SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

Genes, Culture and Gender Part Two

INTENDED LEARNING
OUTCOMES
oAnalyze the relationship between psychology and cultural
diversity, emphasizing the impact of culture on human
behavior.
oExamine gender differences within a specific culture,
considering how cultural factors contribute to these
distinctions.
oEvaluate the influence of peer relationships, biology, and
situational factors in shaping behavior within a cultural
context.
EVOLUTION AND GENDER
oGender and Mating Preferences
oEvolutionary psychology predicts no sex differences in
domains where the sexes faced similar adaptive challenges
o Evolutionary psychology predict sex differences in behaviors
relevant to mating and reproduction
oNature selects traits that help send one’s genes into the future
oOur natural yearnings are our genes’ way of making more
genes
EVOLUTION AND GENDER
oGender and Mating Preferences
oTo attract women, men will strive to offer what women
will desire—external resources and physical protection
oTo attract men, women may balloon their breasts, Botox
their wrinkles, and liposuction their fat to offer men the
youthful, healthy appearance (connoting fertility) that men
desire
oBoth women and men desire kindness, love, and mutual
attraction
REFLECTIONS ON
EVOLUTIONARY
PSYCHOLOGY
oOutside mainstream science, other critics
challenge the teaching of evolution
oEvolutionary psychologists sometimes start with a
finding (such as the male-female difference in sexual
initiative) and then work backward to construct an
explanation for it
GENDER AND HORMONES
oTestosterone
oThe male sex hormone that influences masculine
appearance and other traits
oChildren exposed to more testosterone in the
womb exhibit the psychological pattern more
typical of males, including less eye contact, lower
language skill, and less empathy
GENDER AND HORMONES
oEstrogen
oThe female sex hormone that influences
masculine appearance and other traits
oYoung women restrain their impulses to
assert and be independent but as women
mature to middle ages, they become more
assertive and self-confident
GENDER AND HORMONES
oAs men and women graduate from these early
adult roles, they supposedly express more of their
restrained tendencies.
oAndrogynous - from andro (man) + gyn(woman)—thus
mixing both masculine and feminine characteristics.
CULTURE AND GENDER
oCulture Cycle
oCultures vary and compete for resources and thus evolve over
time
oPeople create the cultures to which they later adapt, and cultures
shape people so that they act in ways that perpetuate their cultures
oGender Role
oA set of behavior expectations (norms) for males and females.
CULTURE AND GENDER
oGender Roles vary with Culture
oDespite gender role inequalities, the majority of the world’s
people would ideally like to see more parallel male and female
roles.
oGender Roles vary over Time
oIn the past half-century—a thin slice of our long history—gender
roles have changed dramatically
CULTURE AND GENDER
oPeer-Transmitted Culture
oThe Nurture Assumption - Parental nurture, the way parents
bring their children up, governs who their children become
o Children do acquire many of their values, including their political
affiliation and religious faith, at home.
oPeer Influence - What children and teens care about most is
not what their parents think but what their friends think
o It’s their peers with whom they play and eventually will work and
mate.
CULTURE AND BIOLOGY
oEverything social and psychological is ultimately
biological
oGenes and hormones predispose males to be more physically
aggressive than females
oCulture amplifies that difference through norms that expect
males to be tough and females to be the kinder, gentler sex.
THE SITUATION AND THE
PERSON
oA given social situation often affects different people differently
o Because our minds do not see reality identically or objectively, we
respond to a situation as we construe it
oPeople often choose their situations
o Given a choice, sociable people elect situations that evoke social
interaction
oPeople often create their situations
o If we expect someone to be something, our actions toward the
person may induce the very behavior we expect