Welcome to Gender Psychology

The differences between males and females and the reasons for these differences.

thumbnail Psychoanalytic Approach
During the phallic stage it was believed that gender developed. In boys this was as a result of the Oedipus complex and in girls it was the Electra complex. Both Electra and Oedipus are characters from Greek mythology. See Psychoanalytic Approach.


thumbnail Social Learning Theory
The Social Learning Theory was proposed by Bandura as a way of explaining how children acquire their gender identitiy based on the influence of other people (particularly their parents). Studies to support. See Social Learning Theory.


thumbnail Cognitive Approach
Cognition means how you think, and the theory we will be looking at is Kohlberg's Cognitive-Developmental Theory. The basic principle of the theory is that a child's understanding of gender develops with age. See Cognitive Approach.


thumbnail Biological Theory
How does biology (specifically genes and hormones) affect our gender development. Examples of Kleinfelters and Turners syndrome: chromosome disorders and the case of Money and Erhardt with a boy living as a girl. See Biological Theory.