Happy Block Day Friends!

Please get out something to take notes on. • Please get out something to write with. Happy Block Day Friends!

Movie Reflection • Three things from the movie you found interesting. • Three things from the movie you found troubling. • Three things from the movie you’d like more information about/you have questions for.

Social Constructs vs. Biological Actions Nature vs. Nurture Social Construct: a social mechanism, phenomenon, or category created and developed by society; a perception of an individual, group, or idea that is 'constructed‘ through cultural or social practice Stereotypes are a form of social constructs.

I know what boys like, I know what guys want…. What boys what And girls??

So what? Acknowledging social constructs is important, just because WE don’t see something, doesn’t mean it doesn’t have a societal impact. We can look at issues along gender and racial lines. Social movements move against social constructs. However, the danger is valuing behaviors of the dominate culture over non-traditional behaviors.

Okay BUT…. There is another side: Essentialism: holds that there are necessary properties of things, that these are logically associated prior to the existence of the individuals which instantiated them. This applies to values and behaviors as well. That there essentially good and bad behaviors, and their ‘goodness’ and ‘badness’ and not socially constructed but universal.

Evolutionary Explanations – think about the film Imposed or accurate? Often the argument is made that women like shopping because it fulfills their ‘gatherer’ needs. Women like dressing up, wearing make-up etc.., because unlike men, they are looking to attract a long-term partner.

Language Language seems an obvious social construct, but it isn’t that simple either. Language can give us a window into human nature as well. Not simple a window into society…

Essentialism vs. Constructs This is a little like the chicken or the egg debate. You may fall somewhere in the middle with your world view. What do you think? In your groups discuss, how much of masculinity and femininity is a social construct vs. biological?

Lets Explore this a little more:

And even more crazy things to think about…. Remember those sweet ads we look at, here is a woman that claims advertising is going to free us from our gender constructs… So what does this all mean? What does this have to do with Psychology?

Psychology and Gender In the beginning the essentialist view was almost universally accepted as fact. • Men hunted/Women raised children, and we EVOLVED along those lines, it wasn’t a social construction. • Freud was obsessed with gender and sex. • Women envy men’s penises • Men are obsessed with their penises • Debated in ‘The Second Sex’ by Simone de Beauvoir and The Feminine Mystique “ Betty Friedan • Friedan in particular argued that men’s superiority complex was a social construct.

Happy Friday Friends! Today: • Relationship Reflection • Characteristics Chart • Characteristics Discussion Essential Question: What characteristics do we look for in a partner and why?

Next week: • Monday: Adolescent Development • Physical and Identity • Tuesday: Adolescent development • Emotion and Sexuality • Wednesday: Guest Speaker • Brain physiology, cognitive science, computational neuroscience, and consciousness. • Please come with questions  • Friday: Personality Tests

Reflect before we move forward: Take a moment and think: • If you had a partner, or if you already have a partner what characteristics would you like to see in them – why do you think you want these characteristics in a partner? • What characteristics do you want them to appreciate in you? Why? • This should be a page long – at least. • It doesn’t have to be a sexual partner but it can be. • Try and be REALLY honest with yourself, do you want a pretty partner because you really care about that, or because it’s a social status symbol – that’s ok, society is a real thing and status DOES matter – if you want it to ;).

Characteristics Chart Come up and write the characteristics you are looking for in a partner on the poster paper. • We are going to divide by gender preference to see if there are any patterns. If someone has already written up the same characteristic, make a check mark next to the characteristic. Do the same with the poster paper marked – characteristics I want my partner to appreciate in me.

Discussion • What kinds of characteristics are up here? • What are the differences between what we want in our partners and what we want others to see in us? • What are the differences (if any) along gender lines? • What explanations can we give for individual characteristics – why is this characteristic on this list? • Why do individuals want different things? • Obviously we’re different from each other but why? • How might this list look different if everyone in this room was older? Richer? Poorer? If the year was 1913 instead of 2013?

Happy Block Day Friends!