Psych Chapter 8
The first question that a relative is likely to ask a new mother upon phoning her after she has given birth is
“Is it a boy or a girl?”
Males and females are likely to evoke different responses from their companions
d. once they achieve gender constancy
from the first day of life
Gender-typing refers to
the processes through which children acquire gender appropriate identities, values, and behaviors
Each society considers certain values, motives, and behaviors more appropriate for members of one sex than for members of the other. These prescriptions are known as
gender-role standards
The dichotomy between instrumental roles (for men) and expressive roles (for women)
is widely held around the world
_____ provides a good illustration of the expressive gender-role.
d. Men are expected to show a greater need to express sexual urges than women
Women are expected to be cooperative and sensitive to others
Cross-cultural studies reveal that
many gender-role standards are similar from culture to culture
Analyses of gender-typing across more than 100 cultures suggest that
many gender-typed attributes (for example, self-reliance; nurturance) are encouraged of both sexes, but with different emphases on different attributes, depending on the child's sex and the primary goal of socialization is to encourage children to acquire those attributes that will enable them to become contributing members of their society
Mr. and Mrs. Harmon have two children, Jim and Jane. They tell Jim that he might grow up to be an engineer, since men are good at math, and that Jane might become a nurse, since women are empathic and thus well-suited for the caregiving profession. The Harmons' messages reflect what the text refers to as
gender-role stereotypes
Recent research (i.e., Prentice & Carranza, 2002) reveals that college students
none of these
Maccoby and Jacklin's review of the literature suggests that
most gender-role stereotypes are overstated or incorrect
Among the gender-role stereotypes that appear to be accurate is that
males outperform females on tests of visual/spatial ability
Boys score higher than girls
on tests of arithmetic reasoning
Research suggests that girls score higher than boys in
verbal abilities
One sex difference that appears to be accurate is that
a. boys are more analytical than girls
b. girls are more sociable than boys
c. girls are more suggestible than boys
d. boys take more risks than girls do
boys take more risks than girls do
Research suggests that boys score higher than girls in
self-esteem
If you were told that a particular child is highly sociable, not very good at logical tasks that require higher-level cognitive processing, and low in achievement motivation, you could confidently assume
nothing about the gender of the child
What conclusion can be drawn regarding the magnitude of sex differences?
sex differences are typically quite small; males and females are more psychologically similar than different
The major qualification about findings on sex differences is that
the data indicate group differences and tell us nothing about individuals
The better documented sex differences in cognitive abilities appear to be
dependent to some extent on cultural influences
Gender differences have not been found consistently in
social interest
One generally accepted idea about sex differences that is not supported by the research literature is that boys
outperform girls on tests of concept formation and probability learning
Which of the following sex differences appears to be most accurate?
a. girls lack achievement motivation
b. girls are better at simple repetitive tasks
c. boys are less conforming and less suggestible than girls
d. boys have higher self-esteem than girls do
boys have higher self-esteem than girls do
Despite evidence to the contrary, inaccurate gender-role stereotypes persist because
both of these
8-year-old Saul heard a story in which a female physician told her patient that the operation was a success and that he would soon recover. On retelling this story to his parents, Saul is likely to say that
the nurse told the patient that everything was going to be OK
Suppose that a 7-year-old is visiting a neighbor's house where the father, Mr. Jones, is cooking dinner. The child incorrectly reports to his/her mother that Mr. Jones was fixing the stove. Such distortions of recall have been found to be
common; children often recall gender-inconsistent information incorrectly
Research examining the accomplishments of males and females reveals that
none of these
Studies have shown that by _____ both genders judge females as less competent than males in arithmetic.
preschool and the early elementary grades
Evidence cited in the text regarding the influence of parents and teachers in promoting gender-stereotyped attitudes about achievement indicates that _____ have different expectations and/or respond differently to boys and girls.
both parents and teachers
Jacquelynne Eccles and her associates have conducted research which implies that
gender-role stereotypes create self-fulfilling prophecies that promote sex differences in cognitive performance
Recent research implies that girls may perform worse than boys in such subjects as math and science in part because
becoming exceptionally proficient in any domain
grades for same levels of performance
they invest themselves broadly across many academic domains, without
becoming exceptionally proficient in any domain
Gender-stereotypes are less likely to undermine the achievement expectancies and academic performances of girls in math when girls _____.
have parents who are nontraditional in their gender-role attitudes and behaviors
One sign that gender stereotypes may be having less influence in recent years on girls’ academic performance in math and science is that _____.
both of these
Children first place males and females into different "categories"
a. by 6 months of age, on the basis of vocal cues
b. by 6 months of age, on the basis of hairstyles
c. by 9-12 months of age, on the basis of vocal cues
d. by 9-12 months of age, on the basis of hairstyles
by 6 months of age, on the basis of vocal cues
The visual cues that 9-12-month-olds use to treat males and females as
categorically distinct are _____ ; _____ .
hairstyles; long hair versus short hair
By age 2 1/2 to 3 years, children
know whether they are boys or girls
Mary thinks of herself as a male and prefers masculine activities. Mary’s biological sex thus differs from her
gender identity
One’s gender identity includes
all of these
Some knowledge of gender-role stereotypes first appears _____, and by _____, children agree that males and females differ on important psychological dimensions.
at age 2 1/2 to 3; age 10 to 11
Children first begin to show some awareness of gender-role stereotypes
about the time they acquire a basic gender identity
When children begin to draw sharp distinctions between the sexes on psychological dimensions, they first learn
positive traits that characterize their own gender and negative traits that characterize the other gender
The gender-role stereotypes held by 3- to 7-year-olds are
rigid and inflexible
Compared to their earlier viewpoints on gender-role violations, older (i.e., 8- to 10-year-old) children become _____ about such violations, particularly those undertaken by _____.
more flexible; girls
Grade-school children are likely to be most critical of _____ .
a boy who wears a dress
Compared to 8- to 10-year-olds from individualistic societies, 8- to 10-year-olds from Taiwan (a collectivist society) are _____ about gender-role violations because _____.
less flexible; of the strong prescription that people in collectivist societies conform to social expectations
A second round of gender chauvinism appears in _____ as young people experience _____.
adolescence; gender intensification
Gender intensification occurs during _____ and is thought to most clearly reflect _____ .
adolescence; peer pressure to conform and to succeed socially with members of the other sex
Research on the development of gender-typed play reveals that
established a basic gender identity
established a basic gender identity and two-year-old girls are already more sociable with female than with male playmates
three-year-old boys are already more sociable with male than with female playmates and two-year-old girls are already more sociable with female than with male playmates
Sex differences in play patterns and a clear preference for same-sex peers have been found to
be evident in toddlers (18 months-3 years of age) and to increase throughout the elementary school years
Whiting and Edwards studied children in 12 different cultures with respect to their preferences for same-sex playmates. They found
that the same-sex preference is common and increases during childhood
Among 10- to 11-year-olds, popular children are likely to
avoid extensive contacts with members of the other sex
Jacklin and Maccoby observed the play of pairs toddlers. They found the same-sex pairs were
more lively and positive than opposite-sex pairs
According to Jacklin and Maccoby, preschool children prefer same-sex playmates because
boys and girls have incompatible play styles
Gender segregation appears to be stronger among ____.
children who hold more stereotyped views of the sexes
Developmental trends in gender-typed activities reveal that
boys are quicker than girls to develop a preference for gender-typed toys
Boys face stronger pressures than girls to adhere to "gender-appropriate" codes of conduct because
all of these
_____ have less gender-stereotyped attitudes than _____.
both of these
African American children may have a less stereotyped view of the sexes than
White children do because
routines, parenting much like African American mothers do
instrumental role by working and functioning as single parents
both of these
Children from “countercultural” homes in which parents strive to promote egalitarian sex-role attitudes are _____ than children from traditional homes.
less gender-stereotyped in their gender-role beliefs
Until the age of 9 or 10, children believe that the gender-typed preferences that males and females display are
attributable to a child's status as a biological male or a biological female
Proponents of evolutionary theory believe that _____.
both of these
_____ comes closest to adopting an essentialist perspective on gender-typing.
modern evolutionary theory
Proponents of the social-roles hypothesis criticize modern evolutionary theorists for ignoring _____ in their theory of gender-typing.
d. socially assigned roles and differential childrearing for males and females
socially assigned roles and differential childrearing for males and females
Critics of the evolutionary theory of gender-typing point to ____ as the primary reason that males and females display some behavioral and psychological differences.
differences in socially assigned roles
In Money and Ehrhardt's biosocial theory of gender-typing, the first critical
event in gender-role development is _____ , an event which ensures that _____.
the inheritance of an X or a Y chromosome from the father; the fetus will develop ovaries (with an X chromosome) or testes (with a Y chromosome)
Those who believe that hormones contribute to sex differences often point
to the testicular feminization syndrome, a condition in which
males inherit a condition in which they are insensitive to male hormones and will develop external genitalia resembling those of a female
If we learn that a genetic (XY) male was born with the external genitalia of a female, we would immediately suspect
testicular feminization syndrome (TFS)
According to Money and Ehrhardt’s biosocial theory, the most important influence on gender-typing from birth throughout childhood is _____.
the way the child is labeled and treated by others
Those who suspect genetic contributions to sex differences and gender-role
differentiation point to
both of these
The "timing of puberty" effect
refers to the tendency of those who reach puberty relatively late to perform better on visual/spatial tasks than those who mature early
One argument against a genetic interpretation of sex differences in
visual/spatial skills is that_____ is a better predictor of visual/spatial test performances of both boys and girls than timing of puberty is.
both of these
Research on biological contributions to sex differences reveals that
all of these
One observation consistent with a genetic interpretation of gender typing is that
genotypes
often display masculine toy and activity preferences
preschoolers’ toy and activity preferences are affected, in part, by their
genotypes
Behavioral genetics research reveals that the major reason that people differ in masculinity and femininity is that
they grow up in different environments
An androgenized female is one who
has been exposed prenatally to male sex hormones
Androgenized females _____.
often display strong interests in masculine activities and provide some support for the notion that elevated concentrations of male sex hormones influence the activity preferences of human females
Recent research with girls displaying congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) is consistent with Money and Ehrhardt’s notion that _____.
prenatal exposure to androgen may promote the development of masculine interests and behaviors
Money's work with androgenized girls implied that there may be a critical period between _____ for the establishment of a gender identity.
18 months - 3 years of age
Strong evidence against Money's critical period for the establishment of gender identity comes from observations that
TFS boys who had been raised as girls typically assume a masculine identity shortly after puberty
Perhaps the most important lesson learned from the gender-typing of persons with genital abnormalities is that
both of these
Margaret Mead’s (1935) observations of gender-roles in three New Guinea tribes suggest that
gender-role socialization plays a crucial role in determining a child’s gender-role preferences and behaviors
The central premise of Money and Ehrhardt's biosocial theory of gender-role
development is that
biological and social forces interact to determine the outcome of gender-typing
Diane Halpern's psychobiosocial viewpoint extends Money and Ehrhardt's
biosocial theory by proposing that
the different socializing experiences that young boys and girls receive influences the structure of male and female brains
One contribution of the recent psychobiosocial theory of development is to illuminate a process by which _____.
biological and social factors interact to influence development
According to Freud, the major contributor to gender-typing is
children's patterning themselves after the same-sex parent
According to Freud's psychoanalytic theory of gender-typing, boys become gender-typed as they _____ with the father as a means of overcoming their
_____ .
identify; castration anxiety
An observation that contradicts Freud’s psychoanalytic theory of gender-typing is that
all of these
According to social learning theorists, the child's earliest preferences for gender-typed activities
result from the tendency of parents and other companions to encourage "gender-appropriate" behaviors while discouraging acts they consider "gender-inappropriate"
_____ theorists view differential reinforcement of gender-typed behaviors as the primary contributor to gender-typed toy preferences and the child's basic gender identity.
social-learning
Parents who show the clearest pattern of differential reinforcement with regard to gender-typed behaviors have children who are relatively quick
all of these
Four-year-old Larry likes to play with dolls. Which of the following individuals is likely to be most concerned about this cross-sex play?
Larry's father
One problem with the social learning theory of gender-typing is that
children younger than 6 or 7 do not attend selectively to same-sex models
If a 4- to 5-year-old boy sees a girl model enjoying herself with a novel "boy" toy, he will _____ that toy, thus contradicting _____ assumption about the importance of same-sex modeling influences to early gender-typing.
play with; Bandura's
_____ would challenge the social-learning assertion that selective attention to same-sex models is an important determinant of gender-typing during the preschool period.
both of these
Research on the influence of gender-role stereotyping on television reveals
that
gender-role attitudes
viewing stereotyped gender-role portrayals is associated with stereotyped gender-role attitudes in both boys and girls
The ways in which the sexes are portrayed in the media
fosters stereotyped gender-role attitudes in children and fosters gender-typed toy and activity preferences
With regard to gender-typing and gender-role development, all social-learning theorists could be criticized for
ignoring the child's own contributions to sex-typing
According to Kohlberg’s theory of gender-role development
one’s gender identity is a cognitive judgment about the self and one’s gender identity is a cognitive judgment about the self and gender consistency results from one’s selective attention to same-sex models
The stage of gender identity at which a girl first recognizes that she can never become a father is
gender stability
The achievement of gender consistency
marks the point at which children attend selectively to same-sex models
What aspect of Kohlberg's cognitive-developmental theory of gender-typing has not received support?
the view that a mature understanding of gender is necessary for gender-typing
A major problem with Kohlberg's theory of gender-typing is that
gender-typing begins long before children reach gender consistency
Martin and Halverson’s “gender schema” theory proposes that once children have _____, they develop two kinds of gender schemas. The gender schemas that account for their greater in-depth knowledge of gender-appropriate activities and behaviors are _____.
established a basic gender identity; own-sex schemas
Martin and Halverson’s gender schema theory proposes that children begin to socialize themselves into gender roles as soon as they __________.
have established a basic gender identity
According to Martin and Halverson's gender schema theory, once children have ____, they will acquire two kinds of gender schemas. The "own sex" schema implies _____.
established a basic gender identity; careful attention to gender appropriate activities and little attention to gender inappropriate activities
Once children acquire "in group-out group" schemas, they tend to
both of these
Bradbard et al. found that 4- to 9-year-olds remember more about objects that are believed to be gender-appropriate than about opposite-sex objects. This finding was cited as supporting _____ theory of gender typing.
the gender schema
The theory that best explains gender-typing during the first three years is _____, whereas _____ seems to be a better explanation for the development of gender-typed interests between ages 3 and 6.
social learning theory; gender schema theory
The integrative theory of gender typing maintains that very young children (toddlers) display gender-consistent behaviors because
other people encourage these activities
The text emphasized that _____ children show intrinsic motivation to seek gender-role information and acquire gender-appropriate behaviors.
after 3 years of age
In attempting to integrate the various theories of gender-typing, the author of your text argues that encouragement of gender-appropriate behaviors leads to _____ which, in turn, promotes the development of _____. Children's strategies for incorporating gender-typed characteristics will change once again as they acquire gender consistency and begin to ____.
a basic gender identity; gender schemas; attend selectively to same-sex models
Evidence indicates that gender-role development is best explained by
an integrative approach that combines all the above viewpoints
Androgynous females
display a large number of both masculine and feminine characteristics
Bem’s theory of psychological androgyny asserts that
it is desirable for an individual to simultaneously possess a number of traditionally masculine and traditionally feminine characteristics
According to Bem, androgynous individuals are more _____ than those who are traditionally gender-typed.
adaptable
Bem's research on psychological androgyny suggests that androgynous people
both of these
The high levels of self-esteem found in androgynous individuals
seem to reflect the masculine component of androgyny
Research has shown that the association of androgyny with high self-esteem can often be traced to the possession of
masculine traits
Recent research with fourth- through eighth-graders revealed that among this age range, children who show the best patterns of adjustment are
gender-typical but who feel free to explore cross-gender options
During late childhood and early adolescence, children who _____ appear to enjoy greater self-esteem and better peer relations
are gender-typical but feel free to explore cross-sex options
Bem’s prescription for reducing sexism and sexist attitudes would include all of the following except
none of the above; all are consistent with Bem’s prescriptions for change
Educational projects designed to change gender-role attitudes and behaviors have found that such efforts are more effective
with girls than with boys
Katz and Walsh (1991) found that interventions aimed at changing gender-role attitudes were more effective when led by an adult _____ because _____.
appropriate behaviors, thus making them noteworthy as agents of change
male; adult males normally make stronger distinctions between gender
appropriate behaviors, thus making them noteworthy as agents of change
Interventions aimed at changing children's gender-role attitudes and behaviors are more likely to be successful if
we attack sexist stereotypes directly through problem-solving discussions and the adult in charge is a male
Elementary school teachers can combat gender stereotyping were they to
both of these
For many boys and girls, first sexual attractions occur _____.
about age 10, with the secretion of increased androgen by the adrenal glands
Children from permissive societies are permitted or even encouraged to engage in sex-play in order to
prepare them for adult roles
In relatively nonpermissive societies such as the United States, most children and adolescents learn about sexually explicit matters from contacts with their
peers
Recent studies of adolescents’ sexual explorations on-line find that
rooms
d boys act in ways that suggest they are seeking partners and girls act in ways that suggest they are trying to attract partners
boys act in ways that suggest they are seeking partners and girls act in ways that suggest they are trying to attract partners
When exploring their sexual identities in online chat rooms,
single chat session
none of these
Research indicates that most teenagers today believe the premarital sex is
acceptable as long as the partners are emotionally involved
Which of the following accurately describes adolescents' attitudes towards sex today?
none of these
The vast majority of homosexuals are homosexual because
none of these
Which of the following has received little support as a contributor to homosexuality?
parental childrearing practices
_____ seems to be a meaningful contributor to a homosexual sexual orientation.
individual genotype
In the search for environmental influences on sexual orientation, _____ has received the most support.
d. none of these; homosexuality or heterosexuality is genetically determined
hormonal influence in the prenatal environment
In contrast to the 1950s, contemporary research on adolescent sexual behavior indicates that
adolescent females are about as likely as adolescent males to have had sexual intercourse
Studies of the sexual behavior of adolescents in recent years reveal that
girls are more likely than boys to feel that sex and love should go together and rates of sexual activity have declined somewhat from those of the 1970s and 1980s
The decline in teenage sexual intercourse over the past 15 years seems to reflect
increases in such substitute activities as oral and anal sex
Those who are most inclined to become sexually active early in adolescence are
adolescents from low-income rather than middle-class families and teenagers whose friends and siblings are sexually active
Compared to older mothers, adolescent mothers tend to
all of these
Developmental deficits shown by children of teenage mothers are likely due, in part, to
all of these
Developmental deficits displayed by children of teenage mothers are much less likely to emerge if the teen mother is _____ .
married
Children born to teenage mothers often
show sizable intellectual deficits and emotional disturbances during the preschool years
Recent research indicates that _____ is a particularly effective method of
promoting regular condom use among sexually active teens.
discussions with parents about condom use before teens become sexually active
Abstince-only sex education programs have been found to be effective at
promoting more adaptive attitudes about sex
Programs such as Teen Outreach are effective at reducing the incidence of teenage pregnancy because they
keep teens productively involved and increase their optimism about their futures, and regularly discuss and help teens to properly manage their personal relationships