Passage
Although the terms sex, sex category, and gender are commonly used interchangeably by most people, sociologists distinguish between them. Sex refers to the biological distinction between bodies (eg, male, female). Sex category (eg, male, female) is based on the visible secondary sex characteristics people use to attribute sex to others. Gender (eg, masculine, feminine) specifically refers to the behaviors and behavioral expectations people attribute to others on the basis of the individual's perceived sex category. Sex category and gender have recently been conceptualized as continua, with male and female as the extremes for sex category perception and masculine and feminine as the extremes for gender. Despite this, sex category and gender are usually perceived by humans categorically instead of continuously.Researchers conducted a study to assess how sex category interpretation is related to implicit bias and cortical activity. For the first phase, researchers tested sex category interpretation using 12 highly realistic computer-generated "facial morphs" varying along a continuum of apparent sex category from extremely male (1) to extremely female (12). The sexually dimorphic content of the faces was manipulated, but all other aspects were unchanged. For example, eyes and noses remained constant, but brow lines and eyebrows were thickened for male faces. Participants viewed the 12 faces in random order, rating each face on a scale of 1 (extremely male) to 10 (extremely female). Despite the uniform increments in the sexually dimorphic content of the facial morphs, responses demonstrated dichotomous sex category classification, as expected.For the second phase, which assessed the relationship between sex category interpretation and implicit bias, participants completed an implicit association test (IAT), in which they were shown the facial morphs with a pair of word attributes, one positive and one negative (eg, hard-working, lazy), and were asked to quickly pick the word they most associated with the face. Participants demonstrated shorter response times for facial morphs at the end points of the sex category continuum.For the third phase, researchers assessed the relationship between face-sensitive regions in the occipitotemporal cortex, particularly the fusiform face area (FFA), and sex category interpretation. Participants were injected with a glucose analog containing a radioactive tracer an hour before brain activity was measured while participants viewed the facial morphs. Results suggest that FFA activity was strongest when the faces were at the end points of the sex category continuum, regardless of whether a face was perceived as male or female.
-According to the first paragraph, the way people perceive gender is most analogous to the way people perceive which of the following?

Question

Passage
Although the terms sex, sex category, and gender are commonly used interchangeably by most people, sociologists distinguish between them.  Sex refers to the biological distinction between bodies (eg, male, female).  Sex category (eg, male, female) is based on the visible secondary sex characteristics people use to attribute sex to others.  Gender (eg, masculine, feminine) specifically refers to the behaviors and behavioral expectations people attribute to others on the basis of the individual's perceived sex category.  Sex category and gender have recently been conceptualized as continua, with male and female as the extremes for sex category perception and masculine and feminine as the extremes for gender.  Despite this, sex category and gender are usually perceived by humans categorically instead of continuously.Researchers conducted a study to assess how sex category interpretation is related to implicit bias and cortical activity.  For the first phase, researchers tested sex category interpretation using 12 highly realistic computer-generated "facial morphs" varying along a continuum of apparent sex category from extremely male (1) to extremely female (12).  The sexually dimorphic content of the faces was manipulated, but all other aspects were unchanged.  For example, eyes and noses remained constant, but brow lines and eyebrows were thickened for male faces.  Participants viewed the 12 faces in random order, rating each face on a scale of 1 (extremely male) to 10 (extremely female).  Despite the uniform increments in the sexually dimorphic content of the facial morphs, responses demonstrated dichotomous sex category classification, as expected.For the second phase, which assessed the relationship between sex category interpretation and implicit bias, participants completed an implicit association test (IAT), in which they were shown the facial morphs with a pair of word attributes, one positive and one negative (eg, hard-working, lazy), and were asked to quickly pick the word they most associated with the face.  Participants demonstrated shorter response times for facial morphs at the end points of the sex category continuum.For the third phase, researchers assessed the relationship between face-sensitive regions in the occipitotemporal cortex, particularly the fusiform face area (FFA), and sex category interpretation.  Participants were injected with a glucose analog containing a radioactive tracer an hour before brain activity was measured while participants viewed the facial morphs.  Results suggest that FFA activity was strongest when the faces were at the end points of the sex category continuum, regardless of whether a face was perceived as male or female.
-According to the first paragraph, the way people perceive gender is most analogous to the way people perceive which of the following?

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

11ecba2d_0ceb_3b5d_a3bf_61d710f78743_MD0008_00 Sex (somewhat biologically defined), gender (socially defined), and sexual orientation are separate but related concepts. Sociologists define sexual orientation as a comparison between one's own sex category and the sex category to which one is attracted and with which one is physically intimate. Like sex category and gender, sexual orientation is also a social construct that is often thought of as dichotomous, with homosexuality describing attraction to members of one's own sex category and heterosexuality describing attraction to members of the opposite sex category. However, there are a range of possible sexual behaviors, so theorists now believe that human sexuality, like gender, exists along a continuum, which can be visualized using the Kinsey Scale. A major limitation of the Kinsey Scale is that it requires individuals to identify with a binary sex category. For example, for individuals who identify as intersex, it may not be possible to define sexual orientation as "same sex" or "opposite sex." Although there are a variety of additional labels for sexuality (eg, pansexual, sapiosexual, demisexual, asexual, queer) that do not fit along a heterosexual-homosexual continuum, the most common way of designating sexuality still relies on this method. (Choices B and C) Race and ethnicity also exist along a continuum, but neither is considered dichotomous as there are more than two races and ethnicities. (Choice D) Although age exists along a continuum, a person's age changes in annual increments. Age tends to be clustered into life-span stages (eg, toddlerhood, childhood, adulthood) and is not thought of as dichotomous or static, like gender. Educational objective: Sexual orientation describes people's sexual identity in relation to their own sex category and the sex category to which they are attracted. Sexual orientation exists along a continuum (eg, Kinsey Scale), even though it tends to be perceived as dichotomous (homosexual or heterosexual).