This document discusses gender stereotypes and biases. It notes that gender stereotypes are beliefs associated with males and females, and that prejudice and discrimination can arise from these stereotypes. Throughout history, women have often been invisible or portrayed negatively in many domains like philosophy, religion, mythology, and language. More recently, stereotypes associate women with traits like warmth and empathy (communion) while men are seen as more confident and ambitious (agency). However, in recent decades women have increased in perceived agency as well. The document also discusses how biology influences gender differences, noting factors like genetics, hormones, brain structure and activity, and processing differences between male and female brains.

1. Gender Stereotypesand other Gender Biases
 Stereotypes– beliefs and assumptions that
we associatewith particular groups
 Gender stereotypes – beliefs that we
associatewith males and females
 Prejudice – an emotional reaction or
attitude toward a particulargroup of people
 Discrimination – biased treatment of a of
particulargroup of people
Other Gender Biases
Gender bias throughout the history
the invisibility of women in historical
accounts.
Philosopher’s representation of women
Women are depicted as inferior to men.
Gender biases in Religion and Mythology
Women are typically lessvisiblethan men
and are frequently portrayed with negative
characteristics(women are evil,sorceress,ignorant)
although every religion includes somepositive
characteristicslikewomen are virtues.
Gender biases in Language
Masculineor androcentric generic (the use
of masculinenouns and pronouns to refer to all
human beings.)
The Complexity of Contemporary Sexism
The consider women to be higher in
communion (emphasizes a concern for your
relationship with other people like gentle and
warm) and men to be higher in agency (describes a
concern for your own self-interests like self-
confident, competitive. (Rudman & Glick,2008).But
for the past20 years,women arerated to have an
increasingscorewhen in agency.
Attitude towards women’s Competence
Men are significantly morelikely to be
associated with status and power.
Attitude towards women’s Pleasantness
People don’t think than women are
especially competent, but they do think
than women aregenerally pleasantand
nice.
Personal Consequences of Gender Stereotypes
 We make errors in our cognitiveprocesses.
 Accordingto Social CognitiveApproach in
stereotyping, people tend to:
o Exaggerate the contrastbetween
women and men
o Consider the male experience to
be normative
o Make bias judgmentabout male
and female
o Remember gender consistent
information more accurately
 Stereotypes can influencebehavior through
self-fulfillmentprophecy.
How Biology Affects Gender
Genetics
Genotype- the genetic blueprintfor
potential traits,characteristicsand behavior.It
is the information actually encoded in your
genes.
Phenotype- is the outward expression of
this genetic blueprint, Observable
characteristicsin an individual thatresultfrom
an interaction of genes and environment.
Genetic factors do not solely determine traits.All
traits and behaviors area combination of genes
actingin a particular environmental context.
Genetic Complication
Sex-linked inheritance – pattern of
inheritancein which genes on the sex chromosomes,
usually alwaysthe X, influencetraits.
Gender Categories
 Genetic or chromosomal sex (XX or XY )
 Gonadal sex (ovaries or testes)
 Hormonal sex (estrogen & progesterone
or testosterone)
 Sex of internal reproductiveanatomy
(uterus and ovaries or epididymis,
vas deferens, and seminal vesicles)
 Sex of external genitals (clitoris & labia
or penis & scrotum)
 Gender of rearing (labeled and raised as
a girl or a boy)
 Gender identity (internal sense of being
female or male)
Brain Differences between Genders
Hormonal Influence
 Gonads secrete their hormones directly
into the bloodstream,which means
that they circulatethroughout the
body.
 Activation effect – occurs when
hormones temporarily activatea

2. particularbehavior,butdo not
permanently alter or create a structure.
 Organizational effect – means that
prenatal hormones sensitizecells in
some parts of the brain so thatthe
structure later responds to the
hormone.
 Hormones permanently change an
anatomical structure.
 Hypothalamus – is sensitized
by the bath of prenatal
hormones, triggeringdifferent
hormonal patterns in males
and females at puberty.
Males Female
 Tend to have
verbal centers on
only the left
hemisphere.
 Not only have
fewer verbal
centers in general
but also,often,
have less
connectivity
between their
word centers and
their memories or
feelings.
 Tend to have verbal
centers on both
sides of the brain
 Tend to use more
words when
discussingor
describing
incidence,story,
person, object,
feeling, or place.
 When itcomes to
discussingfeelings
and emotions and
senses together,
girls tend to have an
advantage, and they
tend to have more
interest in talking
about these things.
Hemispheric Lateralization
 Lateralization – tendency for the left and
righthemispheres of the brain to specialize
in different functions.
 Lateralization is less strongin females;
parts of both hemispheres are activefor
both verbal and nonverbal tasks.
 In males, these abilities aremorelikely to
be carried outby activity in one
hemisphere.
Processing
 Male brains utilizenearly seven times
more gray matter for activity whilefemale
brains utilizenearly ten times more white
matter.
o Gray Matter (areas of the brain are
localized. They are information-
and action-processing centers in
specific splotches in a specific area
of the brain. Once they are deeply
engaged in a task or game, they
may not demonstrate much
sensitivity to other people or their
surroundings.)
o White Matter (the networking grid
that connects the brain’s gray
matter and other processing
centers with one another. This
profound brain-processing
difference is probably one reason
you may have noticed that girls
tend to more quickly transition
between tasks than boys do.)
Chemistry
 Some dominant neurochemicals :
◦ Serotonin helps us sitstill
◦ Testosterone is our sex and
aggression chemical
◦ estrogen is a female growth and
reproductive chemical
◦ Oxytocin is a bonding-relationship
chemical.
Structural Differences
 Females often have a larger hippocampus,
our human memory center. Females also
often have a higher density
of neural connections into the
hippocampus.As a result,girls and women
tend to inputor absorb more sensorial and
emotive information than males do. By
“sensorial”we mean information to and
from all fivesenses.
 Splenium – a portion of the corpus callosum
towards the back of the brain. Is larger and
more rounded in women than men.The
function of this part of the corpus callosum
seems to be tyingparts of the left and right
brain hemispheres that control speech and
spatial perception.

3. Blood Flow and Brain Activity
 The female brain,in part has far more
natural blood flowthroughout the brain at
any given moment (more white matter
processing),and becauseof a higher degree
of blood flow in a concentration partof the
brain called the cingulate gyrus, will often
ruminate on and revisitemotional
memories more than the malebrain.
 Males tend, after reflecting more briefly on
an emotive memory, to analyzeit
somewhat, then move onto the next task.
Duringthis process,they may also choose
to changecourse and do something active
and unrelated to feelings rather than
analyzetheir feelings at all.Thus,observers
may mistakenly believe that boys avoid
feelings in comparison to girls or move to
problem-solvingtoo quickly.