gender develops through a combination of Theories of Gender biological and Development social factors which emerges at age 2 or 3 and is reinforced at p...

GAD101 WEEK 4 - 5  Gender develops through a combination of Theories of Gender biological and Development social factors which emerges at age 2 or 3 and is reinforced at puberty.  i. Sigmund Freud was one of the first to offer an explanation for the development of gender. He believed that life was built around tension and pleasure. He also believed that all tension was due to the build-up of libido (sexual energy) and that all pleasure came from its discharge. ii. He stressed that the first five years of life are crucial to the formation of adult personality. The id must be controlled in order to satisfy social demands; this sets up a conflict between frustrated wishes and social norms. iii. The ego and superego develop in order to exercise this control and direct the need for gratification into socially acceptable channels. Gratification centers in different areas of the body at 1. Freudian different stages of growth, making the conflict at each stage psychosexual. iv.Each of the psychosexual stages (oral, anal, phallic, latency, genital) is associated with a particular conflict that must be resolved before the individual can successfully advance to the next stage. v. The resolution of each of these conflicts requires the expenditure of sexual energy and the more energy that is expended at a particular stage, the more the important characteristics of that stage remain with the individual as he/she matures psychologically. Gender develops through a combination of biological and social factors which emerges at age 2 or 3 and is reinforced at puberty. Once established, it is generally permanent. A major step occurs when children first becomes aware of anatomical differences between sexes (at age 2 or 3), usually from the observation of siblings or peers. This is followed by an awareness of cultural differences between males and females, and identification with the Introductio parent of the same sex. n that the first five years of Freud stressed life are crucial to the formation of adult personality. The id must be controlled in order to satisfy social demands; this sets up a conflict between frustrated wishes and social norms. The ego and superego develop in order to exercise this control and direct the need for gratification into socially acceptable channels. Gratification centers in different areas of the body at different stages of growth, making the conflict at each stage psychosexual. Oral Stage - birth to 1 year - libido is centered around the baby’s mouth The - the first psychosexual attachment of the individual will be the mother Psychose - once the child recognizes the existence of the father, the child identifies with him. - however, as the sexual wishes of the child intensifies, the child becomes possessive of the xual mother and wishes the father out of the picture. - this Stages event starts the Oedipus and Electra Complex in the next two stages Anal Stage - 1 to 3 years - the child is now fully aware that they are a person in their own right and that their wishes can The bring them into conflict with the demands of the outside world Psychose - this type of conflict tends to come to a head in potty training, in which adults impose restrictions on when and where the child can defecate xual - the nature of this first conflict with authority can determine the child's future relationship with all forms of authority Stages Phallic Stage - 3 to 6 years - the child becomes aware of anatomical sex differences, which sets in motion the conflict The between erotic attraction, resentment, rivalry, jealousy and fear which Freud called the Oedipus complex (in boys) and the Electra complex (in girls) Psychose - this is resolved through the process of identification, which involves the child adopting the xual characteristics (values, attitudes, and behaviors) of the same sex parent Stages The Psychosexual Phallic Stage Stages Oedipus Complex - this complex arises because the boy develops sexual (pleasurable) desires for his mother. He wants to possess his mother exclusively and get rid of his father to enable him to do so. - irrationally, the boy thinks that if his father were to find out about all this, his father would take away what he loves the most (his penis, thru chopping). This is called castration anxiety. - the little boy then sets out to resolve this problem by imitating, copying and joining in masculine dad-type behaviors (thru identification), thus resolving the Oedipus complex - the consequence of this is that the boy takes on the male gender role, and adopts an ego ideal and values that become the superego The Psychosexual Phallic Stage Stages Electra Complex - the girl desires the father, but realizes that she does not have a penis. This leads to the development of penis envy and the wish to be a boy - the girl resolves this by repressing her desire for her father and substituting the wish for a penis with the wish for a baby - the girl blames her mother for her 'castrated state,' and this creates great tension - the girl then represses her feelings (to remove the tension) and identifies with the mother to take on the female gender role Limitations of Freud’s Theories Freud often had difficulty incorporating female desire into his theories, leading to his famous, unanswered question: “What does a woman want?“ To explain women, Freud argued that young girls followed more or less the same psychosexual development as boys. This has often been criticized by feminists, who argue that Freud based his theories on the assumption that “anatomy is destiny”. One respected feminist theory is that of Nancy Chodorow, for whom the central factor in gender identity acquisition is the mother's role as primary caregiver, which leads to a greater sense of interrelatedness in girls, who identify with the mother and go on to reproduce the same patterns of mothering in their own adult lives. Reality Morality  i. Social learning/cognitive theory is based on outward motivational factors that argue that is children receive positive reinforcement they are motivated to continue a particular behavior. If they receive punishment or other indicators of disapproval they are more motivated to stop that behavior. ii. In terms of gender development, children receive praise if they engage in culturally appropriate gender displays and punishment if 2. Social they do not. iii. For example, when aggressiveness in boys is met with acceptance, or a “boys will be boys” attitude, but a girl’s aggressiveness earns Learning them a little attention, the two children learn different meanings for aggressiveness as it relates to their gender development. Thus, Theory boys may continue being aggressive while girls may drop it out of their repertoire. iv. The main way that gender behaviors are learned is through the process of observational learning. Children observe the people around them behaving in various ways, some of which relate to gender. v. They pay attention to some of these people and encode their behavior. At a later time they may imitate the behavior they have observed. They may do this regardless of whether the behavior is “gender appropriate” or not but there are a number of processes that make it more likely that a child will reproduce the behavior that its society deems appropriate for its sex. 2. Biological Theories  Biological - Biological Theories of Gender/Saul McLeod, published 2014 4. Cognitive i. Sex refers to biological differences between males and females. ii. ForDevelopment example, chromosomes (female XX, male XY), reproductive organs (ovaries, testes), hormones (oestrogen, testosterone). iii.A person’s sex does not change from birth, but their gender can. iv.In the past people tend to have very clear ideas about what was appropriate to each sex and anyone behaving differently was regarded as deviant. v. Today we accept a lot more diversity and see gender as a continuum (i.e. scale) rather than two categories. vi.The biological approach suggests there is no distinction between sex & gender, thus biological sex creates gendered behavior. vii.Gender is determined by two biological factors: hormones and chromosomes.  Biological approach suggests there is no distinction between sex and gender, thus biological sex creates gendered behavior Gender is determined by two biological factors: hormones and chromosomes i. Hormones are chemical substances secreted by glands throughout the body and carried in the bloodstream. ii. The same sex hormones occur in both men and women, but differ in amounts and in the effect that they have upon different parts of the body. iii. Testosterone is a sex hormone, which is more present in males than females, and affects development and behavior both before and after birth. iv. Testosterone, when released in the womb, causes the development of male sex organs (at 7 weeks) and acts upon the hypothalamus which results in the masculinization of the brain. v. Testosterone can cause typically male behaviors such as aggression, competitiveness, visuospatial abilities, higher sexual drive etc. vi. At the same time testosterone acts on the developing brain. vii. The brain is divided into two hemispheres, left and right. viii. In all humans the left side of the brain is more specialized for language skills and the right for non-verbal and spatial skills. HORMONES Chemical substances secreted by glands throughout the body and carried in the bloodstream Occur in both men and women, but differ in amounts and in the effect that they have upon different parts of the body. i. Young (1966) changed the sexual behavior of both male and female rats by manipulating the amount of male and female hormones that the rats received during their early development. ii. They displayed “reversed” sexual behavior and the effects were unchangeable. iii. A number of nonreproductive behaviors in rats are also affected by testosterone exposure around birth. These included exploratory behavior, aggression and play. i. This is because the physiologies (e.g. brain) of humans and animals species are not identical. ii. Also, the social and cultural variables within a human population are more complex when compared to social interactions between rats. iii. Hines (1982) studied female babies born to mothers who had been given injections of male hormones during pregnancy to prevent miscarriage. iv. They were found to be more aggressive than normal female children. v. Hines concluded that the extra testosterone in the womb had affected later behavior. SRY Gene (Sex-determiningRegionYgene) At about 6 weeks, theSRYgeneontheYchromosomecauses the gonads(sex organs)of theembryotodevelop astestes. If theembryohasnoYchromosome, it will not havethe SRYgene, without the SRYgene, thegonadswill developas ovaries. Sometimesthe SRYgene ismissing from theYchromosome, or doesn't activate. Thefoetusgrows, isborn, andlivesasa little girl, andlater asa woman, but her chromosomesareXY.  Koopmanet al. (1991) found that micethat were genetically femaledevelopedintomalemiceif theSRY genewasimplanted. Oneof themost controversial usesof thisdiscovery was asa meansfor gender verificationat theOlympic Games, undera systemimplemented by the International Olympic Committeein1992. Athleteswitha SRYgenewerenot permitted toparticipateasfemales. Turner's Syndrome (XO) Occurswhenfemalesdevelop withonly oneXchromosomeon chromosome23 (1 in5000 chance). The absence of the second X chromosome results in a child with a female external appearance but whose ovaries have failed to develop. In addition to physical differences, there are differences in cognitive skills and behavior compared with typical chromosome patterns. The affected individuals have higher than average verbal ability but lower than average spatial ability, I visual memory and mathematical skills. The physical characteristicsof individualswithTurner's syndromeincludelack of maturationat puberty. and webbingof theneck They alsohavedifficulty in social adjustment at school and generally havepoor relationshipswiththeir peers. Klinefelter's Syndrome (XXY) Affects1 inevery 750males. Inadditiontohavinga Ychromosome, these menalsohaveanadditional Xonthe23rdchromosome, leading tothe arrangement XXY. Physically, the effect of the additional X chromosome causes less body hair and under- developed genitals. The syndromebecomes noticeable in childhood, as the boy has poor language skills. At threeyears of age, the childmaystill not talk. At school, theirpoorlanguage skills affect their readingability. When they are babies, their temperament is describedas passiveandcooperative. This calmness andshynessremainwiththemthroughout their lives. Thissuggeststhat level of aggressionhavea biological rather thanenvironmental component. Evolutionary Explanations of Gender Astheevolutionary approachisa biological one, it suggeststhat aspectsof humanbehaviour havebeencoded by our genesbecausethey wereor areadaptive. Acentral claimof evolutionary psychology isthat thebrain (and thereforethemind) evolved tosolveproblems encountered by our hunter-gatherer ancestorsduring the upperPleistoceneperiodover 10,000yearsago. Theevolutionary approacharguesthat genderroledivision appearsasanadaptationtothechallengesfaced by the ancestral humansintheEEA(theenvironment of evolutionary adaptation). Evolutionary Explanations of Gender Critical Evaluation Deterministic approach which implies that men and women have little choice or control over their behaviours: women are natural ‘nurturers’ and men are naturally aggressive and competitive. The in modern society equal opportunities policies are doomed to fail as men are ‘naturally’ more competitive, risk taking and likely to progress up the career ladder. Biosocial Approach to Gender The biosocial approach(Money & Ehrhardt, 1972) is an interactionist approach whereby nature and nurture both play a role in gender development. John Money’s(1972) theory was that once a biological male or female is born, social labeling and differential treatment of boys and girls interact with biological factors to steer development. This theory was an attempt to integrate the influences of nature and nurture. Gender role preferences determined by a series of critical events: Prenatal: exposure to hormones in the womb (determined by chromosomes). It states that biology caused by genetics, XY for a boy and XX for a girl will give them physical sex. Postnatal: Parentsand otherslabel andreact towardsa childonthebasisof hisor hergenitals. Parentsand otherpeoplelabel andbegintoreact tothechildbasedon hisor hergenitals. It iswhentheir sexhasbeenlabelledthrough external genitals, they genderdevelopment will begin. Thesocial labelingof a babyasa boyor girl leadstodifferent treatment whichproducethechild\ssenseof genderidentity. WesternSocietiesviewgender ashavingtwocategories, masculineand feminine, andseemanand womenasdifferent species. Empirical Evidence Rubinet al, 1974, interviewed 30 parents and asked them to use adjective pairs to describe their babies. Although there were no measurable differences in size between the babies, parents consistently described boy babies as better coordinated, stronger and more alert than daughters. This shows that parents label their babies. i. Shaywitz et al (1995) used MRI scans to examine brain while men and women carried out language tasks, found out that women used both hemispheres, and only the left hemisphere is used by men. ii. It appears that in males brain hemispheres work more independently than in females, and testosterone influences this lateralization. iii. Empirical Evidence. The effects of testosterone have been confirmed in animal studies. Quadango et al. (1977) found that female monkeys who were deliberately exposed to testosterone during prenatal development later engaged in more rough and tumble play than other females. Thebrainisdividedintotwohemispheres, leftandright. LANGUAGE NON-VERBALAND SKILLS SPATIALSKILLS i. Young believed that the exposure had changed the sexually dimorphic nucleus (SDN) in the brain, as male rats had a larger SDN than females. ii. The results have proven to be highly replicable. iii. Critical Evaluation. Because this study was conducted in a lab it has low ecological validity. iv. For example, in the lab hormones are injected in one single high dose. v. Whereas in real life, hormones tend to be released by the body in pulses, in a graduated fashion. vi. Therefore, the results might not be generalizable outside of the lab, to a more naturalistic setting.  The normal human body contains 23 pairs of chromosomes. A chromosome is a long thin structure containing thousands of genes, which are biochemical units of heredity and govern the development of every human being. Each pair of chromosomes controls different aspects of development, and biological sex is determined by the 23rd chromosome pair. Chromosomes physically resemble the letters X and Y. Males = XY Females = XX CHROM OSOME S Atypical Chromosomes Individualswithatypical chromosomesdevelop differently thanindividualswithtypical chromosomes- socially, physically andcognitively. Studyingpeoplewithatypical sex chromosomesand comparing their development withthat of peoplewith typical sex chromosomesabletoestablishwhichtypes of behaviour aregenetic (e.g. determined by chromosomes)  i.Sandra Bem in 1981 formally introduced the Gender Schema Theory, 3. Gender explaining how individuals Schema become gendered in Theory society, and how sex- linked characteristics are maintained and transmitted to other members of a culture.  Gender-associated information is predominantly 3. Gender transmuted through Schema society by way of Theory schemata, or networks of information that allow for some information to be more easily assimilated than others.  This theory of gender development says that gender is a product of the norms of 3. Gender one’s culture. It suggests that Schema people process information, in part, based on gender-typed Theory knowledge. It proposes that children create cognitive schema or gender that they derive from the norms of their culture  It is a theory of process, focusing on the way 3. Gender people process and utilize Schema the information their Theory culture provides about masculinity and femininity. Bem suggests that people fall into one of four gender categories. Four 1. Sex-typed individuals – identify with the Gender gender that corresponds to their physical Categories sex. These individuals process and integrate information according to their schema for their gender. 2. Cross-sex typed individuals – process and integrate information according to their schema for the opposite gender. 3. Androgynous individuals – process and integrate information based on their schema for both genders 4. Undifferentiated individuals – have difficulty processing information based on any gender schema End of Week 4 Thank you.