PSY1PAC 2024 Semester 2 Lecture 3_1pp PDF

latrobe.edu.au PSY1PAC Introductory Psychology: People and Culture...

latrobe.edu.au PSY1PAC Introductory Psychology: People and Culture Lecture 3: Gender and Norms Readings: Heine Ch 6 (pp. 219-223) & Guimond (2008). pp. 494-498 Prof Emi Kashima Department of Psychology, Counselling and Therapy [email protected] La Trobe University CRICOS Provider Code Number 00115M © 2024 by E Kashima Acknowledgement of country La Trobe University acknowledges our participants are located on the lands of many Traditional Custodians in Australia. We recognise their ongoing connection to the land and value their unique contribution to the University and wider Australian society. La Trobe University is committed to providing opportunities for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, both as individuals and communities, through teaching, learning, research and partnerships across all our campuses. Part 1 Learning Objectives We aim to be able to: 1. Distinguish two kinds of cultural identity based on two definitions of culture. 2. Distinguish several concepts related to gender, including sex, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, and gender role ideology. 3. Explain what intersectionality means and how it increases disadvantage. 4. Identify factors that correlate with cultural differences in gender/sex role ideology. PSY1PAC Week 3 3 Self and Identity: How do they relate? Self-concept is the collection of Identity is the way individuals beliefs, perceptions, and ideas understand themselves and are that individuals hold about recognized by others.; themselves; Personal identity is the qualities that distinguish yourself from It likely develops through others, the sense of who you are, interactions with others e.g., what you like, believe, think includes both positive and as your roles/responsibilities. negative aspects and. Social identity is an individual’s knowledge of belonging to certain social groups, together with some emotional significance and value of that membership. (Tajfel, 1978) Internal beliefs about yourself. The sense of self in larger societal contexts. PSY1PAC Week 3 4 Cultural Identity Cultural identity refers to identification* or sense * The sense of being the same of attachment** with a particular culture, or with the target; sense of belonging to a particular cultural group. **feeling bonded, connected. Two definitions of culture (from Week1) provide two definitions of cultural identity. 1. Any kind of information, socially transmitted… → Cultural identity is identification with any such information or a knowledge tradition. 2. A group who share context and information. → Cultural identity is identification with such a group Like ethnic identity and (social identity) national identity PSY1PAC Week 3 5 Diversity Ideologies and Cultural Identity In multiculturalism, individuals are encouraged to maintain a bicultural (or multicultural) identity based on their ethnic culture and (local) national culture. Strong and integrated identifications with both cultures foster health and well- being, which can be a challenging task in adolescence. Identification with Culture A Not at all ------------------------------------------ Strong Not at all ------------------------------------------ Strong Identification with Culture B In polyculturalism, individuals are seen as influenced by multiple cultures and can blend them to form their cultural identity (polycultural identity). New Australian data show that a high polycultural identity is associated with positive intercultural friendships and better well-being. PSY1PAC Week 3 6 Sex, Gender, and Gender Identity Sex refers to differences in being male/female based on chromosomes, anatomy, hormones, and reproductive functions; traditionally seen as binary but increasingly as a continuum. Individuals may experience atypical prenatal sexual development involving the state of intersex or sex diverse (1 ~ 2 % of the population). Gender refers to differences in being male/female involving psychosocial factors, which are influenced by how culture defines gender roles. Gender identity: a person’s deeply felt individual experience and expression of their gender; begins to form by age 3 but may take many years and change. Sex/gender diversity is increasingly recognised today worldwide, with significant progress in decriminalising homosexuality and stopping interventions based on traditional binary gender assumptions. PSY1PAC Week 3 7 Examples of Sex Differences 45 of the 46 human chromosomes are unisex, but 1 is not. Men have more neurons; women have more neural connections The average woman has 70% more fat, 40% less muscle, and is 13cm shorter than the average man. Also, more sensitive to smells and sounds; more vulnerable to anxiety disorders and depression Men are slower to enter puberty and quicker to exit life. Also, 3 times more likely to commit suicide; 5 times more likely to become alcoholic; more likely to be able to wiggle their ears. Some of these ‘sex differences’ are not purely biological. Some are negligible. PSY1PAC Week 3 8 Sex/Gender Differences with Some Evidence Men (young and old) are more aggressive, tend to aggress more without provocation, in naturalistic (vs. laboratory) settings. Men prioritise winning, getting ahead, dominating others, taking risks. Women are more empathetic, sensitive and skilled at expressing emotions nonverbally; self-disclose more. Women tend to experience more intimacy in same-sex relationships; support friends/relations. Men tend to support strangers. Women show greater conformity, but not in ‘female’ domains. PSY1PAC Week 3 9 Gender-Diversity Gender-diverse : where one’s gender identity does not match what is perceived as the gender norm in a particular context in time. An Australian study identified 30 gender identities (LGBTQI…). Non-binary - placing the self outside of the gender binary (e.g., genderfluid). Cisgender : a sense of gender that matches the gender assigned at birth Transgender : having a sense of gender that mismatches assigned gender. US data suggest 0.7% in 2022, 1.4% among 13-17yr-olds. As of 2022, no reliable Australian data on gender diversity. The 2016 Census counted 1260 non-binary individuals; in 2021, 43,220 (0.17% of the population), which is considered ‘inaccurate’ by the Bureau of Statistics. A Dept Health estimate of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) in 2019 was 11%; “experience of discrimination over lifetime”. PSY1PAC Week 3 10 Sexual Orientation Sexual orientation: the nature of a person’s enduring emotional, romantic and sexual attraction to others, independent of sexual behaviour patterns. o Sexual attraction – physically attracted to someone in sexual manner o Romantic attraction - desire emotional connection Heterosexuality vs. homosexuality – attraction to members of the sex different vs. same as own Bisexuality - attraction to members of both sexes; a Pansexuality - attraction regardless of sex or gender identity. Sexual (orientation) identity: deeply felt experience and expression of one’s sexual orientation. PSY1PAC Week 3 11 Sexual Orientation Identity Aware of Attraction 12.7 yrs Sexual orientation identity typically develops through 4~6 milestones, though large individual variability. Questioning 13.2 yrs Women may be more fluid than men in their sexual one’s orientation orientation and sexual orientation identity. Attraction, self-identification and sexual activity Self-Identifying 17.8 yrs as LGB+ milestones were found to be earlier for men. Significant proportions of LGBTI people report hiding their sexuality or gender identity at work (39%), Sexual Activity 18.1 yrs social events (42%) or accessing services (34%). The mental health status of LGBTI people in Australia Came Out to 19.6 yrs is of significant concern; both abuse and depression Others are 3 times higher than non-LGBTI. Hall, W. J., Dawes, H. C., & Plocek, N. (2021). Sexual orientation identity development milestones Romantic 20.9 yrs among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer people: A systematic review and meta- Relationship analysis. Frontiers in Psychology, 12. DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.753954 PSY1PAC Week 3 12 Intersectionality Individuals usually have multiple category memberships and the corresponding identities based on gender, sexual- orientation, ethnicity, religion, health status, age, etc. Some category memberships have a minority status in society and maybe marginalized or disadvantaged. Intersectionality refers to the state and experience of an individual with multiple minority identities, which result in combounded disadvantage. For instance, “a Black, Hispanic, lesbian, atheist American” Typically, less support is available compared to Black males, White lesbians, straight Hispanics, etc. PSY1PAC Week 3 13 More Gender Constructs (Cultural): Sex Roles & Gender Roles Sex roles: the behaviours and attitudes that are traditionally associated with males and females, respectively, and are biologically based, such as childbearing and breastfeeding. Gender roles: the behaviours and attitudes that a society considers appropriate for individuals based on their gender, such as women being gentle and men being strong. Activities performed primarily by women (or men) in society tend to be regarded as a female (or male) gender role. PSY1PAC Week 3 14  Gender-Role Ideology (GRI) A cluster of beliefs and expectations about ‘how women and men should relate to each other’, including ‘attitudes towards gender equality’. Gender-role ideologies vary along the dimension of traditional-egalitarian: o Traditional : emphasise distinct roles for men and women; negative evaluation of gender equality. o Egalitarian : expect equal roles and responsibilities regardless of gender; positive evaluation of gender equality. Example items from Kalin & Tilby’s Gender/Sex Role Ideology scale: Traditional item Egalitarian item “For the good of the family, a wife “Marriage should not interfere with a should have sexual relations with her woman’s career any more than it husband whether she wants to or not.” does with a man’s.” PSY1PAC Week 3 15 Cultural Differences in Gender Role Ideology (GRI) Researchers found striking differences in Egalitarian GRI gender role ideology across 14 cultures. (mean endorsement score) Males Females Similar means for males and females! 6 5 Men tend to be lower in the egalitarian 4 tendency than women in most countries except a few (Malaysia, India, Pakistan). 3 2 The mean was higher in Northern/ Western Europe and lower in Nigeria, 1 Italy Netherlands USA India Canada Singapore Nigeria Venezuela Pakistan Finland Germany Malaysia Japan England Pakistan, India, and Japan. PSY1PAC Week 3 16 Williams and Best (1990) Correlates of High Endorsement of Egalitarian GRI Religion – a higher proportion of Christians (particularly Protestants); a lower proportion of Muslims. Geographic location - Northern countries were higher than the southern countries (in the northern hemisphere). Urban regions were higher than rural regions. Individualism was associated with more egalitarian ideology. Changes in GRI have also been reported, with GRI shifting towards egalitarianism in some traditional societies, e.g., Sri Lanka, Egypt. PSY1PAC Week 3 17 Part 2 Learning Objectives 1. Briefly describe how gender norms relate to male health. 2. Identify a theoretical link between Honor Culture and male violence. 3. Briefly explain the biosocial explanation of gender differences. 4. Identify the role of stereotypes in gender differences. PSY1PAC Week 3 18 How to Deal with Gender in society? Some key issues concerning gender in society today: 1. Gender equality: workplace discrimination (e.g., gender pay gap), political representation, access to education (e.g., more illiterate women and less women in the STEM field). 2. Gender identity and expression: recognition and rights, social acceptance, combatting stigma, addressing mental health challenges. 3. Reproductive rights: access to healthcare, bodily autonomy. 4. Gender-based violence: domestic violence, sexual harassment and assault, human trafficking. 5. Cultural and social norms: Challenging harmful norms and stereotypes about gender, redefining traditional gender roles. 6. Intersectionality PSY1PAC Week 3 19 Gender Similarities Hypothesis “Males and females are alike in most psychological tendencies and processes.” – Should gender be ignored? Hyde examined this hypothesis by systematically analysing gender difference studies on cognition, communication, personality, social behaviour, psychological well-being, and motor behaviours. His conclusion: gender differences are small or close to zero, except for a few domains, such as sexuality (e.g., attitudes about casual sex) and physical aggression. Hyde, J. S. (2005). The gender similarities hypothesis. American Psychologist, 60(6), 581. PSY1PAC Week 3 20 Criticisms of Hyde’s conclusion (Guimond, 2008) A. Small differences may be important because of their implications for health and problems like domestic violence. B. Explanations for similarities and differences are required to understand what causes gender differences and how society wants to handle them. C. Data were mostly from the USA, thus requiring to examine gender differences across diverse societies. D. Gender differences may depend on contexts and domains. E. The binary assumption of sex/gender breeds essentialism. (see slide 33) PSY1PAC Week 3 21 A. Male Health and Help-Seeking In many countries, including Australia, men (vs. women) are more reluctant to seek professional help for their health. Research suggests men tend to experience more shame and fear when seeking psychological (vs. physical) help. Help-seeking involves self-stigma, i.e., internalised negative societal attitudes toward the behaviour, causing shame and fear. Gender norms concern behaviours considered ‘appropriate’ for males and females, respectively, in society. Male gender norms discourage help-seeking: o Do not show weakness o Be emotionally stoic o Be able to handle your problem PSY1PAC Week 3 22 Honor Culture and Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) 30% of women worldwide (23% in Australia; 27% in the US) experience a form of IPV in their lifetime. (WHO, 2017; ABS, 2023). “Honor culture”, found in the US South and West, is also seen elsewhere. Function: Maintain social order by prescribing aggressive responses to threats to one’s reputation (insults). Psychological mechanism: Adherence to gender-specific honor norms protects the individual’s sense of self-worth. For men, showing toughness, strength, and aggressive retaliation. For women, sexual purity, chastity, and loyalty to husbands and family. Honor culture as a risk factor for IPV (Gul et al., 2021): “Honor norms may manifest as justification of aggression against women who are perceived as behaving in ways that threaten their partner’s honour.” PSY1PAC Week 3 23 Honor Culture and IPV (Gul et al., 2021) In Honor cultures: people perceive women’s infidelity to be more damaging to husbands’ honour, People view husbands who have aggressed toward unfaithful wives less negatively and women who tolerate their husbands’ aggression more positively. Individual differences within the US suggest: people who strongly endorse masculine honour beliefs tend to perceive women’s romantic rejection as more threatening to men’s honour; people tend to perceive men’s aggressive responses to rejection as less inappropriate and disapprove victims’ help-seeking and reporting to the police. PSY1PAC Week 3 24 Honor Culture and IPV (Gul et al., 2021) IPV prevention programs can address deeply rooted social norms that foster tolerance of aggression against women by: Increasing awareness about how honour-based gender dynamics undermine women’s health and safety; Exposing that pluralistic ignorance* can lead men in an *everyone misunderstands honour culture to act more aggressively despite privately that other people endorse opposing these norms, thus stopping the perpetuation of violence more than they do. honour norms; Changing the honour-related IPV norms through shared public recognition that victims' adherence to honor culture ideals prevents seeking formal help due to fearing further abuse and concerns about shaming the family. PSY1PAC Week 3 25 B. How to Explain Gender Differences Nature (biological) versus nurture (cultural socialisation) According to Wood & Eagly’s (2012) biosocial perspective, gender differences are constructed from an interaction of nature and nurture: 1. Nature: Biological dimorphism (anatomical sex differences) of large male upper body vs. female reproduction/lactation. 2. Nurture: Social, economic, and ecological conditions (e.g., food acquisition) Where food acquisition requires activities that advantage the larger upper body, power asymmetry arises; this asymmetry is justified by using sex roles, norms, and stereotypes, which maintain and may enlarge gender differences. PSY1PAC Week 3 26 Example Research According to economist Ester Boserup (1970), women’s labour force participation can be predicted from traditional regional cultivation methods, gender norms and gender role ideology. Shifting cultivation: the soil is dug up with a tool like a garden hoe. Plough cultivation: a large animal pulls a plough, which a person controls (requires more muscle power) Women tend not to participate in ploughing Children often stay with women to avoid accidents. A strong division of labour thus exists. Evidence suggests that where the plough was used historically, gender norms continue to discourage women’s labour force participation and gender role ideology is less egalitarian. PSY1PAC Week 3 27 C. Cultural Difference in Gender Differences Gender differences are larger in societies where gender role ideology is more modern rather than traditional, especially in certain psychological domains: Values of “family” and “social relationships.” Emotional reactions Personality Female stereotype of “higher emotionality.” Women smile more than men Why are more gender differences found where gender role ideology is more egalitarian? PSY1PAC Week 3 28 Explanation 1: Cross-gender social comparison and stereotyping are higher in more egalitarian cultures (Guimond) Where gender roles are unequal, people tend not to engage in cross-gender-categorical social comparisons; where equal, these are more likely to occur (e.g., a girl comparing herself with her male friends). A cross-category social comparison will activate gender stereotypes and stereotype-consistent actions. This explanation may sound improbable, but as stereotype activation is automatic and non-conscious, it seems at least possible. PSY1PAC Week 3 29 Explanation 2: Freedom of choice allows greater self- expression consistent with stereotypes (Charles & Bradley) Societies that strongly promote gender equality value personal freedom of choice and self-expression. However, gender stereotypes regarding what men and women should like or do are deeply rooted even in liberal societies. The combination of self-realization values and the notions of what it means to be male or female results in an exaggeration of gender-typical choices; that is, Larger male/female educational gaps are found in countries rated higher on gender equality, both in relative academic strength and STEM participation. PSY1PAC Week 3 30 D. Gender differences are larger in contexts and domains that cue gender-based social categorisation and stereotypes When categorise individuals (including yourself) into two mutually exclusive categories, an “Us vs. Them” mindset kicks in (Social Identity Theory). Ingroup/outgroup categorisation, even brief, affects how we think and behave: o See members of the same group as similar and members of distinct groups as dissimilar by applying stereotypes. o More group conformity—following ingroup norms more. o Ingroup favouritism—liking the ingroup and protecting them (if consistent with the group norm). Consequently, in more ‘gendered’ spaces than others, women’s and men’s behaviours tend to diverge more. PSY1PAC Week 3 31 Contents of Gender Stereotypes Contents of gender stereotypes matter, given their impacts on behaviours. Research by Williams & Best (1990) found cross-cultural similarities in gender stereotypes: Men – dominant, ambitious, adventurous, High in agency assertive, active, confident Women – caring, sympathetic, affectionate, gentle, High in communion warm, talkative PSY1PAC Week 3 32  E. A Binary View of Sex/Gender Breeds Essentialism Essentialism is a belief that ‘the observed differences between the social categories are inherent, stable, and unchangeable.’ Biological essentialism says, ‘the differences are unchangeable because it’s biologically based’, e.g., “sex differences are biological” Biological essentialism, used to justify the system, makes it difficult to change the status quo. A strong argument against essentialism is social constructionism— ‘the differences are socially constructed to justify the status quo’. Wood & Eagly’s biosocial view (Slide 26) is an example. Better inter-group attitude; Gender differences are “the difference Less stigma, more hope, socially constructed. can be reduced” better health outcomes. PSY1PAC Week 3 33 Thanks for your attention & brilliant questions! Week 4: “Personality” by Dr Ben Lam PSY1PAC Week 3 34 References Boserup, E. (1970). Woman’s role in economic development. London: George Allen and Unwin Ltd. Charles, M., & Bradley, K. (2009). Indulging our gendered selves? Sex segregation by field of study in 44 countries. American Journal of Sociology, 114(4), 924-976. Gul, P., Cross, S. E., & Uskul, A. K. (2021). Implications of culture of honor theory and research for practitioners and prevention researchers. American Psychologist, 76(3), 502. https://dx.doi.org/10.1037/amp0000653 Kalin, R., & Tilby, P. J. (1978). Development and validation of a sex-role ideology scale. Psychological reports, 42(3), 731-738. https://doi.org/10.2466/pr0.1978.42.3.731 Tajfel, H. E. (1978). Differentiation between social groups: Studies in the social psychology of intergroup relations. Academic Press. Williams, J.E., & Best, D. L. (1990). Measuring sex stereotypes: A multination study. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage. World Health Organisation (2017). Violence against women. Retrieved from http://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/violence-against-women PSY1PAC Week 3 35