Psychology and Gender

• Gender is a central concept in psychology that involves the roles, behaviours, activities, and expectations that a society considers appropriate for males and females.
• It's important to distinguish between sex and gender. Sex refers to the biological and physiological differences between males and females, including genitalia and genetic differences. On the other hand, gender relates to societal constructs surrounding what it means to be male or female.

Biological Theories of Gender Development

• Biological theories suggest that gender is primarily determined by biological factors, such as hormonal and genetic differences.
• The role of hormones, like testosterone and estrogen, are significant here. Hormones are thought to influence the development of male or female characteristics, both physically and behaviourally, from the prenatal stage onward.
• A key study in this area is John Money's research on David Reimer, which provided insights into the significance of biological sex in gender development, and the difficulty of overriding this with postnatal social and environmental factors.

Social and Cultural Theories of Gender Development

• Social and cultural theories emphasise the role of nurture and environmental influences in shaping our gender identity.
• According to social learning theory, children learn gender-based behaviour and expectations through observation, imitation, and reinforcement. They copy the behaviour of same-sex role models and are rewarded for gender-appropriate behaviour.
• Gender schema theory suggests children develop a mental framework of what is considered appropriate behaviour for their gender. They then use this schema to understand and organise new information and experiences.

Evidence from Cross-Cultural Studies

• Cross-cultural studies provide evidence that gender roles and behaviours vary significantly across different cultures, challenging the idea that gender is purely biologically determined.
• This research supports the idea that gender is, at least in part, a social construct shaped by cultural norms and expectations.

Androgyny and the Bem Sex Role Inventory

• Androgyny refers to the blending of masculine and feminine characteristics in the same individual. It challenges the traditional binary view of gender.
• Sandra Bem developed the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI), a measure of androgyny and gender roles.
• According to Bem, androgynous individuals, who score high on both masculine and feminine traits, might be more psychologically well-adjusted as they can adapt their behaviour to a variety of situations.

Conclusion

• The issue of psychology and gender is highly complex, intertwining biological and socio-cultural factors.
• While it's clear biology plays a role in gender roles and identity, it's equally evident that societal values, expectations, and conditioning significantly shape our understanding and experience of gender.