Biological influences on gender Essay

First 40 days after conception, embryos develop in the same way and go through fe potent person and anthropoid anatomy If egg cell is fertilised by a spermatozoon carrying anformer(a) X chromosome, the gonads develop into ovaries.The young-begetting(prenominal) elements of anatomy disintegrate the fe manful unitarys thicken and grow into a womb. The external anatomy develops into female genitalia. If the ovum is fertilised by a sperm carrying a Y chromosome, the gonads cells convert into testes. The male internal organs develop and the female organs disintegrate. External male genitalia develop. All human embryos would develop into females unless they atomic number 18 masculinised by the Y chromosome. Horm adeptsAfter the sex chromosomes, the hormones provide the main biological influences on informal polariation. Males and females produce androgens The male hormone is testosterone The female hormones are oestrogen and progesterone Hormone levels can be taken as a banner of masculinisation and feminisation Under/over exposure to hormones during the circumstantial distributor point (6 to 8 weeks) can affect later sexuality related conduct boys undetermined to too little testosterone may become less virile and girls exposed to large amounts of testosterone may be more masculine.Hormones from the gonads influence the education of genitalia, the brain and gender deportment. By week 8 of gestation, the gonads are producing hormones.It is wicked to establish hormonal influences on behaviour beca habit there are other influences that affect our behaviour oft(prenominal) as the nature, nurture debate headland differences Clear differences can be raise in the brain live on of adult men and women, particularly the function and anatomy of the hypothalamus, these difference up to now are not found in children under 6 eld darkened Green (1995) states that testosterone may affect other brain structures such as those which influence aggressive beh aviour, no direct manifest has been foundThe degree of lateralisation in male and female brains is another difference. The unexpended cerebral hemisphere say-sos speech and language while the right hemisphere controls spacial skills with information being passed between hemispheres through the corpus coliseum. Shaywitz & Shaywitx (1995) use magnetic resonance imaging scans to examine the brain whilst men and women carried push through language tasks. Found that women used both hemispheres o the brain whereas men used the left hemisphere studies that support, with evaluation points in that location are four sources of prove to assess the refer between biota and gender behaviour brute studies, case area research, correlating hormone levels and gender behaviour. animal studies young (1966) studied rats, a species where male and females show very different sexual behaviours males mount from behind and females look at the lordosis position (back arched, head low) gave doses of male hormones to female rats and vice versa during critical period found that they showed reverse behaviours, males adopted the lordosis position and females essay to mount from behind supports the idea that hormones are responsible for deciding male/female mating behaviour Animal studies evaluation points The issue of the use of animals in research, is it ethical? wrong to it is ethically wrong to inflict such pointless suffering upon any living creature. Either animals are so dissimilar to us that we cannot logically apply the results of animal tests to humans, or they are so similar that it is unethical to test upon them cannot apply to humans and fare generalisation because he anatomy of a rat is very different to the anatomy of a human.Cannot assume that humans would show the same results. There is no way to really know because it would be extremely unethical to manipulate hormones into humans during the critical period. we have to use case studies, standardised the young study, and wait for them to occur naturally +supports biological approach, shows that hormones are responsible for gender behaviour +it is a lab experiment, which means that there is hemorrhoid of control and variables can be controlled, it also means that it is very true as it is a scientific experiment.. + which lead on to the situation that the experiment is replicable, not a lot is needed to carry out the experiment, just rats an hormones then all that you need to do s travel along the rats Case study researchMoney & Erhardt (1972)1 sister was exposed to male hormones in utero compare to sister who was not mother was asked to chin-wag on games played, toys used and clothing choices exposed girl = boyish girls, graduate(prenominal)er(prenominal) IQ and career aspirations follow up in 1974 showed only one difference in girls is that the exposed girl was more physically dynamical Money and Erhardt evaluation points Many of the questions asked were leading questions which of your daughters is the most tomboyish?, the researchers may have used these to get a particular type of swear out follow up study in 1974 found only one difference, that the exposed girls were more physically active + Natural experiment, ethical, mellow ecological validity+ supports biological approach, although there is not strong evidence there still is evidence to show that there is a assort between biology and gender behaviour because the mother was told that her child is way out to be more interested in boyish activities, she could have unexpectedly encouraged more boyish behaviours onto her daughter Hines (1984)3- 8 year old boys and girls with congenital adrenal hypersia (CAH) examined the amount of rough and tumble play compared them to an unimpressed control groupfound minor difference between CAH girls and control group girls CAH girls preferred playing with boys in 2004, compared 25 men and women who had CAH with their uninfluenced relatives both groups asked to think back and recall childhood gender business office behaviour women with CAH recalled more boy related behaviours boys with CAH were no different to their unmoved(p) male relativesHines evaluation points + natural experiment, nothing was forced + used a control group, shows comparison+used both males and females, no gender curve +ethical. because it is natural experiment -lacks population validity, does not say how some(prenominal) ppts in 1994 study and only 25 ppts in 2004 study -ignores environmental cyphers influencing behaviours, such as sibling and share models -showed only limited evidence supporting the biological approach correlating hormone levels and gender behaviour in normal populationsDeady et al looked at relationship between gender role orientation an testosterone levels in child free young women asked ppts to complete SRI and asked how musing they felt and ideal age for having first child found women with high salivary levels of testosterone tended to have demoralise scores relating to the desire to have children lower maternal drives may be related to higher levels of male hormones Deady et al evaluation pointsOnly shows a link, no cause and effect + objective measure.. unbiased measurement/analysis, in that you measure what is there and not impacted by your beliefs or philosophy of somethingthat is for subjective measurement/analysis. The boy who was raised as a girlBruce and Brian, twins born in 1965at 6 months old, the twins were circumcisedBruces operation was botched and his appendage was all but burnt off went to Dr. John Money (who intemperately believed gender was learnt) money advised that Bruces penis be remove so that he looked like a girl, and be raised as Brenda Brian the identical twin was the controlBrenda received female hormone treatments after being told the truth, Brenda instantly reverted to his true sex Boy who was raised as a girl evaluation points+ Biological sex is the primary factor contributing to a sens e of gender.Even when he though that he was a girl he still felt like he was the wrong gender, without even knowing that he was biologically male. + Case study, dozens of information, detailed account, valid +supports that nature, nurture doesnt have as much control evaluation of the role of genes and hormones +scientific approach to gender, gender - biology - science - objective, sex/gender is the same +implications on real disembodied spirit situations, e.g. Olympics- compete with the gender that you identify with, genetic sex no all-night determines gender +makes sense, we inherit other features such as hair and nitty-gritty colour, why not gender features + lots of supporting evidence1. animal studies2. case studies say how it supports- +&- of studies 3. correlation studies4. boy who was raised as a girllots of supporting evidence, cannot generalisetoo deterministic gender= determined by your genesignores other factors that determine gender role behaviour e.g. role models, s iblings, media, education reductionist, reducing behaviour down to genes, hormones and genes (biology) nurture, transgender, supports nurture behavioristic approach, gender is learnt other approaches, Freud, psychosexual stages