psyc

hlot

ron.

org.

uk

Greetings, earthlings.We have noticed that there are two sorts of human, women and men.

How are they different?

psyc

hlot

ron.

org.

uk

Today’s session

You will learn how to... You will learn about...

Define psychological termsCompare ‘lay’ psychological theories with psychological research

Gender developmentSex, gender and sex-role stereotypesAndrogyny

psyc

hlot

ron.

org.

uk

What do you think these terms mean?

• Sex• Gender• Sex-role stereotype

psyc

hlot

ron.

org.

uk

Gender terminology

• Sex – biological characteristics of a person (genes/chromosomes; reproductive anatomy)– Male & female

• Gender – psychological or behavioural characteristics of a person relating to their sex (ways of thinking, feeling, acting)– Masculine & feminine

• Sex-role stereotypes – widely held beliefs about expected or appropriate ways of acting for men and women

psyc

hlot

ron.

org.

uk

• From the list we made earlier select one example of a sex difference, one example of a gender difference, and one example of a sex-role stereotype.

psyc

hlot

ron.

org.

uk

Androgyny

Andros = maleGyne = female

Anni

e Le

nnox

. So

urce

unk

now

n.

psyc

hlot

ron.

org.

uk

Androgyny (Bem, 1974)

• Masculinity and femininity are independent traits

• They are not inevitably linked to sex

• A person can score high or low on either or both

High High

Low Lowm

ascu

linity

fem

inin

ity

psyc

hlot

ron.

org.

uk

Androgyny

• Why did Bem (1975) find that androgynous people were more psychologically healthy?

• How far does it matter that the BSRI was based on the views of US Americans in the 1970s?

• The BSRI is a quantitative, self-report measure. Does this raise any validity concerns?