Cognitive explanations of Gender Flashcards
Kohlberg’s theory
- need to interact with the environment to discover, process and understand new things
- child thinking becomes more complex and understanding becomes greater as they get older
define conservation
ability to understand that objects keep the same properties even if presented in a different form e.g. 2 halves are the same as one whole biscuit
gender identity
- age 1-3
- child recognises they’re boy or girl but believes they can change
- e.g. boy saying “ i’ll be a mummy when i grow up”
gender stability
- age 3-5
- child realises gender is fixed and remains stable over time
- understanding heavily influenced by external factors such as clothes and hair
gender constancy
- age 5-7
- child understands that not only is gender stable, but it’s consistent overtime and situations e.g girls can play rugby
consequence of maturation
children discover if they’re male or female then identify with members of their own sex
munroe et al.
- studied children across cultures - found they progress through the same stages therefore must be biologically driven
strengths of Kohlberg’s theory
supporting evidence
- Slaby & Frey found kids couldn’t answer gender identity questions right until 3-4yrs
- supports K’s theory of stages and the ages they occur
criticisms of Kohlberg’s theory
methodological issues
- Bem: 40% of kids as young as 3 understand gender conservation
- suggests S&F lack internal validity
gender differences
- girls less resistant to no stereotypical play as males have more power in society so also aspire to be like them
- development different between genders
gender constancy not required for identity
- Martin & little: kids as young as 4 had strong stereotypes and beliefs about what genders can and can’t do w/o having gender constancy
- suggests gender schema theory more appropriate
