cognitive explanations: gender schema theory

Question 1

Martin and Halverson agreed with Kohlberg in the idea hat there is a

Answer 1

positive correlation between increasing age and an increasingly sophisticated understanding of gender identity for each child and so such an identity relies on experience

Question 1

Martin and halverson suggested that the development of gender identity is an active rather than passive process ,
differed from Kohlberg as they

Answer 1

place far more emphasis on the development of schemas , opposed to kohlbergs

Question 2

schemes are

Answer 2

mental frameworks of pre conceived ideas and beliefs about certain people object situations or gender identity

Question 3

Martin and halverson suggested that after a child begins to identify with a certain gender around the age of 2 years old they then

Answer 3

actively seek out information and new experiences to help them confirm these beliefs through increasingly sophisticated gender schemas
- this in contrast with Kohlberg who believed that this ‘ searching ‘ only occurs after stage 3 of gender constancy had been reached

Question 4

initially the Childs gender identity schema is only likely to based upon stereotypical male or female behaviours ie girls wearing pink. however as

Answer 4

the Childs schema becomes more comprehensive with experience they have heightened self esteem due to the increasing confirmation about their gender identity , which they recieve from these schema

Question 5

the development of children’s gender schema creates an ‘ in-group ‘ and an ‘ out group ‘ children between

Answer 5

the ages of 3-7 will generally only identify with their own in-group , due to the self esteem they gain from this , but develop an equal appreciation of the other outgrow at the age of 8

Question 6

a weakness is gender schema theory takes on a hard determinist stance when explaining gender identity development , the theory suggest that

Answer 6

it should be possible to change a Childs behaviour if you change their stereotypes or provide them with conflicting stimuli from the opposite gender
however research such as that conducted by Kane and Sanchez has found that schemas and pre conceived ideas about gender roles and gender equality are very difficult to break and so have little impact on behaviour
- this means that the idea of gender schema takes a very rigid outlook on gender development

Question 7

a strength is that there is evidence supporting the idea that gender schemas may actually change or distort memory for example Martin and halverson found that

Answer 7

children are more likely to remember gender consistent as opposed to gender inconsistent , photos that had been displayed to them
schemas may also impact the cognitive processing of gender relevant information in such young children as they have been shown the change the main characters in gender inconsistent photographs to meet their own personal ideas and perceptions of gender constancy
- this provides significant support for the influence of gender schemes

Question 8

another strength is that gender schema theory and kohlbergs theory are best to be seen as complementary rather than polar opposites for example kohlbergs theory may explain

Answer 8

the process of children acquiring motivation to confirm their gender identity , after reaching the stage of gender constancy through seeking out experiences and role models which are gender consistent
on the other hand send schema theory may describe a different process where such schemas distort the memory and perception of a child as to what is gender constant to be followed up by kohlbergs stages