Deck 16: Sex, Gender, and Personality

Question 1

The study of sex differences in psychology became popular in the

A)1920s.
B)1950s.
C)1970s.
D)1990s.

Answer 1

1970s.

Question 2

_____ is a facet of extraversion that has been shown to have the largest sex difference between men and women.

A)Gregariousness
B)Assertiveness
C)Activity
D)Talkativeness

Answer 2

Assertiveness

Question 3

The social interpretation of what it means to be a man or a woman is referred to as

A)sex.
B)gender.
C)social learning theory.
D)social role theory.

Answer 3

gender.

Question 4

The statistical technique of _____ summarizes findings from many different studies.

A)factor analysis
B)meta-analysis
C)gender analysis
D)qualitative analysis

Question 5

_____ argues that the magnitude of sex differences is comparable to the magnitude of many other effects in psychology and should not be trivialized.

A)The antifeminist position
B)The minimalist position
C)The moderation position
D)The maximalist position

Question 6

_____ views sex differences as small and inconsequential.

A)Social roles theory
B)Socialization theory
C)The minimalist position
D)The maximalist position

Question 7

Feminist psychologists like Alice Eagly argue that is impossible to ignore the study of sex differences since

A)scientific and social change will be impossible without coming to terms with real sex differences between men and women.
B)science will show that the differences between men and woman have been exaggerated and are minimal.
C)it is important to understand how gender stereotypes make men and women different from one another.
D)researchers need to be able to dismiss the role of sex differences in behavior to advance the feminist agenda.

Question 8

The "d" effect size statistic is interpreted as the

A)average difference in units of standard deviations.
B)standard deviation of the sample.
C)mean difference between samples.
D)difference score between two samples.

Question 9

A proponent of a social role theory, Alice Eagly's views on the importance of sex difference are best characterized by the _____ view.

A)minimalist
B)undifferentiated
C)maximalist
D)feminist

Question 10

Beliefs about the ways men and women differ, in contrast to actual differences, are called

A)sex differences.
B)gender differences.
C)adaptive problems.
D)gender stereotypes.

Question 11

The idea that men are not capable of being nurturing is an example of a(n)

A)sex difference.
B)gender difference.
C)adaptive problem.
D)gender stereotype.

Question 12

In an influential book, "The Psychology of Sex Differences," Eleanor Maccoby and Carol Jacklyn argued that

A)men were slightly better at verbal tasks.
B)men were more aggressive than women.
C)men and women do not differ significantly in personality.
D)women were slightly better at object rotation tasks.

Question 13

When we observe a sex difference where women score higher than men, we can conclude that

A)most women will score higher than most men.
B)some men will score higher than most women.
C)there is a difference between men's average score and women's average score.
D)the difference is due to hormones.

Question 14

The findings that women score higher in verbal ability and that men score higher in math ability have effect sizes that are considered

A)small.
B)moderate.
C)large.
D)very large.

Question 15

Differences between men and women in terms of personality or behavior without regard to the causes of those differences are called

A)sex differences.
B)gender differences.
C)adaptive problems.
D)gender stereotypes.

Question 16

An effect size of .51 would be considered _____ between two groups.

A)small
B)moderate
C)large
D)no difference

Question 17

An effect size of -.82 would be considered _____ between two groups.

A)small
B)moderate
C)large
D)no difference

Question 18

Which of the following is NOT one of the reasons some individuals have argued that studying sex differences is a potentially dangerous course of study?

A)The findings may be used to support political agendas.
B)Minimizing these differences may hamper the feminist agenda.
C)The findings may be used to support the status quo.
D)The findings may reflect gender stereotypes, rather than real differences.

Question 19

When we examine average sex differences between men and women, regardless of the size of those differences, it is important to remember that

A)sex differences may have political implications and must be interpreted very carefully.
B)the implications of average sex differences do not necessarily apply to any particular individual.
C)researchers may upset someone by finding any particular sex difference between men and women.
D)there is generally little overlap between distributions of male and female scores for any particular characteristic.

Question 20

The fact that men are, on average, taller than women is best described by the term

A)sex difference.
B)gender difference.
C)adaptive problem.
D)gender stereotype.

Question 21

Women tend to score slightly higher than men on the _____ facet of the conscientiousness personality trait.

A)order
B)self-discipline
C)responsible
D)scrupulous

Question 22

Depressed women are more likely to _____ than depressed men.

A)become socially withdrawn
B)act aggressively
C)seek treatment
D)commit suicide with a firearm

Question 23

The finding that men interrupt conversations more frequently then women do is consistent with research on sex differences for which of the following facets of extraversion?

A)Activity
B)Trust
C)Assertiveness
D)Impulsiveness

Question 24

Women tend to score higher than men on the _____ facet of the agreeableness personality trait.

A)activity
B)good-natured
C)tender-mindedness
D)cooperative

Question 25

One of the largest differences in sexuality between men and women is found in their interest in

A)sex.
B)casual sex.
C)specific sex acts.
D)safe sex.

Question 26

Sex differences between men and women in terms of self-esteem

A)start occurring in childhood, continue increasing during adolescence, and increase steadily during adulthood.
B)are slight in childhood, peak during the teenage years, and steadily decrease during adulthood.
C)are not present in childhood, begin to occur in adolescence, and steadily decrease during adulthood.
D)are extremely large during childhood and decrease over the remainder of the life span.

Question 27

Some researchers speculate that _____ explains gender differences between men and women for depression.

A)hormones
B)genetic susceptibility
C)rumination
D)differences on the trait of trust

Question 28

Men and women show the least differences on the personality trait of _____ of the five-factor model of personality.

A)extraversion
B)emotional stability
C)agreeableness
D)openness

Question 29

Men tend to score higher than women on personality measures of

A)aggressiveness.
B)warmth.
C)neuroticism.
D)conscientiousness.

Question 30

Women tend to score higher than men on the _____ facet of the emotional stability personality trait.

A)impulsivity
B)aggressiveness
C)anxiety
D)insecurity

Question 31

If a person focuses repeatedly on his or her symptoms and the causes of that distress, the person may be involved in

A)rumination.
B)recidivism.
C)regression.
D)rehabilitation.

Question 32

People who score high on the tender-mindedness facet of the agreeableness trait in the five factor model of personality tend to

A)lack intelligence.
B)be nurturing and empathetic.
C)have a poor grasp of reality
D)be psychologically fragile.

Question 33

Men commit about _____ percent of all homicides that are committed worldwide.

A)60
B)70
C)80
D)90

Question 34

Research on sex differences in men and women in terms of depression

A)fails to find consistent differences.
B)finds that women tend to be more depressed than men.
C)finds that men tend to be more depressed than women.
D)finds that the depression differences are due to differences on the people-things dimension.

Question 35

The greater rate of depression that women suffer as compared to men may be due to

A)increases in male happiness due an increased number of televised sports on cable television.
B)increasing body dissatisfaction occurring around the onset of puberty when heterosexual interaction increases.
C)greater levels of "hostile masculinity" by males around the onset of puberty when heterosexual interaction increases.
D)differences in brain structure between women and men that physiologically predisposes women to ruminate.

Question 36

Overall, sex differences in self-esteem have been found to be

A)small.
B)moderate.
C)large.
D)very large.

Question 37

A person's general self-evaluation is known as

A)global self-esteem.
B)domain-specific self-esteem.
C)self-esteem variability.
D)overall self concept.

Question 38

Approximately _____ percent of adult women and _____ percent of adult men will have at least one episode of depression during their lives.

A)15; 5
B)30; 20
C)25; 10
D)20; 20

Question 39

Brebner's international study of the basic emotions found that women experience emotion _____ than men.

A)less frequently and less intensely
B)more frequently and more intensely
C)less frequently and more intensely
D)more frequently and less intensely

Question 40

Sex differences in depression between men and women are observed

A)across the life span.
B)only in childhood.
C)mostly in adolescence and adulthood.
D)mostly in old age.

Question 41

Fraternal twins Jack and Jill have been raised in the same environment.Jill aspires to become a clinical psychologist while Jack intends to be a mechanical engineer.Their career choices most likely are due to sex differences that are expressed by their scores on the _____ dimension of personality.

A)people-things
B)openness to experience
C)Machiavellianism
D)need for achievement

Question 42

The _____ dimension contains items related to nurturance, empathy, and emotional expression.

A)people-things
B)sociosexuality
C)masculinity
D)femininity

Question 43

Research on gender discrimination has found that

A)discrimination always favors men.
B)women are quoted higher prices on new automobiles.
C)women are more likely to be recommended for heart surgery.
D)women are more likely to get negative book reviews in Contemporary Psychology.

Question 44

Thinking of men as either "dads" or "cads" is an example of

A)sex differences.
B)gender differences.
C)social categories.
D)social learning theory.

Question 45

Gender-based discrimination is an example of the _____ component of gender stereotypes.

A)cognitive
B)affective
C)behavioral
D)perceptual

Question 46

Psychologist Janet Spence now views her measure of sex roles as more of a measure of

A)instrumentality and expressiveness.
B)people versus things.
C)gender stereotypes.
D)androgyny.

Question 47

Showing emotions, empathy, and nurturance is associated with the trait of

A)expressiveness.
B)instrumentality.
C)global self-esteem.
D)rumination.

Question 48

Pat has a garage full of tools; loves to throw big dinner parties for friends; is very assertive at work; and likes to be self-sufficient.One often finds Pat working on his own or friends' cars.He will spend hours listening to friends' problems or nurturing students he tutors after work.Pat most likely scores towards the _____ end of the Bem sex role inventory.

A)undifferentiated
B)androgyny
C)masculinity
D)femininity

Question 49

Two-dimensional measures of gender have been criticized because

A)it is impossible to establish validity for two dimensions of personality simultaneously.
B)recent research suggests that masculinity-femininity is a single dimension.
C)there are so few androgynous people.
D)there are too many undifferentiated people.

Question 50

Research on gender stereotypes subtypes has found

A)gender stereotypes are univariate constructs.
B)gender stereotypes can be divided into an equal number of subtypes for each sex.
C)the structure and number of male and females gender stereotypes subtypes are very different.
D)gender stereotypes subtypes are psychologically equivalent for males and females.

Question 51

Research on gender stereotypes

A)consistently finds that men are seen as more instrumental.
B)consistently finds that men are seen as less instrumental.
C)consistently finds that men and women are seen as equally instrumental.
D)finds that they differ too much across cultures to make generalizations.

Question 52

The cognitive orientations that lead people to process information on the basis of sex-linked associations are known as

A)gender stereotypes.
B)gender schemata.
C)sex differences.
D)masculinity-femininity.

Question 53

Which is NOT predicted from Bleske and Buss's study of opposite sex friendships?

A)Men are more likely than women to initiate friendship with someone of the opposite sex because they are sexually attracted to them.
B)Men are more likely to have female friends that closely match their personality characteristics.
C)Men are more likely to dissolve friendships with women when they do not result in sex.
D)Men are more likely to become sexually attracted to their female friends.

Question 54

The _____ dimension contains items related to assertiveness, dominance, and instrumentality.

A)people-things
B)sociosexuality
C)masculinity
D)femininity

Question 55

The idea that women view close relationships as a more central part of their identity is

A)consistent with the feminine mystique stereotype.
B)supported by research on the people-things dimension.
C)most related to differences in self-esteem.
D)related to sex differences in the agreeableness personality trait.

Question 56

Which of the following is NOT a component of gender stereotypes?

A)Cognitive
B)Affective
C)Behavioral
D)Perceptual

Question 57

If we think of masculinity-femininity as a single bipolar dimension,

A)a person can be both masculine and feminine.
B)a person cannot score high on both masculinity and femininity.
C)a person must be more masculine or more feminine.
D)we must assume hormonal origins of these traits.

Question 58

_____ refers to the traits involved with getting tasks completed in a direct, independent fashion, being self-sufficient, and working with objects.

A)Tender-mindedness
B)Gender schema
C)Expressiveness
D)Instrumentality

Question 59

Researchers who used to view androgyny as ideal now consider _____, that is, not to use gender and sex-linkage at all in one's processing of social information, as best.

A)undifferentiated gender
B)masculinity
C)femininity
D)gender-aschematic thinking

Question 60

A person who is androgynous scores

A)low on both masculinity and femininity.
B)high on both masculinity and femininity.
C)high on masculinity and low on femininity.
D)high on femininity and low on masculinity.

Question 61

Young girls with congenital adrenal hyperplasia (CAH) grow up into women who

A)show deficits in traditional female characteristics like empathy.
B)show superiority in traditionally masculine cognitive skills.
C)become hyper feminized in adulthood.
D)have extreme difficulty with cognitive spatial rotation skills.

Question 62

_____ theory describes sex differences in behavior as due to differences in how they are reinforced for different behaviors.

A)Socialization
B)Social role
C)Evolutionary
D)Hormonal

Question 63

The one sex difference that shows virtually no overlap in the distributions of men and women is in

A)warmth.
B)self-esteem.
C)sexuality.
D)testosterone levels.

Question 64

The theory that most emphasizes the expectations about the jobs men and women are "supposed" to have is the _____ theory.

A)social role
B)evolutionary
C)socialization
D)social learning

Question 65

The fact that women (rather than men) give birth to children is most important to the _____ theory.

A)social role
B)evolutionary
C)socialization
D)social learning

Question 66

The theory that most emphasized differences in sexual strategies is the _____ theory.

A)social role
B)evolutionary
C)socialization
D)social learning

Question 67

Studies that show that parents are more likely to encourage their daughters to be dependent supports the _____ theory.

A)socialization
B)social role
C)evolutionary
D)hormonal

Question 68

A problem for evolutionary theory is that

A)it does not address the origins of sex differences.
B)it does not explain individual differences within the sexes.
C)research suggests that fathers prefer to spend time with daughters.
D)differences between short- and long-term mating strategies are too small.

Question 69

From an evolutionary perspective, the optimal reproductive strategy for men is to

A)withhold sex until you find the perfect mate.
B)invest heavily in one mate.
C)mate indiscriminately with as many women as possible.
D)attempt to mate with a modal number of women.

Question 70

A problem for the socialization theory is that

A)research suggests that fathers prefer to spend time with daughters.
B)children may evoke sex differences in the way they are treated.
C)there is no cross-cultural evidence for the differential treatment of boys and girls.
D)boys and girls behave differently even if they been intentionally socialized in a similar manner.

Question 71

Which of the following theories MOST accounts for the origins of sex differences in behavior?

A)Social role theory
B)Evolutionary theory
C)Socialization theory
D)Social learning theory

Question 72

Steve and Charlene's parents assign them different chores in the family.The parents assume that Steve will continue working on the family farm, so most of his chores are related to the business of agriculture.They assume Charlene will get married and have to maintain a household, so they assign her cooking and cleaning chores.The differential treatment that Steve and Charlene's parents give their children can best be explained by

A)the social-role theory.
B)gender stereotypes.
C)complimentary needs.
D)sex role discrimination.

Question 73

The finding that men have more desire for sexual variety is most consistent with the _____ theory.

A)social role
B)evolutionary
C)socialization
D)social learning

Question 74

Social learning theory is a variant of the _____ theory.

A)socialization
B)social role
C)evolutionary
D)hormonal

Question 75

The _____ theory predicts decreases in sex differences as more men assume domestic duties.

A)socialization
B)social role
C)evolutionary
D)hormonal

Question 76

Gender discrimination against men has been found

A)in legal settings.
B)in medical settings.
C)in book reviews.
D)when buying cars.

Question 77

The idea that boys learn masculine behaviors by observing men is most indicative of the _____ theory.

A)socialization
B)evolutionary
C)hormonal
D)social learning

Question 78

Which of the following MOST emphasizes physiological differences as causing sex differences?

A)Socialization theory
B)Social role theory
C)Evolutionary theory
D)Hormonal theory

Question 79

High levels of testosterone in women is linked to all of the behaviors below EXCEPT

A)Being the more "masculine" partner in lesbian relationships.
B)Increased sexual desire just prior to ovulation.
C)Greater success in traditionally masculine careers.
D)Frequent disciplinary infractions when incarcerated.

Question 80

The finding that men and women are differentially represented in different jobs is most consistent with the _____ theory.

A)social role
B)evolutionary
C)socialization
D)social learning