Cognitive Explanations (Gender Schema Theory) - SEX & GENDER

Question 1

who added to Kohlberg’s theory of gender development

Answer 1

Martin and Halverson (1981)

Question 2

what was the first change Martin and Halverson (1981) made to Kohlberg’s theory

Answer 2

learning of gender-relevant information happens before gender constancy

Question 3

how does the learning of gender-relevant information before gender constancy happen

Answer 3

the gender labelling (societal) is enough to self identify as a boy/girl
children will show preferences for gender-appropriate behaviour here

Question 4

what was the second change Martin and Halverson (1981) made to Kohlberg’s theory

Answer 4

they said gender schema you form has effects later physiological functioning - especially cognitive abilities (memory, attention)

Question 5

what does the gender schema theory (GST) focus on

Answer 5

the formation of a schema

Question 6

how are children’s schemata formed

Answer 6

using information from the environment (tv/parents/school etc)

Question 7

what do environmental factors like tv/parents/school etc contain to help form a child’s schema

Answer 7

information coloured by cultural norms

Question 8

what does the way children gain schemata mean about the formation of it

Answer 8

it means they’re very simplistic (due to being learned from things around them) and ‘black and white’ at first - full of stereotypical information

Question 9

what is in-group bias

Answer 9

when people tend to prefer people they relate to themselves (e.g. boys preferring to be around boys than girls as children)

Question 10

what is out-group bias

Answer 10

when people prefer those who they cannot relate to (much less common)

Question 11

as children develop their own schemata, what else do they form

Answer 11

a schemata about other people

Question 12

what links do children make that refer to their schema building

Answer 12

make links between parts of your self-schema and groups you identify with (e.g. gender groups, family etc)

Question 13

what does in-group/out-group bias help to develop

Answer 13

cognitive processing - which is natural and has evolutionary benefits

Question 14

how does cognitive processing development affect the schema

Answer 14

maximisation of in-group positive qualities
maximisation of out-group negative qualities
this builds self-esteem and reinforces stereotypes

Question 15

what does the GST explain

Answer 15

how gender beliefs become so fixed and powerful

Question 16

what happens to information that isn’t schema-consistent

Answer 16

it’s ignored or disregarded

Question 17

why is schema-inconsistent info ignored

Answer 17

attention and working memory rely on top-down influence from stored schematic information

Question 18

how does in-group/out-group bias direct child friendships

Answer 18

children tend to drift towards those of the same gender

Question 19

what do children tend to realise about peer relationships as they get older

Answer 19

that everyone has the same biases (theory of mind) and therefore fear rejection or hostility from peers if they form relationships with out-group members