COGNITIVE EXPLANATIONS: KOHLBERGS THEORY Flashcards
Who did kohlberg base his theory on
Piaget theory of cognitive- developmental
What did piget suggest in the cognitive explanation (2)
- Piaget described all children as egocentric until the age of around 6 or 7. In other words, they assume everyone sees the world in the same way as they do. When they decentre, children begin to appreciate that other people’s views and feelings may not always match their own.
- Piaget also introduced the notion of conservation. Older children acquire the understanding that the properties of an object (the object’s “essence”) remain the same even when its outward appearance changes. This also occurs after around age 6 or 7. For instance, the same amount of liquid may “look different when placed in a different sized glass but the volume of liquid (provided none is spilt or drank!) remains the same.
Define gender identify (2)
Acquired around age 2.
The child recognises that they are a boy or a girl and possesses the ability to label others as such.
Define gender stability (2)
Happens around age 4.
The child understands that their own gender is fixed and they will be male or female when they are older.
Define gender constancy (2)
Usually reached by age 6 or 7.
The child realises that gender is consistent over time and situations; they begin to identify with people of their own gender and start to behave in gender-appropriate ways.
- What is the stages in development in KT (3)
- Kohlberg’s cognitive-developmental theory of gender is based on the idea that a childs understanding of gender (including what counts as appropriate gender-roles, behaviours and attitudes) becomes more sophisticated with age.
- Understanding of gender runs parallel to intellectual development as the child matures biologically
- Gender development is thought to progress through three stages. The ages suggested by Kohlberg are approximate and reflect the fact that the transition from stage to stage is gradual rather than sudden.
Explain the first stage: gender identity (3)
Egocentric
- Around the age of 2, children are able to correctly identify themselves as a boy or a girl= gender identity. - At 3, most children are able to identify other people as male or female, and can correctly respond to questions such as, Which one of these is like you?' if they are shown a picture of a man or a woman. Their understanding of gender tends not to stretch much beyond simple labelling. - Often, children of this age group are not aware that sex is permanent
- Explain the second stage: gender stability (2)
Egocentric
- realisation that they will always stay the same gender and that this is an aspect of themselves that remains consistent over time. - children of this age cannot apply this logic to other people in other situations. They are often confused by external changes in appearance - they may describe a man who has long hair as a woman and they also believe that people change sex if they engage in activities that are more often associated with the opposite gender (such as a female builder or a male nurse).
Explain the third stage: gender constancy ( 3)
De-centre
children recognise that gender remains constant and consistent across time and situations, and this understanding is applied to other people's gender as well as their own. they are no longer fooled by changes in outward appearance. Although they may regard a man Wearing a dress as strange or unusual, the child is able to acknowledge that he is still a man "underneath'. Now have cognitive ability to conserve
Explain imitation of role model (3)
Gender constancy is also significant in that children of this age begin to seek out gender-appropriate role models to identify with and imitate.
this connects closely with ideas in social learning theory (though social learning theorists, in contrast, argue that these processes can occur at any age rather than only after the age of 6). For Kohlberg, once the child has a fully developed and internalised concept of gender at the constancy stage, they embark upon an active search for evidence which confirms that concept.
What was the phase 1 study done by Frey et Al (3) for evidence of kohlbergs theory
- Interviewed 55 2 to 5-year-olds
- gender identity was tested by asking questions such as ‘are you boy or girl?’
- gender stability was tested by asking questions such as ‘when your grow up will you be a mummy or a daddy?’
- gender constancy was tested by asking questions such as ‘if you were opposite sex would you be a boy or girl?’
What was found in phase one in Frey’s study to support kohlbergs theory(2)
- Children with classified as low on gender consistency if they answered incorrect on gender labelling or gender stability items and otherwise were identified as high in gender constancy
- children’s responses to questions largely reflected the age of gender understanding identified by Kohlburg
What was the phase 2 study done by frey et al to support kohlbergs theory(2)
- Children shown short film showing man and women engaging in simple parallel activities on different sides of the screen
- the amount of times that children’s eyes were fixated on each side of the screen when measured
What was found in phase 2 in freys study supporting kohlbergs study(4)
- children with high levels of gender constancy were shown more selective attention to same-sex models
- high consistency boys watched the male model rather than the female model more than the low constancy boys→the opposite was true for girls
- selective attention to the same sex model was more stronger among the high constituency boys then among the high constituency girls
- both boys and girls spent more time watching the male model than the female model
- Conclude both phases of freys study supporting kohlbergs theory
all the results indicate influence of those cognitive and social factors in gender development
Define conserve
Do you understand the properties of an object stay the same even if appearance changes
Define de centre
Ability to observe world from other peoples perspectives
Define egocentric (2)
Only understand things through subjective experiences
Inability to view world through other peoples perspectives
Evaluate evidence that did not support KT (bandura’s study) (3) (-ve)
many children begin to demonstrate gender-appropriate behaviour
before gender constancy is achieved.
Bandura et Al: found that children as young as 4 reported 'feeling good' about playing with gender-appropriate toys and "bad' about doing the opposite. This contradicts what Kohlberg would predict, but may support gender schema theory suggests that children begin to absorb gender-appropriate information as soon as they identify themselves as either male or female.
- Evaluate Methodological issues of kohlbergs theory
developed using interviews with children who were, in some cases, as young as two or three.
Although the questions asked were tailored towards the particular age group he was dealing with, Kohlberg may not have acknowledged that very young children lack the vocabulary required to express their understanding. Such children may have relatively complex ideas about gender but do not possess the verbal ability to articulate these. Therefore, what they express does not truly represent their understanding.
Compare With SLT with kohlbergs theory(4)
- Social learning theorists would take issue with the notion that gender development occurs as a consequence of natural processes of maturation
- places much more emphasis on external influences on the child’s development, such as the role of socialisation, than
Kohlberg does. - Evidence suggests that boys have a much less flexible concept of gender role than females, and boys show greater resistance to opposite-sex activities than girls.
- These differences are likely to be social/cultural in origin and are difficult to explain from the perspective of cognitive-developmental theory.
- places much more emphasis on external influences on the child’s development, such as the role of socialisation, than
Compare kohlbergs theory with bio (2)
changes in a child’s understanding of gender are maturational would gain support from the biological approach which sees gender development as genetically
determined.
Kohlberg's explanation is in line with a biological viewpoint, suggesting that gender development is genetically governed. Kohlberg's stages are heavily influenced by changes in the developing child's brain and increased cognitive and intellectual capacity with age.
