Category:Gender

Welcome to Gender Psychology. The differences between males and females and the reasons for these differences.

Psychoanalytic Approach

During the phallic stage it was believed that gender developed. In boys this was as a result of the Oedipus complex and in girls it was the Electra complex. Both Electra and Oedipus are characters from Greek mythology. See Psychoanalytic Approach.

Social Learning Theory

The Social Learning Theory was proposed by Bandura as a way of explaining how children acquire their gender identitiy based on the influence of other people (particularly their parents). Studies to support. See Social Learning Theory.

Cognitive Approach

Cognition means how you think, and the theory we will be looking at is Kohlberg's Cognitive-Developmental Theory. The basic principle of the theory is that a child's understanding of gender develops with age. See Cognitive Approach.

Biological Theory

How does biology (specifically genes and hormones) affect our gender development. Examples of Kleinfelters and Turners syndrome: chromosome disorders and the case of Money and Erhardt with a boy living as a girl. See Biological Theory.