Importance of Gender Psychology - Essay Example

Gender Psychology By Devangini Mahapatra Chauhan This essay is an attempt at studying the representations of interactions that take place between men and women - the interactions that form the basis of gender psychology. In this paper, I will be conducting content analysis of a particular scene that takes place between a man and a woman on Coronation Street, so as to assess the framework they fit into in terms of gender psychology and the gender representations that are apparent in this scene. Introduction: Gender psychology has been an interesting aspect of the study of the human psyche since time immemorial. While the thirties demonstrated an air of opposition towards psychoanalysis, there was still scope for the movement to establish psychology as a 'true' science with rigorously tested theories to evolve and thrive. Therefore, since 1879, there have been an array of investigating cases and procedures as regards the thoughts and feelings under controlled conditions, as an attempt towards defining standardized measurements. Through their verbal and non verbal interactions, the man and woman in the scene that takes place on Coronation Street represent that aspect of gender psychology where one person's introspections were the same as another's. The question that this paper is set to explore is how could one measure the intangible The central theme of gender psychology, therefore, has come to revolve around events that can be observed and precisely measured can be admitted to the theory, in other words overt behavior as well as external evidence of thought processes. Methodology: For analysis purpose, I have followed the scientific method in this paper to study the scene. My reasons for doing so are many. For starters, it has been found that more often than not, most studies come to the conclusion that at the beginning there are maximum people or variables to be studied. This number gradually decreases as the analysis progresses. In their search for "statistical significance," most people come to believe that the result was not likely to have occurred by chance. What follows then is a round of argument and counter-argument about the validity of the study and the way it has been carried out. If it is just a matter of counting some accurately measurable physical entity, the results might be of some value. But for the purpose of analyzing two people to find out more about a particular theory or aspect, one would have rely on something that is less statistical and more accurate as far as hypothetical situations in real time circumstances are concerned. In order to avoid the confusion surrounding most psychological and social studies which stems from the few attributes of human beings can be defined so precisely, I have chosen to study the subjects in the scene as two separate variables with dynamic characteristics. In this case, I intend to explore the problems through the premise that suggests that the obsession with the central figure may often lead to the variations being ignored or excluded. In this context, science, either studies individuals in terms of some hypothetical average person, or studies groups in which individual identity becomes submerged in the group behavior. Through my methodology, I have tried to answer various questions. This methodology acknowledges the different approaches that taken to social psychology in terms of experimental and critical frameworks. While these approaches are in conflict with each other, I have attempted to find a cosy 'integration' between them and the two individuals who follow these approaches in the scene I have studied. Therefore I have tried to answer questions like: -What is gender psychology - is it a natural or a social science -How should gender psychology be studied - through experimentation or by analysing discourse -What is the 'social' in gender psychology Is it how people's thoughts and behaviour are influenced by social forces and circumstances Or is it how social identities and social worlds get constructed -Are gender interactions neutral and 'above politics', or are they racist and elitist In lieu of these questions, I have developed the following groups and themes on the basis of which I have carried out analysis and arrived at various findings: Social Learning Theory - This takes to the experimental approach, including the study of social influence, attitudes, attribution, groups, language and communication in the arena of gender interactions and representations. Interactionist Viewpoint - this theme in gender psychology lays the groundwork for the critical approach, including semiotic, social constructionist and grounded theories, and discourse and narrative analyses Cognitive Psychology - through the development of the two approaches and their philosophical bases, this theme helps us study the two individuals and their contrasting 'logics of enquiry' they use to pursue interactions. Findings Social Learning Theory Behaviorism has proved to be a useful model in various aspects of psychological study even though it has certain limitations. In the scene, the man and woman are subjects of the Social Learning theory which flows from the same premise, insisting that all our behaviors are learned from our social environment - the inference being that they can be unlearned. The example of lies in the way the two greeted each other - this shows a lot about the general gender interactions in that social setting apart from showing their backgrounds. As they move through their conversations, where the woman is clearly impressed with the man, yet trying not to show it, we find that the man himself is quite aware of the woman's feelings and is thus playing it safe by taking his time in approaching her. In this representation of the two approaches used by the man and the woman, we see people build up a mental view of the world by building up associations of ideas from our experiences, even as we are taught that we have structures and ways of thinking already within us when we are born. In the scene, where the use of words like "romantic" and "gorgeous" are used by the man to convey what the woman does not want to so obviously and readily disclose, these two views became the associationist and rationalist schools of thought, which is the nature-nurture debate between them in another form. In this regard, the woman is represented by a character who believes that women are not meant to be too direct - this is demonstrated by the words she chooses and the fact that she remains surprised and coy in the beginning. This shows that she has a rationalist viewpoint accorded with religious dogma. This viewpoint has been known to give rise to the preformationist view of human life, according to which the new child was carried in the sperm as a complete copy of its adult form. Inside the seed was all the component parts of the child which dictate how they will be as a male or female. This further triggered the idea of original sin was an intrinsic part of the man - woman game which everyone plays, carried from generation to generation. This became known as the preformationist view and is the basis of the divergent views held in terms of varying gender representations. On the contrary, in the recent past it has been believed that all people are born equal and identical, and that development was the root of all problems. This adheres to the social orbits which people occupy, which further sets them apart from each other. While this is the 'nurture' side of the argument, and it found favour with the feminist movement of the 'fifties, the perceived limitations in women's social role and their abilities were due to the restrictions placed on them by society. On this basis, they have come to discard various biological theories of innate abilities (or limitations) as these rob them of their free will. Cognitive Psychology This part is a summary of the non verbal interactions that form an important part of the interaction between the man and the woman in the scene. One may discard theories that essentially separate the interpretation of how a man and a woman are to behave, but we cannot ignore the role played by body language in depicting the degree of tension of affection or mere affiliation between a man and a woman. In this scene, the behaviourist idea of people's mental structures as complex networks of stimulus/response reactions seems impossibly cumbersome and limited. In this scene there is an eager yet subtle response from the woman at the man's seemingly easy pace as he tries to woo her. Therefore, there is a large play of response theory. According to the stimulus or response theory, upon finding a suitable partner in a person, men tend to become relaxed and let their minds go blank while they exercise their muscles the very same in a monotonous fashion at having "finished the chase". The result is that upon meeting a crisis with an existing partner, or upon meeting a new prpospective partner, most men do not know what their future course of action is meant to be. This is a simplistic description, but the response theory originally raised doubts and led me to believe that the man in the scene had developed a mental map of their surroundings, which is why he found it easier to play it cool and let the woman say things that will help him give a reply in context of flirting. In this way, the man and woman in the scene are found to be investigating mental maps or 'schemas'. Much of the initial work was in visual perception; therefore they experimented with each other by either playing with their hair or licking sugar of their mouths. Considering the fact that the parameters involved are easy to measure in an unequivocal manner, they evolved their own theories of development as to where the exchange would lead. As far as an analysis of gender representations are concerned, cognitive psychology's plus point lies in its ability to repeat its studies on people coming from a variety of cultural backgrounds, where a part of these studies are supported by neurological studies. This might explain the classic depiction in the scene where the woman plays with her hair to show her interest and the man simply gets more demonstrative by taking her hand gently to show her that he will treat her as per her basic nature - with gentle care. In this regard, the man and the woman are victims of the ideals propagated by most social groups that are excessively rationalist in their argument that "biology is destiny." To sudy the two characters in isolation, it is important to note that cognitive psychology makes no such claims when applied to this scene. The use of cognitive psychology comes in when there is a need to describe the mental processes which appear to develop within the man and woman as the scene progresses through a display of a certain kind of body language. Yet, in general, there is no attempt to discover whether these are inborn, or a result of commonalities in their cultural environments. In this regard, cognitive psychology sets out to discover what boys and girls do, as they follow processes related to their sex. This kind of a theory works on the assumption that they know first what sex they are, though it does not say how they know, or what form this knowledge takes. Interactionist Viewpoint With the sub surface tension between the man and the woman in the scene in order to reach out to each other and make the other say it first, it is hardly surprising that psychology examination questions begin with the dreaded words "compare and contrast" This forms the crux of gender studies too as far as psychology is concerned. Social learning theory seems concerned only with the learning of gender roles. Therefore, in this scene it has been observed and found that the man and woman are more aware of each other's reactions than of the environment around them. This gives them an impetus to "perform" so as to meet certain expectations that one might anticipate the other to be having. This finds foundation in the fact that a child is recognized as being of one sex or the other and certain behaviors are encouraged or discouraged, learning what sex it is in the process. This forms the basis for most gender interactions and the resulting gender representations we see. Taken to extremes, most authors are strong believers of the fact that there is a fixed and unvarying biological path throughout life. However, in social learning theory, the child is equally at the mercy of its environment, which leaves a mark on his or her subconscious, therefore making them more susceptible to practicing gender interactions in accordance with social norms. Conclusion Therefore, in lieu of these findings I have come to the conclusion that gender psychology is shifting progressively towards the interactionist viewpoint, which suggests that different children learn different things in different ways in response to pre-existing dispositions. As a result no man or woman has exactly the same biology as another, or the same environment. Moreover, men and women do not passively react to each other, but actively explore a world where they may both exist in harmony, which in turn helps them builds up their own individual mindsets. References: 1. Rogers, W. S. Social Psychology: Experimental and Critical Approaches (8th Edition). Open University Press, London (31 May 2003) Read More