Psychology of Women

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ISBN: 9780155078963 | 0155078968
Cover: Paperback
Copyright: 8/5/1999

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This highly respected, best-selling text offers students an enjoyable, extraordinarily well-written introduction to the Psychology of Women. Appropriate for students from a wide variety of backgrounds, this comprehensive book captures womens' own experiences through direct quotations and an emphasis on empirical research. Known for its balance of scholarship, readability, and inclusion of various kinds of women, Margaret Matlin continues to lead the way for the Psychology of Women course. Meticulously updated to reflect the most current research, PSYCHOLOGY OF WOMEN was written with a genuine interest in and understanding of the students for whom the book is written. Her text includes a chapter on old age as well as discussions of topics such as welfare issues, and pregnancy and women's retirement, which are central in many women's lives, but not consistently covered in other texts.

Preface	p. xix
Introduction	p. 1
Central Concepts in the Psychology of Women	p. 3
Sex and Gender	p. 4
Social Biases	p. 4
Feminist Approaches	p. 5
Psychological Approaches to Gender Similarity and Difference	p. 6
A Brief History of the Psychology of Women	p. 9
Early Studies of Gender Comparisons	p. 9
The Emergence of the Psychology of Women as a Discipline	p. 10
The Current Status of the Psychology of Women	p. 11
Women and Ethnicity	p. 12
The White-as-Normative Concept	p. 13
Women of Color	p. 13
U.S.-Centered Nationalism	p. 17
Problems and Biases in Research	p. 19
Formulating the Hypothesis	p. 19
Designing the Study	p. 21
Performing the Study	p. 22
Interpreting the Data	p. 23
Communicating the Findings	p. 24
Critical Thinking and the Psychology of Women	p. 25
About This Textbook	p. 27
Themes of the Book	p. 27
How to Use This Book Effectively	p. 29
Gender Stereotypes and Other Gender Biases	p. 34
Biased Representations of Women and Men	p. 36
Gender Biases Throughout History	p. 36
Gender Biases in Language	p. 39
Gender Biases in the Media	p. 42
People's Beliefs About Women and Men	p. 48
The Content of Stereotypes	p. 48
The Complexity of Contemporary Sexism	p. 52
Heterosexism	p. 58
The Social Cognitive Approach to Gender Stereotypes	p. 60
Gender Stereotypes and Behavior	p. 64
Internalizing Gender Stereotypes	p. 66
Infancy and Childhood	p. 72
Background on Gender Development	p. 74
Prenatal Sex Development	p. 74
How People Respond to Infant Girls and Boys	p. 77
Theories of Gender Development	p. 82
Factors That Shape Gender Typing	p. 86
Parents	p. 86
Peers	p. 91
School	p. 94
The Media	p. 97
Children's Knowledge About Gender	p. 102
Children's Stereotypes About Activities and Occupations	p. 103
Children's Stereotypes About Personality	p. 104
Factors Related to Children's Gender Stereotypes	p. 105
Adolescence	p. 109
Puberty and Menstruation	p. 111
Puberty	p. 111
Biological Aspects of the Menstrual Cycle	p. 112
Menstrual Pain	p. 114
The Controversial Premenstrual Syndrome	p. 115
Menstrual Joy	p. 118
Cultural Attitudes Toward Menstruation	p. 119
Self-Concept and Identity During Adolescence	p. 120
Body Image and Physical Attractiveness	p. 121
Feminist Identity	p. 123
Ethnic Identity	p. 124
Self-Esteem	p. 125
Education and Career Planning	p. 127
Young Women's Experiences in Middle School and High School	p. 127
Early Experiences in Math and Science	p. 128
Higher Education	p. 129
Career Aspirations	p. 130
Career Aspirations Versus Reality	p. 131
Interpersonal Relationships During Adolescence	p. 133
Family Relationships During Adolescence	p. 133
Friendships During Adolescence	p. 134
Romantic Relationships During Adolescence	p. 136
Gender Comparisons in Cognitive Abilities and Attitudes About Success	p. 142
Background on Gender Comparisons	p. 144
Cautions About Research on Gender Comparisons	p. 144
Two Approaches to Summarizing Multiple Studies	p. 146
Cognitive Abilities	p. 147
Cognitive Abilities That Show No Consistent Gender Differences	p. 148
Verbal Ability	p. 149
Mathematics Ability	p. 151
Spatial Ability	p. 153
Explaining the Gender Comparisons	p. 157
Achievement Motivation and Attitudes About Success	p. 161
Biases in the Research on Achievement Motivation	p. 161
Achievement Motivation	p. 162
Fear of Success	p. 162
Confidence in Your Own Achievement and Ability	p. 163
Attributions for Your Own Success	p. 166
Gender Comparisons in Social and Personality Characteristics	p. 171
Communication Patterns	p. 174
Verbal Communication	p. 175
Nonverbal Communication	p. 177
Potential Explanations for Gender Differences in Communication	p. 183
Characteristics Related to Helping and Caring	p. 186
Altruism	p. 187
Nurturance	p. 188
Empathy	p. 189
Moral Judgments Concerning Other People	p. 190
Friendship	p. 192
Characteristics Related to Aggression and Power	p. 194
Gender and Aggression: The Social Constructionists' Concerns	p. 195
Overt Aggression Versus Relational Aggression	p. 196
Gender and Aggression: Other Important Factors	p. 197
Leadership	p. 199
Persuasion	p. 201
Women and Work	p. 206
Background Factors Related to Women's Employment	p. 208
What Factors Are Related to Women's Employment?	p. 209
Women and Welfare	p. 210
Discrimination in Hiring Patterns	p. 212
Discrimination in the Workplace	p. 215
Salary Discrimination	p. 216
Discrimination in Promotions	p. 219
Other Kinds of Treatment Discrimination	p. 220
Discrimination Against Lesbians in the Workplace	p. 221
What to Do About Treatment Discrimination	p. 222
Women's Experiences in Selected Occupations	p. 224
Employment in Traditionally Female Occupations	p. 224
Employment in Traditionally Male Professions	p. 227
Employment in Traditionally Male Blue-Collar Jobs	p. 229
Why Are Women Scarce in Certain Occupations?	p. 230
Homemakers	p. 232
Coordinating Employment with Personal Life	p. 233
Marriage	p. 233
Children	p. 236
Personal Adjustment	p. 239
Love Relationships	p. 244
Dating and Living Together	p. 246
The Ideal Romantic Partner	p. 246
Explanations for Gender Differences in Preference Patterns	p. 249
Characteristics of Heterosexual Love Relationships	p. 252
Living Together	p. 252
Breaking Up	p. 254
Marriage and Divorce	p. 256
Marital Satisfaction	p. 257
Responsibility and Power in Marriage	p. 260
Marriage and Women of Color	p. 261
Divorce	p. 263
Lesbians and Bisexual Women	p. 266
The Psychological Adjustment of Lesbians	p. 268
The Fluidity of Female Sexual Orientation	p. 268
Characteristics of Lesbian Relationships	p. 269
Lesbian Women of Color	p. 272
Bisexual Women	p. 273
Theoretical Explanations About Sexual Orientation	p. 275
Single Women	p. 279
Characteristics of Single Women	p. 280
Attitudes Toward Single Women	p. 280
Advantages and Disadvantages of Being Single	p. 281
Single Women of Color	p. 282
Sexuality	p. 286
Background on Women's Sexuality	p. 288
Theoretical Perspectives	p. 288
Female Sexual Anatomy	p. 289
Sexual Responses	p. 290
Sexual Attitudes and Behavior	p. 293
Attitudes About Sexuality	p. 293
Sexual Scripts	p. 295
Sex Education	p. 296
Adolescent Sexual Behavior	p. 298
Adult Sexual Behavior	p. 299
Communication About Sexuality	p. 300
Lesbians and Sexuality	p. 300
Older Women and Sexuality	p. 302
Sexual Disorders	p. 304
Low Sexual Desire	p. 304
Female Orgasmic Disorder	p. 304
How Gender Roles Contribute to Sexual Disorders	p. 305
Therapy for Sexual Disorders	p. 306
Birth Control and Abortion	p. 307
Birth Control Methods	p. 308
Who Uses Birth Control?	p. 309
Obstacles to Using Birth Control	p. 311
Contraception and Family Planning in Developing Countries	p. 313
Abortion	p. 313
Pregnancy, Childbirth, and Motherhood	p. 320
Pregnancy	p. 322
The Biology of Pregnancy	p. 322
Physical Reactions During Pregnancy	p. 323
Emotional Reactions During Pregnancy	p. 324
Attitudes Toward Pregnant Women	p. 326
Pregnant Women and Employment	p. 326
Childbirth	p. 328
The Biology of Childbirth	p. 328
Emotional Reactions to Childbirth	p. 330
Alternative Models of Childbirth	p. 331
Motherhood	p. 333
Stereotypes About Motherhood	p. 333
The Reality of Motherhood	p. 334
Motherhood and Women of Color	p. 337
Lesbian Mothers	p. 339
Postpartum Disturbances	p. 340
Breast Feeding	p. 342
Returning to the Workplace After Childbirth	p. 343
Deciding Whether to Have Children	p. 344
Infertility	p. 346
Women and Physical Health	p. 351
The Health Care and Health Status of Women	p. 354
Biases Against Women	p. 354
Health Issues for Women in Developing Countries	p. 356
Gender Comparisons in Life Expectancy	p. 358
Gender Comparisons in Overall Health	p. 358
Heart Disease, Breast Cancer, and Other Specific Health Problems	p. 360
Women with Disabilities	p. 366
Work Patterns of Women with Disabilities	p. 368
Personal Relationships of Women with Disabilities	p. 369
AIDS and Other Sexually Transmitted Diseases	p. 370
Background Information on AIDS	p. 370
Medical Aspects of AIDS	p. 372
How AIDS Is Transmitted	p. 373
Living with AIDS	p. 374
Preventing AIDS	p. 374
Other Sexually Transmitted Diseases	p. 375
Women and Substance Abuse	p. 377
Smoking	p. 377
Alcohol Abuse	p. 379
Other Substance-Abuse Problems	p. 382
Women and Psychological Disorders	p. 385
Depression	p. 387
Characteristics of Depression	p. 388
Explanations for the Gender Difference in Depression	p. 388
Eating Disorders and Related Problems	p. 394
Anorexia Nervosa	p. 395
Bulimia Nervosa	p. 396
Binge-Eating Disorder	p. 396
The Culture of Slimness	p. 397
Being Overweight and Dieting	p. 400
Treating Psychological Disorders in Women	p. 402
Psychotherapy and Sexism	p. 403
Psychotherapy with Lesbian and Bisexual Women	p. 404
Psychotherapy with Women of Color	p. 404
Traditional Therapies and Women	p. 408
Feminist Therapy	p. 411
Violence Against Women	p. 416
Sexual Harassment	p. 418
Why Is Sexual Harassment an Important Issue?	p. 421
How Often Does Sexual Harassment Occur?	p. 421
Women's Reactions to Sexual Harassment	p. 422
Attitudes About Sexual Harassment	p. 422
What to Do About Sexual Harassment	p. 423
Rape	p. 425
How Often Does Rape Occur?	p. 426
Acquaintance Rape	p. 427
Fear of Rape	p. 429
Women's Reactions to Rape	p. 429
Attitudes About Rape	p. 431
Myths About Rape	p. 434
Child Sexual Abuse	p. 435
Rape Prevention	p. 437
The Abuse of Women	p. 442
How Often Does the Abuse of Women Occur?	p. 444
The Dynamics of Abuse	p. 444
Women's Reactions to Abuse	p. 445
Characteristics Associated with Abusive Relationships	p. 445
Attitudes About the Abuse of Women	p. 447
Myths About the Abuse of Women	p. 448
How Abused Women Take Action	p. 449
Society's Response to the Problem of Abuse	p. 451
Women and Older Adulthood	p. 456
Attitudes Toward Older Women	p. 459
The Media	p. 459
The Double Standard of Aging	p. 460
Cross-Cultural Views of Older Women	p. 463
Older Women, Retirement, and Economic Issues	p. 464
Planning for Retirement	p. 464
Adjusting to Retirement	p. 465
Economic Issues	p. 465
Menopause	p. 467
Physical Changes During Menopause	p. 468
Hormone Replacement Therapy	p. 468
Attitudes Toward Menopause	p. 469
Psychological Reactions to Menopause	p. 471
Social Aspects of Older Women's Lives	p. 473
Family Relationships	p. 473
Widowhood and the Death of Life Partners	p. 475
Older Women of Color	p. 477
Satisfaction with Life	p. 478
Rewriting Our Life Stories	p. 479
Final Words	p. 480
Moving Onward ...	p. 485
The Future of the Discipline of the Psychology of Women	p. 487
The Increasing Number of Women in Psychology	p. 487
Developing a More Inclusive Psychology of Women	p. 488
Women of Color and the Feminist Movement	p. 489
The Men's Movement	p. 491
Some Discouraging Trends	p. 493
The Rigid Interpretation of Feminism	p. 494
The Backlash Against Feminism	p. 495
Some Helpful Trends	p. 496
Women's Studies Courses	p. 496
The Women's Movement in North America	p. 497
The Women's Movement Worldwide	p. 498
Helping to Change the Future: Becoming an Activist	p. 499
References	p. 503
Name Index	p. 595
Subject Index	p. 615
Credits	p. 639
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