12ii Gender
Development
Gender Stereotypes
Definitions
Gender
social biases
Sex
How do I characterise myself?
Do I fit in with social
norms for girls?
concerns biological biases
Studying Sex
Differences
X and Y chromosomes
Meta-Analysis
Single studies
generalisability from
one study is low
how big are
effect sizes
how many studies find this effect
and show this difference
small differences in sex with
large overlap in both sexes
many members of opposite sex that
contradict documented sex differences
Sex differences
Play 🎊
Boys more aggressive than girls
Boys prefer toys that stimulate
high activity levels and aggression
Boy more active
than girl
Reasons
Early socialisation
Differences in
room decoration
Receive different
sex-stereotyped toys
Biological
Reaosns
Congenital Adrenal
Hyperplasia (CAH)
some girls exposed prenatally
to gonadal hormones
born with ambiguous genitalia
but possess female chromosomes
Money &
Ehrhardt
Girls exposed to hormones
more likely to be tomboys
display rougher play
Procedure
Mothers of CAH girls pushed female toys
to their children more than normal mothers
CAH girls still more tomboyish
Amniotic
Fluid
Level of fetal testosterone
predicted male-typical play
Procedure
amniotic fluid was tested for
levels of testosterone
mothers and children were followed
up to elementary school
School 🏫
Girls outperform boys in
grades for all subjects
Boys have higher activity levels
Sedentary teaching style
may not align with that
Achievement and effort suffers
Girls and boys perform
similarly in achievement tests
Boys doing better in
novel situations
GIrls having higher fear and
anxiety in high stake situations
Parental Assistance
mother's level of assistance
communicates importance of school
Results
Mothers provide more
assistance to girls than boys
Procedure
Mothers report on assistance
provided to children
Study based in the US
Perceived
Competence
English 📕
Girls > Boys
History 📜
Girls > Boys
Science 🍀
Boys > Girls
Math 📏
Boys > Girls
Parents' Perceptions
of Competence
Perceive girls as 📈 competent than boys for English 📕
Perceive girls as 📉
competent than boys for Math 📏
Does not match actual
achievement levels
Can influence girls' career choices
Emotions ❤
Emotionality
Girls better at interpreting
others' feelings
Slightly better at
prosocial behaviour
Emotional
Distress
Girls more emotionally sensitive
and emotionally expressive
Girls more
anxious than boys
Depression relatively
equal in childhood
begins early in childhood
Diverges in
adolescence
Girls more prone to
depression than boys
Reasons
Gender Segregation
and Group norms
spend more
time in dyads
excessively discuss problems
within dyadic relationship
coruminate more
than boys do
higher emotional distress
General
Origins
Social Learning
Theory
Role of
Parents
Describe boys and
girls differently
new parents rate baby
boys and girls differently
words used to describe
babies "strong", "pretty"
modelling and reinforcement
of stereotyped behaviours
Praise boys and
girls differently
Toys
More acceptable for girls
to play with boys' toys
Girls' toys encourage
quiet passive play
Boy toys designed
for more noisy play
Eg. Dolls, makeup, books
Trucks, balls, guns
click to edit
conveys that girls should
be seen but not heard
strive to be pretty, attractive and
belong in the house as a wife
resulting in later patterns of quiet
behaviour and compliance
Teachers
Teachers more likely to
call on boys than girls
Answering without
raising hands
Praise girls for obedience and
scold them for not raising hands
More likely to interrupt
girls while answering
Trend found in
I/O studies
Praise boys for knowledge
Gender Gap in
Negotiation
Results
Girls ask for smaller bonus from
men as opposed to women
Boys ask for same bonus
regardless of gender
Media 📽
Canadian town
without TV
Studied Canadian town
without television
measured stereotype beliefs
before and after introduction of TV
TV increased belief in gender stereotypes
from 30% to 70% of population
Cognitive
Development
how children think about gender influences gender beliefs and gendered behaviour
Gender Constancy
"understanding that
sex is permanent"
may represent period when
gendered beliefs become internalised
Gender Labelling
Using gendered terms like
"boy", "girl", "he", "she" correctly
Gender Stability
3.5 to 4.5 years
2 to 3.5 years
Gender Constancy
4.5 to 7 years
realising gender is stable across
time but not situations
realising gender is stable
across situation and time
Eg. Dressing up in girls
clothes makes a boy a girl
Slaby & Frey
Procedure
Pretest to measure
gender constancy
Divided into two groups based on
existence of gender constancy
Displayed a split screen video
of a man and woman
measured length of time children gazed
at same sex vs opposite sex models
Results
Children with gender constancy
look longer at same-sex model
Children w/o gender constancy
look equally at both models
once children realise that their
sex does not change
turn to same sex models for
info on how to behave
media and parents
larger difference between
boys with gender constancy
and boys without
Girls are okay with looking at male models
as they embody power and strength?
Gender
Identity
♀ ♂
"personal perceptions of characteristics
as masculine or feminine"
Middle Childhood
Girls may not identify as
strongly with ♀ qualities
♂ perceived
as more valued
Boys strengthen identity
with ♂ roles
Adolescence
Gender Intensification
adheres more strictly to
traditional gender roles
greater pressure from puberty changes
and advent of dating to conform
Androgyny
"people who identify with both
♀ and ♂ characteristics "
more acceptable for
🚺 than for 🚹
Peers tend to reject children who engage in opposite-sex behaviours in childhood
can be associated with higher self-esteem
(more so for 🚺 than 🚹)