The Psychology of Gender 4th Edition

166 Chapter 5

roles. These roles may contribute to sex dif-

ferences in aggression. Women and men

also are likely to hold different occupational

roles that may contribute to sex differences

in aggression. Women hold service occupa-

tions such as nursing and teaching, which

require nurturance and are incompatible

with aggression, whereas men hold occu-

pations in the business world that require

competitiveness.

TAKE HOME POINTS

■ Social role theory states that the roles that society as-

signs women and men are responsible for gender roles.

Biological differences between women and men also

contribute to these roles.

■ Men’s role to work outside the home fosters agency,

whereas women’s role to work inside the home fosters

communion.

■ Cross-cultural research shows that girls and boys are

assigned different roles and that these roles lead to sex-

typed behavior. Specifically, girls’ time with younger

children fosters nurturance, whereas boys’ time with

older peers fosters egoistic dominance.

Cognitive Development Theory

Social learning theory, gender-role socializa-

tion, and social role theory all emphasize the

effect of the environment on the child’s skills

and behaviors. In contrast, cognitive devel-

opment theory states that the acquisition of

gender roles takes place in the child’s head.

“It stresses the active nature of the child’s

thoughts as he organizes his role perceptions

and role learnings around his basic concep-

tions of his body and his world” (Kohlberg,

1966, p. 83). An assumption of cognitive

Whiting and Edwards (1988) studied

several interpersonal behaviors and found

sex differences in two of them: nurturance

(helping) and egoistic dominance (coercion,

competition). In both cases, Whiting and

Edwards concluded that differences in behav-

ior were due to the different environments of

girls and boys. Different environments pro-

vided girls with more practice in nurturance

and boys with more practice in egoistic domi-

nance. Specifically, girls interacted more than

boys with younger children, and interactions

with younger children demanded nurturance.

Boys interacted more than girls with peers—

especially older same-sex peers, and these

interactions were characterized by egoistic

dominance. This interpretation of sex differ-

ences is consistent with social role theory.

Whiting and Edwards (1988) also ob-

served that parents treated girls and boys

differently. Mothers were more likely to

assign child care and household chores to

girls and to give commands to girls than

boys. Why do mothers ask girls rather than

boys to take care of children? Is it because

mothers believe girls have a greater capacity

for caretaking, are more interested in care-

taking, or are more suitable for caretaking

than boys? Whiting and Edwards remarked,

“Girls work while boys play” (p. 125). The

differential treatment of boys and girls was

greatest in societies where the status of men

and women was most unequal. Whiting

and Edwards (1988) stated, “The power of

mothers to assign girls and boys to different

settings may be the single most important

factor in shaping gender-specific behaviors

in childhood” (p. 86).

There are other social roles that men

and women occupy besides work and fam-

ily roles that influence gender-role behav-

ior. For example, men are more likely than

women to occupy military roles and athletic

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