FEMALE AND MALE: PSYCHOLOGY OF GENDER

PSY 208, WOM 208

FALL 2004

Dr. Maureen Crowley Office: F150 683-2827 email: mcrowley@uwc.edu

Office hours: MWF 10:00-10:50, MW 3:30-4:30, immediately after class or by appointment

Text Brannon, L. Gender: Psychological Perspectives.

The readings are essential to understanding the material, so I urge you to complete them on time, as they will be discussed in lectures, and are necessary for effective discussions. Please have the reading done for the week it is assigned. There may be additional reading assigned during the course, which would be available on reserve at the library.

Course Description

This course introduces students to the scientific literature on gender and the psychology of women and men, approached from the perspective of a social scientist. One emphasis is gender differences in abilities, personality, and social behavior, and the possible causes for such differences. The implications of gender roles for the behavior of women and men will be spelled out through detailed study of social behaviors such as achievement, aggression, and social influence. Applied research on topics such as ways of learning, women in the work force, sexual harassment, effects of pornography, and sexuality will be reviewed as well as basic research. Health issues, such as body image and eating disorders will also be considered. The course will conclude with some speculations for the future of research in gender, and social change.

You might want to check out the UW Colleges website for Women’s Studies: http://www.uwc.edu/dept/wmsts/.

NB: Psychology 201 or 202 (C- or better) (or consent of the instructor) is a prerequisite for this course.

Course Proficiencies

The Psychology department has identified four proficiencies; lectures, demonstrations, assignments, class participation, and exams are geared toward helping you master them. They are to:

1) Read and listen with comprehension and critical perception.

2) Develop a large and varied vocabulary specific to Psychology of gender.

3) Recognize fallacies and inconsistencies.

4) Analyze, synthesize, evaluate and interpret information and ideas.

Construct and support hypotheses and arguments.

Distinguish knowledge, values, beliefs, and opinions.

Select and apply scientific and other appropriate methodologies.

Class participation

Regular class attendance is expected, and you should be prepared to discuss the reading, or the day’s topic. The class is much more interesting if you are engaged.

Exams

There will be three equally weighted exams, with the format being essay. Questions will be given to you ahead of time from which the exam questions will be taken. Or take home, which would be all essay as well. We’ll decide together the first day of class.

Project

You will be required to do one project which will be worth 1 ½ times an individual exam. Details on this project are on a separate handout.

Other Assignments

I want you to have your gender “antennae” up during the semester, and notice articles, commercials, cartoons, conversations, TV shows, movies, music lyrics, etc. that say something about gender. Every Wednesday, I’d like you to bring in an example of something you noticed the past week. If you can’t actually bring it in (e.g., a commercial), write a brief description, preferably typed, but at least legibly written. At the end of the semester I’d like you to write an essay about what you learned from the “current events” messages (approximately 2 typed double-spaced pages). This should be part of a file where you include all the examples you’ve handed in over the semester.

Grading

Grades are based on exams, the project, class participation, and consistency in bringing in outside material. For the project, each required part, such as handing in references, will be part of your total project grade. Grading is on a straight scale.

90-100% A

80-89% B

70-79% C

60-69% D

< 59% F

CLASS SCHEDULE AND ASSIGNED READINGS

Week 1 Introduction to course

9/8

Week 2 History and Issues

9/13-9/15 Chapter 1

Week 3 Research Methods and Implications

9/20-9/22 Chapter 2

Week 4 Theories of Gender Development

9/27-9/29 Chapter 5

Week 5 Hormones and Chromosomes

10/4-10/6 Chapter 3

Week 6 10/11 Exam I (Chapters 1-3, 5)

10/13 Intelligence and Cognitive Abilities

Chapter 4

Week 7 Developing Gender Identity

10/18-10/20 Chapter 6

Week 8 Gender Stereotypes

10/25-10/27 Chapter 7

Week 9 Emotion

11/1-11/3 Chapter 8

Week 10 Relationships, Chapter 9

11/8-11/10 Sexuality, Chapter 10

Week 11 Exam II (Chapters 4, 6-10)

11/15-11/17 School and Achievement, Chapter 11

Week 12 Careers and Work

11/22-11/24 Chapter 12

Week 13 Health

11/29-12/1 Chapter 13

Week 14 Stress, Coping and Psychopathology

12/6-12/8 Chapter 14

Week 15 Treatment for Mental Disorders, Chapter 15

12/13-12/15 How Different? And Wrap Up, Chapter 16

Final Exam: December 20 4:00-6:00 PM H212

There are 3 alternative projects to choose from. You must choose one:

1. Research paper. A relevant topic of your choice, 10-15 pages, typed and double-spaced with references following APA style. You must hand in a statement indicating your topic by 10/13, and your list of references to me by 11/17. (These will be counted toward the final project grade as points accumulated.) You should be getting your materials from the library as soon as you can, because many will be from interlibrary loan, which takes time to get. If you've never looked up sources in the library, ask the librarian or me to help you.

You will need at least 10 scholarly references. A few guidelines are: more recent publications are preferable to older information, and choose scientific journals and books, not popular sources. Information on how to reference sources correctly will be on reserve in the library. (And/or consult your notes from English 102 for APA style.) You can also check out some frequently asked questions about writing reference papers, see www.apa.org/journals/faq/html.

You may give me a rough draft of the paper for my comments -- give yourself plenty of time for me to read it and return it and for you to make any changes and type a final paper. A good date might be 11/24, just before Thanksgiving.

Final paper due 12/15. No late papers will be accepted.

2. Autobiographical paper. Write an introspective, autobiographical account of your gender identity and its development. It should also be approximately 10-15 pages. In assessing your present gender identity, you may wish to ask some of the following questions: What does your own gender identity involve? What parts of it are particularly important to you? Is it generally a supportive or positive factor in your total personality? In what ways do you consider yourself typical or atypical of your gender? In what ways do your relationships with others reflect your attitudes toward your own gender role?

You may consider some of the following, if they are relevant to you: Relationships with significant others--mother, father, siblings, other relatives. Models of gender roles in your life. Attitudes of significant people regarding gender roles, sex. Childhood interests and activities. School experiences. Books, movies, TV. Daydreams, longings, fantasies. Adolescent experiences. Dating, love experiences. Language, communication style, geography, knowledge, religion, values, priorities. Any other important aspect of your life that is relevant to gender may be included.

Two possible suggestions for organization: You may want to write a chronological account, starting with the important influences, e.g. grandparents, etc. and working toward the future. Or, you may want to recount the most important and outstanding experiences throughout your life.

You will need to connect your life experiences with the knowledge you have gained from your readings, class lectures and discussions.

Because some of the material may be confidential, you may choose to put your student ID rather than your name on the paper.

Due 12/15 at the latest. No late papers will be accepted.

3. Group research project. Groups of 2-4 students will work together on a research project relevant to the course. This may be done either as a class presentation or as a paper. Carry out a small-scale research project and you should relate the findings of your project to some of the themes of the class.

You must hand in a brief (1-page) proposal for your study by 10/13 at the latest and your list of references to me by 11/17. Do not begin your project until your proposal has been deemed acceptable!!! If you do, you will receive an automatic F!. Major changes in the project must be cleared with me.

Some examples of the types of data that might be gathered are the following:

1. The content of magazines, commercials, popular songs, movies and/or television programming might be monitored and coded with respect to one or more gender-relevant themes. Cartoons are a rich source for popular gender role depictions. This could also be done as a means of looking at changes over time--e.g., coding older television programs from the 50's as compared to programs of the 80's (and 90). Or compare the models from various magazines such as Cosmopolitan, Sports Illustrated, Ms., Playboy, Woman's Day, Parents, etc.

2. Observations could be made of the behavior of women and men in a public setting. Behaviors of interest could be recorded or counted in some way. (e.g., interpersonal distances of various couples, interaction behaviors with children, emotional expression, language differences, etc.)

3. You could change the gender pronouns of several popular fairy tales (i.e., change the gender of characters in fairy tales from male to female and from female to male) and read them to children, noting their responses. (You must go through steps for permission from parents, etc.)

4. A short questionnaire or interview with questions pertaining to some gender-relevant issue could be administered on an anonymous basis to a number of students or other respondents. (e.g., attitudes toward women who use Mrs., Ms. or Miss, or gender differences, if any, in definitions of, or attitudes toward, the word "feminist.")

5. Behavior traces (e.g. graffiti, footprints, signs of wear and tear) could be examined with respect to some gender relevant issue.

6. Public records or archives could be examined for data relevant to the course. For example, data on women's participation in various occupations might be collected and analyzed with respect to some issues that are relevant to the course, or who occupies what positions in particular companies, etc.

You must gather data of some sort for the project. A "library paper" reporting only past research is not acceptable. A record of your original data must be submitted with your report. For example, if you carried out a questionnaire study, the completed questionnaires must be submitted.

You must avoid designing a study that involves intrusive interventions in natural situations, or the collection of information in such a way that respondents can be identified with this information as individuals. Any studies involving such methods would have to be cleared by the Human Subjects Committee of the Colleges. Studies that collect very personal information from respondents (e.g., concerning menstrual cycles or sexual activity) would also have to be reviewed by the HSC.

A. If you choose to write a paper, then it should have the following parts: a) an introduction explaining why the study is of interest and relevant to the psychology of gender, b) a report of the exact method of your study and its findings, c) a discussion of the implications of the findings for the issues you intended that the study would address, and d) a list of references used in your paper. (Ask me for an outline handout of what's expected in a research paper.)

Review due dates: Proposal 10/13

Required References 11/17

Introduction 11/17 (or earlier!)

Method 11/24

Results 12/6

Discussion optional, but 12/6 would work

Final References 12/6

Final paper due 12/15

Statistical analysis of the data is not expected. Rather, you should present a simple description of your findings. Yet, if responses are gathered in a quantitative way (e.g., through questionnaire items involving rating scales), analysis should involve elementary data analysis steps such as the calculation of means (averages) for male and female samples.

The paper is due 12/15 and no late papers will be accepted. The paper must be typed and double-spaced. The following criteria will be part of what is used in grading the paper:

1. Quality and originality of major ideas.

2. Ability to relate ideas and findings to the content of the course.

3. Quality of empirical aspects of the project (data gathered objectively and systematically, etc.).

4. Quality of writing in the paper (clarity of expression, correct grammar and spelling, well-composed paragraphs, etc.).

5. Correct citations of sources, and APA style references.

B. For a class presentation of the project, the proposal is also due 10/13 and the date of the presentation will be determined then. (Same rules apply for handing in your list of references.) The presentation should be approximately 30 minutes long, and each member of the group will participate.

Each member is required to hand in, on the day of the presentation, a written summary of his or her part in the group effort. That includes a very brief introduction, method, results and discussion, plus references. Raw data must also be included. You may also include your reactions to the group experience. The summary should be approximately 4 pages. Separate grades will be given for individual effort and for the group's presentation as a whole, totaled for an individual grade.

I expect to work with each group, so you’ll need to set up times to see me for help with planning, researching and executing your project.