THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVE ON  Gender role learning is self-motivated and an

aspect of cognitive development.

GENDER
GENDER CONSTANCY

 Gender is stable and consistent part of oneself,

PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY children conserve gender.
GENDER IDENTITY
PSYCHOSEXUAL DEVELOPMENT  Children can identify and label their gender and
 Focuses on erogenous zone (boys and girls pass of others.
through the oral and anal stages in a similar
GENDER SCHEMA THEORY
manner).
 The development diverges during the phallic GENDER SCHEMA THEORY
stage.
 General knowledge framework about gender
PSYCHOSEXUAL DEVELOPMENT  A set of gender linked associations
Girls SOCIOBIOLOGY
 Realization that she has no penis  It applies the evolutionary theory to explain
 Feels penis envy social behavior.
 Electra Complex  Members of a species desire to pass on their
 Immature superego genes by developing reproductive stages.
 Natural selection can be applied to social
Boys
behaviors that would be adaptive or increase
 Boy’s fascination with his penis one’s reproductive fitness (e.g., caring for an
 Castration anxiety offspring).
 Oedipus Complex WHY IS IT TYPICAL THAT FEMALES DO MOST OF
 Develops superego THE CARE OF OFFSPRING?

 PARENTAL INVESTMENT
 Increases offspring’s chance of survival.
SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY
 CERTAINTY OF MATERNITY
IMITATION/MODELING  Mother knows that the child carries her
genes.
 Children do what they see on others
SEXUAL SELECTION PRODUCES DIFFERENCES
REINFORCEMENT BETWEEN MALES AND FEMALES.
 Children are rewarded for displaying gender- 1. Members of one gender compete among
appropriate behavior and punished if they do themselves to gain mating privileges with
not. members of the other gender.
OBSERVATIONAL LEARNING 2. Members of the other gender have preferences
for members of the first gender.
 Children observe the behavior and do it in later
time.

ACCORDING TO DONALD SYMONS:

COGNITIVE-DEVELOPMENT THEORY
  Females are more choosy and hesitant because
of the risk of consequence of a bad choice.
 Males are less discriminating, more aggressive,
and have a greater taste for variety of partners
due to less risk.
 Selection favored the basic male tendency to be
aroused sexually by the sight of females.
 Selection favored the basic female tendency to
discriminate with respect to both parties and the
circumstances in which copulation occurred.
EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGY
Sexual Strategies Theory
 Men and women have different problems to
solve in short-term mating strategies (e.g.,
hooking up) and long-term mating strategies
(e.g., marriage)
SHORT-TERM MATING
 Identifying fertile women and removing the
uncertainty of paternity.
LONG TERM MATING
 Evolutionary problem: Identifying men who
are long-term committed and resource
provider.
THERE ARE GENDER DIFFERENCES IN
RESPONSE TO SEXUAL VERSUS EMOTIONAL
INFIDELITY.
 EMOTIONAL INFIDELITY FOR MALE
PartnerJealousyThreat to resources for
herself and their child
 FEMALE PARTNER’S SEXUAL
INFIDELITY
Paternity CertaintyJealousy
SOCIAL ROLE THEORY
 Focuses on variability across cultures in
patterns of gender differences.
 Driven by society’s division of labor
 Greater gender difference in a status in
culture=Greater psychological gender
differences.
PSYCHOSOCIAL PERSPECTIVE IN
GENDER AND SEXUALITY
PSYCHOSOCIAL PERSPECTIVE: PSYCHOLOGY
 Affect- emotions and feelings
 Behavior- overt and covert
 Cognition- Thought processes (memory,
perception & information processing)
PSYCHOSOCIAL PERSPECTIVE: SOCIOLOGY
 Social aspect of gender & sexuality
 Structures and functions of institutions
 Person’s realities and experiences
 Dynamics of human relationship
PSYCHOSOCIAL DIMENSION
- experience of gender and sexuality of a
relational experience.
 Self-Awareness/ Other-Awareness
 Relationship and Intimacy
 Socialization
 Meaning-making
AWARENESS
- Conscious understanding of oneself
- Understanding others
INTIMACY AND RELATIONSHIP
- Forming a bond between two or more people
through communication an interaction
- Knowing others and allowing others to
know us.
SOCIALIZATION AND MEANING-MAKING
- Learning cultural norms and traditions
- Making sense of experiences in relation to
the influences of environment and
integrating the interpretations into one’s own
choice.
 WELL BEING AS A PSYCHOSOCIAL GOAL
- A state of satisfaction, meaning and purpose.
OBJECTIVE WELL-BEING
- Observed, outward and can be evaluated
through the pressure or absence of particular
elements in the environment.
SUBJECTIVE WELL-BEING
- Personal experience of satisfaction,
meaning, purpose and appreciation of how
well oneself is.
DIMENSIONS OF WELL-BEING

 PHYSICAL
- Physical/biological health
 EMOTIONAL
- Positive feelings; mood stability
 MENTAL
- Clarity of mind; healthy thought process
 MATERIAL
- Adequate and available resources
 SOCIAL
- Positive interaction and relationships
PSYCHOSOCIAL ASPECTS OF MY LIFE

 Awareness of self and others

 Learning and socialization
 Intimacy and relationship
 Purpose and meaning