Understanding Psychology (10th Ed)

Study Alert
Remember that gender 
diff erences are caused by a 
combination of biological, 
evolutionary, and social 
factors.
“Sometimes it would be helpful if you were a bit more androgynous.”
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354 Chapter 
11 
Sexuality and Gender
times more likely than girls to receive attention from classroom teachers. Boys receive 
signifi cantly more praise, criticism, and remedial help than girls do. They are also 
more likely to be praised for the intelligence shown in their work, whereas girls are 
more apt to be commended for their neatness. Even in college classes, male students 
receive more eye contact from their professors than female students, men are called 
upon more frequently in class, and men are more apt to receive extra help from their 
professors (AAUW, 1992; Sadker & Sadker, 1994; Einarsson & Granstroem, 2002; 
Koch, 2003). 
Socialization produces a
 gender schema, 
a mental framework that organizes and 
guides a child’s understanding of information relevant to gender. On the basis of their 
schemas for appropriate and inappropriate behavior for males and females, children 
begin to behave in ways that refl ect society’s gender roles. Hence, children who are 
offered the opportunity to sew a costume for a school play may evaluate the activity 
not in terms of the intrinsic components of the process (such as the mechanics of using 
a needle and thread) but in terms of whether the activity is compatible with their gen-
der schema. Such evaluation may potentially limit the range of experiences to which 
children are exposed (Bem, 1998; Le Maner-Idrissi & Renault, 2006; Frawley, 2008).
gender schema
A mental framework 
that organizes and guides a child’s 
understanding of information relevant 
to gender.
Androgynous people tend to defy stereotypes by combining the psychological and 
behavioral characteristics thought typical of both sexes.
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