###### [[textbook_Hyde&Elsequest_pyschology of women and gender]] **Covers-Topics**:: **Last Edited**:: *7:35 AM - July 08, 2022* # Chapter 2 ## [[Social Learning Theory]] - keywords - imitation & modeling - children do what they see - observational learning - children observe behavior models and then do it at a later time - gender typing - learning of gender roles and behaviors - key mechanisms of [[Social Learning Theory]] (a theory of human developement) - reinforcement - punishment - imitation - observational learning - **[[imitation]]** is motivated by the power of authority figures - **[[Observational learning]]** means that children can anticipate consequences of actions they have never performed - rewards for certain behaviors can overcome gender stereotypes (albert bandura film study pg 34) > "**Attention** is the cognitive process that weeds out most of the behaviors that are irrelevant to the child and <u>focuses on the few that are most relevant</u>" ^shyhhm - pg 35 - gender makes some behaviors relevant and some not - mix gender groups makes causes more observation of gender appropriateness ( bussey and bandura 1999) - **self-efficacy** - an individuals belief in their ability to accomplish a particular task - **[[Social Learning Theory]]** suggests that gender roles can be easily changed if authority figures change their behaviors ## cognitive developmental theory - children's cognitive organization is different than adults and changes over time - **gender constancy** is import ot children's gender developement and gender identity ## gender schema theory - we each have a **[[gender schema]]** that processes and organizes gender-linked associations - 5 and 6 year old children switched the gender of people in gender inconsistent scenarios and kept it in gender stereotypical scenarios pg 41 # Chapter 7 ## [[Evolutionary Psychology]] - **[[sociobiology]]** - the applicatoin of evolutionary theory (natural selection) to social behavior [[socialization|social fitness]] - **evolutionary fitness** ==> the relative number of genes an animal contrubutes to the next generation - **parental investment** may play a role in in why females normally take most care of the offspring - examples - females have limited eggs, males have unlimited sperm - long female gestation period - in humans - females have greate parental investment - maternity is always certain paternity is not - reasons for exceptions to this rule of lesser male investment - children provide care of two people -> monogamous couples -> mate for life - female orgasm in humans exist because in reinforces monogamy - **sexual selection** ==> how mates are chosen - impacted by - one gender competes for mating privileges -> larger males - one gender has perferences for mates -> more beautiful females - Critiques of evolutionary pyschology - feminists oppose because it insinuates that gender difference are natural and unchangeable - opposed by changes over time male mainly hunters in hunter gatherer society -> males mainly farmer in agrarian society - evolutionary pyschology focuses only on individuals survival while group survival and species survival also play a large role - certain evolutionary pyschology conclusions have been shown to be inconsistent (waist to hip ratio) - a feminist approach to evolutionary pyschology would be - thinking critically about sex and gender - explicitly recognizing women as active agents in evolutionary process - explicitly recognizing women as active agents in human dynamics including those related to sexual selection and competition for males - social role theory - gender roles mainly come from social structure an d the gender labor division - biological differences are reinforced by gender roles ## Lifespan development - **Temperament** (in [[childhood]]) => biologically based emotional and behavioral traits that appear early in life and predict later behaviors, personality, and pyschological problems. - few gender differences exist in temperament - activity differences (males more active) this difference grows into adolescence and shrinks into near obscurity in adulthood - impulsivity (less in females) - perceptual sensitivy (more in females) - Adult's treat their children differently according to their child's sex. This treatment is complex and small but widespread enough to encourage gender differences - The ability to distinguish between male and femal faces develops sometime between birth and 3 months of age - Children's ability to perceive gender does not mean that gender is binary or is not societally constructed. Children categorize gendered behavior as they see it, and as gender nonconformity becomes more prevalent children often understand it more easily than adults. - Male pattern aggression is present through multiple culture from North America to [[Africa]] - **[[gender constancy]]** => the understanding the gender is stable and inconsistent - a 3 year old may know that she is a girl but not know that she can't grow up to be a daddy - [[gender identity]] develops around 18 months to two years --> **gender stability** (understanding that gender is stable over time) which develops around 3-4 - early stages of gender stability manifest in appearance rigidity (avoiding clothes of the opposite gender). this exist more in girls - --> **[[gender consistency]]** understanding that gender is consistent despite superfical changes in appearance - "Preschoolers rapidly become gender essentialists, believing that differences between woman and men are large and unalterable, and that there can be no behavioral overlap between the categories" - **[[Gender self-socialization model]]** => Children do not have to be forced to conform to their assigned gender, they will self-socialize to fit their assigned gender once they have an understanding of what that gender entails. - **[[Channeling]]** => the differential treatment in which [[parents]] select differenct toys, activities for boys and girls can also involve modeling - Removing people from negative gendered sterotypes does not mean you are not stereotyping them by gender. - Male sterotypes are less broad but more harshly inforced, while female stereotypes are more rigid but more lenient # Chapter 3 - Gender stereotypes can be implicit or explicit - A liberal view of gender does not equate to a lack of gender stereotyping - Q: Why do people stereotype - [[Stereotyping has the psychological goal of comprehension and self-enhancement]]. When meet a new person or interact with anew situation we fill in assumed information as a part of the process of learning about them. This is a normal process but overreliance on it can lead to negative stereotyping and making the person feel judged. Stereotyping another groups behavior as worse than our own personal behavior or the behavior of someone we admire is form of self-enhancement. This behavior leads to harmless distinctions and harmful beliefs ([[racism]], [[homophobia]], etc) - Q: How is [[implicit bias]] measured - Through reaction times. The faster an association is made the stronger that bias is. - Q: What is [[stereotype threat]]? - A [[stereotype threat]] is when a person is concerned a negative sterotype affecting their treatment in a situation. This can lead to lower performance and higher stress. There are two pyschological processes that underlie stereotype threat: 1. *Underperformance due to extra pressure*: The extra pressure of disproving a stereotype and avoid conflict leads to a lower [[working memory]] 2. *Underperformance due to threats of self-integrity and belonging*: If a person's [[self-worth]] or sense of belonging is threatened by a situation will protect themself by setting lower goals, withdrawing from the situation, or having less motivation. - Q: What is [[deindividuation]]? - A state where the person is anonymous and the [[identity]] is not emphasized or demphasized. Individuation brings the identity to the front and of mind and places the person in a social situation. Deindividuation has been shown to remove gender differentials in some studies. - [[Identity is a sense of self, not a pattern of traits or behavior]] - Most people who score high on adrogyny scales have definitie [[cis|cisgender]] indentities # Chapter 10 Biology and gender - [[Epigenetics]] - changes in the gene expressions caused by factors other than DNA - Q: What is a brain mosaic? - ![[brain mosaic]] - Q: Do trans people's [[brain mosaic]] match their assigned or identified gender? - Brain volume of trans people pre-[[hormone|hormones]] was a complex mix of masculine, feminine, and neutral sized regions and differences lessened towards their assigned gender on [[hormone|hormones]]. Research in this area is limited, and we do not have a full understanding of why certain regions are different sizes between men and women.