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Syracuse university psy 329 biopsychological perspectives on women s health midterm study guide

Syracuse university psy 329 biopsychological perspectives on women s health midterm study guide

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Syracuse University PSY 329: Biopsychological Perspectives on Women's Health

Midterm Study Guide

1. What is the procedure that defines experimental research? Why is it difficult to use in studying gender

differences in cognitive abilities?

• Experimental research is where the researcher manipulates one variable to obtain the effect. It is

difficult to use in studying gender differences because there are many ethical issues of no-

treatment control and you cannot alter gender physically in human beings ethically.

2. What is an example of the successful use of the experimental method to explore biopsychological

gender differences?

• Professor Cornwell manipulated testosterone in male hamsters by removing their testicles, which

decreased testosterone levels. She did this to see if the hamster would alter their response to

different smells, and yes the male hamster did mimic more female behavior.

3. What is the basic assumption of logical positivism? How has that been reflected in human medical

research?

• Logical positivism says the gender of the researcher is irrelevant because reality is independent of

the knower. This is reflected because drugs metabolize differently in females than males, and

sometimes would not work for women. Historically, male researchers used male subjects in

studies of chemicals to treat psychological disorders. However, in order to have your drug study

approved, you must include women.

4. What is the basic assumption of social constructionism? How is that reflected in Dr. Diamond’s work?

• Social constructionism says the observer’s gender influences your personal research, as well as

their past and present situations’. Dr. Diamond was a mother, so she incorporated TLC/tender

love and care into her work and research with the rats.

5. Describe an experiment demonstrating the interaction of sex and experience on cognitive performance.

• 1

Grade boys outscored 1

Grade girls by equivalent amounts in the United States, Japan, and

Taiwan. Thus, there is a biological difference between genders in math ability. Later on in the

Grade, most math scores of students in China and Japan were higher than the average United

States student.

1. How is pregnancy a health hazard for women?

• Pregnancy has a high mortality rate: 30 maternal deaths out of 100,000 births in the United States.

Also, this prevalence is increasing in the United States. This is because most developed countries

have public healthcare, while the U.S has relatively private health care.

2. At what stage do psychosexual gender differences start according to traditional psychanalytic theory?

• Psychosexual gender differences begin at Freud’s Phallic Stage, when young kids are having an

attraction to their opposite sex parent. This occurs between ages 3-7 years old, and is all about the

penis (of son and father) and penis envy (of daughter and mother). They get jealous of their

opposite sex partner.

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3. What is the role of clitoral orgasm in psychoanalytic theory?

• The clitoral orgasm does not contribute to sexual identity according to Freud’s theory, which is

all about the penis.

4. What is the infantile grandiosity and in which revision of psychoanalytic theory does it play a role?

What are its adult consequences for female-male relationships?

• Boys have infantile grandiosity. They think they are great because they see women serving men,

and their mother serving their father. Its adult consequences are that they expect to be served by

women when they grow up, implying that the female-male relationship is unequal.

5. What is the Antigone complex? How can it be resolved?

• Girls have the Antigone complex. Women believe they are an extension of males, and their goals

and interests should be those of males. For instance, the woman follows wherever is best for her

male partner job wise. To resolve this, women can build strong relationships with other women

and follow their own goals.

6. Did Freud practice the scientific method in developing his theory?

• No, because Freud just spoke to/interviewed a small population of people from upper- and

middle-class families. He did not actually observe anyone’s childhood, plus memories are not

always accurate.

1. What are two vestigial explanations for clitoral evolution? Describe a strength and a weakness in each

of these explanations.

• (1) One vestigial clitoris explanation is the ancestral women’s clitorises were bigger and they

would rub it on multiple males to hide maternity. A strength is female bonobos have larger

clitorises and they rub it against other males and females. A weakness is human females are more

reproductively successful than bonobos. (2) Two is the clitoris is a vestigial penis because before

birth, the clitoris and penis develop from the same prenatal tissue. The penis develops much

larger than the clitoris over time. A weakness is they do not have the same function. The penis

has gamete secretion and elimination, while the clitoris does not.

2. What is the adaptation explanation for clitoral evolution? Describe a strength and a weakness in this

explanation.

• The clitoris makes sex pleasurable, despite the dangers of pregnancy. Strength: this results in a

larger human population. Weakness: Spandrel argues that the clitoris is pleasurable, yet

unnecessary for reproduction.

3. What is an evolutionary explanation for FGM? Is FGM analogous to male circumcision? Why or why

not?

• FGM stands for Female Genital Mutilation. The evolutionary explanation is beneficial for men.

Men wanted their women to be loyal by only having sex with their particular mate. So the

offspring would then only have their mate’s genes. FGM makes women not want to have sex with

many men, because it is painful and not rewarding. FGM is analogous to male circumcision

because circumcision cuts off skin, but not underlying tissue. For females, underlying tissue is cut

and those nerve endings do not grow back.

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Syracuse University PSY 329: Biopsychological Perspectives on Women's Health Midterm Study Guide 1. What is the procedure that defines experimental research? Why is it difficult to use in studying gender differences in cognitive abilities? • Experimental research is where the researcher manipulates one variable to obtain the effect. It is difficult to use in studying gender differences because there are many ethical issues of notreatment control and you cannot alter gender physically in human beings ethically. 2. What is an example of the successful use of the experimental method to explore biopsychological gender differences? • Professor Cornwell manipulated testosterone in male hamsters by removing their testicles, which decreased testosterone levels. She did this to see if the hamster would alter their response to different smells, and yes the male hamster did mimic more female behavior. 3. What is the basic assumption of logical positivism? How has that been reflected in human medical research? • Logical positivism says the gender of the researcher is irrelevant because reality is independent of the knower. This is reflected because drugs metabolize differently in females than males, and sometimes would not work for women. Historically, male researchers used male subjects in studies of chemicals to treat psychological disorders. However, in order to have your drug study approved, you must include women. 4. What is the basic assumption of social constructionism ...
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