Sex-Related Comparisons: Theory 173Considering the Context: Deaux and Major’s Model
All the theories discussed so far emphasize how
biological or social forces alone or in conjunc-
tion with one another could have led to sex dif-
ferences in cognition or behavior or could have
shaped the traditional male and female gender
roles. Descriptions of each of these theories,
as well as their key concepts, are presented in
Table 5.4. Instead of focusing on how gender-
related behavior is acquired, like the other
theories reviewed in this chapter, Deaux and
Major (1987) focused on the conditions that
create thedisplayof gender-related behavior.
That is, they emphasized the proximal, or more
immediate, causes of whether a sex difference
is observed rather than the distal, or more dis-
tant, factors such as biology and socialization.
From a social psychological perspective,
the theories discussed so far in this chapter are
fundamentally flawed because they do not take
the situation, the context, into account. Deaux
and Major (1987) noted that one reason men’s
and women’s behavior is inconsistent across
studies is that the situation has a strong impact
on behavior. Thus they incorporated the situa-
tion into their model of sex differences.
Deaux and Major’s (1987) model em-
phasizes three determinants of whether a sexso many categories, it would be difficult to
have clear-cut boundaries between any two
categories. The categories would become
fluid and, ultimately, the distinctions among
them less important, if not meaningless.TAKE HOME POINTS
■ Gender schema theory combines elements of both so-
cial learning theory and cognitive development theory;
social learning theory explains how the content of gen-
der schemas is acquired; cognitive development theory
suggests that people use those schemas to guide their
behavior.
■ People who are gender schematic divide the world into
feminine and masculine categories and allow the gen-
der category to influence how they dress, behave, and
think.
■ A person who is gender aschematic relies on other
categories besides gender to interpret the world.
■ When Bem first put forth her theory of gender as-
chematicity, she reasoned that someone who is not
constrained by the gender category would be likely to
develop both feminine and masculine traits—or what
is now referred to asandrogyny.
■ However, Bem really advocated a gender-aschematic
society rather than an androgynous one.TABLE 5.3 BEM’S IDEAS ON HOW TO RAISE A GENDER ASCHEMATIC CHILD
- Teach what sex is: a biological distinction. (You cannot tell if someone is male or female unless
you see the person naked.) - Teach what sex is not: get rid of the cultural correlates of sex.
Provide a child with both male and female toys and clothes.
Censor books and television for depictions of men and women in traditional roles.
Eliminate own gender-stereotyped behavior (e.g., only mom washes dishes, only dad washes a car). - Counter cultural stereotypes with counterexamples (e.g., Child: “Only men can be doctors.”
Parent: “But your Aunt Jean is a doctor”). - Teach that society’s view of gender is not only different from the one you are teaching but also
incorrect.
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