Assignment: The Psychology of Women
Part A: True/False Questions
In the space provided, type True (T) if you believe the statement to be correct or False (F) if you believe the statement to be incorrect.
1. Gender differences in sexual desire are larger than most other psychological gender differences.
2. During the first month after childbirth, a mother's dominant emotional response is typically a feeling of fulfillment and inner strength.
3. Despite progress in many professions, only about one-third of current medical school graduates are female.
4. The media have publicized the problem of female genital mutilation for young girls in Africa and other regions of the world; however, recent investigations show that only about 5,000 to 7,000 girls have been harmed by this ceremonial procedure.
5. Between 20% and 30% of US and Canadian women have some form of disability.
6. To label a remark as "sexual harassment" from the legal standpoint, the person making the remark must specifically request some sort of sexual favour.
7. People judge elderly women consistently more negatively than they judge elderly men.
8. Most physicians currently recommend hormone replacement therapy for women who have reached menopause.
9. When women from some ethnic groups become feminist activists, the men in their community often tell them that this activism is a threat to ethnic unity.
10. The first wave of the North American feminist movement began in the 1920s, as a result of women winning the right to vote.
Part B: Short-answer Questions
Below each question, provide a short (two or three sentences) response.
1. From the film Sexy Inc. (2007), what can the ordinary citizen do to register discontent with the ways in which girls and women are portrayed in the media?
2. From the article you read in Unit 6, what two cultural images of motherhood does Hagar (2011) describe?
3. From the film Spinning a Pill, what factors contributed to Yasmin becoming the topselling birth control pill?
4. From the photo story on the WHO website, name at least 4 of the greatest achievements in women's health over the past decade. 2 5. According to McMullen and Stoppard (2006), what factors have informed feminist understandings of depression?
6. According to the film Legacy of a Massacre, what has changed for women 22 years after the Montreal Massacre?
7. According to Gavey and Schmidt (2011), how have discourses about rape changed over the past four decades?
8. What primary issues concerning aging did the film House Calls highlight for you?
Part C: Brief Answer Questions
Below each question, provide a brief (three or four sentences) response.
1. From Matlin's chapter 9, describe how gender roles are relevant in terms of the initiation of sexual relationships and sexual activity.
2. Matlin (chapter 10) notes that psychologists have conducted less research on issues related to pregnancy, childbirth, and motherhood compared to any of the other topics covered in her textbook. Suggest two research projects that could be used to clarify how women experience these three important events in their lives.
3. Matlin has described how men and women are often treated differently. Apply this theme to the following topics: a) biases against women in health care; and b) women with disabilities. (see Matlin's chapter 11)
4. What factors help to explain why women are more likely than men to develop depression? (see Matlin's chapter 12)
5. What are some of the common myths about sexual harassment, rape, and abuse? What do these myths reveal about society's attitudes towards men and women? (see Matlin's chapter 13)
6. Imagine that a middle-aged friend is experiencing menopause. What information would you give her about hormone replacement therapy? (see Matlin's chapter 14)
7. Of all of the topics you have studied in this course, which issue related to women is particularly important to you? Why? If you wanted to raise awareness about this issue, what strategies (see Matlin's chapter 15) could you adopt on becoming an activist?
Part D: Two Notecards
This part of the assignment requires that, following the procedures outlined, you develop two "notecards" based on journal article readings done in Units 6 through 9 of the course. Each notecard is worth the same weight.
4 Prepare a separate summary "notecard" for each article. At the top of the notecard, make a full and correct reference statement, using APA style, that identifies the article.
Then, in two or three sentences, identify the main thesis statement (i.e., the primary focus or main argument) of the article.
Once you have identified the main focus or argument of the paper, outline three or four major points made by the author(s) to support the thesis statement.
Finally, summarize, in one or two sentences, the conclusions drawn by the author(s).
In developing your notecards, do not use direct quotations. Your job is to summarize and synthesize the materials from each article. Each "notecard"-including the full citation of the article-should not exceed one word-processed page (e.g., approximately 250 words, doublespaced).
Base Notecard 1 on one of the following two readings:
Hager, T. (2011). Making sense of an untold story: A personal deconstruction of the myth of motherhood. Qualitative Inquiry, 17(1), 35-44. McMullen, L., & Stoppard, J. (2006).
Women and depression: A case study of the influence of feminism in Canadian psychology. Feminism & Psychology, 16(3), 273-288.
Base Notecard 2 on one of the following two readings:
Gavey, N., & Schmidt, J. (2011). "Trauma of rape" discourse: A double-edged template for everyday understandings of the impact of rape? Violence Against Women, 17(4), 453456. Rodgers, K., & Knight, M. (2011).
"You just felt the collective wind being knocked out of us": The deinstitutionalization of feminism and the survival of women's organizing in Canada. Women's Studies International Forum, 34(6), 570-581. Important note: Include all parts of the assignment in a single file for submission.