Outline the views of evolutionary psychologists, social constructionists and Freudians
regarding gender development and/or gender differences, and examine whether such
views are complementary or competing.
Introduction
What is to be a man or a woman? How do different perspectives of psychology view gender development and gender differences. This essay will be looking at the three perspectives on sex and gender. Then it will then go on to compare and contrast these views and explore the relationships among them.
The Evolutionary Perspective
The evolutionary perspectives believe that sexual selection can explain sex differences. They argue that male and female behaviours are shaped by evolutionary factors. To promote successful reproduction, different characteristics and patterns of behaviours have developed in males and females. Females have a bigger investment in their offspring, and require the prolonged care in order for them to survive. A healthy and strong mate who can provide and protect herself and their children would ensure survival, making them more choosy in their mate and so less promiscuous than males.
English: Sigmund Freud in Hampstead The statue of ...
Gedenktafel für Karen Horney aus der Reihe Mit Fr...
Psychosexual development: Neo-Freudian psychiatris...Males on the other hand are more promiscuous. He has a more extensive potential capacity to reproduce and increases his number of mating. Such behaviours would increase the chances of producing as many offspring as possible. Hence, his preference for young healthy females would be an effective reproduction strategy. Because of the competition for these more choosy females, males became larger and stronger in order to compete with other males for access to the females and also to win their approval. Evolutionary psychologists found that males are more likely to sleep with a stranger than females (Clarke and Hatfield, 1989). It can alsso be explained by the evolutionary reproductive strategy in males.
Evolutionary psychologists also provide reasons on how a male or a female commits to each other. As an...