Community Analysis

Term Paper # 104293

Gender and Sexuality > Gender Studies
Psychology
Women Studies

Community Analysis

An explanation of the various nested systems in the family unit involved in the psychological development of a child.

1,751 words () | 4 sources | APA | 2008 United States

Paper Summary:

This paper provides an explanation of the four nested systems of roles, norms and rules that have a direct impact on the psychological development of a child. The author draws on her own experiences within her family unit and the influence of the microsystems of her family to illustrate her points and suggests that mothers should be educated and empowered on how to educate and empower their daughters from birth.

From the Paper:

"This binary gender system comes complete with expectations for all aspects of existence. I believe these are dictated by the macrosystem, but interestingly, are primarily communicated and enforced by the microsystem. Thus, this interaction is that the microsystem acts as a conduit, passing on the values of the macrosystem, and making sure they are enforced. For a start, it defined the role I was supposed to play: nurturing, caring, empathetic, passive, meek, accommodating, with a particular love of housework drudgery and sewing. Secondly, it defined a wide range of norms I was supposed to conform to: feminine, with a love of pretty dresses and other adornments, and a disdain for dirt and sweat. Later, I was supposed to become coquettish yet fundamentally chaste, and to use indirect wiles to achieve my goals, rather than direct demands. Finally, all of this came with iron-clad rules that were not to be broken. There were so many of these that it is impossible to record them all. However, examples would be: Girls must not climb trees; girls must never fight; girls are allowed to cry if there is a good enough reason; all girls must love to play with dolls at all time; all girls must wear pink dresses at least three times a week; girls are expected to exhibit extra diligence with their schoolwork to make up for their natural inferiority; etc."

Sample of Sources Used:

Halpern, D. F. (2000). Sex Differences in Cognitive Abilities (3rd ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Harris, Tirril. (Ed.) (2000). Where Inner and Outer Worlds Meet: Psychosocial Research in the Tradition of George W. Brown. London: Routledge, 2000.
Jonassen, D. H. (Ed.). (2004). Handbook of Research on Educational Communications and Technology (2nd ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Schaie, K.W. and C. Schooler. (1989). Social Structure and Aging: Psychological Processes. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.