Student Resources

Learning Objectives

Chapter 1

In this chapter we set the groundwork for the study of the psychology of women. We present major definitions, explore relevant history, examine research issues, and discuss the themes of the book. We begin with a look at the difference between sex and gender.

Chapter 2

In this chapter, we explore these issues and similar ones as we examine stereotypes of females and males, the nature of sexism, and the representations of gender in the media and in language.

Chapter 3

In this chapter, we focus on issues like these as we examine the integration of gender into one's personal identity. After a brief look at the components of gender self-concept, we look at prenatal sex development and its influence on these gender concepts. Then we explore theoretical perspectives of gender learning and conclude with an examination of variations among people in their gender attitudes.

Chapter 4

An old nursery rhyme declares that little girls are made of “sugar and spice and everything nice,” while little boys are made of “frogs and snails and puppy dogs’ tails.” Are girls and boys really as different as the nursery rhyme suggests? Is there even a kernel of truth in these age-old stereotypes? And if so, what factors might be responsible? The childhood recollections of Traci, Jamie, and Erika indicate the important contributions made by family members. In this chapter, we focus on the development of girls in infancy, childhood, and adolescence and examine both similarities and differences between girls and boys during these years.

We also explore factors that influence gender development, including the roles played by parents, siblings, schools, peers, and the media. We then look at the physical transformations of adolescence, examining puberty and individual differences in rates of physical maturation.

Finally, we turn to psychosocial development in adolescence, exploring identity, self-esteem, gender intensification, and body image.

Chapter 5

In Chapter 2, we examined numerous gender stereotypes. How accurately do these stereotypes reflect actual differences in the social behaviors, personality characteristics, communication style, and cognitive abilities of females and males? In this chapter, we review all four of these areas. As we shall see, some stereotypes have at least a grain (or more) of truth to them, whereas others are not supported by the evidence. Two cautionary notes: First, even when gender differences are found, they are typically small. Second, there is considerable overlap in the characteristics of females and males (Caplan & Caplan, 2009; White, 2011). For example, girls are generally more nurturant toward younger children than boys are, but some boys show greater nurturance than some girls.

Chapter 6

We start with a discussion of women's sexual anatomy and sexual response. Then we look at sexual attitudes, behaviors, and problems. 

Chapter 7

Giving birth to a child can be one of the major events of a woman's life. Childbirth typically (although not exclusively) occurs during late adolescence and young adulthood.

In this chapter, we focus on women's reproductive system functioning throughout the life span, including menstruation, contraception, abortion, pregnancy, and childbirth. We conclude with an exploration of reproductive functioning in midlife and beyond, looking at menopause and hormone replacement therapy.

Chapter 8

In this chapter, we explore the nature of women's close relationships—including friendships, romantic relationships, marriage and other long-term relationships, unattached lifestyles, and motherhood. We end the chapter by examining women's relationships in the later years with their siblings, adult children, grandchildren, and parents.

Chapter 9

In this chapter, we first examine females' educational goals, attainments, and college experiences. Next, we explore young women's career aspirations, issues related to career counseling, and women's plans regarding coordination of their careers with family life. Finally, we turn to influences on their career choices.

Chapter 10

In this chapter, we examine the nature of women's employment. We begin with an overview of how many women work, what kinds of jobs they have, the challenges they face in job advancement and becoming leaders, the salaries they receive, and their job satisfaction. We then focus on the status of older women workers. Next, we consider procedures and policies that can improve the work environment for women. Finally, we turn to retirement and economic issues facing older women.

In our exploration of these topics, we use the terms employment and work interchangeably, so it is important that we clarify their meaning. According to Irene Padavic and Barbara Reskin (2002), the term work refers to activities that produce a good or a service. Thus, it includes all sorts of behaviors, such as cooking dinner, mowing the lawn, writing a term paper, teaching a class, fixing a car, volunteering in a nursing home, or running a corporation. The kind of work that we cover in this chapter is employment, that is work for pay, a major focus of the lives of women (and men) in terms of both time and personal identity. However, our focus on paid employment does not imply that this form of work is more valuable than other types of productive activities. Society would not function without the unpaid labor that contributes to family and community life.

Chapter 11

Historically, women and men had different roles within the family. Men were the economic providers and women the caregivers and homemakers. However, the traditional family consisting of a provider-father, a stay-at-home mother, and their children is relatively rare today. Whereas 57 percent of U.S. children in 1960 were raised in this type of household, only one in five children in married-couple families now have a stay-at-home mother (O’Leary & Kornbluh, 2009; U.S. Census Bureau, 2010c). Compared with employed mothers, those staying at home tend to be younger, less well-educated, and Latina or foreign-born (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010c).

As we saw in Chapter 10, the majority of women, including married women with children, are now employed. Not only are more married women working, but they are also working longer hours than women did a generation ago (Williams & Boushey, 2010). Women now constitute half of the American labor force, a trend fueled by the recent recession, which resulted in more men than women losing their jobs. As a result, four out of five couples are now dual-earner couples. The women in these couples contribute nearly half of the family income (Aumann & Galinsky, 2009). As a consequence of this major transformation in women’s roles, today’s young women are involved in a challenging balancing act between the demands of completing their education, beginning their work lives, finding a partner, and having children. Some women postpone or even forego marriage and/or children in favor of work or career, others leave the workplace or choose part-time employment while their children are young, and still others combine family and full-time careers. Women balance these roles of worker, wife, and mother in different combinations over the course of their lives (Amato & Kane, 2011; Gerson, 2010). Stories in high-profile media have been asserting that highly educated mothers are “opting out” of careers to stay home with their children. In Learn About the Research 11.1, we examine the evidence for and against this assertion.

This chapter explores issues related to the coordination of women’s multiple responsibilities in the domestic and employment domains. We begin with a look at perceptions of and attitudes toward their family and employment roles. Then we examine the impact of women’s employment on the division of labor in the home as well as the challenges, costs, and benefits of balancing family and work. We explore employer resources that facilitate this coordination and consider strategies women use to manage family and work responsibilities. We conclude with a discussion of midlife transitions in family and work roles.

Chapter 12

Physical health is not just a biological phenomenon, but a psychosocial one as well. It involves both individual behaviors and lifestyles and societal systems. There is a growing realization that women's health and health care are linked to inequalities in assessment, treatment and access to care, and lack of research on health topics relevant to women in general and to ethnic minority women (Bird & Rieker, 2008; Moore, 2008; Rondon, 2010; White, 2011) in particular.

As a result, gender-sensitive health care has been increasingly moving into the mainstream of health policy (Kuhlmann & Annandale, 2010).

In this chapter, we examine issues in women's health and health care. We start by focusing on health services. Next, we turn to sexually transmitted infections, including AIDS, which has become the scourge of adolescent and young women worldwide. We then explore disorders that tend to affect women in the middle and later years: reproductive system disorders, osteoporosis, heart disease, breast cancer, and lung cancer. We continue with a discussion of women's health later in life. We close by focusing on ways to promote good health.

Chapter 13

Overall, rates of mental illness are almost identical for women and men. There are, however, striking gender differences in the prevalence of specific mental disorders. Women have higher rates of eating disorders, depression, and anxiety disorders. Men are more likely to have impulse-control, antisocial, and substance abuse disorders (Becker et al., 2010; Office on Women's Health, 2009a; Rondon, 2010; Russo, 2010). In this chapter, we focus not only on pathology but also on mental health and the factors that promote it. We begin the chapter by looking at two key factors that are associated with good mental health: social support and optimism. We then explore mental health in childhood and adolescence, followed by a discussion of eating disorders and substance abuse. Next, we explore anxiety disorders, depression, and suicide. We then discuss mental health issues of sexual minority women and of older women. We close with a look at the diagnosis and treatment of psychological disorders.

Chapter 14

Harassment and violence are serious public health problems that transcend demographic, social, and national boundaries. In this chapter, we focus on harassment and violence experienced by girls and women in personal relationships, at school, and on the job. We start by exploring sexual harassment at school and in the workplace and then focus on stalking. We then turn to a bleak aspect of childhood for all too many girls: sexual abuse and other forms of violence and neglect. Next, we look at the disturbing violent side of some relationships, with an examination of dating violence, rape (including acquaintance rape), and intimate partner violence. We conclude with an examination of elder abuse.

Chapter 15

We saw in Chapter 1 that science is not value free, and as the experience of Julie and her friends illustrates, neither is teaching. “The process of education is political” (Wyche & Crosby, 1996, p. 5); that is, both subject matter and teaching methods are influenced by the value system of the instructor and the academic community. Applying this to the field of psychology, Kimberly Kinsler and Sue Rosenberg Zalk (1996) contend that “the greatest value of psychology lies in the field’s ability to reveal the psychological processes perpetuating social injustices and to correct the social systems that have an unjust impact on the quality of people’s lives” (p. 35). Given this political dimension of teaching, we end this textbook with a look at feminist goals for the future.

In Chapter 1, we presented three feminist themes that have recurred throughout this book: the intersectionality and diversity of women’s lives and experiences, gender differences in power, and the social construction of gender. In this chapter, we return to these themes and translate them into goals for the future, consider actions for achieving these aims, and, because these goals have their roots in feminist thought, explore the prevalence of feminist beliefs among North American women.

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