PSYC 3480 Chapter 6: Psychology of Women - Chapter Six
10 Feb 2017
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Document Summary
Chapter six - gender comparisons in social and personality characteristics. Males are typically more likely than females to be valors, or heroic rescuers, although the overall differences in helping behaviour are not large. Gender comparisons in three areas: communication patterns, characteristics related to helping and caring, aggression and power the social constructionist approach is especially useful. We construct or invent our own versions of reality, based on prior experiences, social interactions, and beliefs. The social constructionist approach often focuses on language as a mechanism for categorizing our experiences -- for ex. our experiences about gender. Our culture constructs the word emotional to emphasize the emotions that are typically associated with women. We interpret a behaviour differently, depending upon who is displaying the behaviour. Social constructionism also shapes the way we view aggression. We define the word aggression primarily in terms of kinds of aggression associated with men.
