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AQA A Level Psychology Gender
Notes
24 page concise, clear and A* quality document
Boost your A Level Psychology grade and get that A*
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ALL NEEDED KNOWLEDGE FOR THIS TOPIC IN THIS DOCUMENT
Sex and gender …
Sex
- Biological differences between males and females including chromosomes,
hormones and anatomy
- A person’s biological status as either male or female
- Determined by one pair of sex chromosomes (XX for females and XY for males)
- These chromosomes then influence hormonal differences as well as anatomy eg
reproductive organs, body shape and hair growth etc
- Sex is binary. Either male or female depending on our biology.
- Blurred with intersex individuals – their sex is not clear from their external organs
medical professionals and family members will make a choice on the individuals
destiny. Causes problems
- Innate and a result of nature
Gender
- Psychological, social and cultural differences between boys/men and girls/women
including attitudes, behaviours and social roles
- A person’s physiological status is either masculine or feminine
- How an individual feels on the inside and how they would like to present themselves
to the world
- Moving away from the binary idea of gender
- Innate feeling
- Partly environmentally determined and therefore due to nurture
- More of a social contrast
Gender dysphoria
- Someone’s biologically prescribed sex does not reflect the way they feel inside and
gender they identify themselves as being
- May choose to have gender reassignment surgery in order to bring their sexual
identity in-line with their gender identity
- For most people their biological sex and gender identity correspond
Sex role stereotypes
- Set of beliefs and preconceived ideas about what is expected or appropriate for
men and women in a given society or social group
, - Usually these are not based on any truth and this can lead to sexism and
discrimination
- Media promotes and reinforces many gender stereotypes and may provide a source
of models linked with SLT explanations for gender development
One sex role stereotype may be true though – women are better than men at multitasking?
Ingalhalikar et al (2014) = Research Support for sex-role stereotypes
- Found women have many more neural connections from side to side across left and
right hemispheres of brain
- Scientists say this could account for women’s better verbal skills and intuitive
abilities
- This is objective evidence of physical differences in the male and female brain and
how it operates - provide evidence for why gender stereotypes may exist
- Real evidence for gender stereotypes is this useful?
What about plasticity. Maybe brains functioning differently due to different experiences and
not gender?
Intersex
- It is not quite clear whether the baby is male or female
- Parents make a choice whether the child is male or female – problem when they
grow up as they may have identity issues
- 0.05% of population are intersex
- Germany has created a 3rd category at birth
David Reimer (1965)
- Evidence for sex impacting on gender
- David socialised as a girl
- Clearly more masculine
- Found out truth as teenager and wanted to back to male identity
- Evidence that nature influences nurture/gender
Smith and Lloyd (1978)
- Involved babies aged 4-6 months who, irrespective of their actual sex, were dressed
half the time in boys clothes and half the time in girls clothes
- When observed to be boys, they were more likely to be given a hammer shaped
rattle and encouraged to be adventurous and active
- Same babies dressed as girls, they are more likely to be handed a cuddly doll, told
they were pretty and reinforced for being passive
, - Suggests gender-appropriate behaviour is stamped in at an early stage through
differential reinforcement, supporting SLT
Androgyny …
- Displaying a balance of masculine and feminine characteristics in one’s personality,
attitudes and behaviours
- Have the appearance of someone who cannot be clearly identified as male or female
- relates to how people look
- It is all about appearance.
- A very masculine woman or very feminine man is not androgynous because this
definition emphasises the balance between the two.
Term was coined by Sandra Bem who argued that androgynous individuals were
psychologically healthiest and function better as they are more equipped at dealing with life
Sandra Bem
- Developed a method for measuring androgyny (and other gender identities) called:
The Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI)
The Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) developed in 1974
- The first systematic attempt to measure androgyny using a rating scale of 60 traits
(20 masculine, 20 feminine and 20 neutral) to produce scores across two
dimensions: masculinity-femininity and androgynous-undifferentiated
- Responses consider each trait and classes themselves on a 7 point scale
- High androgyny score linked to more psychologically healthy and better mental well
being than those who score as strongly masculine, feminine or unclassified
4 possible outcomes of BSRI
Quantitative approach
- Bem’s work is measured quantitatively
- Numerical approach is useful for research purposes as it quantifies DV and can run it
through stats tests
- Also avoids bias (SDB)
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