1 Psychology 320: Psychology of Gender and Sex Differences November 19 Lecture 19

2 Office Hour Invitations November 19, 2:30-4:30PM, Kenny

3 The process of “matching” students to CSL partner organizations is in progress. Please check your over the next week for instructions regarding how to proceed. Questions regarding your application and placement may be directed to the teaching fellow for the CSL component of the course, Adam Baimel, at: Announcement

A little R&R …. (Review and Reflect) 4

5 Social Learning and Cognitive Theories of Gender Development 1. What theories illustrate the social learning view? (continued) 2. What theories illustrate the cognitive view?

6 1. describe the social role theory of gender development. 2. discuss evidence that supports the social role theory of gender development. 3. consider the adaptation of social role theory to gender non-conformity. By the end of today’s class, you should be able to: 4. describe the stages of gender development identified by cognitive developmental theory.

7 5. review evidence that supports and fails to support cognitive developmental theory. 7. discuss the development and effects of gender schemas. 6. define the term gender schema. 9. define the term gender aschematic. 10. suggest how a gender aschematic individual may be raised. 8. consider the adaptation of gender schema theory to gender non-conformity.

8 3. Social Role Theory  Maintains that the characteristics of females and males diverge because they are assigned to social roles (e.g., domestic roles, occupational roles) that require distinct attributes. What theories illustrate the social learning view? (continued)

9  According to this theory: “women and men seek to accommodate sex-typical roles by acquiring the specific skills and resources linked to successful role performance and by adapting their social behaviour to role requirements” (Eagly & Wood, 1999; also see Diekman & Eagly, 2008).

10  Accordingly, females are more likely than males to develop expressive characteristics because they are assigned to roles (e.g., homemaker, teacher, nurse) that require these attributes.  Males are more likely than females to develop instrumental characteristics because they are assigned to roles (e.g., executive, politician, military officer) that require these attributes.

11  Consistent with this theory: females are more likely than males to be employed in occupations that require expressivity; males are more likely than females to be employed in occupations that require instrumentality:

OccupationPercent Female Lawyer32 Police officer14 Securities salesperson29 Chief executive24 Marketing manager41 Social worker80 Counsellor70 Preschool/kindergarten teacher98 Librarian82 Child-care provider95 Registered nurse92 Secretary97 Wait staff78 Cleaner90 Percent Females in Distinct Occupations (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2005; Hegewisch et al., 2010) 12

13  Adaptation of social role theory to gender non- conformity?

14 What theories illustrate the cognitive view? The cognitive view emphasizes the development of gender-related cognitions. According to this view, “children are neither pushed by their biological desires nor pulled by external rewards and punishments. Instead, children are active learners, attempting to make sense of the social environment” (Kohlberg, 1966). Two theories illustrate the cognitive view:

15 1. Cognitive Developmental Theory  Maintains that children pass through three stages of cognitive development during which they acquire gender constancy: the belief that their “gender” (more accurately defined as sex) is irreversible and fixed. Stage 1: Gender identity (or gender labeling). Stage 2: Gender stability. Stage 3: Gender consistency.

16  Research has provided support for the ages associated with these stages: E.g., Rubel et al., 2007: Assessed gender stability and gender consistency in children aged 3 to 7:

Gender Stability and Consistency As a Function of Age (Rubel et al., 2007) 17

18  However, research has not supported the following assumptions of the theory: (a) after gender constancy is achieved, children begin to “value” their gender identity and, thus, demonstrate sex-typed preferences and behaviour. (b) after gender constancy is achieved, children become more rigid about the appropriateness of sex-typed preferences and behaviour.

19 Self-Rigidity As a Function of Age (Rubel et al., 2007)

20 2. Gender Schema Theory  Maintains that children engage in sex-typed behaviour as a consequence of social learning and cognitive development, both of which contribute to the development of gender schemas.  Proposed by Bem as an advancement over the two- dimensional model of gender.

21  Gender schemas: Organized knowledge structures about the sexes, their characteristics, and their preferences; networks of associations related to sex and gender.

22 Consider the following: A father and his son were involved in a car accident in which the father was killed and the son was seriously injured. The father was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident and his body was taken to a local mortuary. The son was taken by ambulance to a hospital and was immediately wheeled into an operating room. A surgeon was called. Upon seeing the patient, the attending surgeon exclaimed, “Oh my God, it’s my son!” Can you explain this? 22

Nurse Female Gentle Homemaker Empathetic Teacher Skirts Nurturant Female Schema Mom Sister Makeup Cooking Sewing Long hair Social worker 23

Male Ambitious Breadwinner Independent Business executive Neck ties Assertive Male Schema Father Brother Suits Football Hockey Short hair Construction worker Surgeon 24

25  Form among children as a consequence of the socio- cultural emphasis on sex and gender.  Once formed, children relate their self-concept to their gender schemas; as a result, gender schemas influence self-beliefs, in addition to beliefs about others.  Children only require “gender identity” in order to develop gender schemas.

Nurse Female Gentle Homemaker Empathetic Skirts Nurturant Self Schema (Female) Mom Sister Makeup Cooking Sewing Long hair Social worker Teacher Self 26

Male Ambitious Breadwinner Independent Business executive Neck ties Assertive Self Schema (Male) Father Brother Suits Football Hockey Short hair Construction worker Surgeon Self 27

28  Gender schemas influence (a) what we attend to, (b) what we encode in memory, and (c) what we recall from memory. Examples:

29 Cherney (2005); Cherney and Ryalls (1999): Found that children and adults recalled sex-stereotyped objects more accurately than “neutral” objects: Martin and Halverson (1993): Found that children were more likely to misremember images of people engaged in gender-inconsistent activities than images of people engaged in gender-consistent activities.

30 Mean Number of Sex-Stereotyped Objects Recalled by Men and Women Mean number of objects recalled

31  Adaptation of gender schema theory to gender non- conformity?  In her most recent theoretical work, Bem maintains that the ideal is to be gender aschematic (vs. androgynous).

32 Bem’s Ideas on How to Raise a Gender Aschematic Child

33 1. describe the social role theory of gender development. 2. discuss evidence that supports the social role theory of gender development. 3. consider the adaptation of social role theory to gender non-conformity. By the end of today’s class, you should be able to: 4. describe the stages of gender development identified by cognitive developmental theory.

34 5. review evidence that supports and fails to support cognitive developmental theory. 7. discuss the development and effects of gender schemas. 6. define the term gender schema. 9. define the term gender aschematic. 10. suggest how a gender aschematic individual may be raised. 8. consider the adaptation of gender schema theory to gender non-conformity.