ENGLISH 3102: PORFOLIO

Define the following terms:
1. Sex-The biologically based categories of female and male.
2. Gender-The distinctions between femininity and masculinity.
3. Gender stereotypes- The beliefs about person abilities, personality traits and social behavior.
4. Gender differences- Are actual disparities between the sexes in the typical behavior or average ability.

Comprehension Questions
"Understanding Gender Differences"

1. What is the distinction between a gender stereotype and a gender difference?
The distinction between gender stereotypes and a gender differences is that the first is a held belief and gender difference is a disparity between the sexes.

2. What cognitive gender difference does research support?
The differences is:
a) The females perform somewhat better them males on test of verbal ability.
b) The males an advantage on test of mathematical ability.
c)Males tend to score high in visual-spatial ability more often than females do.

3. What behavioral (social) difference does research support?
a)Males tend to be more aggressive than females.
b)Second, there are gender differences in nonverbal communication.
c)Two separate reviews conclude that gender differences occur in influence ability.

4. What do the research results say about individual people?
The average female and male are ultimately figments of our imagination.

5. What is socialization? What are gender roles?
a) Socialization is the acquisition of the norms and behaviors expected of people in a particular society.
b) Gender roles are expectations about what is appropriate behavior for each sex.

6. What are the three key processes though which children learn their gender roles? Give an example of how each works.
a) Operant conditioning- If you’re a man, you might recall getting hurt as a young boy and being told that “men don’t cry”.
b)Observational learning- Children tend to imitate same-sex role models.
c) Self-Socialization- Children get involved in their own socialization, working diligently to discover the rules that are supposed to govern their behavior.

7. How do parents, schools, and the media each influence boys and girls to follow their respective traditional roles?
a) Parents- The parents give to children toys . Example: Girls wash dishes and boys mow the lawn.
b) School- Books that children use in learning to read influence their ideas about what is suitable behavior for males and females.
c) Media- Television shows have traditionally depicted men and women in highly stereotypic ways.