This document discusses gender roles and differences. It defines key concepts like gender identity, gender stereotypes, androgyny, and gender schemas. It also examines research on gender differences in personality, cognitive ability, and the origins of gender differences. The research discussed includes studies finding differences in confidence, aggression, communication styles, and sensitivity between males and females. However, one study disproved common misconceptions about gender differences in verbal and math/spatial abilities. Theories discussed for the origins of gender differences include biological, psychoanalytical, social learning, and cognitive-developmental perspectives.

1. Chapter 4.4 – Gender Roles
and Differences
By: Zach Jensen, Julia Lechner, Phu Nguyen

2. Gender Roles
 Gender Identity – Physical/biological
make up (Biernat & Wortman, 1991)
 Gender Stereotype – when a gender
role’s expectations become so rigid, it
becomes expectation of a gender from
everyone
 Androgynous – combination of traditional
male/female characteristics
 Gender Schema – set of behaviors
organized around how either
male/female should think & behave

3. Gender Roles (cont.)
 Gender Role – what the
society/culture expect of your gender

4. Gender Differences -
Personality
 Mednick & Thomas (1993) – found
males are more confident than
females, especially in academic areas
or in tasks stereotyped as masculine
(e.g. math, science)

5. Personality (cont.)
 Turner & Gervai (1995) – females
engage in more verbal acts of
aggression
 Kendrick (1987) – Females think
differently about aggression.
 (Bjorkqvist, Lagerspetz, Kukianen)
different in aggressive behavior –
More likely to use rough play / female
indirect form of aggression.

6. Personality (cont.)
 (Berman, Tracy, and Caccaro) – Male
have lower levels of serotonin
(aggression)
 (Lakoff, McMillan) – Communication:
Females talk more/ Males talk more if
dominant in relationship.
 (Briton and Hall) – Females are more
sensitive

7. Cognitive Ability
 Common misconception of females
being better than males at verbal
skills, males better at spatial and
mathematical skills disproven by Janet
Hyde and Marcia Linn (1998).

8. Origins of Gender Differences
 Biological Theory – emphasizes role
of anatomy, hormones, and brain
organization (Archer, 1997)
 Psychoanalytical Theory – gender
identity results from children
identifying with parent of same
sex, according to Freud. Critics argue
that identification is the result, rather
than the cause, of gender typing
(Maccoby, 1992)

9. Origins of Gender Differences
(cont.)
 Social Learning Theory – emphasizes
role of social/cognitive process on how
we perceive, organize, & use info.
 Cognitive-Development Theory –
proposes that children acquire gender
roles by interacting with their
environment & thinking about these
experiences (Bem, 1981)

10. Origins of Gender Differences
(cont.)
 Gender Schema – mental
representation of behavior that helps
child organize/categorize behaviors
 Changing Gender Roles – people
have been taught by society to set
different goals.