Cognitive explanation: Gender schema theory

Question 1

whose theory is gender schema theory

Answer 1

Martin and Halverson (1981)

Question 2

Gender schemas

Answer 2

children learn about gender roles from the culture in which they live.

Question 3

How are Gender schemas formed

Answer 3

Bem

Question 4

Resilience of gender beliefs

Answer 4

• gender beliefs lead children to hold vert fixed gender attitudes as they ignore any information they encounter that isn’t consistent with in-group information
• e.g if a boy sees a film with a male nurse, its ignored as male is not behaving consistently with the in group schema
• no altering of gender beliefs

Question 5

Schema

Answer 5

• A mental framework that helps organise and interpret information in the brain.
• Helps an individual to make sense of new information

Question 6

In-group schemas

Answer 6

• the groups with which a person identifies

Question 7

Out-group schemas

Answer 7

• the group opposite to which a person identifies

Question 8

Peer relationships

Question 9

Limitations

Answer 9

children begin acquiring information about GST before gender stability around three
- Martin and Little in the 1980s found that children under four showed no signs of gender stability let alone no signs of gender constancy

Question 10

Strength

Answer 10

GST organise memory
- Martin and Halverson 1983 found that when children were asked to recall pictures of people, children under six recalled more of the gender consistent ones (male firefighter or female teacher) than gender inconsistent one (male nurse or female chemist)