Chapter 16: Gender Roles GENDER ROLES 1
Jan 18, 2016
Chapter 16: Gender Roles
GENDER ROLES
1
Chapter 162
Section 1: What Are Gender Roles?
Chapter 163
Gender Roles – widely accepted societal expectations about how males and females should behave
Gender Stereotypes – fixed and oversimplified beliefs about the ways in which men and women ought to behave
Chapter 164
Section 2: Gender Differences
Chapter 165
Differences in Cognitive (mental) Abilities – it has been noted that males and females each outperform the other in certain tasks
Differences in Personality and Behavior – women tend to exceed men in trust, nurturance and attention while men tend to exceed women in assertiveness
Section 2: Gender Differences
Chapter 166
Males seem to have superior mathematical ability.
Males seem to have better visual-spatial skills (spatial orientation and mental rotation).
Males seem to exceed females in traits such as tough mindedness.
Males tend to be more aggressive.
Section 2: Gender Differences
Chapter 167
Females seem to have superior verbal abilities (reading, writing).
Females tend to be more talkative during early childhood, however males tend to become more talkative from school age on.
Section 2: Gender Differences
Chapter 168
Often difficult to determine what gender traits are caused by biology (nature) and which are caused by environment/upbringing (nurture).
In addition, women have not always had equal rights, and thus being put in a subordinate situation may have hampered female development in some areas (ex. Math).
Section 2: Gender Differences
Chapter 169
MATE SELECTIONMen tend to be more swayed by
physical appearanceWomen tend to focus more on personal
qualities (ex. wits, assertiveness, compassion, warmth, etc. )
Evolutionary theory focuses on reproduction here (women seek protection, men seek fertility)
Section 3: Gender Typing
GENDER TYPINGGender typing – different theories proposed to explain gender role developments
10 Chapter 16
Section 3: Gender Typing
Chapter 1611
GENDER TYPING THEORIES Psychoanalytic Theory – gender typing can be
explained in terms of gender identification, where boys identify with their fathers and girls with their mothers
Social Learning Theory – gender role behavior is acquired through two different learning processes – reinforcement and modeling
Section 3: Gender Typing
Chapter 1612
Gender-Schema Theory – children play an important role in developing gender-appropriate behavior by forming their own concepts about gender and then shaping their behavior so that it conforms to their gender concepts
Section 4: Variation in Gender Roles
Chapter 1613
Increasing participation of women in activities long considered appropriate for men only (ex. Athletics, corporate executive positions, etc.)
Men have taken on tasks previously performed by women
Gender roles in one society may be viewed differently in another culture
Section 4: Variation in Gender Roles
Chapter 1614
Men and women of different cultures could be expected to be aggressive or peaceful
Cultures may also have different ideas about who should be primarily responsible for raising children
Chapter 1615
Question: What are the differences between gender roles and gender stereotypes?
Gender Roles Gender Stereotypes