Psychological research into language, and sex and gender

Psychological research into language, and sex and gender In this report I will be evaluating the contribution of social perspectives to our understanding from the two topics found in: OU, DSE212 Challenging Psychological Issues, Book 2. The topics I have chosen for consideration of psychological research are language, and sex and gender. The approaches taken will be analysed the topic in general terms and not to focus on one particular aspect at detailed levels. It points to the lack of a conclusive answer which is caused by Psychology as a discipline being relatively young and still in early stages with a lack of adequately strong theories that might assist to connect otherwise contrasting perspectives co existing. The report concludes that different perspectives within psychology can coexist at times, though conflict is frequent throughout. Sex and Gender The Psychology of sex and gender is one the most topical, important and engaging subjects that psychology, it illustrates many of the difficult issues that psychological explanations must address, including the political implications of different perspectives and the challenging of integrating explanations. It has been a controversial topic since the inception of psychology as a discipline and it powerful illustrates some of the diverse approaches with the field. A deliberation of how psychology approaches the analysis of sex and gender discloses four psychological perspectives, these are: Biological sex differences: Explaining the differences between male and female and biological correlates of behaviour. Investigations ere conducted through scientific processes Evolutionary psychology: Explaining the differences in the behaviour between the sexes in terms of behavioural selection for reproductive fitness. Test are conducted empirically Social constructionist theory: Gender differences between the sexes through the study of discourse in various historical, cultural and social contexts and so is hermeneutic. Psychoanalytic psychology: Development and meaning of sexual differences. Studies are largely done through clinical observation. Direct impressions of the four perspectives are objects of knowledge of each of the perspectives are all valid and useful in general psychology of sex and gender,. They pose somewhat different questions, have different objects of knowledge and use different notions of evidences. These perspectives may be complementary, conflicting however the scope for co-existence is not transparent. Given that the perspectives do not share common objects of knowledge, however is there can be an underlying hope for complementary theories in which together they all contribute to a broad understanding. Sex refer to the biological basis of differences between the sexes, where as gender refers to social constructed categories pertaining to these differences. Assigning a sex to humans can sometimes be a complex process, biological characteristics such as genetics and hormonal used to designate male or female, can be unreliable in small proportions of case, due to genetic abnormalities, such as, Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome (AIS) and Klinefelterss Syndrome ((XXY) (OU, p137) Certainly the biological and evolutionary perspectives appear complementary at the theoretical level in that both regard biological sex as the determinant of gender and view differences between sexes as biological features that have been selected for during evolution. Evolutionary psychologists argue that sexual selections and the different optimal reproductive styles of our male female ancestors have results in some differences in the behavioural predispositions of the two sexes. These are seen to particularly apparent in the area of sexual behaviours and attitudes. Buss (1992), found while both sexes reported experiencing jealousy at the though of their partner being involved with another person, there were differences in the focus of their concerned. OU,p145) In humans, unlike in other animals, clear differences in brain structures that correlate with differences in adult behaviour patterns have proven difficult to demonstrate. Nonetheless, imaging studies show some sex differences in brain functioning of Western adults. This is probably due, at least in part, to the brains plasticity.(Giedd et al, 1999) )p140). While some sex differences are clearly established at birth for most individuals, bodies and brained may become gendered over lifetime of use. A explanations would appear to be consistent with research findings from cross-cultural differences in male and females sexual behaviours, which Allen and Gorski, 1990 study has backed (OU, p139) However, biological psychology attempts to explain differences in male-female psychology in terms of selected physiological characteristics, for example dimorphism in brain structures (cf. Hofman and Swaab, 1991, cited in Holloway et al, 2007, p.139). On the other hand the evolutionary psychologist would principally argue in favour of selected behavioural characteristics such as differences between male and female sexual attitudes (cf. Clark and Hatfield, 1989, cited in Holloway et al, 2007, p.146). There is thus an apparent conflict at the level of analysis. It is therefore ironic that evolutionary psychology must perforce co-exist with biological psychology since, given the understandable constraints on its ability to conduct the sorts of empirical investigations that might be wished for (cf. Herrnstein-Smith, 2000, cited in Holloway et al, 2007, OU p.141), it is dependent on a certain amount of corroboration from the biological perspective, amongst others (cited in Holloway et al, 2007, pp.184). (22) Social constructionist point of view, they regard sex and gender as characteristics that are revealed only through discourse and action. These are consequence of the individuals behaviour and experience in a given cultural, social and historical context. The depth of the conflict is exemplified by a comparison of evolutionary studies that emphasise cross-cultural stability in particular sexual preferences (cf. Singh 1995, p.148; Buss and Schmitt, 1993, p.148, cited in Holloway et al, 2007) and social constructionist ideas such as Sandra Bem, who developed the idea of the cultural lens of musicality and femininity. This lens is a way of perceiving the world that makes behaviour and experiences gendered, this is called the Gender Schema Theory (1994, Holloway et al, 2007, OU p.153). According to the social constructionist perspectives, biological sex is not central to explaining what it is to be a man or a women, rather it is a signpost to which a whole set of us socially constructed gender differences are attached. In this account, social constructionist created discourse about masculinity and femininity are used by individual to create their own gendered subject positions. Whereas the biological and evolutionary perspectives agree that biological sex lies at the heart of explaining gender, the social constructionist perspective explicitly rejects that view; sometimes for political reasons. In relation to Sex and Gender, political differences are often exposed when conflicting accounts of differences occur. Gender and sexuality came to be seen, through Freuds work, as having far-reaching implications for the development of self. It largely complements the social constructionist, in terms of its interpretive or hermeneutic methodology, its explanations largely focus on the unconscious given that its objects of study entail the meaning of the biological differences between men and women and how these become internalised in the childs mind (OU, Holloway et al, 2007, pp.183). Thus both the social constructionist and psychoanalytic perspectives conflict with the biological and evolutionary approaches at the methodological level. Uniquely however the psychoanalysis perspective recognises both biological and cultural contributions to its theorising. It is not without its share of conflict however. Within the perspective, a important critical developments in the psychoanalytic theory sex and gender includes Freuds notion for the symbolic significance of the penis( and penis envy) quickly came under scrutiny from feminist psychologists to scientific practices. through Freud failure to consider the significant of womens genitals. (OU, Horney, 1926, , 2007, p.164). Language and Meaning There are three main perspectives used to examine the complex area of language, these are: Theory Methods Themes. These perspectives focus on different aspects of language including evolutionary developments of languages, the processing of languages and the construction of meaning through interaction. The study of language and meaning, one finds an equally intriguing mix of potential co-existence, complement and conflict when comparing the three principal perspectives. The evolutionary perspective sets out to explore language to understand how are related structurally and historically, how they are used differently by various social and cultural groups and how languages is used to communicate and create meaning. Language is the main medium for communication between humans beings and where we express, explore and pursue those goals that mean most to us .It is possible to view the three perspectives as at least co-existent. Their objects of knowledge are different and one might expect their cumulative product to contribute to some sort of unified theory. However, the potential for conflict between the cognitive and social constructionist perspectives is revealed in how they view meaning as the object of knowledge. For the former it is something that is constructed internally by the individual prior to transmission, and subsequently reconstructed by the audience. For the latter it is negotiated as a result of discourse between individuals meaning emerges as the result of a complex interplay of intentions, interpretations and power-relations. Thus, there is cause for disagreement as to what meaning is and where it comes from (Sperber and Wilson 1986, OU, p100). That this is adequate to justify a claim of conflict seems weak since the types of meaning espoused by the two perspectives are themselves different. A major social constructionist argument against a purist cognitive perspective is that cognitive processes cannot be transparently reported. This argument is one that cognitive researchers have long acknowledged. Commenting on early research into the cognitive modelling of language Boden (1977, pp.113ff, et passim) notes that a persons understanding of language in a given instance is dependent, not simply on their knowledge of the world around them, but crucially on their understanding of their relationship with who they communicate with. Within the evolutionary perspective there is also a debate as to whether language evolved as an adaptation advantage and was the foundation for other cognitive abilities. Pinker (1994) believes that languages may have evolved through natural selection, perhaps in conjunction with other cognitive abilities, OU, p83) or as a consequence of selection for an ability to form our Metarepresentation (Sperber, 2000, p.86). These are contradictory and conflicting views.. The major differences between psychological methods based on natural science principles and those based those on hermeneutic principles means that preservatives based on these methods may have difficulty achieving more than uneasy coexistence. Psychologists do not stand on such substantial bedrock. The questions they pose are often difficult to formulate computationally without reducing the predictive power of any solution, whereas the history of physics can be measured in thousands of years, psychology as a recognisable discipline has existed for just over a century. A inevitable conclusion is that psychology is characterised by perspectives that at one or more of these levels conflict, co-exist or complement, No perspective on its own can tell the whole story. The perspectives and levels of analysis and explanations cannot just be combined without an account of how they interact. Word count: 1793 294 (References + Quotes +Titles + Bullet Points) = 1499

Shakespeare’s Audience: Research Synthesis

The uneducated lower class audience was interested in the violence Shakespeare's plays consisted of. The Elizabethan era's culture was violent and cruel. For example, if an individual did not enjoy plays, they could witness a â€Å". public execution by hanging, beheading, or any number of gruesome ways. † (Wave ; Davis, 109). To keep his violent audience entertained and engaged in his plays, Shakespeare had to include an ample amount of violence throughout them. Sometimes, audience members would become fatigued.To really excite and give them a rush to awaken his audience members, he would spontaneously throw in ction scenes right after, or in the middle of a tragic, or comedic event. One example can be found in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Not too long after Romeo and Juliet are married, a fight occurs, and after Romeo heard Tybalt has killed his beloved friend, Mercutio, he tells Benvolio â€Å"†¦ La] fire-eyed fury be my conduct now!†¦. for Mercutio's soul! â €Å"(Romeo and Juliet Shakespeare). Romeo, who had remained calm throughout Tybalt and Mercutio's dispute, later kills Tybalt to avenge Mercutio.Directly after their marriage, a calm and Joyous scene, Shakespeare has an abrupt ction scene imputed to thrill his audience. Although the lower class enjoyed a good comedy, they also went to the theater to watch the newest foray into suicide, debauchery, and murder. Once again in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, he has a thought out plan that seems well, transform into a violent and disastrous one. After Juliet sees her lover has killed himself, she is left alone by Friar, while she is awaiting Friar, she becomes frightened by the watchman entering the tomb and says â€Å"O happy dagger!This is thy sheath; there rust and let me die. â€Å"(Romeo and Juliet Shakespeare). She was fearful of the watchman seeing she was still alive, and in turn committed suicide. Shakespeare mislead his audience through a bloody, twist ending, which was exac tly what they would have enjoyed watching. The lower class members of Shakespeare's audience enjoyed his anatomical humor. He wanted his audience members to have sterling Junctures while watching his plays, so he included an abundance of sexual innuendos.Shakespeare was at times too â€Å"bawdy, sometimes vulgar, many times pushing the bounds of good taste. † (Cork Milner). Shakespeare at some points was abrupt and too direct with ome of his Jokes, but audience members still enjoyed them. Shakespeare is known for his masterful way with words. Some say he was clever at playing around with them. One area where he used this talent is when he inserted sexual innuendos into and find that the clever wit of his sexual innuendo not only has comic significance, but is used to develop character, themes, and plot as well. â€Å"( transmedialshakespeare. ordpress. com). While using sexual innuendos to appeal to the lower class, Shakespeare was also using them to mold parts of his plays, which is why people often refer to him as one of the greatest play writes of all ime. He used every bit of his plays to his advantage, and through the use of sexual innuendos, he was able to mold parts his plays, while still entertaining his audience. Shakespeare knew how to give his audience members individually what they came for because â€Å"Shakespeare realized sexual Jokes, especially double entendres, put the twinkle in the performance,† Oohn Basil).He used his specialty of wordplay to conjure clever sexual innuendos and naughty puns throughout his plays. William Shakespeare's educated spectators were allured by his use of mythological allusions. Only the upper class was able to afford an education and were able to understand all of the â€Å"references from Greek & Roman mythology in his plays†¦ they are an identifier with ancient tales, and also tie in stories most of the populace was familiar with†(wcuenglish. net).Shakespeare's use of Theseus as the Du ke of Athens and Hippolyta as his queen immediately allows the educated audience to make a mythological connection in A Midsummer Night's Dream. As the audience identified one character from Greek mythology, they then naturally associated the other characters with this mythology if they were a member of the pper class and had an education. For example, two other characters, Oberon and Titania, could be compared with their mythological traits to be viewed similar to Zeus and Hera.His audience could make connections and know when that when Theseus says â€Å"Now, fair Hippolyta, our nuptial hour Draws on apace† (A Midsummer Night's Dream Shakespeare) that the story was a mythological allusion of Theseus and could recognize his Amazonian queen Hippolyta, and understand the specific myth being drawn. Another example that the upper class would be able to point out would be Puck relating to Eros, the Greek god of sexual love and beauty. The love Juice that Puck places over characte rs' eyes to make them fall in love with the first thing they see after waking is equivalent to Eros' golden arrows, having the same effect.The audience could correlate these distinct characters due to their connection to Theseus. Shakespeare more directly compares the two characters when Oberon says â€Å"Flower of this purple dye†¦ Hit with Cupid's archery†¦ Sin in apple of his eye† (A Midsummer Night's Dream Shakespeare). Lastly, Shakespeare appealed to the upper class through clever wordplay. Shakespeare was an ingenious man, an ample amount of these puns are in all of his plays and â€Å"Like most Elizabethans, Shakespeare loved puns†¦ the average per play was around eighty.Many of Shakespeare's original puns depended on words that were spelled different, but sounded alike† (Wave & Davis, 54). Shakespeare's brilliant word play could only be enjoyed by the upper class, because of their education; they were able to understand the multiple meanings of s ome of the words. Enjoying the genius and humor in Shakespeare's work of clever word play, was something the ower class was sadly not privileged with. One example of the clever word play Romeo that â€Å"tomorrow you shall find me a grave man. â€Å"(Romeo and Juliet Shakespeare).In this Shakespeare meant grave as Mercutio being serious, but here it also alludes to his imminent death, aimed towards his educated audience members who would be able to infer this. Shakespeare's clever word play required a trained ear to be able to fully understand all of what Shakespeare intended to get across. For instance when Mercutio says â€Å"Sure wit, follow me this Jest now till thou ast worn out thy pump, that, when the single sole of it is worn, the Jest may remain, after the wearing, solely singular. † (Romeo and Juliet Shakespeare).This one is a double pun. One meaning is that the sole of the shoe, the pump they are talking about, is single, which is to say, it has only one layer of leather. Shakespeare puns the sole of a shoe with â€Å"solely† trying to say only, exclusively and puns the word single with â€Å"singular† meaning one of a kind, unique and says that his Joke is exclusively unique, or solely singular. Shakespeare knew only the educated would be able to atch his double meaning wordplay and perhaps, he would also test them on how much they would receive from his word play.William Shakespeare tried captivating his audience while they watched his plays, but certain aspects included in they were specifically aimed for different classes. He used mythological allusions and clever word play for the upper and the violence and sexual innuendos were meant for lower uneducated class audience. Shakespeare was an ingenious play write and knew what his audience members were entertained by and he knew exactly how to appeal to their tastes of theatre.

Gavin Menzies’ Voyages

Gavin Menzies Essay Gavin Menzies was a royal navy submarine captain that worked for the British government and now is trying to let the world know his opinion on the discovery of the Americas: did the Chinese discover the Americas before Columbus? Menzies takes on a voyage where he tries to find evidence to support his thesis and comes up with several different theories; his first stop: Calicut. Menzies claims that the Ming dynasty's famous navigator Zheng He managed to reach the cape of good hope and from there he should have reached the Americas too.Gavin also claims that a famous Italian writer of the time, Nicolo ‘ Di Conti, might have made contact with Zheng ‘s fleet in Calicut and might have also left with them for the New World; Unfortunately for Menzies this idea was quickly discarded for there are historical records that suggest that Di Conti immediately returned back to Italy after his trip to Calicut ( he might have also carried some Chinese maps of their voya ges with him).Menzies then pulls out some more evidence that a map found was possibly a Chinese map that led to the islands of the Antilles, but according to a few historians and cartographers, the maps were confusing inaccurate and the islands were displaced in random places. The possibility of a slipway on one of the tropical islands was rejected by many geologists that state that those rocks where there for no peculiar reason.Still not giving up on his quest, Gavin Menzies slightly alters his theory: he affirms that an Italian, Verazzano, went on a voyage with the Chinese and stating that he saw â€Å"people running like Chinese†; but as we already know, even Columbus, thought that the people he thought were Chinese but they were just the Native American tribes that lived on the coastline.It was also verified that Indigenous people were descendants of other Asian tribes that might have reached the Americas by crossing an icy passage in North America. There is no concrete i nformation or evidence that the Chinese ever got to America, because if that were so than the Chinese would have set up outposts, settled or maybe started trading the tropical goods with Europe and probably could have made a fortune!Lastly, Menzies tries convincing the people when he claims that an old Chinese report states that the Ming fleet arrived at the shore of about 3000 different countries(the only way to do this was by reaching the Americas too)! The Chinese historian that owned the archives rejects this last of Gavin's theories because of a simple calligraphy misunderstanding: the Chinese character † † means 30 and † † means 3000 so the record can be misunderstood because the record actually just meant 30 different countries†¦Any claims concerning history, especially when it has been firmly accepted by historians and other professionals on that certain topic, should have reliable and plausible evidence along with clarifications and explanations to be supported; That is how history has been built up so far and it's how it will continue to be built. When an argument concerning history that relies on inaccurate evidence and unsupported theories, such as that found in Menzies' show. The argument does not deserve to be reconsidered.

Different Attitudes And Views Among Generations - 1422 Words

The proposal of each author portrays different attitudes and views among generations, each author discusses a similar idea of why each writer is different. Disregarding the audience each author focuses on, the main purpose is to argue whether writing has changed or remained similar through generation. One author believes that technology influenced writing as opposed to two authors who believe it is within the writer itself (authors interest). There is one author who believes that writing has not refined through generations. Despite the different attitudes towards writing, the authors establish a common talking point about what effects writing and why. Those who fall under the first camp of composing relate writing to self-importance. The second camp discusses how different types of support affect the style of writing, while the last camp believes delivery and articulation changes the way an author writes. Most of the authors agree that time has an importance as well as an impact rela ting to writing. Those who oppose do not believe that writing has changed or at least has not changed because of generations. That is to say that each camp discusses the ideas of that author in order to support their reasoning. The argument raised in this paper is if writing has changed over time. In regards to the first camp Cristina Nehring argues that writing is becoming a figure of time in her article â€Å"What s wrong with the American essay.† In particular it use to be more based on authorsShow MoreRelatedPublic Attitude Towards Immigration At Supranational, National And Regional Level865 Words   |  4 Pages(Pinder and Usherwood, 2013: 93). Some researchers investigated public attitude towards immigration at supranational, national and regional level in Europe. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate those empirical researches on public attitude towards immigration. First of all, this paper will analyse public’s general attitude in the EU countries. Secondly , British general attitude will be examined; finally, Scottish attitude will be dealt with for the purpose of the further research. The EU levelRead MoreThe New Generations Views on Sex in Jean Twenges Generation Me757 Words   |  3 Pagesresearcher Jean Twenge in her book Generation Me, this generation has very different views on sex. Many teens have no guidance from a responsible adult and so rely on the media. In this recent generation, responsibility is minimal. This generation often feels as if their actions have no consequences. This laidback attitude about sex can be fun, but very dangerous. Casual sex can be seen as the new trend among teens. Twenge goes on to say â€Å"’hooking up’ has replaced dating among many young people† (159).Read MorePublic Attitude Towards Immigration And Clarify Implementation Gaps1443 Words   |  6 PagesSome researchers investigated public attitude towards immigration at supranational, national and regional level in Europe. The purpose of this paper is to evaluate those empirical researches on public attitude towards immigration and clarify implementation gaps, which would be objectives of a further research. Firstly, this paper will analyse public’s general attitude in the EU countries. Secondly, British general attitude will be examined; finally, Scottish attitude will be dealt with for the sake ofRead MoreGeneration Me by Jean Twenge: A Reflective Response1078 Words   |  4 Pagesï » ¿Reflective Response to Generation Me In the book, Generation Me: Why todays young Americans are more confident, assertive, entitled and more miserable than ever before, author-researcher Jean Twenge explores the nature of the Generation Y, people who were born in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s. The phenomenon that Twenge sought to explore in detail was how the Generation Y became the Entitlement Generation or, as she eventually coined the term, the Generation Me. From the title itself, sheRead MoreThe Politics And Foreign Policy1044 Words   |  5 Pagestypology quiz characterized me as a Next Generation Left who are generally young, well-educated and financially comfortable with very liberal attitudes on many issues, including homosexuality, abortion, the environment and foreign policy. Contrary to my initial expectations of the results, I truly feel that the results of the quiz accurately describe my views flawlessly. Not only does the term Next Generation Left provide a basis for my attitude, but it also parallels with my situation bothRead MoreLeading Intergenerational Teams Essay1711 Words   |  7 PagesIntergenerational Teams Workspace demographics now span four generations. A twenty-something hired this year can expect to find that they working with colleagues who are older than they are by fifty or more years. The reason for this is primarily due to labor shortages for trained personnel in many industries. In addition, many older workers are now delaying retirement due for economic or other reasons. Many of the baby boomer generation can now be expected to delay retirement into their seventiesRead MoreGenerational Differences: Generation X and Generation Y1220 Words   |  5 PagesThe hottest topic of conversation is between two generations is superiority. The Generation X argues that Generation Y is getting everything in their plate without having to work for it. The millenials counter that by saying that technological know how is the need of the day and nobody survives bereft of that. This is what the older generations lacks and finds it difficult to cope with the times. Hence the millenials consi der themselves better. But is this argument really valid? Are the criteriaRead MoreCorporal Punishment Should Be Accepted Into Society1168 Words   |  5 Pagessupporting corporal punishment. Multi-generations could potentially all have different views on the use of corporal punishment, like depending on what religion a person affiliates with could ideally affect whether a person supports the use of physical punishment or not. LITERATURE REVIEW To investigate different patterns within corporal punishment, a broad range of academic and scholarly, peer-reviewed, journal articles were searched. A total of six different articles were obtained for in-depth reviewRead MoreThe Socialization Of Children : Factors Influencing The Attitudes And Ideas Of Their Children1450 Words   |  6 Pages November 20, 2015 The Socialization of Children Empirical Question Parent’s role in influencing the attitudes and ideas of their children is substantial in their development. This influence will aid in their children’s development by instilling certain values and characteristics that are similar to their parents. However, do parents ultimately dominate in shaping the political views of their children? Like other values such as sharing and responsibility, is politics passed along in the sameRead MoreYoung Adult Views On Politics, Sexuality, And The Future Impacted The Music Of The 1960 S855 Words   |  4 Pagess became an era of nostalgia (especially for the current adult generation) and melancholy ballads only subdued by birth of bubblegum pop. In our current century, music has become a forefront for young adult s emotions. In this essay, I will contrast how young adult views on politics, sexuality, and the future impacted the music of the 1960 s and the 1990 s. The 1960 s saw a change in political views that was different from the decade before it. Universities filled with lower class