Psyc 4600 Notes

87% 1/8/2008 Sex ? biologically based categories of males and females Gender ? socially based categories of males and females Psychological features/constructs Ex: cooking, cleaning Sexism ? discrimination/bias against a person/group based on sex Feminist ? person who favors political, economic, and social equity for men and women; beliefs, values reflect a high regard of women as human beings; favors legal and social change necessary to achieve equality 1/15/2008 Theories of Gender Typing: Sociobiology Applying evolutionary theory to understand human behavior; natural selection is applied to social behaviors Edward O Wilson Natural selection: survival of the fittest; traits that stay with us throughout generations are those that help us survive More interested in biological characteristics Men are sowing their seeds everywhere to get the best evolutionary characteristics, fighting against each other while women sit and watch; males try to attract females because the most attractive will get the female Criticisms: don?t publish data that contradicts their research Mothering instincts are an evolutionary trait that has been engrained in us biologically over generations; women know the kid is their child so they have a bigger investment: maternity is certain, paternity is not Freud Based his theories on the idea that people have 2 drives: the libido (sex drive) and thanatos (death force) Stages of development are based on erogenous zones During the phallic stage boys develop the oedipal complex: boys are sexually attracted to their mothers and envy their fathers Elektra complex: girls have penis envy and feel subordinate Men overcome oedipal complex but women never overcome penis envy which is why they have an immature superego Traits of women: passivity, masochism, and narcissism Criticisms: phallocentric (male-centered); based on unconscious process- can?t be measured scientifically; research based on women seeking therapy- can?t generalize Motivated by our unconsciousness Id: makes us act like a child; ego: middle; superego: parent Chodorow: men have womb envy Social Learning Theory Learning by observing others around you Learn by imitation, observation, and the principles of reward and punishment B.F. Skinner; Watson; Pavlov Our behaviors are modified by what happens around us Criticisms: sometimes rewards and punishments don?t work exactly how they tell us Cognitive Developmental Theory Develop our gender roles by seeing the influences of our parents 18mos-2 yrs: concept of gender but not permanent; permanence/gender constancy occurs around 6 or 7 Kohlberg: moral development: women couldn?t achieve as high of a moral development as men could Gilligan: women think about the world differently: care and relationships; men: justice, right and wrong Criticisms: used male sample; personality traits: women focused on caring, men on justice As we grow older we become more cognitively complex- Piaget; how quickly we move through them depends on the task we have throughout life Sex Typing Theory Gender schema theory: how certain men will do certain things, and how women will do certain things, which contribute to stereotypes Girls will remember the woman doing motherly things/traditional roles, not the one doing stereotypical men roles Criticisms: depends on the culture Sandra Bem Based on things that happen to us overtime, we develop schemas in the brain that help us make sense of the world; we have a set of characteristics of what?s appropriate for each gender; we have a tendency to remember those that are consistent with that schema and when we have something that contradicts the schema we have a tendency to change it so it does conform Feminist Theory Place emphasis on society and how it creates gender roles Focus on men having power and compare gender to a class system with women being the lower class Gender, race, and class work together to influence behavior Consciousness raising: women expressing how they feel about problems they face Criticisms: religions believe it?s biological for women to play the roles that they play Women behave based on external forces; gender is a construct just like race and class Sexism is pervasive, discrimination occurs in different ways Sexuality is generally controlled by men because men are dominant in our society Women are restricted from certain roles Feminists try to raise the awareness of women in our society Double discrimination (minority, female) 1/17/2008 Stereotypes: Stereotypes: set of characteristics or beliefs about male, female behavior, personality traits, or other attributes Can be descriptive: describes behavior, or Prescriptive: help tell us what we should, do how we should act, or what we should be Only about 10% of the stereotypes that we use are blatant, we have many more subtle stereotypes which affect our behavior (western societies) Our brain because of cognitive efficiency picks up certain visual cues and not others; the same applies to stereotypes, we pick up and remember certain things and disregard/forget others We have a tendency to use stereotypes more when we don?t know a whole lot about the individual or group Once we see on image, it?s hard to see the other Non-conscious ideology: Sandra Bem, the notion of non-conscious ideas, the way we develop ideas about male/female is non-conscious, happening as a subtle level and affecting what we do daily. see HYPERLINK "http://sakai.uga.edu" http://sakai.uga.edu 1/22/08 movie about stereotyping ??? 1/24/08 Group discussion about advertising Filled out handout as a group 1/29/08 1/31/08 refer to descriptive words handout Nonverbal Personal space ? invisible bubble surrounding us American Culture ? about 18? Women have smaller personal space Body posture Women tendency to sit in more formal and symmetrical Men sit more relaxed and asymmetrical Touch Men touch women 4times more often than women Men touch women more frequently on? Head, Shoulder, back, butt, nose Facial expressions ? smile, eye contact Women smile more Eye contact depends on power/authority Women more likely to look people in the eye Men more likely to look off during conversations Decoding ? interpreting nonverbal cues Women are better Personality attributes Talkativeness Women are more talkative (stereotype) Men more talkative (research) Empathy, Fear and Anxiety Women show more fear, anxiety (just a little bit) Men help if threatening situation/women help if caring situation Aggression Males are more aggressive Differences in Communication 1. socialization rewarded and punished throughout lives for certain behaviors 2. subordinate roles dependent on what society has allowed 3. language thinking influences language 4. Whorfian Hypothesis Specific language we learn influences our thinking postman -> postal carrier chairman -> chairperson stewardess -> flight attendant how can we change 1. important to be aware that the context/people involved are factors in the levels and clarity of communication 2. move toward more non-sexist language (Whorfian hypothesis) info about the exam 50 item mostly multiple choice approx 6 fill in the blanks 98% from the book chapters 1, 2, 3, 5 equally about all 4 chapters colberg?s theory! Gender theories 2/7/08 discussion about Afghanistan get notes off sakai video ?lifting the veil? 2/12/08 discussion about Afghanistan 2/14/08 Chilly Climate Subtle inequalities in classrooms Not called on Not asked same hard questions Not as much eye contact Paying more attention to boys Cumulatively affect the way some women feel about themselves (self-confidence) ? larger implications NOT just by men! Students who reported chilly climate showed lower performance and learning Sigfied Sheer volume of issue shows substantiality Cause has many complexity Not solely based on sex of instructor 2/19/08 next test is going to contain essay final is now optional Sex Hormones: Chemical hormones manufactured by body Provides regulation and physiological changes 2/21/08 video: ?is it a boy or is it a girl?? Chapter 10 Focus on hermones 2/26/08 Female Circumcision/Female Genital Mutilation Surgical removal of the external genitalia Practiced in many countries in Central and Western Africa, SE Asia & Middle East Deeply embedded in culture, millions circumcised Approx 90% of Egyptian girls circumcised before puberty; approx 38% of Kenyan women and girls. In some communities the prevalence is more than 60 percent. Some estimate 4-5 million undergo procedure every year Dates back to 5-7th century BC, some ties to religion Performed by midwife called daya, in some locations a barber, in some locations a doctor Often performed without anesthesia, with razor, scissors, sharp stone, or broken glass Females legs bound together for approx 40 days to heal, not allowed to move WHY is it done? Religious ties ? Muslim Prophet Mohammed made reference to it in the Koran (but some contradictory info) Some think Christianity supports it in book of Genesis ?every man child shall be circumcised? (but some disagree). Koran ?duty of every Muslim woman?. Some believe it a rite of passage to adulthood Aids African tribal identity Done more in less educated families (66 vs 97%) TYPES of FC Sunna Procedure: Removal of the clitoral precupice (foreskin) Most common in Saudia Arabian countries Excision: Removal of the clitoris and part/all of the labia minor Pharoic or Sudanese Procedure: Removal of clitoris, labia minora, labia majora. Raw edges often sewn together with silk threads or thorns WHY? Religious doctrine Good hygiene, inhibit cancer Clitoris will grow very large Smaller opening = greater male pleasure Preserves virginity and family honor When performed? Average age 8 Can be just after birth or in adulthood Senegal ? rite of passage into adulthood Nigeria ? during pregnancy to prevent the newborn from touching clitoris Deinfibulation occurs on wedding night or for childbirth Group Activity ? Part 1 Presentation Answer following questions Describe female circumcision ? types of the procedure, why done, who does it, who performs the procedure, ect. Why do females continue the practice of female circumcision today? What are the medical, emotional, and sexual complications that can result? What would you do if you were visiting a country that still legally practices this procedure? Remember to be a critical consumer of internet information. Realize that not all information posted on the web is accurate. As best you can, try to verify the information you are seeing; at least look for consistencies with other sites. Remember to site your sources. Group Activity ? Part II Presentation Focus on how it affects US Legal and Political Debates 1959: UN convention of Rights of the Child ? ?abolish practices prejudicial for children? 1982: WHO condemned Legislative Action in US Early-mid 1990?s: several US states passed laws to criminalize the practice States such as Delaware have laws against the alteration of a minor Does it affect US? Read Kasinga?s Flight and then answer If you were the judge, would you grant her asylum in the US State reason why? Or Why not? Is/How is female circumcision different from male circumcision? Wwhere do we draw the line between freedom of religion and or cultural practices and human rights violations? 2/28/08 presentations on Female Circumcision 3/04/08 3/06/08 3/18/08 3/20/08