2.2 Explanations of Gender Development

Question 1

Describe the stage of gender identity

Answer 1

• Around age 2
• Children able to correctly identify themselves and others as boy or girl (labelling)
• Gender is not viewed as fixed

Question 2

Describe the stage of gender stability?

Answer 2

• At age 4
• A child understands that their own gender is fixed
• Often confused by external changes in the appearance of others

Question 3

Describe the stage of gender constancy?

Answer 3

• At age 6
• A child realizes that gender remains constant over time and situations
• Begin to seek out appropriate role models to identify with/imitate
• A tendency towards gender stereotyping begins

Question 4

What are the 2 main assumptions of Kohlberg’s theory?

Answer 4

• A childs understanding of gender e.g attitudes/behaviours becomes more sophisticated with age
• Gender understanding is parallel to intellectual development (biological maturation)

Question 5

What are the 3 stages suggested by Kohlberg?

Answer 5

1. Gender identity
2. Gender stability
3. Gender constancy

Question 6

AO3 for Kohlberg’s theory

Answer 6

1. Research support: evidence for gender stereotyping around age 6, Damon (1977) told story about boy who liked dolls, asked children to comment, 4 year olds said it was fine for him to play with dolls, 6 year olds thought it was wrong for him to play with dolls, had gone beyond gender roles to gender stereotyping, children who have achieved constancy have formed rigid stereotypes about gender

2. Methodological problem: unsatisfactory methods to assess gender constancy, key test is whether child understands gender remains despite appearance and context, Bem (1989) younger children are confused as that is how gender is differentiated in culture, men and women identified through clothing and hair but best way is through genitalia (younger children do not understand), Bem showed 40% of children demonstrated constancy when shown a naked photo of a child, typical way of testing gender constancy misrepresenting

3. Degrees of constancy: different degrees of constancy, Martin et al (2002) praised Kohlberg for stating that a childs understanding of gender guides their thought/behaviour, but how this understanding works is unclear, suggested initial degree orients child to the importance of gender, second degree heightens response to gender norms (appropriate clothes/attitudes), acquisition of constancy more gradual process

Question 7

What is gender schema?

Answer 7

An organized set of beliefs and expectations related to gender that are derived from experience

Question 8

What is the main assumption of the gender schema theory?

Answer 8

A child’s understanding of gender changes with age (developmental theory)

Question 9

What did Martin and Halverson suggest about the development of gender schema?

Answer 9

Once gender identity has been established around age 2-3, a child searches the environment for information that encourages development of a schema

Question 10

How does Martin and Halverson’s theory constrast Kohlberg’s?

Answer 10

Kohlberg believed that the gender schema process only begins once a child has passed through all 3 stages

Question 11

Why do children have fixed opinions about gender appropriate behaviour?

Answer 11

Children misremember or disregard information that does not fit with their existing schema

Question 12

What is an ingroup in relation to gender?

Answer 12

When children pay more attention to information relevant to their gender identity (increases their self esteem)

Question 13

What is an outgroup in relation to gender?

Answer 13

A social group of the other gender which a child does not identify with

Question 14

AO3 for gender schema

Answer 14

1. Research support: Martin and Halverson (1983) founch children under age 6 more likely to remember photos os stereotypically appropriate gender behaviour e.g woman washing the dishes, photos of inappropriate behaviour tested a week later, children tended to change the gender of person carrying out inappropriate behvaiour in the photos when recalling, supports prediction that children under 6 would do so

2. Earlier gender identity identity probably develops earlier than suggested, Zosuls et al (2009) studied 82 children looking at onset gender identity, data obtained from weekly reports from mothers and videotaped analysis, key measure was how and when children began to label themselves, this occurred at 19 months, suggests that children have gender identity before this but are just unable to communicate it, Martin and Halverson underestimated childrens ability

3. Cultural differences: accounts for cultural differences in gender appropriate behaviour, Cherry (2019) gender schema influences what counts as culturally appropriate, e.g traditional cultures which believe women are nurturers and men are providers will raise children with these consistent views, in societies with less rigid boundaries children have more fluid gender schema, explanation for how cultural differences are formed

Question 15

Describe gender in pre-phallic children

Answer 15

• Prior to reaching the phallic stage, children have no concept/understanding of gender so do not categorize themselves or others

Question 16

Describe the Oedipus complex

Answer 16

• In the phallic stage, boys develop incestuous feelings towards their mother
• They harbour a jealous hatred for their father
• The boy develops castration anxiety as he fears his father
• To resolve the conflict, the boy gives up love for his mother and identifies with his father

Question 17

Describe the Electra complex

Answer 17

• In the phallic stage, girls experience penis envy
• They view themselves as in competition for their fathers love
• Girls develop double-resentment (mother is a love rival, blame mother for having no penis)
• Girls eventually accept they will never have a penis and substitute this with the desire to have children
• They begin to identify with their mothers

Question 18

Who suggested both the Oedipus and Electra complex?

Answer 18

Freud

Question 19

What is identification?

Answer 19

A desire to be associated with a particular person/group because they possess certain characteristics

Question 20

What is internalization?

Answer 20

When an individual adopts the attitudes and/or behaviour of another

Question 21

Describe the Little Hans case study

Answer 21

• Hans was a 5 year old boy with a fear of being bitten by a horse
• This fear stemmed from a past incident involving a horse
• Hans fear if being bitten represented his fear of castration
• Freud suggested Hans transferred his fear of his father onto horses (displacement)

Question 22

AO3 for psychodynamic explanation for gender development

Answer 22

1. The Oedipus complex: support for its role in gender development, suggests that fro boys ‘normal’ development depends on being raised by at least one male, Rekers and Morey (1990) rated gender identity of 49 boys based on family and self interviews, of those who were gender disturbed 75% had no biological or substitute father, suggests that being raised with no father has negative impact on gender

2. Female development: theorizing on girls parallel development was done by Carl Jung, Freud admitted women were a mystery to him and notion of penis envy heavily reflected androcentric victorian era, Horney (1942) argued that mens experience of womb envy was more powerful and was both were a result of cultural factors, challenges the idea of women’s gender based around wanting to be like a man

3. Pseudoscientific: lacks scientific credibility, Freud criticized for lack of rigour in his methods, concepts e.g penis envy untestable as they are largely unconscious, contrasts with other explanations which are based on objective and verifiable evidence, Freud’s key ideas cannot be falsified, questions the validity of his theory

Question 23

Describe the role of SLT in gender development

Answer 23

Acknowledges the role of social context in development, stating all behaviour is learned from observation (influence of environment on gender e.g culture, media)

Question 24

What is differential reinforcement?

Answer 24

The way in which boys and girls are encouraged to show distinct gender appropriate behaviour

Question 25

What is direct reinforcement in relation to gender?

Answer 25

Children are more likely to be reinforced for demonstrating stereotypically gender-appropriate behaviour (a child is more likely to repeat this behaviour)

Question 26

What is indirect reinforcement in relation to gender and an example?

Answer 26

• If the consequences of another persons behaviour are favourable, the behaviour is more likely to be imitated
• E.g a girl sees her mother receive a compliment for wearing make-up, so she does the same

Question 27

What is modelling and an example?

Answer 27

• The precise demonstration of a behaviour that may be imitated by an observer (also explains learning from the observers perspective)
• E.g mother modelling stereotypical feminine behaviour when tidying the house

Question 28

What role models are children likely to identify with?

Answer 28

• Those in their immediate environment e.g parents, teachers
• Those present within the media e.g celebrities

Question 29

Describe the 4 mediational processes in relation to gender

Answer 29

1. Attention: a child pays close attention to a role model
2. Retention: a child remembers the behaviour of their role model
3. Motivation: the desire to repeat the behaviour comes from identification
4. Motor reproduction: the child must be physically capable of repeating the behaviour

Question 30

AO3 for SLT explanation of gender development

Answer 30

**1. Research support: ** Smith and Lloyd (1978) babies were dressed half the time in boy clothes and the other half in girl, when observing adult interactions found babies assumed to be a boy were given ‘hammer-shaped’ rattle/encouraged to be adventurous, babies dressed as a girl were handed dolls and told they were ‘pretty’, suggests gender-appropriate behaviour stamped in at an early age through differential reinforcement

2. Cultural changes: explains changes in stereotypically appropriate behaviour, now a less clear cut distinction of masculine/feminine exists, shift in social expectations and cultural norms over the years means new gender forms unlikely to be punished and instead reinforced,

3. No developmental sequence: no adequate explanation of how learning changes with age, general implication is that modelling cam occur at any age, but illogical that children who are 2 learn in the same way as those who are 9, conflicts with Kohlberg’s theory that children do not become active in development until gender constancy is reached