3225B-001

Psychology 3225B-001

Sex Differences in Human Brain and Behaviour

If there is a discrepancy between the outline posted below and the outline posted on the OWL course website, the latter shall prevail.

1.0    CALENDAR DESCRIPTION

An evolutionary and biological approach to understanding the differences between men and women. Topics include sociobiological explanations of sex roles; gonadal and brain sexual differentiation; hormonal factors in aggression, sexual preference, and gender identity; sex differences in cognitive function; genetic and hormonal influences on sexually dimorphic brain function.

 

Antirequisite: Psychology 3215F/G

 

Antirequisites are courses that overlap sufficiently in content that only one can be taken for credit. So if you take a course that is an antirequisite to a course previously taken, you will lose credit for the earlier course, regardless of the grade achieved in the most recent course.

 

Prerequisites: Psychology 2820E, or both Psychology 2800E and 2810, and one of Psychology 2220A/B, 2221A/B or Neuroscience 2000. Minimum grade of 60% required in all prerequisite courses.

3 lecture/discussion hours, 0.5 course

 

Unless you have either the prerequisites for this course or written special permission from your Dean to enroll in it, you may be removed from this course and it will be deleted from your record. This decision may not be appealed. You will receive no adjustment to your fees in the event that you are dropped from a course for failing to have the necessary prerequisites.


2.0    COURSE INFORMATION

Instructor:                                                     Dr. Elizabeth Hampson

 

Office and Phone Number:                            SSC 9218

519-661-2111 Ext. 84675

 

Office Hours:                                               By appointment

 

Email:                                                          ehampson@uwo.ca

 

Teaching Assistant:                                      Danna Zevy

 

Office Hours:                                               By appointment**

 

Email:                                                          dzevy@uwo.ca

 

Time and Location of Classes:                      Thursdays, 2:30 – 5:30 PM Room 60, UCC

 

 

**If you wish to meet with the instructor or TA outside of regular class hours, please e-mail to arrange an appointment.


If you or someone you know is experiencing distress, there are several resources here at Western to assist you.  Please visit:  http://www.uwo.ca/uwocom/mentalhealth/ for more information on these resources and on mental health.

Please contact the course instructor if you require material in an alternate format or if you require any other arrangements to make this course more accessible to you. You may also wish to contact Services for Students with Disabilities (SSD) at 519-661-2111 ext 82147 for any specific question regarding an accommodation.

3.0  TEXTBOOK

Students will be required to read journal articles and book chapters that will be provided by the instructor through the OWL website. These will constitute the primary reading materials for the course.

Also required is the following paperback book, which can be purchased at the Western Bookstore: Colapinto, J. (2006). As Nature Made Him: The Boy Who Was Raised As A Girl. Toronto: Harper

Perennial Ltd.

4.0    COURSE OBJECTIVES

The objective of this course is to provide students with an introductory overview of how certain sex differences can be understood from a neurobiological perspective. Topics will include the principles  of natural and sexual selection; sex differences in primary and secondary sex characteristics; genetic and endocrine contributions to sexual differentiation of the brain; sexual orientation; gender identity; sex differences in brain morphology and function; social play and aggression; sex differences in cognitive functions; sex differences in aging and vulnerability to disease. Sex differences in attitudes, interests, and personality will not be a major focus of the course, but will be mentioned occasionally.

 

Understanding sex differences observed in humans will be emphasized. Data from other species will be included where relevant.


   4.1    STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES

By the end of the course, the successful student should be able to:

 

  • Articulate the difference between sex and gender

(Assessed by exams, appropriate use in written assignments or oral presentations)

 

 

  • Explain major schools of thought regarding the causes of differences between the sexes (Assessed by quizzes and exams)

 

  • Describe basic principles that govern how gonadal hormones alter brain structure and function (Assessed by quizzes and exams)

 

  • Describe ways in which genetic factors can give rise to sex differences (Assessed by quizzes and exams)

 

  • Explain the concept of sexual selection in evolutionary theory (Assessed by quizzes and exams)
  • Evaluate research methods and decision trees commonly used to investigate sex differences (Assessed by quizzes, exams, in-class discussions, oral presentations)

 

  • Recognize examples of empirically validated sex differences vs. false stereotypes that lack a true empirical basis

(Assessed by quizzes and exams)

 

 

  • Read and evaluate primary journal articles in the field of sex and gender differences

(Assessed by quizzes and exams, in-class discussion, written assignments or oral presentations)

 

 

  • Identify sex differences that have significant applications in psychology, neuroscience, medicine (Assessed by quizzes and exams, written assignments or oral presentations)

 

  • Locate and independently read research literature on a particular topic and integrate your ideas in the form of an analytical written assignment or essay (or oral presentation to the class) (Assessed by written assignments, essays, or oral presentations)

5.0     EVALUATION

There will be one midterm exam, on Thursday February 16 (worth 25%). The midterm will consist of multiple-choice and short-answer questions (e.g., fill-in-the-blanks, definitions, or questions that require a brief written response). There will also be a final exam in April (to be scheduled by the Registrar), worth 45%. It will be 3 hr in length. The final exam will have the same format as the midterm, but will include, in addition, medium-length written-answer questions, and a longer essay-type question that pertains to the David Reimer case (as described in As Nature Made Him: The Boy Who Was Raised As A Girl). The   final exam will be cumulative, but it will emphasize the second half of the course.

 

Exams will be based on the lecture materials and assigned readings.

 

Another 10% of the final grade will be based on an oral presentation, to be given in class. Students will be divided into pairs, and you and your partner will present a journal article to the class, describing the background, method, results, and conclusions of an empirical study, and analyzing the study's strengths and weaknesses, relevance to our understanding of sex differences, and any limits to its generalizability. Oral presentations will begin after Reading Week (further details to follow).

 

The remaining 20% of the grade will be based on a written assignment. This will take the form of a mini-review, which will be due at the end of term (April 6, the last day of class). This will consist of a written scholarly essay of ~1200-1400 words (not counting References), which reviews recent literature  on a biologically-based sex difference of your choosing. Examples of appropriate topics will be provided, but you may also design your own topic (with the prior agreement of the course instructor). This assignment will be worth 20%. You will be asked to independently research your topic and synthesize the material into a review and analytical critique. Your mini-review is due April 6, the last day of class, and must be submitted both in hardcopy and by electronic submission to Turnitin. A late penalty of 10% per day will be applied to papers submitted after the deadline.


Although the Psychology Department does not require instructors to adjust their course grades to conform to specific targets, the expectation is that course marks will be distributed around the following averages:


70%     1000-level and 2000-level courses
72%     2190-2990 level courses
75%     3000-level courses
80%     4000-level courses
   
The Psychology Department follows the University of Western Ontario grading guidelines, which are as follows (see http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/general/grades_undergrad.pdf ):

A+  90-100      One could scarcely expect better from a student at this level
A    80-89        Superior work that is clearly above average
B    70-79        Good work, meeting all requirements, and eminently satisfactory
C    60-69        Competent work, meeting requirements
D    50-59        Fair work, minimally acceptable
F    below 50    Fail



6.0  TEST AND EXAMINATION SCHEDULE

Midterm

February 16

25%

Final Exam

TBA

45%

Oral Presentation

TBA

10%

Mini-Review

April 6

20%

7.0   CLASS SCHEDULE

PowerPoint Notes will be posted on OWL, before or after each day's lecture. All weekly readings (journal articles or book chapters) can be found on OWL under the Resources link for each week:

 

 

January 5:                                                           Introduction to the course

Course organization and evaluation

Video - "The Mating Game - Triumph of Life"

 

 

January 12:                                                         Theoretical approaches to the study of sex differences

 

 

January 19:                                                         Instructor away - no class

 

 

January 26:                                                         The evolutionary approach Natural and sexual selection

Mating systems, parental investment

 

 

February 2:                                                         The genetics of sexual differentiation Sex chromosome anomalies

 

 

February 9:                                                         The role of hormones in sexual differentiation

 

 

February 16:                                                        Midterm exam

 

 

February 23:                                                        Reading Week


March 2:                                                             Sexual orientation and sexual behavior The hypothalamus

Oral presentations begin

 

 

March 9:                                                             Gender identity

Video - "You Don't Know Dick"

 

 

March 16:                                                            Sex differences in the central nervous system Differences in morphology and function

 

 

March 23:                                                            Childhood gender role behaviors

Sex differences in children's play, aggression

 

March 30:                                                            Sex differences in cognition and perception

 

 

April 6:                                                                Sex differences in vulnerability to disease Aging and the twilight years

Oral presentations end Mini-reviews due

 

The lectures will be supplemented by videos and open class discussion of topics presented.


8.0     STATEMENT ON ACADEMIC OFFENCES

Students are responsible for understanding the nature and avoiding the occurrence of plagiarism and other scholastic offenses. Plagiarism and cheating are considered very serious offenses because they undermine the integrity of research and education. Actions constituting a scholastic offense are described at the following link:  http://www.uwo.ca/univsec/pdf/academic_policies/appeals/scholastic_discipline_undergrad.pdf

As of Sept. 1, 2009, the Department of Psychology will take the following steps to detect scholastic offenses. All multiple-choice tests and exams will be checked for similarities in the pattern of responses using reliable software, and records will be made of student seating locations in all tests and exams. All written assignments will be submitted to TurnItIn, a service designed to detect and deter plagiarism by comparing written material to over 5 billion pages of content located on the Internet or in TurnItIn’s databases. All papers submitted for such checking will be included as source documents in the reference database for the purpose of detecting plagiarism of papers subsequently submitted to the system. Use of the service is subject to the licensing agreement, currently between Western and Turnitin.com http://www.turnitin.com

Possible penalties for a scholastic offense include failure of the assignment, failure of the course, suspension from the University, and expulsion from the University.



9.0    POLICY ON ACCOMMODATION FOR MEDICAL ILLNESS

Western’s policy on Accommodation for Medical Illness can be found at:
http://www.westerncalendar.uwo.ca/2016/pg117.html

Students must see the Academic Counsellor and submit all required documentation in order to be approved for certain accommodation:
http://counselling.ssc.uwo.ca/procedures/medical_accommodation.html


10.0        OTHER INFORMATION

Office of the Registrar web site:  http://registrar.uwo.ca

Student Development Services web site: http://www.sdc.uwo.ca

Please see the Psychology Undergraduate web site for information on the following:

    http://psychology.uwo.ca/undergraduate/student_responsibilities/index.html

- Policy on Cheating and Academic Misconduct
- Procedures for Appealing Academic Evaluations
- Policy on Attendance
- Policy Regarding Makeup Exams and Extensions of Deadlines
- Policy for Assignments
- Short Absences
- Extended Absences
- Documentation
- Academic Concerns
- 2016 Calendar References

No electronic devices, including cell phones, will be allowed during exams.