Psychology 2074B-001
Psychology of Gender
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
Being born into one gender category and not another has a profound impact on how individuals are treated, what they expect of themselves, what others expect of them, and how they lead and experience their lives. We examine gender across a variety of domains from the perspective of psychological science.
3 lecture hours, 0.5 course
2.0 COURSE INFORMATION
Instructor: Dr. Rachel Calogero
Office and Phone Number: Room 321, Westminster Hall, (519) 661-2111, extension 80403
Office Hours: Thursday, 2:00 pm to 4:00 pm, and by appointment
Email: rcaloger@uwo.ca
Teaching Assistant: Maggie Head (MSc candidate)
Office: Room 210, Westminster Hall
Office Hours: Tuesday, 1:30pm to 4:00pm
Email: mhead5@uwo.ca
Time and Location of Classes: Tuesday, 9:30 am to 12:30 pm, MC-110
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
Helgeson, V.S. (2017). Psychology of Gender, 5th edition. Routledge.
4.0 COURSE OBJECTIVES
By the end of the course, students should have an understanding of the basic theories, methods, and findings in various areas of the psychology of gender. Importantly, this course is devoted to the investigation of psychological gender rather than biological sex. That is, sex differences and similarities will be explored predominantly from a social psychological (e.g., socialization) perspective. The topics include gender role attitudes and behaviors; theories of gender; power; sex and the body; and the role of gender in relationships, communication, health, achievement, work, and culture. Implications of both the male gender role and the female gender role in the areas listed above will be the course focus. After this course, you will probably forget 90% of the theories, experiments, and names presented to you, but hopefully you will think more critically about gender in your everyday lives.
Lecture attendance in this course is considered to be mandatory. Lectures are intended to complement the textbook, which means I will present some information that is not included in the textbook. Approximately half of the items on each examination cover material that is presented only in lectures and not covered in readings. Class attendance will significantly increase how much you get out of this course. Students who miss lectures score dramatically more poorly on examinations.
I will aim to post the power point slides presented at lecture in advance on the course website (by 8:00 pm on Monday) unless extenuating circumstances prohibit me from posting in advance. Please note the slides posted in advance will represent a framework for taking notes, if you wish, and will omit some material that will only be presented in the actual lecture.
Generally I encourage questions and discussion throughout the lecture. However, due to the size of the class, questions and discussion will need to be kept to a minimum. Do feel free to ask questions afterwards, or make an appointment with the TA or Dr. Calogero. When questions and/or discussion do occur during lecture, please be constructive and respectful of the topic, the instructor, and other people in the class.
Please keep in mind that your fellow students may not share your religious affiliations, political beliefs, cultural backgrounds, economic, ethnic, or sexual orientations. In a class of this nature and size, a variety of opinions and views are to be expected. To ensure a positive learning experience and full participation by all, please listen with an open mind and express your thoughts and responses in a respectful manner
4.1 STUDENT LEARNING OUTCOMES
By the end of this course, the successful student should be able to do the following, assessed by multiple choice and true/false exam questions:
- Define key concepts and methods in gender
- Distinguish between major theories of gender
- Recognize the empirical evidence for gender
- Predict the psychological role of gender in everyday life
- Identify gender role attitudes and behavioral
Apply the psychology of gender to current events
5.0 EVALUATION
The course grade is comprised of three exams: 1 – Exam 1 (30% of overall mark)
- – Exam 2 (30% of overall mark)
- – Exam 3 (40% of overall mark)
** Please note that I do not make grade adjustments (e.g., applying a bell curve to the distribution of marks on a test or paper). Also, I cannot adjust marks on the basis of need (e.g., because a certain mark is needed to get into a particular academic program).
EXAMS
The first two exams will be two hours long and the third exam will be three hours long. Material from the textbook chapters and the corresponding lectures will be covered in each exam, as designated in the class schedule.
**Please note that the final exam is not cumulative—that is, you are only responsible on the final exam for material covered after the second exam.
Make-up Exams
Exams must be written on the scheduled dates unless you have a legitimate excuse recognized by the university administration. Valid reasons include medical or compassionate grounds, and must be substantiated with proper documentation. Any student who misses a regularly scheduled exam for other reasons, or who cannot justify the absence on valid grounds, will be assigned a 0 for the exam.
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
Exam 1: Tuesday, February 6, 9:30am to 11:30pm, MC-110 (30%)
Exam 2: Tuesday, March 13, 9:30am to 11:30pm, MC-110 (30%)
Exam 3: TBA April 14-30, 3 hours long, (40%)
7.0 CLASS SCHEDULE
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January 9: |
Setting the Scene for Studying Gender |
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January 16: |
Gender as a Social Category |
Chapter 1 & 2 |
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January 23: |
Gender Role Attitudes & Ideologies |
Chapter 3 |
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January 30: |
Psychological Theories of Gender |
Chapter 4 & 5 |
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February 6: |
EXAM 1 |
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February 13: |
Gender, Sex, & Bodies |
Lecture Only |
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February 20: |
READING WEEK |
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February 27: |
Gender in Communication |
Chapter 7 |
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March 6: |
Gender in Relationships |
Chapter 8 & 9 |
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March 13: |
EXAM 2 |
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March 20: |
Gender in Education & Achievement |
Chapter 6 |
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March 27: |
Gender & Work |
Chapter 12 |
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April 3: |
Gender & Health |
Chapter 10, 11, & 13 |
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April 10: |
Gender & Health |
Chapter 10, 11, & 13 |
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April 14-30: |
EXAM 3 – FINAL (non-cumulative) |
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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://westerncalendar.uwo.ca/2017/pg954.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
- 2017 Calendar References
No electronic devices, including cell phones and smart watches, will be allowed during exams.
