David Myers11e

Chapter 5: Social InfluenceGenes, Culture, and Gender

-How we influence one another

1

How Are We Influenced by Human Nature and Cultural Diversity?What is your belief/affect response to Jan and Tomoko?Genes, Evolution, and Behavior

Natural selection Heritable traits that best enable organisms to survive and

reproduce are passed to ensuing generations Social animals Join, conform, recognize social status

Social as well as biological evolution occurs (still does) Such as trust, disapproval, punishment, altruism, morality Social behavior genetics are harder to see because they

interact (happens along with) cultural changes Evolutionary psychology

Study of the evolution of cognition and behavior based on principles of natural selection There has been enough time for variance in genes

Variation has been recent , copious, and regional (N.Wade)

2

How Are We Influenced by Human Nature and Cultural Diversity? Culture and Behavior

Culture Enduring behaviors, ideas, attitudes, and traditions

shared by a large group of people and transmitted from one generation to the next

Cultural diversity Our behavior is socially programmed

Could it also be influenced by genes? One in eight Americans is an immigrant

3

How Are We Influenced by Human Nature and Cultural Diversity? Culture and Behavior

Norms: Expected behavior by the group Norms (implicit rules for getting along)

Standards for accepted and expected behavior Expressiveness - German v. Greeks? Punctuality - U.S. v. Caribbean ? Rule Breaking – a social norm for rule breaking? what’s the benefit of that? Personal Space – prison inmates v. us

• Buffer zone we like to maintain around our bodies

Eye contact –when is it appropriate? How long?a “stare (creepy)” v. “he’s looking at me”

4

How Are We Influenced by Human Nature and Cultural Diversity? Culture and Behavior

Cultural similarity What is a ‘theory of mind’?

Universal friendship norms Universal trait dimensions CANOE Universal social belief dimensions

Cynicism, social complexity, reward for hard work, spirituality, fate control

Universal status norms (R. Brown) Intimacy (you must call me “professor”!!)

Incest taboo –why is this universal? Norms of war –except for Iraq and a few others

5

How Are Males and Females Alike and Different?Gender

Characteristics, whether biological or socially influenced, by which people define male and female

Females: 70% more fat, shorter, weigh less More sensitive to smells and sounds More vulnerable to anxiety disorders, depression

Males: Slower to reach puberty, die younger ADHD!!!!

6

How Are Males and Females Alike and Different? Women Men

Describe themselves in more relational terms

Experience more relationship-linked emotions

More empatheticGravitate toward jobs

that reduce inequalities

Focus on tasks and on connections with large groups

Respond to stress with “fight or flight” response

Gravitate toward jobs that enhance inequalities

7

How Are Males and Females Alike and Different?Social Dominance

(when is it better to be socially dominant?)Men are socially dominantWomen’s wages in industrial countries average

77 percent of men’sMen tend to be more autocratic; women more

democratic Men take more risks

8

How Are Males and Females Alike and Different? Aggression

Physical or verbal behavior intended to hurt someone

In the U.S., the arrest ratio of male to female is 9 to 1 When provocation occurs the gender gap shrinks

Women are slightly more likely to commit indirect aggressive acts Spreading malicious gossip

9

How Are Males and Females Alike and Different? Sexuality

Men: More often think about and initiate sex

Women: Are more inspired by emotional passion

10

Evolution and Gender: Doing What Comes Naturally?Gender and Mating Preferences

Men seek out quantity Spreading genes widely

Women seek out quality Protecting and nurturing of offspring

11

Evolution and Gender: Doing What Comes Naturally?Reflections on Evolutionary Psychology

Evolutionary psychologists sometimes start with an effect and work backward to construct an explanation Way to overcome the “hindsight bias” is to imagine

things turning out otherwiseEvolutionary psychologists disagree with this

theory Their opponents worry that accepting genetically

driven differences reinforces gender stereotypes. Is evolution genetic determinism? Or can we adapt to

different environments?12

Sample Predictions Derived from Evolutionary Psychology

13

Evolution and Gender: Doing What Comes Naturally?Gender and Hormones

Gender gap in aggression seems influenced by testosterone

As humans age they become more androgynous Mixing both masculine and feminine characteristics

14

Culture and Gender: Doing as the Culture Says?Gender Role

Set of behavior expectations (norms) for males and females Confess: did culture form you develop “roots” or

“wings”? Discuss: Is gender role “inequality” good or bad?

Gender roles vary over culture Should both spouses work and share child care?

What are the implications for each option?

Gender roles vary over time Evolution and biology do not fix them.

15

Culture and Gender: Doing as the Culture Says?Peer-Transmitted Culture

50% of personality (and predisposition to respond) is inherited

0 -10% percent of individual variations in personality traits is by parental nurturing

The other 40 -50 % is peer influence! On values/ preferences What are some that you learned /adopted? What are the implications for values and behaviors having

the boy/girl scout v. gang group influence? Extremism Islamist v. other religious influence?

Change comes from the youth. Some examples?16

What Can We Conclude about Genes, Culture, and Gender? Biology and Culture

Biology and experience interact when biological traits influence how the environment reacts

Epigenetics – environment triggers biological gene expression E.g. diet, drugs stress

But some stress is good for us (at cellular level and for physical development)

E.g. Hostility of cop killers in Bronx and Jihad John Great truths: B = f (p * e) –

Power of the situation Power of the person

interaction (*) plays a big role A social situation affects different people differently People often choose their situation People often create their situations

17