The term gender role is used in sociology and psychology to refer to the prescribed behaviors, attitudes and characteristics associated with one's gender status as a female or a male. Understanding Gender Roles in Psychology. For example, consider an animated film that depicts two female characters: a beautiful but passive heroine, and an ugly but active villain. So let’s work through this example to better understand terminology related to sex and gender First, let’s tackle “transgender woman.” Biological sex refers to chromosomal makeup at birth. Media conveys information about the role of gender in people’s lives and can reinforce gender stereotypes. Androcentrism can lead to two different types of bias: alpha bias and beta bias. Although she was kidding (I think) this is an example of an expectation held because of gender. A recent article in the American Psychologist on gender stereotypes makes the problem clear. Gender role is a set of expectations held by society about the ways in which men and women are supposed to behave based on their gender. Gender roles are largely a theoretical construct which indicates the behavioral norms and social norms available in specific cultures which are deemed appropriate to a specific gender (Lee 5). Gender tends to denote the social and cultural role of each sex within a given society. Alice Eagly and colleagues examined the gender stereotypes of people in the United State from 1946 to 2018. consist of the social expectations about the typical and appropriate behavior of men and women Attributes associated with gender are the result of learning in accordance with cultural standards or prescriptions. For example, my wife once told me that I should cut the lawn because that is "the man's job." Sex refers to an individual’s biological status as either male or female (or hermaphrodite). As a result, psychology has spent the majority of its existence male-dominated and gender-biased, with research methods and results being influenced by stereotypes and misogyny. Gender refers to a person’s sense of, and expression of, their maleness or femaleness.

For example, chromosomes (female XX, male XY), reproductive organs (ovaries, testes), hormones (oestrogen, testosterone). Gender roles are thus a reflection of the natural aspirations of the members of that gender.