There is much more to being male or female than biological heritage. Virtually all societies expect the two sexes to adopt different gender roles, understood as a set of expected actions and dispositions ascribed to an individual on the basis of her or his assumed biological sex.
Gender roles can produce sex differences in behaviors not only by affection the rewards and punishments received from others but also by affecting the self-concepts of women and men.
Gender roles serve both social and intrapsychic functions. With respect to the former function, gender role expectations guide people’s judgments and evaluation of others.
When one assumes that another person possesses certain characteristics on the basis of his or her gender, one is engaging in gender stereotyping.
Gender roles
