A major milestone in psychology has been the shift from concepts of sex, a strictly biological construct, to gender, with its range of biopsychosocial dimensions. Accordingly, recent years have seen gender research achieve marked improvements in methods, terminology, and breadth of content. The Handbook of Gender Research in Psychology brings these achievements into bold perspective by presenting both the current state of the field and an ambitious agenda for the future. Volume 1, Gender Research in General and Experimental Psychology, gathers a wide variety of established and emerging voices across the range of specialties to offer the latest ideas, theories, and findings in gender as applied to both women and men (and where appropriate, boys and girls), including sexual minorities. In this volume, contributors critique strengths and limitations of current research, discuss methodological issues from recruiting participants to communicating results, and address cultural and other diversity considerations that have often been absent from the field. Their findings offer a fresh perspective, whether readers are involved in testing hypotheses, developing models, conducting experiments, or interpreting data. All chapters include recommendations for future avenues for research. Areas covered in Volume 1: The history of the psychology of women, men/masculinity, and sexual minorities Quantitative and qualitative research methods, including reviews of commonly used measures The brain and behavior: physiology and beyond Learning, education, and cognition, including academic, spatial, and creative abilities Emotion, motivation, and sexuality Gender roles and identity across the lifespan Psychologists, neuroscientists, gender researchers, and professors and graduate students in related fields will welcome Volume 1 of the Handbook of Gender Research in Psychology as refreshingly informative and eminently practical.
Donald R. McCreary and Joan C. Chrisler The Development of Gender Studies in Psychology Studies of sex differences are as old as the ?eld of psychology, and they have been conducted in every sub?eld of the discipline. There are probably many reasons for the popularity of these studies, but three reasons seem to be most prominent. First, social psychological studies of person perception show that sex is especially salient in social groups. It is the ?rst thing people notice about others, and it is one of the things we remember best (Fiske, Haslam, & Fiske, 1991; Stangor, Lynch, Duan, & Glass, 1992). For example, people may not remember who uttered a witty remark, but they are likely to remember whether the quip came from a woman or a man. Second, many people hold ?rm beliefs that aspects of physiology suit men and women for particular social roles. Men’s greater upper body strength makes them better candidates for manual labor, and their greater height gives the impression that they would make good leaders (i. e. , people we look up to). Women’s reproductive capacity and the caretaking tasks (e. g. , breastfeeding, baby minding) that accompany it make them seem suitable for other roles that require gentleness and nurturance. Third, the logic that underlies hypothesis testing in the sciences is focused on difference. Researchers design their studies with the hope that they can reject the null hypothesis that experimental groups do not differ.
Integrates information across psychology disciplines Incorporates a broad overview of key topics Includes a special section on research methods Provides up-to-date coverage of brain and behavior studies Includes supplementary material: sn.pub/extras
Joan C. Chrisler
Body image Experiment Feminist psychology Gender Gender Research Gender identity Gender roles Gender stereotypes Sex differences Sexual orientation evolutionary psychology intelligence psychology