Chapter 4.4 – Gender Roles and DifferencesBy: Zach Jensen, Julia Lechner, Phu Nguyen

Gender RolesGender Identity – Physical/biological

make up (Biernat & Wortman, 1991)Gender Stereotype – when a gender

role’s expectations become so rigid, it becomes expectation of a gender from everyone

Androgynous – combination of traditional male/female characteristics

Gender Schema – set of behaviors organized around how either male/female should think & behave

Gender Roles (cont.)Gender Role – what the

society/culture expect of your gender

Gender Differences - PersonalityMednick & Thomas (1993) –

found males are more confident than females, especially in academic areas or in tasks stereotyped as masculine (e.g. math, science)

Personality (cont.)Turner & Gervai (1995) – females

engage in more verbal acts of aggression

Kendrick (1987) – Females think differently about aggression.

(Bjorkqvist, Lagerspetz, Kukianen) different in aggressive behavior – More likely to use rough play / female indirect form of aggression.

Personality (cont.)(Berman, Tracy, and Caccaro) –

Male have lower levels of serotonin (aggression)

(Lakoff, McMillan) – Communication: Females talk more/ Males talk more if dominant in relationship.

(Briton and Hall) – Females are more sensitive

Cognitive AbilityCommon misconception of

females being better than males at verbal skills, males better at spatial and mathematical skills disproven by Janet Hyde and Marcia Linn (1998).

Origins of Gender DifferencesBiological Theory – emphasizes

role of anatomy, hormones, and brain organization (Archer, 1997)

Psychoanalytical Theory – gender identity results from children identifying with parent of same sex, according to Freud. Critics argue that identification is the result, rather than the cause, of gender typing (Maccoby, 1992)

Origins of Gender Differences (cont.)Social Learning Theory –

emphasizes role of social/cognitive process on how we perceive, organize, & use info.

Cognitive-Development Theory – proposes that children acquire gender roles by interacting with their environment & thinking about these experiences (Bem, 1981)

Origins of Gender Differences (cont.)Gender Schema – mental

representation of behavior that helps child organize/categorize behaviors

Changing Gender Roles – people have been taught by society to set different goals.