gender and behavior in psychology behavior pptx

gender and behavior

1. Gender & Behavior MISBAH KHAN Nursing Lecturer DION&M, DUHS BSN, Year III semester VI

2. Objective At the end of this session students will be able to: Demonstrate understanding about stereotypes attached to gender differences. Discuss impacts of adhering to traditional gender roles on behavior. Discuss changing gender roles. 2

3. Introduction we’ll explore the concept of gender, how it is different from sex and how it influences our behavior towards others . 3

4. Gender The world health organization(WHO) defines gender as: “Gender refers to the socially constructed characteristics of women and men, such as norms ,roles and relationships of and between groups of women and men. It varies from society to society and can be changed.” 4

5. Behavior “Behavior can be defined as the actions or reactions of a person in response to external and internal situation” To understand the behavior of a person we have to understand what that person will do if something happens. 5

6. Gender Sex usually refers to the biological aspects of maleness or femaleness Gender implies the psychological, behavioral, social, and cultural aspects of being male or female (i.e., masculinity or femininity.) Gender identity is about how someone expresses his or her gender. 6

7. Gender Roles Gender roles are the behaviors, attitudes, and personality t raits that are designated as either masculine or feminine in a given culture Gender roles in society means how we’re expected to act, speak, dress, groom, and conduct ourselves based upon our assigned sex. For example, Girls and women are generally expected to dress in typically feminine ways and be polite, accommodating, and nurturing. Men are generally expected to be strong, aggressive, and bold. 7

8. GENDER DIFFERENCES IN SOCIAL BEHAVIOUR Traits like sensitivity and nurturance are attributed to females and aggressiveness and dominance are attributed to males ( Eagly , 1987; Friedman & Zebrowitz , 1992). 8

9. Females are more socially oriented than males. Males outperform females on most spatial tasks. Females are more irrational than males. Males are less sensitive to nonverbal cues than females. Females are more emotional than males. 9

10. Gender Typing 10 Gender typing is the process that a child goes through to become aware of his or her gender The acquisition of a traditional masculine or feminine role. Example: Kids associate the color pink with girls and the color blue with boys because when they are younger most “girl toys” are pink and most “boy toys” are blue.

11. Stereotype A stereotype is a widely accepted judgment or bias about a person or group — even though it’s overly simplified and not always accurate. Stereotypes about gender  can cause unequal and unfair treatment because of a person’s gender. This is called sexism. 11

12. Gender Stereotypes Gender stereotype is beliefs about the personal attributes of females and males. Stereotypes are ideas about how people will act, based on the group to which they belong. 12

13. Gender Stereotypes There are four basic kinds of gender stereotypes: Personality Traits — For example, women are often expected to be accommodating and emotional, while men are usually expected to be self-confident and aggressive. Domestic Behaviors — For example, some people expect that women will take care of the children, cook, and clean the home, while men take care of finances, work on the car, and do the home repairs. Occupations — Some people are quick to assume that teachers and nurses are women, and that pilots, doctors, and engineers are men. Physical Appearance — For example, women are expected to be thin and graceful, while men are expected to be tall and muscular. Men and women are also expected to dress and groom in ways that are stereotypical to their gender (men wearing pants and short hairstyles, women wearing dresses and make-up. 13

14. Extreme gender stereotypes are harmful because they don’t allow people to fully express themselves and their emotions.   Example: It’s harmful to masculine people to feel that they’re not allowed to cry or express sensitive emotions. I t’s harmful to feminine people to feel that they’re not allowed to be independent or assertive. 14

15. Traditional Gender Roles Traditional gender roles in relationships exist to divide the work that needs to be done to support families and society at large.  The idea is that we leverage our natural skills. For example, people view women as more gentle and caring. So, they become the obvious choice to take on the role of caregiver at home.  15

16. Masculinity: Traits traditionally associated with men • Aggressiveness, independence, dominance, and competence • Predisposition for math and science Femininity : Traits traditionally associated with women Passivity, dependency, sensitivity, and emotionality Predisposition for art and literature 16 Traditional Gender Roles

17. Evolutionary Explanations Males supposedly are more sexually active and permissive because they invest less than females in the process of procreation and can maximize their reproductive success by seeking many sexual partners The gender gap in aggression is also explained in terms of reproductive fitness Evolutionary theorists assert that gender differences in spatial ability reflect the division of labor in ancestral hunting-and-gathering societies in which males typically handled the hunting and females the gathering 17

18. Environmental Origins of Gender Differences 18

19. Operant Conditioning Gender roles are shaped by the power of reward and punishment—the key processes in operant conditioning Parents, teachers, peers, and others often reinforce (usually with tacit approval) “gender-appropriate” behavior and respond negatively to “gender-inappropriate” behavior 19

20. Observational Learning Children imitate both males and females, but most children tend to imitate same-sex role models more than opposite-sex role models For Example: Imitation often leads young girls to play with dolls, dollhouses, and toy stoves, while young boys are more likely to play with toy trucks, small gas stations, or tool kits 20

21. Self-Socialization Self socialization entails three steps: First, children learn to classify themselves as male or female and to recognize their sex as a permanent quality 2 . This self-categorization motivates them to value those characteristics and behaviors associated with their sex. 3. They strive to bring their behavior in line with what is considered gender-appropriate in their culture. 21

22. Sources of Gender-Role Socialization Families Schools Media 22

23. Changing Gender Roles The new family trends and patterns have been paralleled by changes in gender roles, especially an expansion of the female role to include economic provision for a family, and lately also transformation of the male role with more intense involvement in family responsibilities, especially care for children Gender relations and related values and attitudes have become more fluid, changing dynamically over the life course in the context of blurring boundaries of family and work life. 23

24. The term “transgender” refers to a person whose sex assigned at birth (i.e. the sex assigned by a physician at birth, usually based on external genitalia) does not match their gender identity (i.e., one’s a psychological sense of their gender ) some people who are transgender will experience  “ gender dysphoria ,”  which refers to psychological distress that results from an incongruence between one’s sex assigned at birth and one’s gender identity People who are transgender may pursue multiple domains of gender affirmation, including social affirmation (e.g., changing one’s name and pronouns), legal affirmation (e.g., changing gender markers on one’s government-issued documents), medical affirmation (e.g., pubertal suppression or gender-affirming hormones), and/or surgical affirmation (e.g., vaginoplasty , facial feminization surgery, breast augmentation, masculine chest reconstruction, etc.). Of note, not all people who are transgender will desire all domains of gender affirmation, as these are highly personal and individual decisions. 24

25. In the excitement phase , which can last from just a few minutes to more than an hour, an arousing stimulus begins a sequence that prepares the genitals for sexual intercourse . In the male, the penis becomes erect when blood flows into it. In the female , the clitoris swells because of an increase in the blood supply to that area, and the vagina becomes lubricated. Women may also experience a “sex flush ,” a red rash that typically spreads over the chest and throat. Next comes the plateau phase, the body’s preparation for orgasm. During this stage , the maximum level of sexual arousal is attained as the penis and clitoris swell with blood. Women’s breasts and vaginas expand, heartbeat and blood pressure rise, and breathing rate increases. Muscle tension becomes greater as the body prepares itself for the next stage, orgasm. Orgasm beyond saying that it is an intense, highly pleasurable experience, the biological events that accompany the feeling are fairly straightforward. When the orgasm stage is reached, rhythmic muscular contractions occur in the genitals every eighttenths of a second. In the male, the contractions expel semen, a fluid containing sperm , from the penis—a process known as ejaculation . For women and men, breathing and heart rates reach their maximum . 25

26. After orgasm, people move into the last stage of sexual arousal, the resolution stage . The body returns to its resting state, reversing the changes brought about by arousal . The genitals resume their unaroused size and shape; blood pressure, breathing, and heart rate return to normal. Male and female responses differ significantly during the resolution stage; these differences are depicted in Figure 2. Women are able to cycle back to the orgasm phase and experience repeated orgasms. Ultimately, of course, females enter the final resolution stage, and then they return to their pre-stimulation state. In contrast, it generally is thought that men enter a refractory period during the resolution stage. During the refractory period, men are unable to develop an erection and therefore are unable to have another orgasm and ejaculate. The refractory period may last from a few minutes to several hours; in the elderly, it may continue for several days. 26

27. Premature E jaculation , a male is unable to delay orgasm as long as he wishes. Because “as long as he wishes” is dependent on a man’s—and his partner’s— attitudes and opinions about how long is appropriate, this is a difficult disorder to diagnose . Sometimes the problem can be resolved simply by having a male redefine how long he wants to delay ejaculation. Premature ejaculation is most often a psychological problem since there are rarely physical reasons for it. Inhibited ejaculation is the opposite problem. In this case, the male is unable to ejaculate when he wants to, if at all. Sometimes learning general relaxation techniques is sufficient to allow men to overcome the difficulty . 27

28. women experience anorgasmia, or a lack of orgasm. In primary orgasmic dysfunction , a woman has never experienced orgasm. In secondary orgasmic dysfunction, a woman has had an orgasm at some point but no longer does or does so only under certain conditions—such as during masturbation—but not during sexual intercourse. Inhibited sexual desire occurs when the motivation for sexual activity is restrained or lacking entirely. When people with inhibited sexual desire find themselves in circumstances that typically would evoke sexual feelings, they begin to turn off. Ultimately they may begin to avoid situations of a sexual nature, thereby forgoing intimacy with others. 28