Motivation: Gender and Sexuality - Introductory Psychology | PSY 101, Study notes of Psychology

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CHAPTER 10: MOTIVATION: GENDER & SEXUALITY

I. Gender: Nature or Nurture? a. John Money

1. Argued that gender was learned and not innate
2. Social definition of gender
3. Famous for his involvement in the John/Joan case b. John/Joan case: David Reimer
4. Reassigned as female after botched circumcision a) Behaved as boy throughout childhood b) Never identified with female gender
5. Later underwent genital reassignment surgery c. Guevedoces – “penis at 12”
6. Raised as girls easily switch roles to male at puberty d. Androgen insensitivity syndrome
7. Genetic males (XY) who appear female a) Abnormal secondary sexual development in puberty, infertility b) look like women and feel like women
8. Cause: gene for testosterone recognition malfunctions a) discovered at puberty
9. “Genetic males” are feminized
10. Women with AIS look and feel like typical women a) The fact that they are genetic males often not discovered until puberty, most have normal female genitalia but lack uterus, masculinization of skeleton (longer arms and legs) II. Homosexuality: Nature or nurture? a. Arguments against homosexuality: unnatural
11. homosexual/transgender behavior observed in over 1500 animal species (trade sex for food) b. Arguments against homosexuality: not procreative
12. infertile couples, older people, the use of contraception c. Badly stigmatized in recent history d. Hormones: evidence for nature e. Brain
13. INAH 3 is 2-3x larger in males than females, gay males have small INAH 3
14. Anterior commissure larger in women than men, gay men more similar to women f. Congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH)
15. Malfunctioning adrenal glands: high levels of circulating androgens, more likely to be bisexual or lesbian g. DES – synthetic estrogen given to pregnant women at risk of miscarriage (1940-

1. Masculinizes females brains, higher incidence of bisexual or lesbian women after prenatal exposure, 40% reported significant degree of attraction to women h. Fraternal birth order effect
2. Number of older male siblings has strong effect on sexual orientation in males

a) First-born son – 2% chance of developing homosexual orientation b) Each older brother increases man’s odds of developing homosexual orientation by ~33% c) No effect of older female siblings d) Not a social effect – must be biological brothers e) only occurs in right-handed males

2. One possible explanation: a) First son: placental barrier protects mother/son from exposures to each other’s proteins b) Mixing of blood upon delivery will expose mother to male-specific proteins c) If her immune system produces antibodies to these proteins, then these antibodies may be transmitted to later born sons in utero, affecting development i. Genetic component?
3. Twin studies a) MZ higher (~2x) than DZ j. Sexual orientation is likely the result of a combination of factors
4. Prenatal environment, genetics, environment