Sex-Related Comparisons: Theory 181
moment how people behave and whether a
sex difference is observed.
Obviously, no one theory is correct
in terms of explaining all sex differences
or in terms of explaining how men and
women come to possess male and female
gender roles. Some theories have more
evidence than others. Some theories are
more easily testable than others. Some
theories are more relevant to one aspect
of gender than others; for example,
hormones may play a greater role in
aggression than in verbal ability. Each
of these theories appears throughout
this text, but the predominant theories
discussed are ones that focus on social or
environmental contributors to the impact
of gender on relationships and health.
- Discuss the strengths and
weaknesses of each theory of
gender introduced in this
chapter. - Which theory of gender is most dif-
ficult to test? Easiest to test? - For which sex differences in cogni-
tion and behavior does biology seem
to play the largest role? - If you were going to develop a study
to determine whether parents treat
sons and daughters differently,
how would you go about devel-
oping this study? In particular,
what specific behaviors would you
measure? - How are gender roles portrayed in
the media?
6. Give some specific examples of how
our culture models and reinforces
violence.
7. What is the masculine mystique?
8. How do the roles women and men
hold in society contribute to agentic
and communal behavior?
9. Distinguish between social
learning theory and cognitive devel-
opment theory. How does gender
schema theory integrate the two? - Debate the advantages and disad-
vantages of raising a gender asche-
matic child. - Apply Deaux and Major’s model to
a specific behavior. Review each
of the steps in the model shown in
Figure 5.12.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Bem, S. L. (1998).An unconventional family.
New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.
Buss, D. M. (1995). Psychological sex differ-
ences: Origins through sexual selection.
American Psychologist, 50(3), 164–168.
(Classic) Chodorow, N. (1978).The repro-
duction of mothering: Psychoanalysis and
the sociology of gender. London: Univer-
sity of California Press.
Deaux, K., & Major, K. (1987). Putting gen-
der into context: An interactive model
of gender-related behavior.Psychological
Review, 94, 369–389.
Suggested Reading
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