PSYC 367/WmSt 366:  Gender Issues in Psychology

Spring 2004            Virginia Norris, Ph.D.

All dates are subject to change.  Announcements in class supersede internet material.
Gender Issues in Psychology

CHAPTER 1

MASCULINITY & FEMININITY: MYTHS AND STEREOTYPES

Description/Definitions
Contents
How They Operate
Conceptualizations of Masculine and Feminine

STEREOTYPES-- Description/Definitions

  • General Stereotypes
  • Strongly held overgeneralizations about people in some designated social category.
  • Gender-role Stereotypes
  • Structured sets of beliefs about the personal attributes of women and men
    • Exist on two levels
    • Cultural level
    • Personal level
CONTENTS
  • Agreement
    • Number
    • Age
    • Cross-cultural
  • Basis
    • Based on people's image of a prototypic male or female
    • Subtypes
    • Female
      • Difference
      • Housewife
      • Professional
    • Male
      • Differences
      • Traditional Man
      • Don Juan
    • Four areas that are involved in stereotyping
    • Traits
    • Roles
    • Occupations
    • Physical Characteristics
HOW STEREOTYPES OPERATE
  • Perceptual Filters
  • Self-fulfilling Prophecy
  • Impression Management
  • Physical Characteristics

FUNCTIONS OF CONTENTS OF STEREOTYPES

n    Contents

n   Prescriptive

n  Gender-intensified

Gender-Intensified Prescriptive Traits for Women

n     Warm & kind

n     Interest in children

n     Loyal

n     Sensitive

n     Friendly

n     Clean

n     Attend to Appearance

n     Patient

n     Polite

n     Cheerful

n     Cooperative

n     Wholesome

n     Expresses emotion

n     Spiritual

n     Flirtatious

n     Excitable

Gender-Intensified Prescriptive Traits for Men

n      Business sense

n      Athletic

n      Leadership Ability

n      Self-reliant

n      Dependable

n      Ambitious

n      High self-esteem

n      Assertive

n      Decisive

n     Strong personality

n     Disciplined

n     Rational

n     Competitive

n     Willing to take risks

n     Consistent

n     Aggressive

n     Intense

n     Forceful

 

Functions of Contents of Stereotypes

n    Contents

n   Prescriptive

n  Gender-intensified

n  Gender-relaxed

 

Gender-Relaxed Prescriptive Traits for Women

n     Intelligent

n     Mature

n     High self-esteem

n     Common sense

n     Sense of humor

n     Concern for future

n     Principled

n     Efficient

n     Rational

n     Strong personality

n      Leadership ability

n      Worldly

n      Willing to take risks

n      Persuasive

n      Assertive

n      Intense

n      Competitive

n      Aggressive

n      Forceful

Gender-Relaxed Prescriptive Traits for Men

n      Happy

n      Friendly

n      Helpful

n      Clean

n      Warm & kind

n      Enthusiastic

n      Optimistic

n      Cheerful

n      Cooperative

 

 

Functions of Contents of Stereotypes

n    Contents

n   Prescriptive

n  Gender-intensified

n  Gender-relaxed

n   Proscriptive

n  Gender-intensified

Gender-Intensified Proscriptive Traits for Women

n     Rebellious

n     Stubborn

n     Controlling

n     Cynical

n     Promiscuous

n     Arrogant

 

Gender-Intensified Proscriptive Traits for Men

n     Emotional

n     Approval seeking

n     Impressionable

n     Yielding

n     Superstitious

n     Child-like

n     Shy

n     Moody

n     Melodramatic

n     Naïve

n     Gullible

n     Weak

Functions of Contents of Stereotypes

 

n    Contents

n   Prescriptive

n  Gender-intensified

n  Gender-relaxed

n   Proscriptive

n  Gender-intensified

n  Gender-relaxed

Gender-Relaxed Proscriptive Traits for Women

n     Yielding

n     Emotional

n     Impressionable

n     Child-like

n     Shy

n     Naive

n     Superstitious

n     Weak

n     Melodramatic

n     Gullible

Gender-Relaxed Proscriptive Traits for Men

n     Rebellious

n     Solemn

n     Controlling

n     Stubborn

 

Additional Desirable Traits that Differed in Typicality for Women and Men in American Society

n      Women

n     Concerned for the future

n     Has broad interests

n     Has literary capacity

n     Honest

n     Intelligent

n     Mature

n     Open-minded

n     Perfectionistic

n     Self-aware

n     Men

n    Extroverted

n    Satisfied with life

 

Additional Undesirable Traits that Differed in Typicality for Women and Men in American Society

n     Women

n    Anxious

n    Choosy

n    Complicated

n    Materialistic

n    Nosy

n    Self-critical

n     Men

n    Conservative

n    Forgetful

n    Lazy

n    Prejudiced

n    Stingy

n    Typical

 

Traits that are more desirable for men but more typical of women

n    Concerned for the future

n    Intelligent

n    Mature

 

CONCEPTUALIZATIONS OF MASCULINITY AND FEMININITY

  • Masculine/Feminine Typology
    • Description
    • Problems
    • Oversimplified
    • Focuses on intersex variability
  • Masculine-Feminine Continuum
    • Definition
    • Unidimensional
      • Bipolar
      • Measurement
  • Two-Dimensional Schema
    • Definition
    • Clusters of Personality Characteristics
      • Androgynous
      • 30% females, 20% males
      • Masculine
      • 12% females, 42% males
      • Feminine
      • 39% females, 12% males
      • Undifferentiated
      • 18% females, 27% males
      • Cross-sexed can occur
    • Theory predicts
      • sex-typed will use their sex stereotype to guide their behavior
      • Non sex-typed will not use the stereotypical behavior but will use behavior appropriate to the situation.
      • No prediction is made for cross-sex typed
    • Results
      • Sex-typed use stereotypical behaviors most
      • Cross-sexed, next
      • Undifferentiated, next
      • Androgynous, least
    • Purpose
    • Problems
  • Multidimensional Schema
    • agency/communion
    • masculine/feminine personality
    • masculine/feminine intelligence