Genes, Culture, and Gender

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Chapter 5

• Genes, Culture, and Gender

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How are we influenced by human nature and
cultural diversity?

• Two current perspectives
• Evolutionary perspective emphasizes human
  kinship
• Serves as the basis for human hardware
• Cultural perspective emphasizes human diversity
• Serves as human software

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Evolution

• Natural selection The evolutionary process by
  which nature selects traits that best enable
  organisms to survive and reproduce in particular
  environmental niches
• Ex. The slowest gazelles are likely to be killed
  by predators
• Major purpose in life is to leave grandchildren

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Evolutionary Psychology

• Evolutionary Psychology The study of the
  evolution of behavior using principles of natural
  selection
• Based on the idea that evolution may select not
  just physical traits but psychological and
  behavioral traits that enhance the preservation
  and spread of ones genes

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Culture

• Culture The enduring behaviors, ideas,
  attitudes, and traditions shared by a large group
  of people and transmitted from one generation to
  the next
• The diversity of human behavior, language,
  customs, etc. suggests that much of our behavior
  is socially programmed rather than hardwired

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Culture and Food Preference

• Americans eat oysters but not snails.
• The French eat snails but not locusts.
• The Zulus eat locusts but not fish.
• The Jews eat fish but not pork.
• The Hindus eat pork but not beef.
• The Russians eat beef but not snakes.
• The Chinese eat snakes but not people.
• The Jale of New Guinea find people delicious.

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Culture and Behavior

• Cultural Diversity
• Cultural diversity exists within nations
• All cultures have norms
• Norms Rules for acceptable behavior
• Norms prescribe proper behavior
• Personal Space The buffer zone that we like to
  maintain around our bodies. Its size depends on
  our familiarity with whoever is near us

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Gender Typing Begins at Birth

• What is the gender of each baby?

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Gender Typing Begins at Birth

• What is the gender of each baby?

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Gender

• Gender roles A set of behavioral expectations
  (norms) for males and females

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Gender

• Gender roles vary with culture
• Researchers asked students all over the world
  their views on equality between the sexes
• They found that certain cultures (e.g., Pakistani
  students) had much more traditional ideas than
  others (e.g., German students)
• Gender roles vary over time
• Gender roles have changed dramatically over the
  past 50 years

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Gender Differences Three Questions

• What are the stereotypes?
• What are the actual differences in social
  behavior between men and women?
• Why do these differences exist?

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What are the stereotypes?
Women Men
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Should We Examine Gender Differences?

• In the 1970s, it was unpopular to examine gender
  differences
• Because of the fear these differences would
  reinforce stereotypes or be seen as deficits for
  women
• In recent decades, it has become more acceptable
  to examine gender differences

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• Compared with males, the average female
• Has 70 more body fat, 40 less muscle, and is 5
  inches shorter
• Is more sensitive to smells and sounds
• Is twice as vulnerable to anxiety disorders and
  depression
• Gravitates toward jobs that reduce inequalities
  (e.g., public defender)
• Binds families together (buy 3x as many gifts
  greeting cards, write 4x more personal letters,
  make 20 more long distance calls)
• Smiles more
• Is more empathic
• Is more valued as a friend by both men and women
• Is better at understanding nonverbal
  communication and expressing herself nonverbally
• Earns 77 of what the average male earns

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• Compared with females, the average male
• Slower to enter puberty (by 2 years) but dies
  earlier (by 5 years)
• 3x more likely to commit suicide, 4x more likely
  to take Ritalin for ADHD, 5x more likely to
  become alcoholic, and 6x more likely to be killed
  by lightning
• More likely to be capable of wiggling ears
• Is far more likely to be a legislator (86 vs.
  14), prime minister/president (95 vs. 5), and
  CEO of Fortune 500 company (99 vs. 1)
• Is more concerned with social dominance and is
  more likely to be conservative
• Is more likely to invite for dates, drive, and
  pay
• Tend to be directive in their communication
• Is more likely to speak assertively, interrupt
  others, and stare at others
• Is more likely to be comfortable with casual
  sex with different partners (48 vs. 12) and
  believe that it is OK for two people to have sex
  even if theyve only known each other briefly
  (53 vs. 30)

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Clarke Hatfield (1989)

• Imagine a moderately attractive person of the
  opposite sex walking up to you on a college
  campus and saying
• Hi, Ive been noticing you around town lately,
  and I find you very attractive. Would you have
  sex with me?
• 100 of women said NO!
• 75 of men said YES!!!

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Sex

• Compared to women, men
• Are more likely to initiate sexual activity
• Fantasize more about sex
• Have more permissive attitudes about sex
• Masturbate more frequently
• Are less successful at celibacy
• Refuse sex less often
• Expend more resources to gain sex
• Desire more sexual partners

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Why Are Males Obsessed with Sex?

• Evolutionary psychology predicts sex differences
  in behaviors relevant to dating, mating, and
  reproduction
• Example Why do men want more sexual partners
  than women?
• Men produce trillions of sperm in their lifetime
  whereas, women have limited numbers of eggs
• Although a woman must bring each of their
  children to term, men can spread their genes
  faster by impregnating many women
• Women seek to reproduce WISELY, men seek to
  reproduce WIDELY

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• Bill Jones is 50 years-old. He is a public
  librarian who earns about 35,000 per year.
• How attractive is Bill as a potential mate?
• 1 (very unattractive) to 10 (very
  attractive)

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• Bill Gates is 50 years-old. He is a software
  designer who is worth about 52,300,000,000.
• How attractive is Bill as a potential mate?
• 1 (very unattractive) to 10 (very
  attractive)

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Evolution Sex

• Nature selects the traits that help send ones
  genes into the future
• Much of this process occurs outside of our
  awareness
• Our natural desires are our genes way of making
  more genes
• Men prefer women whose physical features suggest
  fertility
• .7 is the ideal waist-to-hip ratio (waist
  circumference / hip circumference)
• Men tend to marry younger women (greatest
  differences among the oldest men)
• Women prefer men whose wealth, power, and
  ambition promise resources for protecting and
  nurturing offspring
• Women prefer men a few years older than
  themselves

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How Do Men and Women Differ?

• Helping Behavior Men are more helpful in
  agentic ways (intervening in emergencies),
  women are more helpful in communal ways
  (long-term care of parent)

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How Do Men and Women Differ?

• Aggression Men are slightly but reliably more
  physically aggressive
• Women are often more verbally aggressive (e.g.,
  gossip)
• Nonverbal Behavior Women are better at
  expressing and recognizing emotions

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Why Do These Differences Exist?

• 1. Societal Factors
• Differential Socialization Parents and others
  reward boys and girls differently for different
  kinds of behavior

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Why Do These Differences Exist?

• 2. Imitation (Modeling)
• Bandura studies with Bobo doll
• True of gender-typed behavior as well children
  generally prefer model adults of the same gender
  (Bussey Bandura, 1999)

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Why Do These Differences Exist?

• 3. Biological Differences (Evolutionary
  Psychology)
• Evidence for Physical Aggression
• Males more aggressive in many species
• Males more aggressive in almost all human
  cultures
• Role of testosterone

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Conclusions

• Biology and Culture
• They work together to determine our behavior
• Example In heterosexual romantic relationships,
  who is usually taller?
• Males are almost always taller than their
  partners
• 1 in 720 married couples violated this norm
  (Gillis Avis, 1980)