Introduction to Social Psychology Gender-Lecture Notes-Psychology, Study notes of Social Psychology

Download Introduction to Social Psychology Gender-Lecture Notes-Psychology and more Study notes Social Psychology in PDF only on Docsity!

Psychology of Gender

Differences in

Personal Relationships

 Gray’s motivation is $$$$$$$

• 18 million from book sales
• $35,000 per seminar

 Claims are grossly exaggerated

• use of anecdotal information

 Polarizing men and women offensive

• creates greater distance

Preliminary Remarks

Introduction to Meta-analysis

Sex/Gender Terminology

Methodological Considerations

Introduction to Meta-Analysis

 Meta-analysis: Numerically averaging

results across many studies

 A standard way to compute difference

between groups: Cohen’s d statistic

 Small =.

 Medium =.

 Large =.

Methodological Considerations

Gender Differences or Sex Differences?

Sex/Gender Differences: Strict dichotomies

or continuous variables?

Magnitude of Difference versus Within

Group Variability

File Drawer Problem

Translating “significant difference” into

practical significance

Gender and Cognition

The “Missing” 5%:

Selection pressures enable man to achieve

“higher eminence, in whatever he takes

up, than can woman--whether requiring

deep thought, reason, invention, or

imagination, or merely the uses of the

senses and hands.” --Darwin

Gender and Cognition: Math Tests

Source: Hyde et al. 1990

Notes: n = 100 studies, Positive d values indicate men score higher

Sample Effect Size All studies 0. General Population -0. Aged 5-10 -0. Aged 11-14 -0. Aged 15-18 0. Aged 19-25 0. Aged 26+ 0.

Study of the Mathematically Precocious (Benbow, 1988)

• SAT-M
  • Males: M = 436; Females: M = 404, d = +.
  • Male:Female 600+ = 2:
  • Male:Female 700+ = 4:
  • Predictive Validity?
  • Media accounts lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy?

Gender and Cognition: Math Tests

Gender and Cognition

Cognitive Crowding Hypothesis:

Females more likely to have verbal ability represented in both hemispheres. Male brains more likely to have the left hemisphere devoted exclusively to verbal abilities and right hemisphere devoted to spatial abilities.

Sex Differences in Lateralization

• Female brains are more symmetrically organized for cognitive functions (more bilateral in organization)
• Male brains are more asymmetrically organized (more lateralized in organization)

Gender and Cognition

Critique of Biological Theories:

• Gender disparities on standardized tests declining in more recent years.
• Training eliminates disparity on spatial skills tests.
• Socialization mediating biology?

•Early reliance on verbal skills impacting women’s performance on spatial and mathematical tests?