Gender development

Dr. LIN Dan

 Introduction

Sex persons biological identity

Chromosomes ( ); physical
manifestations of identity; hormonal
influences
Gender persons social and cultural identity
as male or female
Gender typing ( ) process of
acquiring a gender identity and the motives,
values, and behaviors considered appropriate
for their biological sex
 Table 13.1 Sex Differences in the Socialization of Five Attributes in 110 Societies. NOTE: The
percentages for each attribute do not add to 100 because some of the societies did not place
differential pressures on boys and girls with respect to that attribute. For example, 18% of the
societies for which pertinent data were available did not differentiate between the sexes in the
socialization of nurturance. SOURCE: Adapted from BARRY III, BACON, & CHILD, 1957.
 Some facts and fictions about sex
differences

Actual Psychological Differences Between the

Sexes (all small)
Verbal Ability girls are generally superior
Visual/Spatial Abilities boys are superior
Evident by age 4, persists across life
span
Mathematical Abilities
In adolescence, boys better at arithmetic
reasoning
Girls better at computational skills
 Figure 13.1 A spatial task for which sex differences in performance have been found.
FROM LINN & PETERSEN, 1985.
 Aggression
Beginning at age 2, boys are more
physically and verbally aggressive
Girls more likely to display covert
aggression
 Other Sex Differences
Activity level boys are more physically
active (even before birth)
Fear, timidity ( ), and risk-taking girls
are more fearful, timid, and take fewer risks
Developmental vulnerability ( /
) boys are more vulnerable to prenatal
and perinatal hazards and disease
 Emotional expressivity / sensitivity
Beginning in toddlerhood
Boys express more anger
Girls express most other emotions
more frequently
Compliance ( ) girls are more compliant
Self-esteem ( ) boys are slightly higher
beginning in adolescence
Some facts and fictions about sex
differences

Conclusions
Differences reflect group averages
Differences are small
Differences are most apparent at the
extremes
Males and females are much more
psychologically similar than they are
different
 Figure 13.2 These two distributions of scores-one for males, one for females-give some idea of the
size of the gap between the sexes in abilities for which sex differences are consistently found.
Despite a small difference in average performance, the scores of males and females overlap
 Cultural Myths ( )

Do Cultural Myths Contribute to Sex Differences in

Ability/Vocational Opportunity?
Self-fulfilling prophecy ( ) actually
promotes sex differences in cognitive performance
Home Influences
Parents expect sons to outperform daughters in
math
Sons successes are due to ability, daughters
due to hard work
Children internalize parents views, boys
become self-confident
Girls lose interest in math, due to perceived
lack of ability
 Scholastic Influences
Teachers have similar views affecting
children in a similar manner
 Developmental Trends in gender typing

Development of the Gender Concept (gender

identity)
By age 2 to 3, accurately label oneself as
a boy or girl
5 to 7 years gender is unchanging
 Development of Gender-Role Stereotypes (
)
Present at 2 to 3 years, once children can label
pictures of children as boys or girls
3 to 7 view gender-role standards as rules
8 to 9 more flexible, distinction between moral
rules and gender-role standards
Adolescent Thinking About Gender Stereotypes
Less flexible again; increased pressure to
conform gender intensification
Later in high school, may be more flexible
again
 Figure 13.3 Childrens rankings of the wrongness of gender-role transgressions (such as a boys
wearing nail polish) and violations of moral rules (such as pushing another child from a swing).
Notice that children of all ages deplore immoral acts but that only kindergartners and adolescents
view gender-role violations as wrong. Elementary school children come to think about gender-role
 DEVELOPMENTAL TRENDS IN GENDER
TYPING

Development of Gender-Typed Behavior

14 to 22 months prefer gender appropriate toys
Gender Segregation ( )
2 years, girls prefer playing with girls
3 years, boys prefer playing with boys
Most girls do comply with prescriptions for the
feminine role by adolescence
Be attractive to opposite sex
Concern of others evaluations
 Table 13.3 An Overview of Gender-typing
 Theories of Gender-typing and gender role
development

Evolutionary Theory

Males and females face different evolutionary

pressures.
Natural selection created fundamental
differences in male and female roles.
Females need to be nurturing.
Males need spatial skills for hunting.
 Criticisms of the Evolutionary Approach
Ignores differences limited to cultures or
historical periods
Social roles hypothesis
Cultures assign roles based on
gender
Socialization practices
 Social Learning Theory
Direct tuition children are rewarded for
gender-appropriate behaviors, punished for
opposite sex appropriate behavior
Parents begin the process
Siblings and peers reinforce it
 Observational learning children adopt the
attitudes and behaviors of same-sex
models
Also important is the label attached to
the attitude or behavior
Same-sex models become more
important at ages 5 to 7, when gender is
unchanging aspect of the self.
Media influences
 Kohlbergs Cognitive Developmental
Theory
Children first establish a stable gender
identity
Basic gender identity:
By age 3, label themselves boy or girl
Gender stability:
Occurs next
Gender consistency:
By 5-7, gender is consistent across
situations
 After achieving gender consistency
Children actively seek out same-sex
models to determine how to act
 Criticisms of Kohlbergs Theory
Gender-typing begins well before
children acquire a mature gender
identity
Gender reassignment is very difficult
after age 3
 Gender Schema Theory
(Martin & Halverson)
Children acquire a basic gender identity
Motivates child to learn about the sexes
and create gender schemas
Begin as simple in-group/out-group
schemas
Also create an own-sex schema
Schemas serve as scripts for
processing social information
 Figure 13.6 Gender-schema theory in action. A young girl classifies new information according to an
in-group/out-group schema as either for boys or for girls. Information about boys toys and
activities is ignored, but information about toys and activities for girls in relevant to the self and so is
 Theories of Gender-typing and gender role
development

An Integrative Theory
Biological theories account for major
biological developments.
Social-theories account for differential
reinforcement processes.
Cognitive development explains the growth
of categorization skills.
Gender schemas are also important as are
models as children age.
 Table 13.4 An Overview of the Gender-Typing Process from the Perspective of an
Integrative Theorist.
Psychological androgyny ( ): A
prescription for the 21st century?

Historically, masculinity( ) and

femininity ( ) were at opposite ends of
a single dimensions
Androgyny sees them as two separate
dimensions, allowing individuals to be high in
both masculine and feminine traits
 Figure 13.7 Categories of sex-role orientation based on viewing masculinity and femininity as
 Do Androgynous People Really Exist?
In a college student sample
33% were masculine men or feminine
women
30% were androgynous
27% undifferentiated or gender-type
reversed
 Are There Advantages to Being
Androgynous?
More highly adaptable to the situation
Higher self-esteem
More likeable
Perceived as better adjusted
The masculine traits are more important
for adjustment.
 Applications: On Changing Gender Role
Attitudes and Behavior
Parents must teach that biological sex is
unimportant other than for reproduction.
Delay exposure to gender stereotypes.
Interventions work best with younger
children.
Programs work best if the adult in charge is
male.