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Psychological Perspectives on Gender – SPRING 2023

EXTRA CREDIT OPPORTUNITY

 Points breakdown:
Exercise A: 1 possible point
Exercise B: 2 possible points
Exercise C: 1 possible point
Total: 4 possible points

 Due Date: Mon., May 1 at 11:59pm (CT) in Blackboard.

Late assignments will not be accepted.

 For each Exercise, type your answers in the spaces provided.

 You can choose to complete all 3 of the exercises, or just two, or just one. The choice is yours.

 Within each Exercise, every item must be completed or else all possible points will be
deducted. Further, the number of points awarded for each Exercise will depend upon my
scoring of the quality of your answers.

 Because the extra credit opportunity exercises are due during the final week of class, I will not
be able to return provide detailed feedback.

Page 1 of 8
 Exercise A: Stereotypes in Media Portrayals of Men and Women

There are 7 items in Exercise A. You must complete all 7 items, using the spaces below each item.

Watch 5 different television shows to examine stereotypes of men and women. Please watch one
episode from 5 different programs. Do not use reality shows (ex: Survivor, Big Brother, Pawn Stars,
etc.), documentaries, or news programs. Answer the following questions for each episode:

Item #1: EPISODE 1

A. Name of program:
B. Name of the (or a) main character:
C. The sex if the character listed in B:

D. Describe the appearance of the character listed in B:

E. Describe the role of the character listed in B (housewife, doctor, detective, etc.):

F. Describe the personality traits of the character listed in B:

G. Describe the behavior of the character listed in B:

Item #2: EPISODE 2

A. Name of program:
B. Name of the (or a) main character:
C. The sex if the character listed in B:

D. Describe the appearance of the character listed in B:

E. Describe the role of the character listed in B (housewife, doctor, detective, etc.):

F. Describe the personality traits of the character listed in B:

G. Describe the behavior of the character listed in B:

Page 2 of 8
 Exercise A: Stereotypes in Media Portrayals of Men and Women (continued)

Item #3: EPISODE 3

A. Name of program:
B. Name of the (or a) main character:
C. The sex if the character listed in B:

D. Describe the appearance of the character listed in B:

E. Describe the role of the character listed in B (housewife, doctor, detective, etc.):

F. Describe the personality traits of the character listed in B:

G. Describe the behavior of the character listed in B:

Item #4: EPISODE 4

A. Name of program:
B. Name of the (or a) main character:
C. The sex if the character listed in B:

D. Describe the appearance of the character listed in B:

E. Describe the role of the character listed in B (housewife, doctor, detective, etc.):

F. Describe the personality traits of the character listed in B:

G. Describe the behavior of the character listed in B:

Page 3 of 8
 Exercise A: Stereotypes in Media Portrayals of Men and Women (continued)

Item #5: EPISODE 5

A. Name of program:
B. Name of the (or a) main character:
C. The sex if the character listed in B:

D. Describe the appearance of the character listed in B:

E. Describe the role of the character listed in B (housewife, doctor, detective, etc.):

F. Describe the personality traits of the character listed in B:

G. Describe the behavior of the character listed in B:

Exercise A: Stereotypes in Media Portrayals of Men and Women (continued)

Item #6

What gender stereotype-consistent themes did you find in your answers to Items 1-5?

Item #7

What gender stereotype-inconsistent themes did you find in your answers to Items 1-8?

Page 4 of 8
 Exercise B: Perception of Emotion in Boys and Girls

There are 3 items in Exercise B. You must complete all 3 items, using the spaces below each item.

Find a picture of an infant. Make sure the gender of the infant in the photo is not obvious. Show the
picture to 5 people and tell them it is male. Then show the picture to 5 people and tell them it is
female. Ask them to rate the child on the following dimensions:

1. How emotional is the child?

1 2 3 4 5
Not at all Very

2. How expressive is the child?

1 2 3 4 5
Not at all Very

3. What emotion is the child experiencing?

Item #1: Create a table of the 5 responses to the male photo, and a table of the 5 responses to the
female photo. Include the mean of the responses to the male photo and the mean of the responses to
the female photo.

Page 5 of 8
 Exercise B: Perception of Emotion in Boys and Girls (continued)

Item #2: Did the manipulated sex of the child influence responses? What evidence in the table in
Item #1 supports your conclusion?

Item #3: How does your conclusion in Item #2 agree or disagree with the information presented in the
class lecture? Refer to specific information from the lecture to support your answer.

Page 6 of 8
 Exercise C: Gender Strain

There are 8 items in Exercise C. You must complete all 8 items, using the spaces below each item.

1. Think about how people of your gender are expected to behave. How does your behavior differ
from how people of your gender are expected to behave?

2. Think about how people of your gender are expected to look. How does your appearance differ
from how people of your gender are expected to look?

3. Think about personality characteristics that people of you gender are supposed to have. How
does your personality differ from the personality that people of your gender are supposed to
have?

4. Think about the things that are supposed to interest people of your gender. How do your
interests differ from the interests that people of your gender are supposed to have?

Page 7 of 8
 Exercise C: Gender Strain (continued)

5. Think about ways that your behavior matches the behavior that society expects of people of
your gender. Do you feel any of these behaviors are harmful, and how so?

6. Think about the ways that your physical appearance matches the way society expects people of
your gender to look. Do you feel any of these expectations are harmful, and how so?

7. Think about the ways that your personality matches the personality that society expects of
people of your gender. Do feel that any of these personality traits are harmful, and how so?

8. Think about the interests that you have that correspond to the interests that society expects
people of your gender to have. Do you feel it is harmful to have any of these interests, and how
so?

Page 8 of 8