PSYC of G 10/3

• organizes and explains observations of various phenomena
• can never be proved, only supported

• testable predictions
• provides ability to falsify theory

individual identification of self as female or male

a set of socially significant activities associated with being male or female

the beliefs about the characteristics associated with, and the activities appropriate to, men or women

• gender preference of a mate
• lesbian, gay, bisexual

• gender identity
• gender role
• gender stereotypes
• sexual orientation

• clarity
• completeness
• coherence
• parsimony
• testability
• diversity

• first theory about gender
• believed structure of human mind shaped personality
• id, ego, superego (ego ideal and conscience)

• preoedipal stages - same in both genders
• - oral: infancy - id
• - anal: toddler - ego
• phallic stage: preschool - superego
• latency stage: elementary school
• genital stage: puberty

• sexual attraction toward mother
• -> hostility toward father
• -> castration anxiety
• -> identification with father
• = masculine identification, strong superego, contempt for women

• sees self as inferior
• -> penis envy
• -> blames mother
• -> desire to give birth replaces penis envy
• -> desire for child
• -> sexual attraction to father
• -> father unattainable
• -> reforges feminine identification
• = feminine identification, masochism, concern with sexual attractiveness, desire for child, sense of inferiority, contempt for women, weak superego

identification with same sex parent

• wanting to have sex
• wanting to menstrate
• wanting to give birth

superego stage

• accepts childhood sexuality
• accepts homosexuality, bisexuality as natural (though not typical) outcomes
• phallocentric
• difficult to subject to empirical testing

• theory based on envy towards parents
• presented infront of Freud
• challenged Freud (it is social & culture, not biological)
• moved from biological inferiority to cultural and social factors that devalue women
• reconceptualized penis envy as womb envy
• gynocentric
• foundation for feminist psychoanalytic theory
• addressed homosexuality
• advocated cross-cultural research
• not subject to empirical testing
• men feel inferior because they cant reproduce

male focus

female focus

• fusion of childhood identification and social cultural factors
• men's sphere (public) and women's sphere (private)
• powerful emotions directed toward primary caregivers (women)
• process of individuation at ages 3 to 5 (more difficult for boys, involves maternal devaluation)

• girls mimic mom
• boys have to "not be like mom"
• boys have to be "little men"
• boys have to control their emotions
• boys have to devalue women

• emphasis on sociocultural factors that defind gender roles
• nature of gender roles: contradictory and inconsistent
• violation of gender roles leads to personal/interpersonal consequences
• looks & focuses on male gender role
• similar to Freud (boys identify with fathers and girls identify with mothers)

• role violations are more severe for men
• "relationships are the female's job"
• work vs. home roles
• some aspects of roles psychologically dysfunctional (non expression of emotion; extreme passivity, nonassertiveness in relationships)

• discrepancy results from failure to conform to gender roles
• hypermasculinity: example of overconformity
• masculinity ideologies: internalization of male gender role

• achievement motivation
• risky behaviors
• emotional control
• antifeminity/homophobia

• though Pleck argues for diversity in masculinities, critics assert focus on European American middle class
• basis of considerable research on adolescent boys high-risk behaviors and substance abuse
• little cross-cultural research, but some research with American multi-ethnic samples

• members of species compete for resources
• individual differences in variability (variability hypothesis)
• success in reproduction evidence of fitness
• through process of natural selection adaptive attributes become more common in gene pool

• biological
• sex differences in parental investment
• differential parental investment result in different sexual strategies

• evolution of attributes that provide reproductive advantage
• intra/intersexual competition
• result in different sexual strategies

• desirable males opt for short-term mating strategies; undesirable males opt for long-term (or not at all)
• women likely to benefit from either short-term or long-term mating (age, fertility, personal circumstances)

• considers gender roles to result from biological x environment interaction
• critics say circular reasoning, neglect role of culture
• whereas considerable cross-cultural difference is supportive, reanalysis of data fail to be supportive