Genes, Culture, and Gender Copyright © 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Gender Gender: the characteristics people associate with male and female. What behaviors are universally associated with being male? Female? Of the 46 chromosomes in the human genome, 45 are unisex.

Genes, Culture, and Gender Copyright © 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Gender Similarities and Differences Independence versus connectedness –Women more than men give priority to intimate, close relationships –Compared to boys, girls engage in more intimate talk and less aggressive play –As adults, women describe themselves in more relational terms, welcome more help, experience more relationship based emotions, & are more attuned to other’s relationships –Women talk on the phone longer and spend more time sending s –Men displayed more “fight or flight”, while women “tend & befriend” and turn to family and friends for more support. –LaFrance (2003) surveyed high school yearbooks and found that girls were more likely to smile.

Genes, Culture, and Gender Copyright © 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Gender Similarities & Differences Social dominance: –Imagine two people: One is “adventurous, autocratic, course, dominant, forceful, independent, and strong.” The other is “affectionate, dependent, dreamy, emotional, submissive, and weak.” Most people around the world will say that the first is a man and the second is a woman. –In no known society do women dominate men. –Men still initiate most of the inviting on dates, do most of the driving, and pick up most tabs.

Genes, Culture, and Gender Copyright © 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Gender Similarities & Differences Aggression (behavior intended to hurt): –Men admit to more aggression than women –Aggression may be displayed differently by women How is aggression different in men and women? Do you think one sex is more aggressive than the other?

Genes, Culture, and Gender Copyright © 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Gender Similarities and Differences Do you think that there are gender differences when it comes to sex? Intimacy?

Genes, Culture, and Gender Copyright © 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Gender Similarities & Differences Sexuality: –There is a gender gap in sexual attitudes and assertiveness. –“I can imagine myself being comfortable and enjoying casual sex with different partners”- 48% of men agreed & 12% of women –“If two people really like each other its alright for them to have sex after a short period of time”-58% of men agreed & 34% of women –25% of men & 48% of women cite affection as the reason for intercourse –54% of men and 19% of women stated they think about sex “every day” or “several times a day.” –These gender differences carry over to attitude Men are more likely to engage in sexual activity

Genes, Culture, and Gender Copyright © 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Evolution and Gender: Doing What Comes Naturally? Gender and mating preferences –Described by evolutionary psychologists as follows: Males have greater sexual initiative, because they produce trillions of sperm, so a male can spread his genes by fertilizing many females. While females invest their reproduction abilities carefully (looking for commitment). –Mating preferences: Men will try to offer what women want (peacocks strut their feathers, men strut their abs, car, etc and women balloon their breasts, and try to convey a youthful appearance. –Evolutionary psychologists state that women prefer older men and men prefer younger women.

Genes, Culture, and Gender Copyright © 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Evolution and Gender: Doing What Comes Naturally? Reflections on evolutionary psychology –Critics see a problem with evolutionary psychology explanations. They start with an effect and go back to provide an explanation. –It may be more evolutionarily important for males to have one mate than engage in intercourse with many (they decrease their chances of STD’s, increase the chance that their offspring will survive if both partners dedicate their efforts to the offspring, etc)

Genes, Culture, and Gender Copyright © 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Evolution and Gender: Doing What Comes Naturally? Gender and hormones –Girls who are exposed to testosterone exhibit male behavior –Aggression gender gap seems to be influenced by testosterone –As you age, men become more empathetic and women more assertive. This may be due to hormonal changes –Androgynous: Capable of both assertiveness and nurturance (showing female and male traits).

Genes, Culture, and Gender Copyright © 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. A Closer Look At Gender

Genes, Culture, and Gender Copyright © 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Predictions from Evolutionary Psychology

Genes, Culture, and Gender Copyright © 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Culture and Gender: Doing as the Culture Says? Gender roles vary with culture –In some cultures girls spend more time helping with housework and boys spend more time in unsupervised play. –In North American marriages men do most of the house repairs and women arrange the child care. –Socialization gives girls “roots” and boys “wings” –Does culture construct gender roles? Or do gender roles merely reflect men’s and women’s natural behavior tendencies?

Genes, Culture, and Gender Copyright © 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Culture and Gender: Doing as the Culture Says? Gender roles vary over time –Despite inequalities, people would like gender roles to be more equal –In 1938, 1 out of 5 Americans approved of married women earning money if they had a husband who could support her. By 1996, 4 out of 5 approved

Genes, Culture, and Gender Copyright © 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Culturally Approved Gender Roles

Genes, Culture, and Gender Copyright © 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Culture and Gender: Doing as the Culture Says? Peer-transmitted culture: –Twin and Adoption studies indicate that 50% of variations are genetic. Shared environmental influences account for 0 to 10% and peer influence accounts for 40 to 50%. Preschoolers will often refuse to try certain foods despite parent’s urgings, until they are placed in a table with a group of children who like it. Although children of smokers have an elevated smoking rate, the effect is largely peer mediated.

Genes, Culture, and Gender Copyright © 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Conclusions about Genes, Culture, and Gender Biology and culture –Predispositions and interactions Experience uses genes to change the brain The power of situations and persons –Situations affect different people differently –People often choose their situations –People often create their situations

Genes, Culture, and Gender Copyright © 2008 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Gender Differences in Social Behavior