Explanations of Gender Development (AQA A Level Psychology): Flashcards

PMT is very common, with most women experiencing some premenstrual symptoms such as feeling overly emotional, depressed, angry, irritable, anxious or socially withdrawn.

Women with PMDD regularly develop negative mood symptoms before their periods, such as feeling very sad, hopeless or worthless, and research shows depression affects women more than men (Salk, 2018).

Oxytocin promotes bonding in both sexes, but its effects are amplified by oestrogen and it helps form the mother-baby bond, partly explaining stereotypes of mothers being more nurturing; both sexes release equal quantities during some behaviours.

At times of stress, oxytocin dampens the fight-or-flight response and has been linked to a 'tend and befriend' response (Taylor et al., 2000), whereby females look after their young and form bonds with other women.

True.

Testosterone is produced in much greater quantities in males, whereas oestrogen and oxytocin are produced in greater amounts in females, though all three are secreted by both sexes.

XX females with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH), which exposes them to unusually high androgen levels in the womb, later displayed more tomboyish behaviour, higher aggression and greater interest in male-typical activities.

Transgender women given oestrogen showed decreases in aggression and visuospatial skills, while transgender men given testosterone showed the opposite; however, such studies lack control groups and participants' expectations may have influenced the outcomes.

Offenders with the highest testosterone were more likely to have committed violent or sexually motivated crimes, but this is correlational: dominance-related behaviour may itself raise testosterone.

Of 16 genetic males born without a functional penis, 14 were raised as female but 8 reassigned themselves as male by 16 despite being socialised as girls, suggesting XY chromosomes and prenatal androgen exposure powerfully influence gender identity.

A twin study of children and adolescents estimated the heritability of gender incongruent traits at around 62%, suggesting a strong genetic contribution to gender development.

In cases of abnormal hormone exposure, genetic sex does not match external genitalia, and the outcome is a complex, unpredictable combination of genes, hormones and socialisation.

Many non-Western cultures recognise identities beyond man/woman, e.g. the Hijra in India, Muxes in Mexico and the Bugis of Indonesia, showing gender is fluid and socially constructed rather than solely biological.

They emphasise nature, with genes, chromosomes and hormones as key determinants, but cross-cultural studies and cases of abnormal hormone exposure show nurture also matters, highlighting an interactionist view.

They assume gender identity and roles are fixed and biologically determined, which may not account for the fluidity and variation in gender seen across individuals and cultures.

Kohlberg's (1966) cognitive theory sees children interacting with the world and actively constructing their understanding of gender, rather than gender happening passively through socialisation.

Both see development as a series of universal stages determined by biological changes in the brain as well as active interaction with the environment.

Only after constancy at about seven do children develop ideas of gender that align with their own identity, value the behaviours and attitudes of their gender, and identify with same-sex adult figures.

The three stages are gender identity, gender stability and gender constancy.

Gender identity occurs between eighteen months and three years: children recognise they are female or male and learn the labels 'girl' and 'boy', but do not yet realise that boys grow into men and girls into women.

Gender stability occurs between three and five years: children understand people remain the same gender for life, but rely on appearances, e.g. believing a woman who cuts her hair short has changed gender.

Gender constancy develops between six and seven years: children realise gender is constant and not reliant on appearance, becoming more attentive to same-sex models; it is complete when gender is understood as consistent over time and situations.

McConaghy (1979) found that 3-5-year-olds still judged a doll's gender by its clothes even when its genitals were visible through transparent clothing.

Interviewing parents from different cultures, they found the more 3-6-year-olds understood that gender was constant, the more likely they were to dress rigidly according to their gender.

It recognises the role of the child as an active participant, consistent with research showing children seek out same-sex models once they understand their own gender, supporting a cognitively driven view.

Children aged 2-5 with high gender constancy spent significantly more time watching the same-sex model in a split-screen film, supporting the claim that constancy motivates children to attend to and imitate same-sex role models.

Many 3-5-year-olds who could identify a photographed child's sex from their genitals also showed gender constancy, suggesting it depends on biological knowledge rather than age, so Kohlberg's methodology underestimates younger children.

False.

Gender schema theory (Martin and Halverson, 1981) argues that gender identity alone, at around 2-3 years, is sufficient motivation for gender-consistent behaviour, whereas Kohlberg required constancy at seven.

A gender schema is a cognitive framework constructed through observation of older children's and adults' gendered behaviour, which separates people into two genders and can form between the ages of two and three.

Toys, clothes, parents' occupations, hobbies, domestic chores and even the 'he' and 'she' pronouns all vary according to gender.

By age three the child has an in-group (my sex) schema that socialises them into gender-consistent behaviour, and an out-group (opposite sex) schema that is seen as inconsistent and initially ignored; schema-consistent behaviour is remembered better.

Around the age of 6-8, children develop a more detailed own-sex schema, gathering deeper information about the behaviours and roles associated with their own gender.

Children under six recalled gender-consistent pictures (a male footballer) accurately a week later but distorted gender-inconsistent ones, e.g. remembering a female lorry driver as male, showing schemas organise and distort memory.

A naturalistic observation found boys and girls aged 9-32 months already showed strongly gender-consistent toy preferences, before the cognitive understanding GST requires, suggesting biological factors may also play a role.

In a longitudinal study of 82 children using maternal reports and videotaped play, children labelled themselves 'boy' or 'girl' by around 19 months, suggesting gender identity may develop earlier than claimed, though identity may exist before it can be communicated.

4-9-year-olds told that gender-neutral items were 'boy' or 'girl' items showed greater interest in and remembered more about in-group items, showing gender labelling alone shapes attention and learning.

Children under four already held strong stereotypes about what boys and girls may do despite showing no gender stability or constancy, consistent with GST's claim that gender identity alone drives gendered behaviour.

Children whose mothers worked outside the home held less stereotyped views about men and women, suggesting schemas are not fixed and that social and environmental factors play a larger role than GST implies.

Schemas are internal mental structures that cannot be directly observed, so their existence can only be inferred from behaviour, making the theory hard to falsify.

False.

They support a free will perspective, seeing children as active agents who construct knowledge through interaction and choice, unlike biological or social learning views where gendered behaviour is largely imposed.

Both are based on Western norms and binary gender roles, so they do not account for non-binary or culturally specific identities, limiting their universality and making them ethnocentric.

Masculine and feminine behaviour is learned by observation and imitation of same-sex role models and through reinforcement for gender-appropriate behaviour.

Differential reinforcement is the pattern of boys and girls receiving different rewards or punishments for the same behaviour; it operates through both direct learning and indirect (vicarious) learning.

Enactive learning is where a child tries out a behaviour and directly experiences other people's reactions, such as praise, teasing or punishment.

The child receives positive reinforcement for gender-appropriate behaviour ('what a good boy you are to help Dad in the garden') and punishment for gender-inappropriate behaviour; positive outcomes strengthen and negative outcomes weaken the behaviour, until the child internalises it and self-regulates.

Direct tuition is where children learn through explicit instructions about appropriate gender behaviour, e.g. 'girls don't swear', and begins when children develop linguistic skills.

Vicarious reinforcement is indirect learning in which a child observes another person being praised for gender-appropriate or punished for gender-inappropriate behaviour; the consequence received by the model determines whether the observer performs it.

Identification is when a child attaches themselves to a role model they see as 'like me' or want to be like, usually someone attractive, high-status and similar with desirable qualities, e.g. a girl sees another girl playing with a doll and internalises that this is what girls do.

Modelling is Bandura's term for observational learning, which has four mediational processes: attention, retention, motor reproduction and motivation.

The behaviour must be observed (attention), remembered (retention), the child must be physically and cognitively capable of imitating it (motor reproduction), and must want to repeat it because anticipated rewards outweigh costs (motivation).

False.

Behaviour is very likely to be imitated when the role model is someone the child admires, and especially when they are the same sex as the child.

Adults given babies dressed as 'boys' or 'girls' regardless of sex gave 'boys' masculine toys and encouraged active play, while 'girls' received dolls and gentler interaction, showing differential reinforcement from infancy, before children can observe or imitate.

Four-year-olds in 'traditional' families (father working, mother at home) showed more gender stereotyping and used gender labels earlier than those in less traditional families, suggesting parents act as gender role models.

Fathers differentiate between sons and daughters more than mothers do, particularly in encouraging gender-typed activities, suggesting fathers reinforce gender roles more.

Children aged 5-6 were more likely than 3-4-year-olds to feel 'good' about gender-consistent and 'bad' about gender-inconsistent behaviour, supporting the move from external reinforcement to internal self-regulation.

As fathers and mothers increasingly swap or merge roles, children have a wider range of gender-appropriate behaviours to model, giving SLT explanatory flexibility for change that biological explanations lack.

Same-sex siblings raised in the same household can develop very different gender identities, and non-traditional households may still produce traditional ones, so cognition, biology or peer influence must also play a role.

SLT implies modelling and reinforcement work the same at any age, yet children's stereotypes peak at 5-7 then become more flexible regardless of role models, suggesting cognitive maturation matters and supporting gender schema theory.

False.

SLT supports soft determinism: behaviour is influenced by observation and reinforcement, but individuals retain some agency in choosing whom to imitate.

SLT supports nurture, emphasising role models and reinforcement, so gender roles are seen as learned behaviours rather than determined by genes or hormones.

Culture refers to the shared beliefs, values and practices of a particular group or society that shape individual behaviour and attitudes.

If gender is learned through socialisation, identification and internalisation, then the surrounding culture will influence gender development.

False.

The sex categories 'male' and 'female' are recognised in all cultures, but the gender roles associated with them vary cross-culturally.

Many Swedish fathers raise small children during generously paid paternity leave while their partners return to work, giving children a non-traditional view of the male gender role.

Gender roles varied dramatically across three tribes:

• the Arapesh: both sexes gentle, cooperative and 'feminine'

• the Mundugumor: both sexes aggressive and 'masculine'

• the Tchambuli: roles reversed, with women dominant and men passive and emotionally expressive

Their cross-cultural study suggested it was culturally universal for girls to be encouraged into child-caring roles and boys into tasks such as looking after animals.

Television, magazines, books, social media and music all shape and reinforce gender roles, and males are more represented in most TV programmes and children's books.

Both are portrayed stereotypically, with girls more passive and boys more aggressive and dominant, so children who watch a lot of TV, play video games or use social media may develop more stereotypical ideas.

Cultivation theory argues that the more time someone spends immersed in the media world, the more they believe it reflects social reality, so media 'cultivates' perceptions of gender.

There was a positive correlation between time spent watching Jersey Shore and permissive attitudes to casual sex, even after controlling for existing attitudes, suggesting media cultivates attitudes rather than merely reflecting them.

Seeing a model succeed at a behaviour the child believes they could reproduce increases the child's self-efficacy.

Exposure to a South Asian drama with a non-traditional female lead was associated with girls holding more gender-egalitarian attitudes and greater belief in their own capabilities, showing media can challenge as well as reinforce roles.

False.

Media is gradually including more diverse gender representation, but traditional binary portrayals still dominate.

In a natural experiment in a Canadian town with no television until 1973, children's gender stereotyping increased significantly after TV was introduced, while attitudes in two control towns remained stable.

A content analysis of fourteen TV science programmes found 58% of scientists shown were male, portrayed with the masculine qualities of independence and dominance.

The majority of 247 children's books reflected stereotypes, with male activities treated as gender neutral while books about girls contained more specifically female material.

Because gender roles varied dramatically between cultures, they must be culturally constructed and learned through socialisation, undermining biological explanations that treat gender roles as innate.

As parents increasingly share or swap roles, children are exposed to a wider range of gender models in family life and media, giving these explanations explanatory flexibility that biological explanations cannot match.

Much of the evidence is correlational, so pre-existing beliefs may lead children to seek out particular media rather than the media causing the stereotypes.

Freeman studied the same region later and argued Mead had been misled by her participants and influenced by her own preconceptions, showing that naturalistic observation is vulnerable to researcher bias; Mead herself later softened her cultural relativism.

They exemplify the nurture side, and if gender roles differ between societies and change over time, this undermines biological determinism.

Media may shape children's understanding without conscious choice, but growing representation of diverse identities suggests individuals are influenced, not controlled, allowing personal agency and free will.