Psych 125Human Development

Christopher GadeOffice: 1031-G

Office hours: Tu 12-1:30 and by apt.Email: gadecj@gmail.com

Class: T 1:30-4:20 Room 2210

Sorting Task

• In a group of 2 to 3, categorize the terms below as being more likely linked to males or females

• Sweet• Trucks

• Cosmetologist• Golf• Caring

• Rough• Emotional• Suit• Strong• Babysitter

• Electrician• Wrestling• Dolls

• Firefighter• Designer

What This Relates To & Today’s Topic• Gender – the characterization of people as females or

males– Gender identity – an internal sense of one’s gender– Gender role – cognitive, behavioral, and emotional

expectations placed on members of a gender– Gender typing – a set of roles or concepts applied to a

specific gender• When studying gender and development,

psychologists are interested in when these gender related concepts develop– Note: psychologists often don’t examine if these gender

concepts are appropriate or necessary, instead they focus on how, when, and why they develop

Looking at The Development of Gender Recognition

• By the age of 2, and possibly even before, children display recognition of their gender identity and the ability to differentiate between gender roes and typing... But how?

Biological Influences of Gender

• Hormones – chemicals released by the body in order to influence physiology and behavior– Estrogens – produced in greater concentration by females

• Menstrual cycles and female sex characteristics– Androgens – produced in greater concentrations by males

• Produced in the testes• Masculine secondary sex characteristics and male genitalia

• Numerous studies have linked the presence of hormones to gender-linked identities, roles, and typing– Hyde’s testosterone and aggressive behavior findings– Links between hormone increases and gender-specific behaviors

during puberty– Rare birth defect cases

• Androgen-insensitive males• Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH)

Social Influences on Gender• Parental treatment differences

• Cultural normative differences

• Same-sex socialization

• Schema development findings– Schemas – cognitive concepts

that organize and direct thought and behavior

Where We See Differences• Current studies have shown differences in:– Visuospatial & science skills– Verbal skills– Emotional skills (empathy)– Aggressive tendencies– Helping focus– Mate selection and jealousy

• HOWEVER, most of these differences are very small, and often, most of them can/could be explained through social learning– Scholastic ability over time example

Please list, in order of importance, the qualities that you look for in someone

that you would want to date

• Intelligence• Attractiveness• Creativity• Humor

• Friendliness• Spontaneity• Care Giving

• Honesty• Wealth

• Orderliness• Adventurousness

• Style

The Choice for Men

• Person A is extraordinarily good looking. They work at a small restaurant and have no ambition to do anything more.

• Person B is average looking. They patented an invention and sold it for a fortune. They were recently accepted to a prestigious medical school, and is said to have an outstanding career ahead as a medical researcher.

The Choice for Women

• Person A is extraordinarily good looking. They work at a small restaurant and have no ambition to do anything more.

• Person B is average looking. They patented an invention and sold it for a fortune. They were recently accepted to a prestigious medical school, and is said to have an outstanding career ahead as a medical researcher.

Who did you choose?

A or B

Gender Development Across the Lifespan• Childhood– Gender separation begins at a young age– Males tend to be punished more for gender deviant

behavior (at least in our culture)• Adolescence– Gender intensification hypothesis – gender roles and

gender-specific behaviors become a greater source of focus during puberty

• Adulthood– Research indicates a shift toward more female-related

behaviors and activity in males during late adulthood– Females often do not shift their levels in these studies

A Key Component of Gender: Sex• Even though we often link gender to sex,

gender role differences tend to be much more prominent than sexual differences– Sexual activity differences

• Sexual frequency• Masturbation

– Homosexual activities differences (Michael, 1994) (within the past year)• 2.7% of males• 1.3% of females

– Note: culture seems to play a much more prominent role in sexual activity and focus than gender• Sexual scripts

How Do We Develop Sexually?: Freud’s View• Sigmund Freud was of the first psychologists to attempt

to examine and explain sexual development– Libido (psychosexual energy) was the impetus behind our

sexual activity and desires– This libido existed throughout life, in different forms

throughout development

Anal Pleasure focuses on bowel and bladder stinginess(18-36 months) elimination; coping with demands for control strict orderliness

Freud’s Psychosexual StagesStage Focus FixationOral Pleasure centers on the mouth-- smoking, (0-18 months) sucking, biting, chewing overeating

Phallic Pleasure zone is the genitals; coping with penis envy(3-6 years) incestuous sexual feelings castration fearLatency Dormant sexual feelings (6 to puberty)Genital Maturation of sexual interests(puberty on)

A More Scientific and Current Set of Findings• Childhood– Sex play and exploration of sex related differences appear to be

a focus in most children• Adolescence– An increase in sexual focuses thoughts often occurs– Sexual exploration/experimentation also are common– Sexual activity levels are highly related to social and cultural

norms– Homosexual behavior and interests sometimes emerge at this

time, but some individuals display heterosexual interests at this age and develop homosexual interests later (and vice versa)

– Males tend to be more focused on sex at this age, and they tend to derive more pleasure from sexual encounters

A Note on Sexual Activity in the US• Despite there being dramatic differences in sexual

activity effects/causes across cultures, in the US, individuals who engage in early sexual activity are often linked to a number of other factors– Lower SES– Less parental/peer

support– Lower academic

performance– Higher rates of drug

use and destructivebehaviors

Sex in Adulthood• In early adulthood, sexual

activity does increase, but notas much as we often perceive– Sexual partners– Sexual frequency– Note: this is true for most, but

not all people• In middle adulthood– Females – menopause– Males – decreased sexual drive and

functionality• In late adulthood– Sexual activity declines for everyone– Recent contradictory findings with

STD’s and the elderly

A Reexamination of Sex and Gender Through A Different Lens

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zWGRi99cVHo• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHp3sHkE1bc• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AoYo9Syc8g4• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaPsiGutGPQ• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AEjgUt9u39U• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Xq8fFtAzR8• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bmKAnpF0zS4• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1o_hXcHWAI• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7LC5UTozpa4• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qb_sPmd6DnE