Environmental Influences on

Behavior

Module 6

Environment and Brain Development

Enriched environments enhance brain development.

Brain Development and Adulthood

Our brains change over the course of our lifetimes.

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How Much Credit (or Blame) Do Parents Deserve?

Parental influence is largely genetic…(ouch). Culture and peers play a role.

Although raised in the same family,

some children are greater risk takers.

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Peer InfluencePeers are influential !...watch out for

conformity.

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Environmental Influence

Culture the enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes,

and traditions shared by a large group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next

Norm an understood rule for accepted and

expected behavior

Variation Across CultureCultures differ. Each culture develops

norms…

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• American women did not shave their armpits until the early 20’s

• And legs were not bare until the 40’s

Variation Over Time

Cultures change over time.

This change cannot be attributed to changes in the human gene pool because

genes evolve very slowly.

Culture and the Self

If a culture nurtures an individual’s personal

identity, it is said to be individualist.

If a group identity is favored then the

culture is described as collectivist.

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Culture and Child-Rearing

Individualist cultures (European) raise their children as independent individuals

whereas collectivist cultures (Asian/African) raise their children as interdependent.

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Individualist/Collectivist

Westernized Cultures Asian-African Cultures

Responsible for your self Responsible to group

Follow your conscience Priority to obedience

Discover your gifts Be true to family-self

Be true to yourself Be loyal to your group

Be independent Be interdependent

Developmental Similarities Across Groups

Humans are more similar than different.

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Gender Development

Based on genetic makeup, males and females are more alike than different,

….the majority of our inherited genes (45 chromosomes are unisex) are similar.

Males and females differ biologically in body fat, muscle, height, onset of

puberty, and life expectancy.

Gender Differences in Aggression

Men express themselves and behave in more aggressive ways than do women.

This aggression gender gap appears

in many cultures and at various ages.In males, the nature of this aggression is

physical.

Gender Differences and Connectedness

Young and old, women form more connections (friendships) with people than do men. Men emphasize freedom

and self-reliance.

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The Nature and Nurture of Gender

X Chromosome the sex chromosome found in both men and

women females have two; males have one an X chromosome from each parent produces

a female child Y Chromosome

the sex chromosome found only in men when paired with an X chromosome from the

mother, it produces a male child

Biology of SexBiological sex is determined by the twenty-

third pair of chromosomes.

The Nature and Nurture of Gender

Testosterone the most important of the male sex hormones both males and females have it additional testosterone in males stimulates

growth of male sex organs in the fetus development of male sex characteristics during

puberty

Sexual Differentiation

In the mother’s womb, the male fetus is exposed to testosterone (because of the Y

chromosome), which leads to the development of male genitalia.

If low levels of testosterone are released in the

uterus, the result is female genitalia.

Disorders of differentiation…

• What if you are neither….

• AIS

• Tell about undiscovered case from bio-psych…

Sexual Differentiation

Sexual differentiation is not only biological, but also psychological and social.

Gender Roles

Our culture shapes our gender roles — expectations of how men and women are

supposed to behave.

Gender Identity — means how a person views himself or herself in terms of

gender.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kokogiak/66087367/

The Nature and Nurture of Gender

Gender and Culture

The Nature and Nurture of Gender

Stereotype threat….

Gender Roles: Theories

1. Social Learning Theory proposes that we learn gender behavior like any other behavior—reinforcement, punishment, and observation.

2. Gender Schema Theory suggests that we learn a cultural “recipe” of how to be a male or a female, which influences our gender- based perceptions and behaviors.

Gender Roles: Theories

EXPLORING PSYCHOLOGY(7th Edition in Modules)

David MyersPowerPoint Slides

Aneeq AhmadHenderson State

University & James A. McCubbin, Ph.D.

Clemson University W/EditsWorth Publishers, © 2008