I.

Chapter 1
a. Biologically, assume female (embryo). Socially, assume male.
b. Definition of Terms
i. Sex: biological categories of female and male distinguished by genes, chromosomes, and hormones
ii. Gender: social categories of male and female distinguished by psychological features and role attributes that society
has assigned to sex
iii. Sex-related behavior: opposed to term sex differences, since we dont know if causes are biological
iv. Gender role: opposed to gender, better captures societys influence on biologically based categories
1. Role: social position accompanied by a set of norms or expectations
2. Masculine: the traits, behaviors, and interests society expects of the male gender role. May include trait of
self-confidence, behavior of aggression, interest of sports
3. Feminine: same, but for women. May include trait of being emotional, behavior of helping someone, interest in
cooking
4. Intrarole conflict: when expectations within a role conflict; ex: a woman expressing feelings that may hurt
someone else
5. Interrole conflict: other roles conflict with each other; two different roles clash
v. Gender identity/gender-role identity: our perception of self as psychologically male or female
1. Transgendered individuals: people who live with a gender identity that does not correspond with their
biological sex
2. Transsexuals: have a gender identity that doesnt correspond to their biological sex, but they have hormonal
or surgical treatment to change their sex to correspond with their gender identity
a. There are 2-3x as many male to female transsexuals as female to male
3. Intersex: people who are born with ambiguous genitals; typically have surgery to be consistent biologically
4. There is a classification of psychopathology called Gender Identity Disorder, for people who are uncomfortable
with the biological sex which theyve been assigned to
5. Sexual orientation: not to be confused with gender identity; whether people prefer to have other-sex or samesex persons as partners for love, affection, and sex
a. Heterosexuals: prefer other-sex partners
b. Homosexuals: prefer same-sex partners
c. Bisexuals: accepting of other-sex and same-sex partners
6. Sex typing: process by which sex-appropriate preferences, behaviors, skills, and self-concept are acquired
a. Cross-sex-typed: a male who acts feminine, or a female who acts masculine
b. Androgynous: someone who incorporates both masculine and feminine qualities is not sex-typed;
instead, androgynous
7. Gender-role attitude: our own personal view about how women and men should behave
a. Ex: Hochschild transitional attitude, between both traditional and egalitarian gender roles, where for
example both men and women should work in and outside the home, but women should give home
their primary attention and men should give work their primary attention
vi. Terms that reflect ones attitude toward sex
1. Sexism: the affective (feeling) component; prejudice toward people based on their sex
a. Ex: if you dislike the person your wife hired to take care of your children because they are male
2. Sex stereotype or gender-role stereotype: cognitive component of attitude toward sex
a. Ex: a male nanny wouldnt be competent because he lacks nurturant qualities
3. Sex discrimination: behavioral component; differential treatment of people based on their biological sex
a. Ex: if you actually fire the male nanny

vii.

c.

Feminism: varied definitions; fundamentally, a feminist is someone who believes women and men should be treated
equally
1. A typical defining feature for feminism is a high regard for women
viii. Take Home Points
1. Sex refers to the biological category; gender the psychoclogical category
2. Intrarole conflict is conflict between expectations within a role; interrole conflict is conflict between
expectations of different roles
3. Attitudes toward sex can be divided into the affective component (sexism), the cognitive component (genderrole stereotype), and the behavioral component (discrimination)
4. The defining feature of feminism is the belief in equality for women and men. Although most people endorse
this belief, feminism is perceived negatively. Women typically believe that equality for women as a group
should be promoted (probably by someone else), but they do not need any group efforts to aid their own
achievements
Cultural Differences in the Construal of Gender
i. Gender culture: Ramet (1996), reflects societys understanding of what is possible, proper, and perverse in genderlinked behavior. Ie each society has its own standards for gender-linked behavior
ii. Cultures with Multiple Genders
1. Native American Berdache in Lakota Indians of South Dakota. Male and female Berdache are third and fourth
genders. Male Berdache are biologically male but take on characteristics of both women and men in
appearance and manner. Berdache are highly respected.
2. Balkans, where people take on other gender role to serve societys needs
3. In Juchitan, Mexico, highest status is third gender, the muxe biological males who dress like females and
take on womens roles in the community
4. Morocco
a. Only two genders that are very distinct due to physical space. Private space is female space; Public
space is male space.
b. Economic necessity has led more women to enter public spaces, but wear hijab and djellaba.
i. American women may see hijab as form of oppression, but American Muslim women say it
defines their Muslim identity
5. The Agta Negrito
a. Many believe hunter-gatherer gender roles are biological, but Agta Negrito challenges this
b. Women hunt and are as successful as men, and doesnt impair other female biological function
c. Socially, other family members nurse children, or they take infants with them
6. Tahiti
a. Androgynous society
i. No male or female pronouns
ii. Society based on cooperation rather than competition
7. Status and Culture
a. Inequality between genders in many ways (illiteracy rates, access to medical care, lower earnings
ratio, legitimization of physical abuse of women)
b. Dominant group has rights and privileges not available to subordinate group
i. Male privilege
1. In points in time, women were not allowed to vote or own property, or serve in
military. Today, men have greater access to certain jobs and political office.
iii. Take Home Points

1.

d.

e.

Not all cultures have only two genders. Third genders are distinct from male and female, can be afforded high
status, and are not tied to homosexuality despite Westerners beliefs to the contrary.
2. Throughout the world, men have a higher status than women, but the status differential varies by country.
Sex-selective abortion in China is a strong indication that men are regarded more favorably than women.
Other indicators of status throughout the world are the number of women in powerful positions in industry and
government and the education of women.
3. Although great strides have been made by women in the Western world, parity has not been achieved. Women
do not hold leadership positions to the extent that men do, people show some desire for male over female
infants, and people view more advantages to being male than female.
Philosophical and Political Issues Surrounding Gender
i. Main debates: people who believe there are important differences between the sexes and those who believe the two
sexes are fundamentally the same. Also, people who believe we should or should not compare women and men
ii. The Sex Difference Debate
1. Minimalists believe the two sexes are fundamentally the same
2. Maximalists believe there are fundamental differences between men and women
a. This difference does not mean deficit
b. Two different and equally valuable ways of relating to the world
3. Maximalists would study gender, whereas some minimalists would find it unnecessary
4. Matters because our political philosophy determines how we interpret research findings
iii. Social Construction of Gender
1. Constructionists argue that it is pointless to study gender because it cant be removed from its context
a. Gender created by the perceiver; science is not value free
b. Would rather ask how institutions, culture, and language contribute to gender, opposed to how women
and men are similar or different
iv. Womens Movements
1. First emerged in 1800s; wanted greater respect for domestic role (not equality like today)
2. Women in 1800s and early 1900s concerned with abolition, temperance, and child labor laws, but found their
low-status in society kept from being heard
3. After right to vote in 1920, they could promote causes
4. 1963, Betty Friedan, The Feminine Mystique
a. womens delegation to domestic sphere inhibited other opportunities
b. organized NOW (National Organization for Women)
i. concerned with their subordinate position in society and sought equal rights
ii. for, not of, because men must be included to accomplish goals
v. Mens Movements
1. None have had as much impact as womens movements
2. One movement is NOMAS (National Organization for Men Against Sexism) which supports changing traditional
male role to reduce competitiveness, homophobia, emotional inhibition and include feminists and antiracists
3. Also movements to restore traditional female and male roles in reaction to womens movements, including
mythopoetic movement and the Promise Keepers
A Note on Sexist Language
i. In 1983, American Psychological Associated said scientists must refrain rom using sexist language
1. Cant use generic he
ii. One study about sexist language in team names had less opportunities for female athletes
1. Either name implies maleness, or there is a female qualifier to the team name

iii.

II.

There is no language where female is indicated with less complex or shorter language, or where female is the
standard
iv. 1970s, Ms. Was introduced
v. no age differences in views of nonsexist language, with exception of 18-22 year olds
vi. Take Home Points
1. The minimalists believe that men and women are essentially the same, that differences are small, and that
those that do exist are likely to be due to social forces
2. The maximalists believe that women and men are fundamentally different in important ways, but that
different does not mean that one is better than the other
3. Social constructionists argue that science cannot be applied to the study of gender because gender is not a
static quality of a person but is a product of society. As the context changes, so does gender.
4. Todays womens movements have as their common thread a concern with improving the position of women in
society and ensuring equal opportunities for women and men.
5. Todays mens movements are varied, some endorsing feminist positions and others advocating a return to
traditional male and female roles.
6. Research has shown that sexist language, such as the use of the generic he to imply both women and men,
activates male images and is not perceieved as gender neutral.
f. This Books Approach to The Study of Gender
i. According to Deaux, 3 approaches to study of gender
1. First, sex is used as a subject variable
a. Sex is an attribute of a person and investigators compare thoughts, feelings, and behaviors of the two
sexes
b. This approach has shown that most sex differences are qualified by interactions with context
2. Second, to study the psychological differences, is femininity and masculinity
a. Subject is the social category of gender roles rather than the biological category of sex
3. Third, sex examined as a stimulus or target variable
a. How people respond to the categories of female and male
Chapter 2: Methods and History of Gender Research
a. The Scientific Method
i. Empiricism is information collected via one of our major senses (usually sight)
1. Information referred to as data, usually in form of thoughts, feelings, or behaviors
2. Statements about these observations are facts
3. Collection of facts used to generate a theory, an abstract generalization that provides an explanation for the
set of facts
4. For a theory to be scientific, it must be falsifiable
5. Theory used to generate a hypothesis, which is a prediction that a certain outcome will occur under specific
conditions. Test with those conditions and then collect data.
ii. Correlational Study
1. A correlational study is one in which you observe the relation between two variables, usually at a single
point in time
2. Weakness of correlational research is that a number of explanations can account for the relation between two
variables
3. -1 and +1 are perfect correlations
4. a positive correlation is one in which the levels of both variables increase or decrease at the same time
5. a negative correlation occurs when the level of one variable increases as the level of the other decreases
6. a selection bias does not have a representative sample of the population

a.

b.

to avoid this, a researcher should randomly select/sample the participants from the population of
interest
i. usually impossible, instead randomly select from a community believed to be fairly
representative of the population
iii. Experimental Study
1. In an experimental method, the investigator manipulates one variable, the independent variable, and
observes its effect on the dependent variable
2. To eliminate other variables, random assignment is used so each participant has an equal chance of being
assigned to each condition
3. Sex is considered a subject variable, because someone cannot be randomly assigned to be female or male,
meaning its not experimental
4. Sex can be a stimulus or target variable meaning it is characteristic of something to which people respond
5. Internal validity is being confident that you are measuring the true cause of the effect, and is a strength of
an experimental study (low for correlational method)
6. Experiments in a lab are low in external validity, in that they arent likely to generalize the real world; it is a
strength of correlational method
iv. Field Experiment
1. Field experiments attempt to maximize both internal and external validity by experimenting in the real
world
a. more difficult to conduct and more likely to pose threats to internal validity
v. Cross-Sectional Versus Longitudinal Designs
1. A study is cross sectional when a single time point is used
2. A longitudinal study measures the independent variable at one time and the dependent variable later
a. Establishes causality but does not ensure it
b. Distinguishes age effects (effect due to the age of the respondent) from cohort effects (when a
group of people are of similar age, like a generation)
vi. Meta-analysis
1. Meta-analysis quantifies the results of a group of studies
a. Takes into account if a significant difference is found, and also the size of the difference
vii. Take Home Points
1. The scientific method rests on empiricism, and a key determinant of whether a theory is scientific is whether it
is falsifiable
2. The key feature of the experimental method is random assignment, which helps to isolate the independent
variable as the true cause of the effect
3. Correlational research is often easier to conduct than experimental research and has high external validity but
low internal validity
4. Experiments are often high in internal validity but may lack external validity if conducted in the laboratory
5. Most research in the area of sex comparisons is correlational because sex is a subject variable rather than a
target variable
6. Field experiments though difficult to conduct maximize both internal and external validity
7. Longitudinal studies can help to enhance the internal validity of correlational research
8. Meta-analysis is a statistical tool that was developed to summarize the results of studies. In the area of
gender, meta-analyses have been conducted on sex comparison studies in a wide variety of domains
Difficulties in Conducting Research on Gender
i. Experimenter Effects

1.

Experimenter effects refers to how the person conducting the research/experiment can influence the results
of a study
2. Question Asked and Study Design
a. Most experimenters have expectations about the results of their work
b. Can be helped by repeating the study by different investigators with different measures of the
variables, called replication
3. Study Design: Participants
a. For sex, other variables such as age, employment, etc could all effect the outcome; must make all
participating groups comparable
4. Study Design: Variables Manipulated and Measured
a. Dependent variables can be biased in favor of male or females due to past experiences with the
variables (ex: if you make something sports related)
5. Data Collection
a. Experimenter may treat each sex differently (giving subtle cues, interpreting things differently)
b. An experimenter could lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy if he or she encourages participants to
respond in a way that confirms the experimenters beliefs
c. Can be avoided if the experimenter is blind to the purpose of the study, or to have the experimenter
blind to the persons sex
6. Data Interpretation
a. Experimenter may interpret data differently depending on the sex of the subject
7. Communication of Results
a. Experimenter may only report results that support their hypotheses
b. Sex differences are more interesting than sex similarities, so differences are more likely to be
published
c. Different publishers will link to different explanations
d. Solution is to collaborate with people of opposing beliefs, but that doesnt often happen
e. Again, can be eliminated with replication
ii. Participant Effects
1. Demand characteristics are when participants can influence the outcome of a study due to their
expectations or demands about how to behave in the experiment
a. The social desirability response bias is an example, where people want to behave in socially
desirable ways
2. Solutions: do not tell purpose of the study, have multiple measures of behavior
iii. The Setting: Laboratory Versus Field
1. Problems with external validity
a. In the real world, men and women are not equal
b. Often conducted on college students
i. More likely to be white, upper to middle class, higher in education, and homogeneous
iv. Variables Confounded with Sex
1. We cannot randomly assign someone to be male or female
a. We come into a lab with own values, histories, and experiences
b. We cant separate effects of sex from status
c. Is difference due to sex or to gender role?
v. Situational Influences
1. Things depend on situations
2. Ex: traditions like weddings, graduations

vi.

c.

Take Home Points

1. The experimenter can influence the outcome of a study by the way it is designed and by the way the data are
collected, interpreted, and reported. This is one reason that we are more confident in findings that have been
replicated by a number of researchers who have used different methods and different measures.
2. Participants can influence the outcome of the study. Especially when the behavior is public, demand
characteristics are likely to operate. Ensuring confidentiality and disguising the nature of the research will
minimize demand characteristics.
3. Differences between men and women are less likely to be found in the laboratory, where men and women face
equal conditions, than in the real world, where they do not.
4. When finding that women and men differ on some outcome, one must be careful to determine whether the
difference is due to sex, status, gender role, or something else.
History of the Psychology of Gender
i. 1894-1936: Sex Differences in Intelligence
1. brain things
a. men have larger brains, but women have larger brains relative to the size of the rest of their body.
Doesnt mean shit.
b. Then went to specific parts of the brain, but had a ton of experimenter bias.
c. In 1936, in a work by Lewis Terman and Catherine Cox Miles, they concluded there was no sex
differences in intellect
2. Take Home Points
a. Initial research in the area of gender focused on trying to establish that men were smarter than
women by examining the size of the brain.
b. The research was unsuccessful. It was not clear that one could link brain size to intellect.
ii. 1936-1954: Masculinity-Femininity as a Global Personality Trait
1. shift from sex differences to the notion of gender roles
2. again, Terman & Miles, measured masculinity and femininity in school children, test called Attitude Interest
Analysis Survey (AIAS)
3. later, a study where 13 homosexual men (no women) were considered feminine, and heterosexual male
soldiers embodied masculinity
4. Take Home Points
a. During this period, the concept of M/F was introduced. However, it was defined merely by sex
differences.
b. Because women were rarely included in research, one scale of femininity, from the MMPI, was
validated on homosexual men. Homosexuality was thought to be equivalent to femininity.
c. Projective tests of M/F were developed to reduce demand characteristics. However, these tests were
flawed in that sex differences in drawings were taken to be evidence of masculinity and femininity.
d. All the M/F scales developed during this period suffered from a number of conceptual weaknesses:
i. The tests did not distinguish between more or less masculine people, nor did they distinguish
between more or less feminie people
ii. They merely distinguished men from women, a distinction that did not need to be made
iii. Any item that revealed sex differences was taken as evidence of masculinity and femininity,
regardless of its relevance to these constructs
iv. All the scales were bipolar, such that masculinity represented one end and femininity
represented the other.
v. Gay men were equated with feminine women.

vi.

iii.

There seemed to be some confusion among masculinity, femininity, and sexual orientation. An
assumption at the time was that psychologically healthy men were masculine and
psychologically healthy women were feminine.
1954-1982: Sex Typing and Androgyny
1. marked by Elanor Maccobys 1966 publication The Development of Sex Differences
a. looked at how boys and girls developed sex-appropriate preferences, personality traits, and behaviors
2. 1973, Anne Constantinople published major critique of existing M/F instruments
3. Instrumental Versus Expressive Distinction
a. Distinction between instrumental/goal-oriented behavior and expressive/emotional behavior
i. Instrumental leader focuses on getting the job done
ii. Expressive leader focuses on maintaining group harmony
iii. Expressive linked to female gender role, instrumental to male
b. Masculinity and femininity no longer viewed as opposites, instead independent measures
i. Uncorrelated
c. Implicit measures have been developed to avoid demand characteristics
4. Androgyny
a. Concept and research on androgyny emerged from operationalization of masculinity and femininity as
independent dimensions
b. Someone is sex-typed if, on the BSRI, a male scored masculine or a female scored feminine
c. Masculine female and feminine male are referred to as cross-sex typed
d. Androgynous score (of 0) did not distinguish those with many masculine + feminine points and those
with not many masculine + feminine points
e. Another scale put people who scored low on both M and F as undifferentiated, those of high M as
masculine, those of high F as feminine, and those with high both as androgynous
i. Sex-typed if their sex corresponded with their gender role
f. Androgynous people said to embody the best of both worlds, but not accurate?
5. Undesirable Aspects of Masculinity and Femininity
a. Criticism of PAQ and BSRI is that majority of attributes are socially desirable
b. Bakan (1966) argued that there are two principles of human existence: an agentic one that focuses on
the self and separation (male principle), and a communal one that focuses on others and connection
(female principle)
c. Unmitigated agency is a focus on the self to the neglect of others; this used for negative masculinity
scale
d. The term unmitigated communion not used, but noted that it would be unhealthy to focus on others
to the exclusion of the self
i. Developed two negative femininity scales, but neither conceptually captured the construct of
unmitigated communion
6. Take Home Points
a. The period between 1954 and 1982 brought with it major innovations in the conceptualization and
measurement of gender roles.
b. The distinction between the instrumental and expressive orientation was made and then linked to
gender. This led to the development of two instruments, the PAQ and the BSRI, which are the most
widely used instruments to measure psychological masculinity and femininity today.
c. These two instruments differed from previous instruments in that masculinity and femininity were
established as two independent dimensions rather than bipolar ends of a single continuum.

d.

The use of independent M/F scales led to the development of the androgyny construct. Initially,
androgyny was captured by similar scores on masculinity and femininity and later by high scores on
masculinity and femininity.
e. The most recent advance during this period was the idea that there are socially undesirable aspects of
gender roles that ought to be considered and measured. This led to the concepts of unmitigated
agency and unmitigated communion.
iv. 1982-Present: Gender as a Social Category
1. Gender Role as Multifaceted
a. 1985, Spence and Sawin called for renaming PAQ, argued that M/F are multidimensional constructs
that cant be captured by a single trait instrument
b. researchers began to realize that M/F included more diverse content, including physical characteristics
and role behaviors
2. The Social Context Surrounding Gender
a. Social psychologists look at gender as social category by emphasizing the situational forces that
influence whether sex differences in behavior are observed
b. Movement by social constructionists who argue that gender does not reside inside a person but
resides in our interactions with people
3. Gender-Role Strain
a. By viewing gender as social category, researches found gender-role strain, a phenomenon that
occurs when gender-role expectations have negative consequences for the individual
i. Likely to happen when gender-role expectations conflict with naturally occurring tendencies or
personal desires
b. Two theories by Joseph Pleck (1995)
i. Self-role discrepancy theory: strain arises when you fail to live up to the gender role that
society has constructed (ie man who is not athletic)
ii. Socialized dysfunctional characteristic theory: strain arises because the gender roles that
society instills contain inherently dysfunctional personality characteristics (ie male gender role
includes inhibition of emotion which isnt healthy)
c. Gender-role strain may differ due to other differences, including age groups and racial backgrounds
4. Female Gender-Role Strain
a. Rarely studied in women
b. 1992, Gillespie and Eisler found 5 areas of strain for women: fear of unemotional relationships, fear of
physical unattractiveness, fear of vicitimization, fear of behaving assertively, fear of not being
nurturant
c. source of strain could be found in male settings
5. Take Home Points
a. Two shifts occurred in the most recent thinking about gender roles: (1) the realization that gender
roles are multifaceted constructs that cannot be fully captured by single trait measures of agency and
communion and (2) the idea that gender roles are influenced by the social context, time, place, and
culture.
b. Masculinity and femininity are now conceptualized as broad categories that include personality traits,
physical appearance, occupational interests, and role behaviors.
c. One outgrowth of the emphasis on the social context in studying gender has been to consider the
strains people face from the gender roles society imposes. Strains arise when our behavior is
discrepant from the role that society has set forth, and when the behaviors required of the role are not
compatible with mental and physical health.

d.

III.

Gender-role strain among men includes homophobia, competitiveness, emotional inhibition,

aggression, and a reluctance to seek help.
e. Gender-role strain among women, less studied, includes fear of physical unattractiveness, fear of
victimization, difficulties with assertion, and uncertainty about how to behave in traditionally
masculine settings.
f. The nature of gender-role strain differs across race, ethnicity, and culture.
Chapter 3: Gender-Role Attitudes
a. Attitudes Toward Mens and Womens Roles
i. Gender ideologies are attitudes toward mens and womens roles
1. Traditional gender ideology maintains that mens sphere is work and womens sphere is home
a. Implicit assumption is that men have greater power than women
2. Egalitarian gender ideology says that power is distributed equally between women and men, and identify
equally with the same spheres
3. most people lie somewhere in the middle. Hoschchild identified a third ideology as transitional
a. ex: women should hold proportionally more responsibility for the home, and men on work, but they
can do both
ii. most widely used instrument to measure attitudes toward gender roles is Attitudes Toward Women Scale (ATWS)
1. assessed beliefs about behavior of women, 1960s
2. problems: there are demand characteristics in response, fails to capture some of the contemporary concerns
about mens and womens roles (ex: military, child care, right to abortion)
iii. also ethnic and cultural differences in attitudes toward mens and womens roles
iv. Take Home Points
1. Ones attitudes toward gender can be classified as traditional, egalitarian, or transitional
2. Although gender-role attitudes have become less traditional over time, most people fit into the transitional
category, not fully embracing equality for women and men across all domains
3. To understand cultural differences in gender-role attitudes, one needs to understand what the expectations for
men and women are in the particular culture
4. Compared to Caucasians, African Americans have less traditional attitudes about women working outside the
home
b. Affective Component: Sexism
i. Sexism is ones attitude or feeling toward people based on their sex alone
ii. Traditional Versus Modern Sexism
1. Traditional sexism includes endorsement of traditional roles for women and men, differential treatment of
women and men, and the belief that women are less competent than men
2. Modern sexism includes the denial of any existing discrimination toward women, an antagonism to womens
demands, and a resentment of any preferential treatment for women
iii. Hostile Versus Benevolent Sexism
1. Glick and Fiske (1996) created distinction
2. Hostile sexism is feelings of hostility toward women; negative attitude toward women, in particular those
who challenge the traditional female role
3. Benevolent sexism reflects positive feelings toward women, including the desire to help women
4. Both rooted in patriarchy, gender differentiation, and sexual reproduction, but hostile is associated with a
social dominance orientation, while benevolent sexism is associated with right-wing
authoritarianism/preserving social order
5. Women tend to support benevolent sexism because it does not appear like prejudice, and women receive
rewards from it

6.

c.

Benevolent discrimination is when men provide more help to women than men
a. Difficult to reject the behavior because the help provider will be insulted, and it counters social norms,
and it is difficult to explain why help is being rejected
7. Benevolent and hostile sexism are positively correlated (people who endorse one also endorse the other)
iv. Sexism Toward Men
1. Feelings toward males have been explored in Ambivalence Toward Men Inventory (Glick & Fiske), developed to
distinguish feelings of hostility and benevolence toward men
a. Also rooted in patriarchy, gender differentiation, and sexual reproduction
2. Like women, they are positively correlated
v. Attitudes Toward Lesbians, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgendered Persons
1. Homophobia, the fear of homosexuals or fear of associating with homosexuals, is an attitude toward
someone based on sexual orientation
2. Gender-related traits and gender-role attitudes are associated with attitudes toward homosexuality
3. Violation of male gender role has more negative consequences due to higher status, so theres more to lose by
going against it
4. Example of homophobic attitudes include heterosexual hassles like jokes and antigay comments or behaviors
5. Transphobia is a revulsion and irrational fear of transgendered and transsexual persons, cross-dressers, and
feminine men and masculine women
a. Although positively correlated with homophobia, it is a negative attitude toward a broader group of
people (ie more than just sexual orientation)
vi. Take Home Points
1. Traditional sexism is a blatant disregard for women, whereas modern sexism is a more subtle indicator of
devaluing women, for example, by denying that women have any disadvantages in society compared to men
2. Hostile sexism reflects a negative feeling toward women, whereas benevolent sexism reflects a positive feeling
toward women based on their sex
3. Benevolent sexism is less likely to be regarded as sexist because it focuses on positive beliefs about women
and results in prosocial behavior (ie men helping women)
4. Hostile and benevolent sexism are positively correlated, however, reflecting the fact that both are rooted in
the belief that women are less competent than men
5. Women in countries that are more sexist are more likely to endorse benevolent sexism toward women
6. Sexism toward men is less well studied compared to sexism toward women and is more accepted in some
sense. Women score higher than men on hostile sexism toward men, whereas men score higher than women
on benevolent sexism toward men
7. Homophobia and transphobia reflect negative attitudes toward LGBT persons. These negative feelings are
particularly potent for LGBT youth. When negative attitudes are translated into heterosexual hassles and
possibly hate crimes, results include poor grades in school, missed school, psychological distress, alcohol and
drug problems, and increased risk of suicide
Cognitive Component: Gender-Role Stereotyping
i. What Is a Gender-Role Stereotype?
1. A stereotype is a schema or a set of beliefs about a certain group of people
2. Gender-role stereotypes are the features we assign to women and men in our society, features not
assigned due to biological sex but due to the social roles that men and women hold
3. Stereotypes have prescriptive and prescriptive components
a. Descriptive part identifies features of the stereotype
b. Prescriptive part says how we think people should behave due to their sex

4.

Category-based expectancies occur when you do not know much about a person except the category to
which he or she belongs (like sex)
5. Target-based expectancies are the perceptions you have about a person based on individuating information
ii. Components of Gender-Role Stereotypes
1. Broverman and colleagues created list of stereotypical traits (1972), found that male characteristics were of
higher value
2. Gender-role Stereotypes of Older People
a. Research tends to focus on younger adults, typically college students
3. Gender-role Stereotypes of People Who Vary in Ethnicity or Culture
a. Not a lot of research on this issue
b. In one study in 1994 of Caucasians perceptions of other races, race influenced female and male
stereotypes
c. Conflicting stereotypes as well (Mexican-American women are attractive yet overweight)
d. Also, different stereotypes within the race (ie jezebel in African-American communities)
4. Stereotypes of Homosexuals
a. Primary stereotype is that they possess gender-role characteristics associated with the other sex
iii. Childrens Stereotypes
1. Three phases of stereotype development in children (Trautner 2005)
a. Prior to age 5, children acquire information about gender-related characteristics
b. By ages 5-6, children consolidate the information that they have acquired and apply it rigidly to sex
i. Rely on target sex more than adults
c. By ages 7-8, children utilize the individuating information rather than sex alone
i. Although they use less target sex information, they use knowledge of gender-role stereotypes
to generalize from one aspect of gender-role behavior to another
iv. Subcategories of Gender-Role Stereotypes
1. Subtyping may be beneficial because it detracts from the power of the overall stereotype, but can also be seen
as a way to create an exception and leave the overall stereotype intact
2. Examples of subtypes include male businessmen, feminists
v. Effects of Gender-Role Stereotypes
1. A stereotype is a belief about someone based on her or his membership in a category
2. Categories simplify information processing
3. It may influence our perceptions of and behavior toward others
a. Example is a self-fulfilling prophecy, where you create a situation that confirms the stereotype you
believe in
i. Ex: gender and math tests
b. IAT implicit association test
4. Stereotypes create pressure, restricts opportunities
vi. Altering Gender-Role Stereotypes
1. We give allowances for people who dont fit with stereotypes including creating subtypes, ignoring information,
or making situational attributions
2. Correspondent inference theory (Jones & Davis 1965) explains why see anti-stereotype behavior as more
extreme
a. We are more likely to make dispositional attributions for behavior that is not normative, but unique
3. Backlash effect is when people are penalized for displaying counterstereotypical behavior
4. It is easier to test certain stereotypes over others
vii. Do Stereotypes Reflect Reality?

1.
2.
3.

IV.

Of course its an overexaggeration

We dont have objective measures for many traits and behaviors
Shifting standard (Biernat, 2003) is the idea that we might have one standard for defining a behavior for
one group, but another standard for defining the behavior in another group
a. This makes it difficult to compare womens and mens behavior because we have different standards
for defining a behavior displayed by a man versus a woman
viii. What Is the Status of Stereotypes Today?
1. Many studies say that it hasnt changed over time
2. Might be a status issue that causes the gender-role stereotypes
ix. Take Home Points
1. Gender-role stereotypes are the beliefs that we hold about female and male social roles
2. The descriptive aspects of gender-role stereotypes represent how we believe men and women are in our
society; the prescriptive aspects of gender-role stereotypes represent how we believe men and women ought
to be in our society
3. Stereotypes can be thought of as category-based expectancies. We rely on category-based expectancies, in
this case gender-role stereotypes, when we have little information about a person. When provided with more
information, we rely on target-based expectancies meaning that we use what we know about the person
(target) to draw inferences
4. People tend to see a greater correspondence between the mentally healthy person and the mentally healthy
male than between the mentally healthy person and the mentally healthy female. This suggests that we attach
greater value to the male than the female gender-role stereotype.
5. Gender-role stereotypes are influenced by the age, race, class, and sexual orientation of the target person.
6. In one sense, stereotypes are helpful; they simplify information processing
7. In another sense, stereotypes are harmful. Our expectations about people can influence how we behave
toward them in such a way that they confirm our initial expectancies. This is called a self-fulfilling prophecy.
8. Stereotypes are difficult to alter. When confronted with information that disconfirms a stereotype, we typically
ignore the information, fail to recall it, make it situational attribution for it, or create a subtype. In other
cases, we view the behavior as more extreme.
9. The best way to change a specific aspect of peoples gender-role stereotypes is to present them with an
example of someone who disconfirms the stereotype on one dimension but otherwise fits the stereotype. This
example will be more compelling than someone who departs from the stereotype on a lot of dimensions.
10. It is difficult to determine whether our stereotypes of women and men are accurate because of the shifting
standard. The shifting standard represents the idea that we view the exact same behavior differently when
displayed by a female and a male.
d. Behavioral Component: Sex Discrimination
i. Discrimination is the differential treatment of individuals based on their membership in a category
1. Sex discrimination is the same based on their sex
ii. Both men and women can be victims of sex discrimination
iii. Ex: Ann Hopkins vs Price Waterhouse
Chapter 4: Sex-Related Comparisons: Observations (pg 102)
a. We focus greatly on differences, although females and males have much more in common than differences
i. Differences are more provocative
ii. Confirmatory hypothesis testing is when we recall information that confirms our stereotypes and disregard
information that disconfirms our stereotypes; likely to happen when we have strong expectations, when the
stereotype is about a group, and when the stereotype is about a trait
iii. Generalizations dont usually hold for all males and all females

b.

Maccoby and Jacklins Psychology of Sex Differences

i. Examined intellectual, cognitive, and social abilities and found that sex differences existed in only a few domains, and
that many stereotypes had no basis
1. Sex differences in verbal ability (female), visual-spatial ability (male), mathematical ability (male), and
aggression (male)
2. Differences unclear in activity level, competetitiveness, dominance, or nurturance
ii. Limited in the fact that it was a narrative review, where authors decide which studies are included and come to their
own conclusions about whether the majority of studies provide evidence for or against a sex difference
iii. Jeanne Block in 1976 wrote a response, where Block reviewed the same literature and arrived at conclusions very
different
1. They used small samples, some studies had unreliable instruments, others lacked construct validity (there
was not sufficient evidence that the instruments measured what they were supposed to measure)
2. Also found they had a large age bias (focus on children)
3. Gender intensification, related to adolescence, is a time when girls and boys are concerned with adhering to
gender roles
4. tldr Block agreed with the sex differences they found, but found evidence of other sex differences insight
problems (male), dominance (male), self-concept (male), more active (male), impulsive (male), express more
fear (female), anxiety (female), less confidence (female), closer contact with friends (female), sought more
help (female), scored higher on social desirability (female), more compliant with adults (female)
iv. Meta-Analysis
1. Meta-analysis is a statistical tool that quantifies the results of a group of studies
a. Take into account not only whether a significant difference is found but also the size of the difference,
called the effect size
i. Effect size calculated in terms of the d statistic; calculated by taking the difference between
the means of the two groups (ie women and men) and dividing the difference by the variability
in the scores of the members of these two groups (ie the standard deviation)
ii. Ie a small difference between the means of two large groups will have a larger effect size than
a small difference between the means of two small groups
2. Advantages of meta-analysis includes taking into consideration the size of the effects, that researches can
examine how other variables influence or moderate the size of the effect
a. A moderating variable is one that alters the relation between the independent and the dependent
variable (ex: age, gender role, year)
3. Disadvantages: similarly to narrative reviews, researchers still make subjective decisions about what studies
to include
a. The file-drawer problem is when in meta-analysis studies that do not find sex differences do not get
published and end up in an investigators file drawer
v. Take Home Points
1. Men and women are more similar than different
2. The first comprehensive review of sex differences was published by Maccoby and Jacklin and revealed that
there were sex differences in only four domains: verbal, spatial, math, aggression
3. That review was a narrative review, which is limited by the fact that it doesnt take into consideration the size
of differences
4. Meta-analysis provides a way to quantitatively review studies, taking into consideration sample size and effect
sizes
5. Meta-analysis also allows one to consider whether certain variables, known as moderator variables, influence
the size of the sex difference

6.

c.

A disadvantage of both narrative and meta-analytic reviews is that studies finding no differences are less likely
to be published, a weakness known as the file-drawer problem
Sex Comparisons in Cognitive Abilities
i. For this chapter, a d that is positive will indicate men outperform women, and a d that is negative will indicate women
outperform men
ii. Spatial Ability
1. Spatial skills involve the ability to think about and reason using mental pictures
2. 1995, Voyer, Voyer and Bryden conducted a meta-analysis on three distinct spatial skills, found moderate sex
differences for spatial perception (d=+.44) and metal rotation (d=+.56), but only small difference for spatial
visualization (d=+.19)
3. study redone later and still held
4. research suggests the difference in visual-spatial skills emerges around kindergarten or first grade, could also
be earlier
5. sex difference in mental rotation is largest and stable over time
6. another consistent difference is the skill that requires spatial ability of aiming at a target
7. females better at location memory, so not all spatial tasks are geared toward men
a. one theory is men are better at manipulating objects in space, and women are better at locating
objects (women more likely to use landmarks when giving directions, men use distances and
north/south/east/west)
8. Take Home Points
a. The direction and magnitude of sex differences in spatial abilities depend on the specific task
b. Of all the spatial abilities, the sex differences in mental rotation is the largest, in favor of men
c. Although the sex difference in spatial skills does not appear to be changing over time, sex differences
are more likely to appear among older than younger children
d. One domain in which women have better spatial skills than men is object location
iii. Mathematical Ability
1. Through two older meta-analytic reviews found that there was an overall difference in math in favor of males,
but a very small difference.
2. More recently, the data suggests the difference in math has approached zero
3. In high pressure tests, males tend to perform better
4. Small differences in tests (male), grades (female), positive attitude (male) and confidence (male) in math
5. Take Home Points
a. Sex differences in math for the general population range between small and zero and are decreasing
over time
b. Regardless of whether sex differences in math appear on achievement tests, females outperform
males in school. Explanations for this paradox have to do with the different orientations girls and boys
have toward schoolwork
c. Sex differences in math ability among the highly talented are substantial; these differences may relate
to mens advantage in spatial skills, in particular mental rotation
iv. Verbal Ability
1. On average, girls talk earlier than boys and develop larger vocabularies and better grammar than boys
2. In old meta-analysis of 165 students, d=-.11
3. Consistent over age groups, but seemed to be decreasing over time
4. Larger sex difference in writing; females outperformed males in both SAT essay and multiple choice sections
5. With verbal difficulties, boys more likely than girls to have dyslexia and to stutter, however this could have
just been due to people reporting more boys than girls

6.

d.

Take Home Points

a. There is a small sex difference in verbal ability, favoring females
b. The size of the sex difference depends on the specific verbal ability; the sex difference is large in the
case of writing
c. One reason for the sex difference in verbal ability has to do with the fact that a larger proportion of
males than females have verbal difficulties
v. Comprehensive Assessment of Cognitive Abilities
1. Males have more variability in distribution of scores on cognitive abilities
2. Collectively, sex differences in most cognitive domains have decreased over time
3. Take Home Points
a. In many cognitive domains, males scores are more variable than females scores
b. One way cognitive sex comparisons have been captured is that women are better at tasks that involve
verbal abilities and diffuse attention, whereas men are better at tasks that require rotating objects and
focused attention
Sex Comparisons in Social Domains
i. Empathy
1. In general, empathy involves feeling the same emotion as another person or feeling sympathy or compassion
for another person
2. Sex differences depend on how it is measured
3. Meta-analysis from 1998, d=-18
a. Difference was greater when empathy was measured by self-report than by observation
i. Demand characteristics into play
b. When physiological measures of empathy are used (like heart rate), there are no clear sex differences;
however, unclear to link a response to empathy
c. Another variable was how empathy was operationalized
i. Differences larger when measures of kindness and consideration were used rather than
measures of instrumental help
d. Sex difference was larger in correlational and naturalistic than experimental studies
e. The sex difference was larger if the empathy target was an adult rather than a child
f. No age effect with the variables taken into account
ii. Helping Behavior
1. 1986 meta-analysis of helping behavior, +.34
a. situation was a moderator variable: males were more likely to help than females in situations of
danger
b. women more likely to help than men in the context of relationships (2001) and nonthreatening
situations such as volunteering (2009)
c. womens help communal, mens help is agentic
d. important moderator variable was the sex of the person in need of help
i. sex of receiver mattered when a male helped (not female)
ii. women more likely than men to receive help in general (d=-.46)
e. other moderators include stronger under public conditions
iii. Aggression
1. Sex of Perpetrator
a. Studies confirm sex differences in aggression at early age
b. More likely to use weapon and carry a weapon at school

c.
d.
2.

e.
Sex of
a.
b.

c.
d.

1996 meta-analytic review showed men were more aggressive than women, but verbal aggression
less consistent than physical aggression
i. like no difference in verbal aggression
depends on situational variables.
i. Sex difference smaller under provocation conditions
Measuring is difficult, especially objectively
Victim
More likely than women to be victim of aggression, both physically and threatened, including bullying
1999 study found girls were equally aggressive to boys and girls, but boys were more aggressive
toward other boys
i. girls tend to be physically aggressive with boys but used verbal and indirect aggression with
girls
men who subscribe to male gender-role more aggressive to women who violate female gender role
than other women (2009) and to gay men than heterosexual men (2009)
for aggression-prone people, 2008, women more aggressive to low-status, while men more aggressive
to high-status

iv. Sexuality
1. Large study 2010 conducted two meta-analyses
a. Men reported more sexual partners, more casual sex, more frequent masturbation, greater use of
pornography
b. Small difference for difference in sexual satisfaction, condom use, oral sex, and attitudes toward
premarital sex
c. Frequency of same-sex sexual behavior was small but in direction of females
d. Attitudes toward extramarital sex was small, but difference in extramarital sex experience was large in
direction of men
e. Women more favorable toward gay men, but no sex difference in attitudes toward lesbians
f. People who scored high on hypermasculinity have traditional gender-role attitudes, greater desire for
dominance, and those that score high on benevolent or modern sexism have most negative attitudes
toward homosexuality
2. Age factor hard to judge, since most people asked were college students. Year study was done makes
difference
3. Countries with higher gender empowerment had smaller sex differences in intercourse, oral sex, casual sex,
masturbation, and attitudes toward gay marriage
4. One problem is everything is self-report
a. When hooked up to a bogus pipeline (told they were using a polygraph even though they werent), sex
difference in some sexual behaviors disappeared
i. Females admitted to more things like masturbation and pornography when their responses
were anonymous
v. General Personality Attributes
1. 2001, Small but consistent in men being more assertive, women being more submissive, women being more
nurturant, and women having more negative affect
2. 2008, women higher in neuroticism, extraversion, agreeableness, and conscientiousness, but no sex difference
in openness to experience
3. in both, differences were smaller in more traditional cultures, possibly because traditional cultures link sex
differences in behavior to roles rather than traits
vi. Take Home Points

1.

e.

There is a sex difference in empathy, favoring females. The size of the effect depends on how empathy is
measured, with larger differences appearing on self-report measures and smaller differences appearing on
observational and behavioral measures
2. A meta-analysis on helping behavior showed that men help more than women, contrary to expectations.
However, this sex difference is limited to situations of danger. In the context of relationships, women help
more than men
3. Men are more likely than women to be the perpetrators and victims of aggression
4. Sex differences in aggression (male more than female) are smaller under conditions of provocation and very
low or very high arousal
5. Compared to women, men have more permissive attitudes toward sex, engage in more casual sex, have more
sexual partners, and engage in more masturbation. Women have more favorable attitudes toward
homosexuality than men
6. There are sex differences in some personality traits. Sex differences seem to be larger in more egalitarian
cultures where behavior is more strongly linked to traits
7. For all the domains of social behavior, measurement is an important moderator. Self-report measures are
influenced by demand characteristics as men and women try to behave in ways that fit their gender roles (eg:
empathy). Consistent with this idea, sex differences for some behaviors are larger under public than private
conditions (eg: helping)
Sex Comparisons in Moral Development
i. Lawrence Kohlberg 1981, six-stage theory of moral development, but only studied boys
1. Gilligan 1982 opposed this, argued that women dont have an inferior moral orientation, but an orientation
that is different from mens
2. Argued that women have a morality of responsibility that emphasizes connection to others, whereas men
have a morality of rights that emphasizes separation from others
3. Kohlberg emphasizes importance of developing a sense of justice, while Gilligan emphasizes the importance of
a responsibility or care orientation
ii. Meta-analysis in 2000 showed women scored higher on care orientation, men scored higher than women on justice
orientation
1. Moderators include describing personal dilemmas vs responding to standard dilemmas; it could just be
differences in the dilemmas they face
iii. 2008 study, women scored higher on both care orientation and justice orientation reactions; women had stronger
response overall than men but didnt differ so much from men in relative response
iv. also influenced by ethnicity and culture (2009 study of white females, black males, and black females who viewed
moral behavior more in terms of effects on individuals well-being)
v. if in view in terms of attitudes toward extramarital affairs, divorce, legalizing marijuana, women hold more traditional
views (2004), and score higher on an index of social compassion (issues like gun control, racial discrimination, death
penalty)
1. 2007 study showed 77% of women compared to 65% of men believed in God, so religion may affect morality
vi. Take Home Points
1. Kohlbergs (1981) theory of moral development was criticized for excluding women during its creation; the
concern was that women emerged as morally inferior to men
2. The controversy sparked the concept of two different views of morality, one emphasizing individual rights
(justice) and the other emphasizing responsibility to others (care). The former was said to characterize men,
and the latter was said to characterize women

3.

V.

However, research has shown that it is not so much that men and women view morality differently as that
men and women face different kinds of moral dilemmas. Men seem to face moral dilemmas that focus on
justice, and women seem to face moral dilemmas that focus on relationships.
f. Sex Comparisons in Social Development
i. Eriksons 1950 stages of social development, social development proceeds through a set of stages, the issues of one
stage of development must be resolved successfully before proceeding to the next stage
1. One must have a firm identity before one can establish a truly intimate relationship
2. However doesnt account for those who identify themselves through connection to others
ii. Intimacy is as likely to precede as to follow identity development in women (1993)
iii. Take Home Points
1. According to Eriksons theory of social development, identity achievement precedes intimacy achievement
2. Some research suggests that this theory may apply more to men than to women, as women are more likely to
work on the two tasks simultaneously. That is, women are more likely than men to define themselves in part
through intimate relationships
g. Sex Similarities Hypothesis Revisited
i. There are few sizeable sex differences
ii. Among the ones that do exist, there is a host of moderator variables
Chapter 5: Sex-Related Comparisons: Theory (pg 134)
a. Biology
i. Genes
1. Genes contributions to femininity and masculinity studied through monozygotic (identical) and dizygotic
(fraternal) twins
a. 2005 study found greater correspondence in behavior in monozygotic than dizygotic twins, and
greater correspondence in dizygotic than siblings
b. for gender atypical behavior, genes said to account for a moderate amount of variability, but
environment a substantial portion of variability
c. homosexuality higher in monozygotic twins than dizygotic
d. environment could be different for monozygotic vs fraternal
e. stronger correlation of aggressive behavior between monozygotic than dizygotic twins
2. chromosomal abnormalities also linked to aggression (extra Y chromosome in men, 1989), but could be an
environmental case
ii. Hormones
1. Hormones are chemicals produced by the endocrine system that circulate throughout the body
2. Two classes of sex-related hormones
a. Estrogens: female sex hormones
b. Androgens: male sex hormones
c. Men and women have both, but different amounts
3. Study of intersex conditions (where there is some inconsistency between the individuals chromosomal sex
and phenotypical sex)
a. Most common is CAH (congenital adrenal hyperplasia), a malfunction of the adrenal gland that results
in prenatal exposure to high levels of male hormones and lack of cortisol; in females, enlarged clitoris
i. meta-analytic review 2008 showed higher spatial skills in girls with CAH (however this was not
the case for boys, so the cause is not clear)
ii. 2007 study, CAH girls were more active and aggressive than non-CAH girls, but no difference
in boys. Similarly with toys 2004.

iii.

2004, majority of CAH women are heterosexual, but may be a link between CAH and
homo/bisexuality
1. 2008, degree of prenatal exposure to androgens that seems to be related to nonheterosexuality
iv. not associated with gender identity problems
v. 2008, three possible explanations for links between CAH and spatial skills, masculine social
behavior, and homosexuality
1. androgens could affect areas of the brain linked to those
2. androgens could affect the tendency to engage in activities that affect cognition and
behavior
3. the masculinization of appearance could somehow influence behavior
b. another way to see hormones is looking at different levels of hormones across women and men to a
behavior
i. look at amniotic fluid of pregnant women to measure prenatal exposure to testosterone
ii. some studies manipulated hormones.
1. Ex: testosterone administered to healthy women and was found to improve mental
rotation task (2004).
2. For male college students (2009) men who received testosterone were less generous
than the control group, and higher testosterone levels were associated with greater
punishment in a economics game
iii. CAIS (complete androgen insensitivity syndrome, people with XY chromosomes but are
insensitive to androgens)
1. Born with testes instead of a uterus but have female genitalia
2. 22 girls with CAIS compared to healthy girls (2003), found no differences in genderrelated behavior or personality traits
a. case where hormone override genetics
iv. do estrogens have feminizing effect?
1. Research on exposure to synthetic estrogen, DES (diethylstilbestrol), prescribed for
pregnant women in the 60s to prevent miscarriage but linked to cancer
a. no evidence that it was related to sexual orientation and little evidence related
to other psychosexual characteristics (2003)
4. there may be critical periods for exposure (2003)
iii. The Brain
1. Not explained by hemispheres of the brain
2. (pg 141)
iv. Psychobiosocial Models
v. Take Home Points
1. Twin and adoption studies conclude that genes play a role in sex differences in cognition and social behavior
as well as gender-related behavior, but that role is far from 100%
2. The strongest evidence for links of sex hormones to cognition and behavior is in research that has shown
prenatal exposure to male hormones (androgens) is associated with enhanced spatial skills and male genderrole behavior in women
3. The major problem with most studies of the relations of hormones to behavior is that they are correlational;
thus cause and effect cannot be established. Some recent studies have begun to manipulate hormones,
specifically testosterone
4. Studies of the brain reveal some sex differences in structure, but the meaning of those differences is unclear

b.

c.

d.

e.

5. In sum, biological theories leave open to explanation much variability in the behavior of women and men
Evolutionary Theory and Sociobiology
i. Sexual Behavior
ii. Aggression
iii. The Hunter-Gatherer Society
iv. A Final Note
v. Take Home Points
1. Because males and females face different challenges in ensuring the survival of their genes, sex differences in
sexual behavior have evolved. Males prefer to have sex with as many fertile women as possible, and females
prefer to have sex with a male who can provide economic resources to ensure the survival of their children
2. Because men are in competition with one another over women, men behave in aggressive ways especially
when trying to establish dominance or when competing with rivals
3. Womens greater investment in children could be one explanation for the evolution of the hunter-gatherer
society. The structure of that society has been linked to some sex differences in social behavior and cognition.
4. Evolutionary theory has a deterministic tone but is really interactionistic, as evidenced by the fact that cultural
factors can override earlier evolved tendencies
Psychoanalytic Theory
i. Take Home Points
1. Freuds psychoanalytic theory of gender development rested on unconscious processes that emphasized the
role of penis envy, the Oedipal complex, and the Electra complex in girls and boys relationships and sexuality
2. Karen Horney, a critic of Freud, also emphasized unconscious processes but believed the issues outlined by
Freud were due to social forces rather than biology
3. A more modern version of psychoanalytic theory was developed by Nancy Chodorow who emphasized the role
of women as primary caretakers in the family on the development of girls and boys gender identities
Social Learning Theory
i. Observational Learning or Modeling
ii. Reinforcement
iii. Take Home Points
1. Social learning theory states that we acquire gender-related behavior through modeling and reinforcement
2. We are more likely to imitate same-sex models, especially when they display gender-congruent behavior;
models who are reinforced for their behavior; and models we like
3. Society is filled with models of male aggression in movies, on television, and in video games who are
reinforced for their behavior. Boys are more likely to be rewarded by parents, teachers, and peers for
aggression
4. As models of appropriate behavior for females and males change, the behavior of females and males may
change
5. Girls and boys are rewarded for gender-congruent behavior. Boys are more likely than girls to be punished for
gender-incongruent behavior, further supporting the rigidity of the male compared to the female role
Gender-Role Socialization
i. The Influence of Parents
1. Differential Treatment of Boys and Girls
2. Emotion
3. Gender-Role Beliefs
ii. The Influence of Other People
iii. Other Features of the Environment
1. Toys

2.
3.
4.

f.

g.

h.

Books
Television
Take Home Points
a. Sources of gender-role socialization include parents, teachers, peers, neighbors, and the media
b. Averaging across studies, it appears that parents treat sons and daughters in more similar than
different ways
c. One way parents treat girls and boys differently is in providing sexy-typed toys. The impact of that
behavior is still under investigation
d. Parents also communicate differently with daughters and sons, particularly with respect to emotion
e. Differential treatment of boys and girls is more likely to occur among younger than older children.
With age, parents respond to individual characteristics of the child other than sex
f. Because parents have the opportunity to acquire individuating information about their children, it is
possible that other people (ex: neighbors, peers) and other things (ex: television, books) are stronger
social agents in terms of gender-role socialization
g. Girls and boys play with different toys. It is more acceptable for girls to play with stereotypical boy
toys than it is for boys to play with stereotypical girl toys. As masculine toys have been found to have
more educational value than feminine toys, the question is whether the difference in boys and girls
toys is related to sex differences in cognition
h. The presence of women has increased in all forms of media books, television, commercials. Females
are increasingly portrayed in nonstereotypical roles on television and in books, but not at the expense
of giving up traditional roles
i. Advertisements continue to depict women as sexual objects and often depict women and men in
traditional roles
Social Role Theory
i. Take Home Points
1. Social role theory states that the roles that society assigns women and men are responsible for gender roles.
Biological differences between women and men also contribute to these roles
2. Mens role to work outside the home fosters agency, whereas womens role to work inside the home fosters
communion
3. Cross-cultural research shows that girls and boys are assigned different roles and that these roles lead to sextyped behavior. Specifically, girls time with younger children fosters nurturance, whereas boys time with older
peers fosters egoistic dominance
Cognitive Development Theory
i. Take Home Points
1. Cognitive development theory emphasizes the role that the child plays in interpreting the world. The child is
an active agent in gender-role acquisition
2. There is a series of stages that children move through to acquire gender roles, starting with gender identity
and proceeding to gender constancy
3. Social cognitive theory combines elements of social learning theory and cognitive development theory by
recognizing that the child and the environment interact with one another to produce gender roles
Gender Schema Theory
i. Take Home Points
1. Gender schema theory combines elements of both social learning theory and cognitive development theory;
social learning theory explains how the content of gender schemas is acquired; cognitive development theory
suggests that people use those schemas to guide their behavior

2.

VI.

People who are gender schematic divide the world into feminine and masculine categories and allow the
gender category to influence how they dress, behave, and think
3. A person who is gender aschematic relies on other categories besides gender to interpret the world
4. When Bem first put forth her theory of gender aschematicity, she reasoned that someone who is not
constrained by the gender category would be likely to develop both feminine and masculine traits or what is
now referred to as androgyny
5. However, Bem really advocated a gender-aschematic society rather than an androgynous one
i. Considering the Context: Deaux and Majors Model
i. Perceiver
ii. Target
iii. Situation
iv. Take Home Points
1. Unlike the other theories in this chapter, the Deaux and Major (1987) model emphasizes the more proximal
causes of sex differences, highlighting the impact of the situation
2. Perceivers influence whether sex differences are observed through cognitive and behavioral confirmation
3. Targets influence whether sex differences are observed through self-verification and self-presentation
4. Features of the situation that influence the observance of sex differences are behavioral constraints, whether
the situation calls for self-presentation, and the strength of ones views on the subject of interest
Chapter 6: Achievement (pg 183)
a. Individual Difference Factors
i. The Achievement Motive
ii. Fear of Achievement
1. Historical Literature
2. Contemporary Literature
3. Leaving Traditionally Masculine Pursuits
4. Take Home Points
a. People who have a fear of success are capable of high achievement but associate negative
consequences with high achievement
b. The basic concern is that achievement is inconsistent with the female gender role. Females are
concerned that attaining high levels of achievement will have social costs
c. The fear of success literature was, and still is, quite controversial. There is concern with the validity of
the projective tests that were first used to identify a fear of success in women. However, self-report
instruments still show that women more than men associate success with negative consequences
d. Some women who start out in traditionally masculine fields leave those domains for more traditionally
feminine pursuits. Further research with these women will tell how much of this change is due to a
fear of success versus a concern with the demands and lack of flexibility of a traditionally masculine
career
iii. Self-Confidence
1. Nature of Task
2. The Appearance of Low Self-Confidence
3. Womens Underconfidence or Mens Overconfidence?
4. Take Home Points
a. The major factor that influences sex differences in self-confidence is the nature of the task. Sex
differences in self-confidence seem to be limited to masculine tasks; it is here that women tend to
underestimate their performance and lack self-confidence. Thus, lack of self-confidence could be a

contributing factor to the underrepresentation of women in masculine areas of achievement,

specifically math and science
b. Part of the sex difference in self-confidence is due to women appearing less confident. Women are
more reluctant than men to display confidence when they have outperformed another person,
believing that others self-esteem would be threatened by such displays
c. To the extent that a sex difference in self-confidence exists, it appears to be a combination of women
being underconfident and men being overconfident
iv. Response to Evaluative Feedback
1. Take Home Points
a. Women are more responsive to evaluate feedback than men meaning that they use it to make
inferences about their abilities
b. One reason that women are more responsive to feedback is that they view the information as more
accurate as more informative of their abilities
c. Men may discount negative feedback in an effort to protect their self-esteem
v. Self-Esteem
1. Take Home Points
a. There is a small sex difference in self-esteem, in the direction of males having a more favorable view
of themselves than females
b. Age is an important moderator of sex differences in self-esteem; the difference appears largest among
adolescents
c. One dimension of self-esteem particularly relevant to adolescent females is body image. Adolescent
girls are more unhappy with their body than adolescent boys, which may partly account for adolescent
girls lower levels of overall self-esteem
d. Gender-related traits, such as agency and communion, seem to show stronger relations to self-esteem
than sex per se
vi. Stereotype Threat
1. Take Home Points
a. Stereotype threat is the idea that activating a stereotype may create a concern with confirming the
stereotype and thereby interfere with performance. In the area of gender, it has most often been
applied to womens math performance
b. The effects of stereotype threat on those who strongly identify with a domain may be transient if they
discount the validity of a poor performance
c. The effects of stereotype threat may be nullified by discounting the stereotype, indicating that the
stereotype is due to effort rather than ability, or educating people about stereotype threat
d. Stereotype threat may interfere with performance by reducing cognitive capacity and/or by increasing
anxiety
vii. Conceptions of the Self
1. Take Home Points
a. Mens sense of self is based more on independence, whereas womens sense of self is based more on
interdependence
b. Interdependence is a broad term, including a relational and a collective component. Women are more
likely to emphasize the relational aspect, whereas men are more likely to emphasize the collective
aspect
c. These different self-construals have been differentially linked to self-esteem in men and women
d. Sex differences in self-construal may be influenced by ethnic and cultural factors. Western cultures
emphasize individualism, which is reflected in the independent self-construal

viii.

b.

Social
i.

ii.

iii.

Attributions for Performance

1. Sex Comparisons
2. Implications for Achievement
3. Take Home Points
a. At least for masculine tasks, which are basically achievement related, males and females make
different attributions for their own performance. They also perceive the causes of other males and
females performance to differe
b. In general, mens success is attributed to internal causes, in particular, ability, and womens success is
attributed to internal, unstable causes (ex: effort) or external causes (ex: luck). The implications are
that mens success will be repeated, but womens will not. By contrast, mens failure is attributed to
external causes or internal, unstable causes (ex: lack of effort), and womens failure is attributed to
internal, stable causes (ex: lack of ability). The implications here are that womens, but not mens,
failure will be repeated
c. Peoples beliefs about the causes of their performance have implications for their future efforts in that
area. If we attribute the cause of a failure to lack of ability, such as the case of females in math or
males in English, we are less likely to pursue work in that area. If we attribute the cause of a success
to an unstable factor, such as females believing they have to put considerable effort into math to do
well, we also are less likely to pursue work in that area. We are more likely to pursue areas of interest
in which we believe we have the ability to succeed
Factors
Expectancy/Value Model of Achievement
1. Take Home Points
a. According to the expectancy/value model of achievement, we pursue areas of achievement in which
we expect to succeed and that we value
b. Even when abilities seem to be equal, women and men have different expectancies for success in an
area
c. Women and men attach different values to achievement-related pursuits. Women are less interested in
STEM careers and more interested in jobs and careers that involve people compared to men
The Influence of Parents
1. Take Home Points
a. Parents have stereotypes that boys are better than girls in math and girls are better than boys in
verbal abilities, regardless of actual school performance
b. Parents communicate these stereotypes to children by the activities they encourage, the toys they
buy, the time they spend with children, and the attributions they make for performance
c. Parents communications influence childrens ability perceptions and, ultimately, childrens performance
The Influence of Teachers
1. Attention
2. Feedback
3. Effects on Performance
4. Take Home Points
a. Teachers give boys more attention than girls ins chool
b. Teachers are especially more likely to criticize boys than girls in school but criticism can be helpful as
it provides feedback about how to change behavior
c. Teachers provide more negative behavioral feedback to boys than girls which ends up reinforcing the
behavior and allowing boys to discount negative feedback about their classwork

d.
e.

f.

Teachers provide more positive behavioral feedback to girls than boys, which ends up diluting the
positive feedback that girls receive about their classwork and potentially leads females to attribute
positive feedback that they receive in the real world to extraneous factors
Teachers have different beliefs about girls and boys abilities, which translate into how they spend
time with girls and boys as well as the nature of the feedback they provide. Like parents, teachers
attribute girls success in math to effort and boys success in math to ability.
Teacher expectations have been shown to affect student performance