Chapter 11 Gender and Behavior Gender Stereotypes, continued • • • • Gender – is “the state of being male or female” (see Figure 11.1 for more terms) Gender stereotypes – “are widely shared beliefs about males’ and females’ abilities, personality traits, and social behavior” (see Figure 11.2) Instrumentality – “an orientation toward action and accomplishment” – refers to masculine traits Expressiveness – “an orientation toward emotion and relationships” – refers to feminine traits Figure 11.1 Terminology related to gender The topic of gender involves many closely related ideas that are easily confused The gender-related concepts introduced in this chapter are summarized here for easy comparison Figure 11.2 Traditional gender stereotypes Gender stereotypes are widely known and related to many diverse aspects of psychological functioning This is a partial list of the characteristics that college students associate with a typical man and a typical woman Gender stereotypes have remained remarkably stable in spite of all the recent changes relating to gender issues in modern societies Adapted from Ruble, T.L (1983) Sex stereotypes: Issues of change in the 70s Sex Roles, 9, 397402 Copyright © 1983 Plenum Publishing Co Adapted by permission of Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers and the author Gender Stereotypes, continued • With regard to gender stereotypes, it is important to remember that – There is much variability within gender stereotypes, and they interact with race and socioeconomic status – Boundaries between male and female stereotypes have become less rigid – The traditional male stereotype is seen as more complimentary This is called androcentrism – or “the belief that the male is the norm” (see Figure 11.3) Figure 11.3 Male bias on the job In the world of work, women who exhibit traditional “masculine” characteristics are often perceived negatively Thus, a man and a woman may display essentially the same behavior, but elicit very different reactions Gender Similarities and Differences, continued • Meta-analysis – “combines the statistical results of many studies of the same questions, yielding an estimate of the size and consistency of the variable’s effects” – The gender similarities hypothesis suggests two things: • Based on the meta-analyses, there are more gender similarities than differences • When there are differences, they are small Gender Similarities and Differences, continued • Cognitive abilities – Although there are no gender differences in overall intelligence, there are subtle differences in specific cognitive abilities – Verbal abilities • Girls start speaking sooner, have larger vocabularies and better reading scores • Boys fare better on verbal analogies, but are also more likely to stutter or suffer from dyslexia Gender Similarities and Differences, continued Cognitive abilities, continued – Mathematical abilities • Males have a slight advantage in this area, but this is only true for European-American males • In mathematical problem-solving, males outperform females by high school and take more higher math courses • Males also outperform females at the high end of the mathematical ability distribution Gender Similarities and Differences, continued Cognitive abilities, continued – Spatial abilities • The largest gender difference in cognitive abilities is in spatial abilities, or the ability to perceive and mentally manipulate shapes and figures (see Figure 11.4) Figure 11.11 Women in the world of work Career opportunities for women have expanded dramatically in the past 40 years Nonetheless, women remain underrepresented in many traditionally masculine occupations and overrepresented in many traditionally feminine occupations (Data from U.S Census Bureau, 2004a.) Figure 11.12 The gender gap in annual wages Women continue to earn less than men in all occupational categories, as these 2005 data for selected occupations make clear Many factors may contribute to this gender gap in earned income, but economic discrimination is probably a major consideration (Data from U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2005.) Gender-Role Expectations, continued Sexism, continued • Aggression toward females – Sexual harassment is “unwelcome conduct on the basis of gender” – It is a widespread problem occurring in the workplace, at home, while walking outside, and even in schools (see Figure 11.13) Figure 11.13 Reported incidence of sexual harassment in the schools This figure depicts common forms of sexual harassment in grades through 12 and the percentage of girls reporting them (Adapted from Stein, Marshall, & Tropp, 1993) Adapted from Stein, N., Marshall, N.L., & Tropp, L.R (1993) Secrets in public: Sexual harassment in our schools, p Copyright © 1993 Center for Research on Women at Wellesley College and the NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund The Past and the Future, continued • Why are gender roles changing? – Historically, gender roles have resulted from divisions of labor – aggression in men to allow for hunting, and nurturing in women to allow for childrearing – However, traditional roles no longer make economic sense Machinery has replaced much manual labor, and both parents can rear children The Past and the Future, continued • Alternatives to traditional gender roles – Gender-role identity – “is a person’s identification with the qualities regarded as masculine or feminine” – However, many not want to conform to traditional gender roles and experience strain when pressured to so – In addition, relationship satisfaction is lower in heterosexual couples with traditional gender-role identities The Past and the Future, continued Alternatives, continued • Androgyny – “refers to the coexistence of both masculine and feminine personality traits in a single person” (see Figure 11.14) – According to Bem (1975), androgynous individuals experience less restrictive constraints on their behavior and can function more flexibly – In addition, individuals whose partners are either androgynous or feminine are happier Figure 11.14 Possible gender-role identities This diagram summarizes the relations between participants’ scores on measures of masculinity and femininity and four possible gender identities The Past and the Future, continued Alternatives, continued • Gender-role transcendence – The concept of androgyny does have limits – Gender-role transcendence argues we should move past gender-role labels altogether • Instead of dividing human characteristics into masculine and feminine categories, we should use gender-neutral terms such as “instrumental” and “expressive” The Past and the Future, continued Alternatives, continued • A gender-free society? – The gender-role transcendence perspective embraces “moving beyond gender roles” as a way of perceiving themselves and others – However, some critics are concerned that the decline of traditional gender roles will undermine our economic and social order Application: Understanding Mixed-Gender Communication, continued • Instrumental and expressive styles – An instrumental style “focuses on reaching practical goals and finding solutions to problems” – An expressive style “focuses on expressing tender emotions easily and being sensitive to the feelings of others” Application: Understanding Mixed-Gender Communication, continued • Nonverbal communication – Women • Are often more skilled in nonverbal communication • Are better listeners • Value online expressive communication more • Are more likely to display negative emotions Application: Understanding Mixed-Gender Communication, continued • Speaking styles – Women speak more tentatively (“I may be wrong”), especially in mixed groups, whereas men tend to be more decisive in their speech • This may be due to women’s greater use of polite language, or • This may be due to gender-specific socialization Application: Bridging the Gender Gap in Communication • The clash of two “cultures” – Males and females are socialized in different “cultures”, which carry over into adult life • Men learn a language of “status and independence”, and women learn a language of “connection and intimacy” • Men use conversations to “achieve the upper hand”, while women try to “preserve connections between people” Application: Bridging the Gender Gap, continued The clash of two “cultures”, continued – Differences develop in childhood – Contributing socialization factors include • Parents • Teachers • Media • Childhood social interactions with peers – Boys’ and girls’ play activities are structured such that they encourage typical gender-role behaviors [...]... needed it to hunt.) • (e.g., nurturing behavior was favored in females who needed to raise children.) Biological Origins, continued • Brain organization – The cerebral hemispheres – are the right and left halves of the cerebrum, which is the convoluted outer layer of the brain” – The left hemisphere is more active in verbal and mathematical processes, whereas the right hemisphere specializes in visual-spatial... hormones] in utero, are born with masculine traits including mental abilities and choice of toys and play behavior.) Biological Origins, continued • Sexual and aggressive behavior – Testosterone plays an important role in sexual desire for both men and women – Researchers have attempted to link testosterone to aggressive behavior, but the results are inconclusive because aggressive behavior can also cause increases... show These data support the findings of laboratory studies indicating that males are more physically aggressive than females (Data from U.S Department of Justice, 2006) Gender Similarities and Differences, continued Personality traits and social behavior, continued – Aggression, continued • Females are more likely to use – Relational aggression - behaviors that hurt another’s feelings (e.g., insulting... – However, these differences are small There are more similarities than differences between male and female brains Biological Origins, continued • Hormonal influences – Hormones – “chemical substances released into the bloodstream by the endocrine glands” • Prenatal gender differentiation – Hormones can exert powerful influences on the brain before birth – (e.g., female fetuses exposed to androgens... little about individuals because of the great overlap between the groups For a given trait, one gender may score higher on the average, but there is far more variation within each gender than between the genders Gender Similarities and Differences, continued • Differences in perspective, continued – Differences seem larger, according to social role theory, because they are exaggerated in our culture... Environmental Origins, continued • Processes in gender-role socialization – Reinforcement and punishment • Gender roles are shaped by consequences • Parents, teachers, peers, and others reinforce “gender-appropriate” behavior • Parents, and fathers in particular, are much less tolerant of gender-inappropriate behavior, especially in their sons Environmental Origins, continued Processes in gender-role... socialization, continued – Observational learning • Observation learning – “occurs when a child’s behavior is influenced by observing others, who are called models” • According to social cognitive theory, young children are especially likely to imitate same-gender adults Environmental Origins, continued Processes in gender-role socialization, continued – Self-socialization • Around two to three years... someone’s opinions), or – Indirect aggression – behaviors that do not involve confronting the target directly (e.g., spreading rumors behind someone’s back) Gender Similarities and Differences, continued Personality traits and social behavior, continued – Sexual attitudes and behavior • Men and women are similar in that they both – Are somewhat negative toward sexual permissiveness – Are more accepting of... different toys • Parents also emphasize gender in the assignment of household chores along traditional gender lines Environmental Origins, continued Sources of gender-role socialization, continued – Peers • Between ages four and six, children tend to separate into same-gender groups • Play takes different forms for boys and girls – Boys play in larger groups, roam further from home, and engage in more... children identify themselves as “male” or “female” and begin to organize their world along gender lines • They develop gender schemas, or “cognitive structures that guide the processing of gender-relevant information” Environmental Origins, continued • Sources of gender-role socialization – Parents • Parents encourage play activities that are “gender-appropriate” and encourage boys and girls to play with ... traits Figure 11. 1 Terminology related to gender The topic of gender involves many closely related ideas that are easily confused The gender-related concepts introduced in this chapter are summarized... and fathers in particular, are much less tolerant of gender-inappropriate behavior, especially in their sons Environmental Origins, continued Processes in gender-role socialization, continued... have remained remarkably stable in spite of all the recent changes relating to gender issues in modern societies Adapted from Ruble, T.L (1983) Sex stereotypes: Issues of change in the 70s Sex