Theories

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Theories

• Three main theories
• Evolutionary (aka. Sociobiological)
• Social cognitive theory (aka. Social learning or
  Cognitive social learning in text)
• Gender schema theory can be lumped in here
• Social role (aka. Social structural theory in
  text, or biosocial theory)

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Good Theories Critical Thinking

• Constructs are explained and described
• Constructs predict behavior
• Parsimonythe theory is simple and does not make
  many assumptions
• Not obvious or intuitive
• Make risky predictions
• Raise interesting questions

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Evolutionary Psychology
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Evolutionary Psychology

• Evolutionary Psychology posits that people
  inherit evolutionarily adaptive strategies and
  traits to solve the problem of survival and
  reproduction. These evolved, genetic strategies
  and traits explain behavior (today).
• This is different than explaining the behavior of
  organisms that lack cultures and which have not
  developed sophisticated methods of transferring
  knowledge.

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Evolutionary Theory

• Gender differences are ancestrally programmed.
• Differences in gender roles are caused by
  differences in
• mating strategies
• reproductive strategy
• parental investment
• aggressive nature of males

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Evolutionary psychology

• Men invest less in offspring so they sought to
  spread their seed (and were less choosy), but
  also looked for young, attractive, fertile mates
• Women invest a lot in babies so they look for a
  mate with resources
• Assume that women need men because they provide
  subsistence
• Because of their larger size, men resolved
  conflicts by exercising aggressive dominance over
  women and other men
• Men need to control womens sexuality and men are
  more jealous than women because they never really
  knew about paternity

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Evolutionary Psychology

• Appears to explain
• Reproductive strategy differences
• Possibly mate selection criteria, aggression and
  jealousy (but these are more tentative)
• Mate selection criteria depends on gender
  equality or lack there of (Eagly Wood)
• But EPs claim that mate preference should differ
  by sex regardless of economic resources or social
  roles

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Evolutionary Psychology

• Possible Problems
• Invoke evolved behavioral traits as cultural
  universals
• Posit genetic fixedness
• Diversity within gender is ignored
• Ignores the fact that evolved potentialities can
  serve diverse functions
• e.g., promiscuous bonobos human male aggression
  and testosterone

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Evolutionary psychology

• Constructs Evolved potential characteristics or
  behavioral traits
• Risky prediction
• Men should be more jealous than women
• Men should be more aggressive than women
• Trait such as dominance orientation or
  promiscuity should be consistent within genders
• Women should care more about resources and men
  should care more about youth and attractiveness
• If the above were found to be true, are there
  other potential explanations? How can we control
  for culture?

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Evolution and Essentialism

• Since men and women differ in consistent ways
  (they have different reproductive strategies,
  different reproductive problems), why aim for
  equality?
• We are programmed to fulfill different roles, so
  why try to get into roles you dont belong in?
• Women should take care of babies
• Men should be hired as police officers, soldiers,
  firemen
• Women should be cared for
• Men should bring home the bacon

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Social Cognitive Theory
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Social cognitive theory

• Gender development an interaction between
  personal, behavioral, and environmental factors.
• Adopts lifespan perspective
• Reciprocal influence depend on context (culture,
  subcultural, normsstrength of these factors
  influence behavioral or personal factors)
• People are self organizing, proactive, self
  reflective, and self regulating organisms shaped
  by external events

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Socio-cognitive modes of influence

• Modeling
• Models convey rules and norms includes people in
  your life, community, and those portrayed in
  media
• Understood as a generative social construction
  (behaviors are generalized and unique not
  behavioral mimicry)

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Enactive Experience

• Learning through consequences
• Operant conditioning rewards and punishment
  loosely defined

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Direct Tutelage

• Direct instruction regarding how to behave
• Prescriptions for behavior
• Most influential when based on shared values and
  when individual receives social support

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Factors that regulate gender linked conduct

• Gender linked social sanctions socially
  prescribed behaviors and outcomes
• Regulatory self sanctions internalization of
  social sanctions
• Self efficacy belief that one has control over
  outcomes beliefs about ability
• Unless people believe they can produce desired
  effects by their actions, they have little
  incentive to act or to persevere in the face of
  difficulties

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Social Cognitive Theory

• Broad enough (e.g. people learn) so that one
  could argue that the theory fits every case
• Narrow in the sense that it appears to minimize
  the effect of biology. Does not explain or
  describe macro-level structures
• Good theories include simple explanations
• The theory is difficult to test because.

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Social Role Theory
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Social role theory

• Sex differences caused by
• Each sexs physical attributes and related
  behaviorsespecially womens childbearing and
  nursing of infants and mens greater size, speed,
  and upper body strength
• Contextual factors represented by the social,
  economic, technological and ecological forces
  present in society
• Also shaped by the formation of gender roles,
  expectancy confirmation, and self regulation.

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Social Role Theory

• Why are men and women positioned differently in
  the social structure?
• Division of labor
• Womens reproductive activities limit her ability
  to do other stuff
• Status and power
• Womens childbearing and nursing of infants
  enable them to efficiently care for offspring and
  conflicts with roles requiring extended absence
  from home and uninterrupted activity
• Mens greater speed and upper body strength
  facilitate their efficient performance of tasks
  that require extended absence
• These activities are differentially valued
• E.g. more value placed on warfare, economic gain,
  etc.

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Gender Hierarchy

• Mens greater strength allow them perform
  activities that many view as valuable
• Socioeconomically complex societies may favor men
  because women have the baby disadvantage

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Gender roles and social position

• Beliefs about men and women are reinforced by the
  gender hierarchy and power status differences in
  the division of labor
• Since men and women have different jobs they
  also have different characteristics that are
  aptly associated with those jobs
• Can also be reinforced through
• Self concept and gender identity setting
  personal standards
• Biological processes and hormonal changes
• Testosterone
• Estradiol, cortisol

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SRT Correspondent Bias

• So women are communal
• When a woman performs a communal behavior,
  perceivers believe the behavior corresponds to
  her inner disposition
• When a man performs a communal behavior,
  perceivers believe the behavior was caused by the
  situation
• Because men obtain positions of power and status,
  they must be dominant. Women, on the other hand,
  are more submissive (due to the positions they
  obtain).
• People assume correspondence between social roles
  and personal attributes

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Social Role Theory

• Deceptively complex
• Biological perspective (physical and hormonal
  difference)
• Social cognitive (learning and experience)
• Power (division of labor and systems that enhance
  patriarchy)

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Evaluating Theories

• Gender differences in aggression