Cognitive Explainations of Gender development (Gender)

Question 1

Stages in order

Answer 1

Gender identity: 2-3 yrs
Gender stability: 3-5 yrs
Gender constancy: 5-7 yrs

Question 2

Gender identity description

Answer 2

2-3 Yrs

Can label themselves and others as boy/girl. Based on appearance however and don’t understand gender is constant across time or situations yet.

Question 3

Gender Stability description

Answer 3

3-5 yrs

Realise gender is constant over time.
(Boy will grow into a man etc)

Don’t understand gender is constant across situations though and gender identification is based on appearance + stereotypes.

eg if a man wore a dress he’d “become a woman”

Question 4

Gender constancy description

Answer 4

5-7 yrs

Realise gender is constant over time and across situations.

ONLY NOW start to seek ‘gender appropriate’ behaviours and form sex role stereotypes.

Question 5

Supporting evidence: Slaby and Frey (1975)

Answer 5

• Divided a group of children of those who had and hadn’t achieved gender constancy
• Played them a split screen video of a male/female each performing a variety of interesting tasks.
• Found children who HAD achieved gender constancy payed a lot more attention to the same-sex model on screen

Supports Kohlberg’s theory that gender info is only seeked out once gender constancy is achieved

Question 6

Opposing evidence: Martin and Little (1990)

Answer 6

• Measured sex-stereotypes knowledge in pre school.
• Found that, although children had only achieved ‘gender identity’, they already had strong gender stereotypes on what boy/girls are permitted to do

Suggests Kohlberg overestimated the age at which children start to seek out gender information.