Chapter 11: Male-Female Differences This multimedia product and its contents are protected under copyright law. The following are prohibited by law: (1) Any public performance or display, including transmission of any image over a network; (2) Preparation of any derivative work, including the extraction, in whole or in part, of any images; (3) Any rental, lease, or lending of the program. Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Male-Female Differences Physical differences ◦ height, facial hair, genitalia, hormones ◦ “Anatomy is destiny” (Freud)  Different genitals lead to different life experiences Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Male and Female Life Expectancy Projected Life Expectancy at Birth in the US Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Male and Female Differences Females are typically described as: ◦ emotional, nurturing, submissive, sociable, poor at math, passive, and suggestible Males are typically described as: ◦ rational, independent, dominant, objective, aggressive, and active Both males and females find male characteristics desirable Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Male-Female Differences Research shows there is not much validity to these characteristic attributions ◦ There is substantial overlap between the distributions of male and female traits and behaviors ◦ This overlap occurs for most characteristics, even when the sex difference is reliable Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Male-Female Differences Level of Trait X Frequency in the population MalesFemales Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Male and Female Differences Some reliable differences are found: ◦ Males have better spatial skills ◦ Females have better verbal skills ◦ Males are more aggressive ◦ Females are better communicators Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

A History of Gender Difference Evidence from ancient civilizations ◦ Fertility and nurturance (f) versus hunting and warring (m) ◦ Development of concept of male moral superiority Nineteenth-century views ◦ Darwin’s influence ◦ Freud’s theories Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Biological Influences Chromosomes: ◦ XX vs. XY determine genetic sex ◦ Testes develop in XY embryos; produce androgen (male hormone) ◦ Androgen (or lack thereof) initiates development of male or female genitalia Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Biological Influences Androgen exposure may affect brain development and personality ◦ Animal studies ◦ Human studies  XXX, XXY, and XYY chromosome configurations  Turner’s syndrome (X0) ◦ Sex hormones and behavior  Androgenized females Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Biological Influences Hormones during and after puberty ◦ Major differences in the amounts of hormones produced during and after puberty ◦ Cyclic vs. non-cyclic nature of hormonal fluctuation  mood swings, emotionality, etc.  social and political implications Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Figure 11.2 Cyclical variation in blood levels of estradiol in females Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Psychoanalytic Approach Differences in traits arise from emotional responses to differences in the physical structure of boys and girls ◦ Castration anxiety ◦ Penis envy ◦ Identification with same-sex parent Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Neo-Analytic Approach Erik Erikson ◦ Male traits are tied to outward-extending genitalia ◦ Female traits are tied to internal genitalia Karen Horney ◦ Women envy men’s opportunities in society, not their penises Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Neo-Analytic Approach Carl Jung ◦ Anima – the feminine inner personality that is present in the unconscious of males ◦ Animus – the masculine inner personality that is present in the unconscious of females ◦ The healthy personality incorporates masculine and feminine ◦ Incorporate yin and yang Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Jung: Yin and Yang Male and female are complementary, and each contains a portion of the other Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Neo-Analytic Approach Nancy Chodorow ◦ Contemporary object-relations approach ◦ Boys and girls both have initial primary identification with the mother ◦ Development of appropriate gender identity requires boys, but not girls, to turn away from identification with mother Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Biological/Evolutionary Approach Successful reproduction requires different sexual behaviors for men and women ◦ Men: many sexual partners ◦ Women: few, carefully selected sexual partners Different personality characteristics would be adaptive for different strategies Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Behaviorist / Learning Approach Gender-typed personality characteristics are attained through: ◦ Reinforcement ◦ Conditioning ◦ Shaping ◦ Modeling Parents, peers, schools, the media all participate in this training Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Cognitive Approach Culture and gender-role socialization provide us with gender schemas ◦ Mental structures that delineate our understanding of the abilities and appropriate behaviors of men and women Schemas act as “cognitive filters” Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Trait Approach Masculinity and femininity as independent traits (Sandra Bem) Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Trait Approach Aggression and Dominance ◦ In most animal species, males are more dominant and aggressive than females ◦ Most violent crimes are perpetrated by males ◦ Most experimental and observational studies find males are more aggressive Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Trait Approach Emotionality ◦ Male babies cry more than female babies, but male adults cry less than female adults ◦ This change may be due to social expectations or hormonal levels or both ◦ Women are better at interpreting the emotions of others and are better at expressing emotions so they are interpretable by others Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Trait Approach Achievement Motivation ◦ Do women have a lower desire to achieve than men? ◦ Early studies using the TAT (1950s) suggested that women were less motivated to achieve than men  Opportunities for women’s achievement were much more restrictive at that time ◦ More recent research shows no gender difference in achievement motivation Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Humanistic Approach Maslow’s self-actualized person transcends traditional conceptions of male and female behavior ◦ Empathetic and open (“feminine” traits) ◦ Creative and autonomous (“masculine” traits) Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

The Interactionist Approach Many gender-relevant activities are tied to the demands of social situations ◦ Helping ◦ Nurturance/caring ◦ Sociability ◦ Nonverbal behaviors ◦ Influenceability/conformity ◦ Instrumental vs. expressive behavior Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Cross-Cultural Studies Gender differences that vary among cultures are produced through different socialization processes Cross-cultural gender differences ◦ Mead and Oakley Cross-cultural gender consistency ◦ Whiting and Edwards Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Social Roles Approach Social behaviors that differ between the sexes are embedded in social roles (including gender roles) The social roles influence the behaviors exhibited Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Love and Sexual Behavior Stereotypes ◦ Men want sex ◦ Women want love Stereotypes of female sexuality throughout history and culture are widely varying Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.

Love and Sexual Behavior Culture provides the context in which our sexual behavior is learned ◦ Sexual behavior can be classically conditioned  e.g., double standard of male vs. female infidelity ◦ Expectations and fantasies (i.e., cognitive processes) from the media likely affect sexual behavior Copyright © 2012 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved.