Gender Identity: Developing Femaleness And Maleness

Front 1

The Beginnings of Gender Identity

Back 1

-By the age of 2, children consistently label themselves and those around them as male or female
-one way gender is manifested is in play

Front 2

Biological Perspective on Gender

Back 2

-Hormones are a biological characteristic
-biological differences exist in the structure of female and male brains. for example, the corpus callosum, is largerin womens
*refects the goal of survival of the species through reproduction (an evolutionary approach)--**these stheoriests suggest that our male ancestors who showed more stereotypically masculine qualities, may have been able to attract females who were able to provide them with hardy offsbring

Front 3

Psychoanalytic Perspectives

Back 3

*Sigmund Freud
-we move through a series of stages related to biological urges
-preschool years encompass the phallic stage, in which the focus of a child's pleasure relates to genital sexuality,
-Oedipal conflict
-Castration anxiety
-Identification
-Penis evy
**the ultimate result of identifying withthe same sex parent is that the children adopt their parents gender attitudes and values.
**in this way, society's expectations about the ways females and males "oughts" to behave are perpetuated into new generations

Front 4

Social Learning Approaches

Back 4

*children learn gender related behavior and expectations from their observations of others
*children watch the behavior of their parents, etc, and their observation of the rewards that these others attain for acting in a gender appropriate manner leads them to conform to such behavior themselves
-Books and media play a role- "Models"
-Some cases occurs more directly-direct training

Front 5

Cognitive Approaches

Back 5

-the desire to form a clear sense of identity leads children to establish a gender identity, , and to do this they develop a gender schema

Front 6

Oedipal conflict-

Back 6

*age 5
when the anatomical differences between males and females become particularly evident.
-Bc they view thier fathers as all powerful, boys develop a fear of retaliation, which takes the form of castration anxiety
--beign to identify with thie fathers
* Psychoanalytic Perspective

Front 7

Identification

Back 7

-the process in which children attempt to be similar to their parent of the sam sex-incoroporating the parent's attitudes and values
-Psychoanalytic Perspective

Front 8

gender identity

Back 8

-a perception of themselves as male or femaleness. to do this, they develop a gender schema
*Cognitive Approaches

Front 9

gender schema

Back 9

- a cognitive framework that organizes information relevant to gedner
- are developed early in life
-form a lens through which preschoolers view the world
* Cognitive Approaches

Front 10

gender shcemas

Back 10

-for instance, preschoolers use their increasing cognitive abilities to develop "rules" about what is right and what is inappropriate for males and females

Front 11

cognitive- developmental theory

Back 11

*Lawrence Kohlberg
- rigidity is in part an outcome of changes in the preschoolers understanding of gender.
initially, schemas influenced by beliefs that sex differences are based on differences in appearnace or behavior
*However, at age 4 or 5, children develop gender constancy

Front 12

gender constancy

Back 12

the fact that people are permanently males or females, depending on fixed, unchangeable biological factors
*cognitive-developmental theory

Front 13

Sandra Bem

Back 13

-one way to encourage children to be androgynous, adopting gender roles that encompass characteristics thought typical of both sexes

Front 14

Girls may be genetically "programmed " by evolution to be more expressive and nurturing, while boys are "progammed" to be more competitive and forecful. Hormone exposure before birth linked to gender

Back 14

Biological Perspective

Front 15

-Girls and boys whose parents of the same sex behave in stereotypically masculine or feminine ways are likely to to do so, too, perhaps because they identify with those parents

Back 15

Psychoanalytic Perspective

Front 16

Preschoolers are more rigid in their rules about proper gender behavior than people at other ages, perhaps because they have just developed gender schemas that don't yet permit much variation from stereotypical expectations???

Back 16

Cognitive Perspective