#AP Psychology (2025) - Gender & Sexual Orientation: A Last-Minute Review 🚀

Hey there, future AP Psych superstar! Let's dive into the world of gender and sexual orientation. Remember, this is your final prep, so we're focusing on what's most important for the exam. Let's make it count!

#Gender's Influence on Development

# Sex vs. Gender in Socialization

• Sex: Biological traits (chromosomes, hormones, anatomy) that define males and females. Think of it as your hardware 🧬.
• Gender: Psychological, social, and cultural aspects of being male or female. This is your software, shaped by society.
• Socialization: The lifelong process of learning cultural values, attitudes, and behaviors. It's how we learn to be 'us'.
  • Agents of socialization: Family, peers, media, schools, religion.

# Gender Roles and Expectations

• Gender roles: Societal expectations about how males and females should think, act, and feel. Think of these as scripts we're given.
  • Examples: Women as nurturers, men as providers.
• Learned through reinforcement, punishment, and modeling.
  • Rewarded for gender-appropriate behavior (girls with dolls) and punished for deviations (boys in dresses).
• Gender roles vary across cultures and change over time.
  • Traditional roles are becoming more flexible, but inequalities persist.

# Gender Identity Formation

• Gender identity: Your inner sense of being male, female, or another gender. It's how you feel inside.
• Develops through a combination of:
  • Biological factors: Genes, hormones (testosterone, estrogen), brain structures.
  • Social factors: Parental expectations, peer norms, media messages.
  • Cognitive factors: Understanding gender constancy (it stays the same) and gender schemas (mental frameworks).
• Most children have a clear gender identity by age 3. 👦👧

# Gender and Cognitive Development

• Mixed research results on cognitive differences.
  • Some studies suggest slight male advantages in math/spatial skills, female advantages in verbal/memory.
  • These differences are small and may reflect socialization, not innate abilities.
• Stereotype threat: Fear of confirming negative stereotypes, which can impair performance. 💡
  • Example: Women reminded of math stereotypes perform worse on math tests.

# Gender in Social Interactions

• Gender influences communication, behaviors, and relationships.
  • Women: More expressive, cooperative, focused on relationships.
  • Men: More assertive, competitive, focused on status.
• These are averages, not absolutes.
• Double binds: Women who display masculine traits may be seen as aggressive, men who display feminine traits may be seen as weak.

#Gender and Career Choices

• Gender stereotypes influence career aspirations.
  • Women often steered toward "helping" professions (teaching, nursing) 👩‍🏫.
  • Men toward "things"