Cognitive Explanations - Kohlberg's Theory

Question 1

As a cognitive approach what does the theory focus on?

Answer 1

How children’s thinking about gender develops, with thinking occurring in qualitatively different stages. Gender identity is something children actively structure from their own experiences

Question 2

When does Kohlberg believe gender-role behaviour becomes apparent?

Answer 2

Only after an understanding emerges that gender is fixed and constant

Question 3

Who was Kohlberg influenced by?

Answer 3

Piaget, who was children progressing through stages of understanding as their biological maturity allowed them to do so

Question 4

What are gender concepts seen as occurring through?

Answer 4

Environmental interactions and restricted, biologically controlled mental capabilities at a given time

Question 5

What does a child’s discovery that they are male or female cause them to do?

Answer 5

Identify with members of their own gender

Question 6

How many stages does Kohlberg see children acquiring understanding of ‘male’ and ‘female’ in?

Answer 6

Three - they understand increasingly more sophisticated gender concepts, with a new stage appearing only after thinking has matured to a certain point

Question 7

Why do children understand gender differently at different ages?

Answer 7

Children actively structure their social experiences. It is not a passive social learning process occurring through observation and imitation

Question 8

What are the three stages?

Answer 8

Gender labelling, Gender stability and Gender constancy (consistency)

Question 9

What is gender labelling and when does it occur?

Answer 9

Basic gender identity - refers to children’s recognition of being male or female. This knowledge is fragile with ‘man’ and ‘woman’ being little more than labels. Children may choose the wrong label and don’t realise girls become women and boys become men
Occurs at between 18 months and 3 years

Question 10

What does Kohlberg see an individuals understanding of their gender as?

Answer 10

A realisation that allows them to understand and categorise their world

Question 11

What is gender stability and when does it occur?

Answer 11

Most children recognise that people retain gender for life but rely on superficial, physical signs to determine gender. If someone is superficially transformed e.g. woman having long hair cut short, children would infer the woman has changed gender
Occurs by the age of 3-5

Question 12

What is gender constancy and when does it occur?

Answer 12

Children realise that gender is permanent e.g. if a women shaves her head she is still a woman. Constancy represents an understanding that things remain the same despite changing appearances
Gender understanding complete when children appreciate that gender is constant over time and situations
Occurs by age 6-7

Question 13

What can only happen after gender constancy is reached?

Answer 13

Children start to develop gender concepts to suit their own gender
Children will value behaviours and attitudes associated with their gender
They will then identify with adults possessing the qualities seen as relevant to their concept of themselves as male or female e.g. imitating same-sex models and following sex- appropriate activities

Question 14

What did Maccoby and Jacobson call the part after gender constancy where children develop gender concepts to suit their gender?

Answer 14

Self-socialisation as it doesn’t depend on external reinforcements

Question 15

What was Slaby and Frey’s research?

Answer 15

Gave questions to 2-5 year old children to assess their level of gender constancy and then several weeks later showed them a film of a man and woman performing gender-stereotypical activities. Children with higher levels of gender constancy paid more attention to same-sex models than children with low-levels of gender constancy, suggesting that high gender-constancy children watch their own gender to acquire information about gender appropriate behaviours, supporting Kohlberg’s theory that gender is an active process.
Also showed gender constancy is a cause rather than an effect of the imitation of same-sex models

Question 16

What was Rabban’s research?

Answer 16

Found by asking questions about gender, that children’s thinking changes with age
By age 3, most children demonstrated gender identity but didn’t not have an understanding of what gender they would grow into.
By 5 - 97% demonstrated gender stability - supporting K’s theory

Question 17

What was Thompson’s research?

Answer 17

Found that by 2, children given pictures of boys and girls could select same-sex ones, demonstrating that children could self-label and identify the gender of others
By 3, 90% showed ender identity, compared with 76% of 2 year olds, showing the developmental nature is inline with what K suggested

Question 18

What was McConaghy’s research?

Answer 18

Found that if a doll was dressed in transparent clothing so its genitals were visible, children aged 3-5 judges its gender by its clothes, not its genitals - supporting K’s idea that at this age children use superficial indicators to determine gender

Question 19

What was Frey and Ruble’s research?

Answer 19

Informed children that certain toys were either ‘boy’ or ‘girl’ toys. Boys who had a higher level of gender constancy played with the ‘boy’ toys even if they were uninteresting. Girls of the same stage exhibited similar tendencies but to a lesser degree - supporting K

Question 20

What is a strength of Kohlberg’s theory?

Answer 20

Research evidence suggests that the concepts of gender identity, stability and constancy occurs in that order across many cultures lending support to K’s theory and suggesting biological mechanisms

Question 21

What is a problem with Kohlberg’s theory?

Answer 21

It predicts little or no gender specific behaviour before children acquire gender constancy but even in infancy boys and girls show preference for stereotypically male or female toys - children generally demonstrate gender-appropriate behaviours and reward such behaviours in peers before they have reached gender constancy - casting doubt on K’s ideas of universal stages of development

Question 22

What did Kohlberg underestimate - weakening his theory?

Answer 22

The age at which gender cognition occurs - Bem believes that children have an awareness of gender and gender-specific behaviours from around the age of 2 due to the development of gender schema

Question 23

Why is the focus on cognitive factors a weakness?

Answer 23

The theory overlooks important cultural and social factors such as the influence of parents and friends

Question 24

Is Kohlberg’s theory reductionist?

Answer 24

It is more holistic than reductionist - it combines SLT and biological developmental factors

Question 25

What is the final weakness of the theory?

Answer 25

It is mainly descriptive - it outlines the process of gender development but does not really explain how developments occur and therefore lacks depth