Sec. 4 Gender Roles

Sex and Gender Sex refers to the biological characteristics with which we are born. Gender refers to the learned attitudes and behaviors that characterize people of one sex or the other. Gender roles are the characteristics, attitudes, feelings, and behaviors that society expects of females and males. Gender identity, usually learned in early childhood, refers to one’s perception of him or herself as either masculine or feminine.

Gender Quiz: Are Women and Men Different? 1. T/F Women are the weaker sex. 2. T/F Boys are more group-centered, active, and aggressive than girls. 3. T/F Women are more emotional than men. 4. T/F Women talk more than men. 5. T/F Women suffer more from depression. 6. T/F Women are more likely than men to divulge personal information. 7. T/F Men smile more than women. 8. T/F Women and men don’t care whether a baby is a boy or a girl. 9. T/F Most women are confident about managing their financial affairs. 10. T/F A heart attack is more likely to be fatal for a man than for a woman.

Gender Quiz: Are Women and Men Different? 1. False Women are the weaker sex. 2. True Boys are more group-centered, active, and aggressive than girls. 3. False Women are more emotional than men. 4. False Women talk more than men. 5. True Women suffer more from depression. 6. False Women are more likely than men to divulge personal information. 7. False Men smile more than women. 8. False Women and men don’t care whether a baby is a boy or a girl. 9. False Most women are confident about managing their financial affairs. 10. False A heart attack is more likely to be fatal for a man than for a woman.

How we learn gender roles Social learning theory: People learn attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors through social interaction. Learning occurs through reinforcement or imitation and modeling. Cognitive development theory: Children acquire female or male values on their own by thinking, reasoning, and interpreting information from their environments. Gender schema theory suggests people have mental organization systems (schemas) to help them identify as male or female.

Bell Ringer 1. When you see a baby in clothing, how do you know if it’s a boy or girl? 2. How did you decide what clothes to wear this morning? 3. Get out your book