Where do you think gender differences come from?

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• Where do you think gender differences come from?

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Todays session
You will learn how to... You will learn about...
Discuss the nature-nurture debate Describe and comment on research into cultural variation Gender development cultural variations in gender
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• What do we mean by the nature-nurture debate?

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Nature and nurture

• The debate about whether variations in
  psychological behavioural traits are caused by
  innate or environmental factors.
• E.g. intelligence if Jane is more intelligent
  than John, is that because she was born that way
  or because her environment experiences made her
  that way?

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• How does the nature-nurture issue apply to gender
  development?
• What might the different positions be?

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Nature and nurture
Nature Nurture
Gender differences result from innate differences
between female and male (genes, chromosomes,
nervous system, hormones).
Gender differences result from the different
experiences that females and males have as they
develop (learning from family, peers, society)
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• How can studying members of different cultures
  help us understand the nature and nurture of
  gender?

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• Universal features (found everywhere) would
  suggest an innate basis for gender and support
  the nature view
• Culturally specific features (found in some
  places not others) would suggest that gender is
  learned and support the nurture view

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Cultural variation in gender

• Mead (1935)
• Malinowski (1929)
• Buss et al (1990)

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• What sorts of problem might be faced by
  researchers who want to investigate cultural
  variations in gender?
• How might these problems affect the validity of
  their research?

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Cross cultural research

• Reactivity
• The researchers presence may alter the behaviour
  of those being studied
• Communication
• The researcher may be misinformed by, or may
  misunderstand, their informants
• Bias
• The researcher may impose their own
  preconceptions on the data

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• Discuss the nature-nurture debate in relation to
  gender. You must refer to studies of cultural
  variation in gender in your answer.