In a perfect world … what should the role of men and women be? Question In a perfect world … what should the role of men and women be?

Evolutionary Explanations of Gender Roles

Shields (1975) proposed that men and women have evolved differently to fulfil their different and complementary functions which are necessary for survival.

Men hunted Women with child caring duties farmed and prepared food.

Shields (1975) continued This lead to the creation of bigger social groups and the ability to avoid starvation. Neanderthals became extinct possibly because they did not have such gender roles. Uggh!!

Pair-bonding ... .. and the forming of monogamous relationships helps to ensure that .. females get protection and resources for themselves and their children males can ensure sexual fidelity and a good degree of paternal certainty.

Sexual Reproduction (mate choice and parental investment) occurred in the EEA (Environment of Evolutionary Adaptiveness) approximately 10,000 to 5 million years ago).

Parental investment... Triver’s defined this as “any investment by the parent in an individual offspring that increases the offspring’s chance of surviving (and hence reproductive success)”. According to parental investment, males achieve greater reproductive success through promiscuity and abandonment of young and females achieve greater reproductive success though selectivity and nurturing of young.

Parental investment continued... This investment is not an equal one. Females tend to invest more because females gametes (eggs) are less numerous and more costly to produce than male gametes (sperm).

Mate choice women seek genetically fit males who will invest in them and their offspring

while men seek to impregnate as many women as possible.

Competition Physical aggressiveness is also seen between competing males which is possible why males have evolved to be bigger and stronger and females compete to be seen as more attractive.

Anderson (1997) men more aggressive as they would have had to compete for food resources and adapt their traits. Men also greater size in terms of strength and muscular development due to being able to hunt effectively.

Morris (1966) the hunting hypothesis – man had to adapt to become a good hunter, speed, co-ordination. In Modern times men do better in mathematical reasoning, navigation, map reading. Women carry the foetus and give birth, hence would look after the offspring. Making it difficult for her to hunt. Women are better verbally and emotionally as they would have to interpret subtle signs from the child.

However .. for the San people in Kalahari Desert South Africa collecting food is shared by men and women who carry out different tasks. Men hunt, women gather readily available plant and animal food. Across cultures, men tend to be more aggressive, competitive and dominant

Luxen (2005) men showed more dominant behaviour in job interviews (shaking heads, directive remarks) women more affiliation (laughing)

RESEARCH STUDIES: Wood and Eagly (2002) conducted a cross-cultural study comparing gender behaviours in different societies. Characteristics of non-industrial societies was that men hunt and kill and women look after children, cook.

Zeller (1987) some activities applied to either sex i. e Zeller (1987) some activities applied to either sex i.e.. Milking, harvesting food – weakens the evolutionary explanation

Tamres et al (2002)... found in times of threat and stress, women tend to seek company of others much more than men supporting idea that interpersonal sex roles have been naturally selected by evolution

Buss (1989)... conducted a survey that gathered information about mate preferences from 37 cultural groups. Females tend to seek males with resources and ambition while males sought physical attractiveness and younger partners.

Clip -what males want. Clip 2

Supporting idea that mating strategies have evolved differently between the sexes due to different environmental demands.

Holloway et al (2002).... investigated the idea that males being larger in order to compete for females. Found that human males tend to be 1.1 times bigger than females.

Holloway et al (2002) continued.... But in chimpanzees, pressure for mate competition is high, males tend to be 1.3 times bigger. Supporting idea of gender size differences being due to evolutionary pressures.  

Cognitive style .... Baron-Cohen (2004) conducted research to demonstrate that men and women think differently (in align with the hunter and nurturer hypothesis) and developed a questionnaire.

Cognitive style continued.... Participants had to agree or disagree with the (systemizing quotient) statements (i.e. I prefer to watch a film with groups of friends) found males systematisers and females tended to be empathisers only about 17% men had a female empathising brain and same % females had male systematising brain.

EVALUATION: Evolutionary approach is a biological one, suggesting that aspects of human behaviour have been coded into our genes because they are adaptive. An alternative view is that behaviour is affected by nurture (environment) .

Evaluation One criticism is on this theory is that it is determinist. Our genes specify how we behave i.e. Men take on role of hunter and women of nurturer. This theory fails to take into account the view that genes only predispose us to behave in certain ways but do not dictate what we do. More importantly culture and personal experience determine our behaviour.

Evaluation point 2 continued…. This approach which implies that men and women have little choice or control over their behaviours: women are natural ‘nurturers’ and men are naturally aggressive and promiscuous this suggests that equal opportunities policies are doomed to fail as men are ‘naturally’ more competitive, risk taking and likely to progress up the career ladder . However feminists will argue with this

Also ..

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EVALUATION: Questionnaires, observations, experiments used to test this theory. Cross Cultural studies test whether behaviours are universal. The difficulties here are; generalisation and deciding whether or not the behaviours observed are representative of the culture.

4.Evolutionary theory provides a plausible explanation for physical differences that exist between males and females and also why men tend to be more promiscuous and women more choosy in their sexual behaviour

5.Even if gender roles have evolved, it does not mean that they have a positive outcome. E.g. men can be negatively affected by feelings of jealousy and rejection.

EVALUATION:6.Although, as predicted by evolutionary theory, many traditional male activities require strength, so do typical female activities such as carrying water and food. However, evolution may have shaped women to perform activities that could be carried out in conjunction with child rearing.  

EVALUATION: 7. Cassidy (2007) argues that evolutionary psychology tells us nothing about non-heterosexual relationships or those which are not productive. 8. Just because differences exist does not mean they are desirable. Buss (2000) argues that evolutionary legacy may lead to all manner of unhappiness in modern relationships as can lead to feelings of rejection, jealousy and unhappiness.

Evaluation This approach is reductionist as it breaks all human behaviour (even complex) down to the role of genes - ignores the role of the environment or interactionism on gender roles

Describe & evaluate evolutionary explanations of gender roles Describe & evaluate evolutionary explanations of gender roles? (10+14 marks)

See model essay answers on VLE Suggested Plan Define gender roles. These roles appear to be determined by the biology of the individual. Why? According to evolutionary Psychologists the role of man is breadwinner/ protector and the role of women is wife/ mother and gather. What research evidence is there to support or go against this view? See model essay answers on VLE

Class Discussion.. Should they change?? Why are women more choosy and men more promiscuous in their sexual behaviour according to the evolutionary theory? What do men look for in women? What do women look for in men? Are these roles changing? Why? Should they change??