Cognitive explanations of gender Flashcards
what are the two cognitive explanations of gender theory
- kohlbergs theory
- gender schema theory
how many stages are in kohlberg’s theory
3
what did kohlberg base his theory on
the way that we think changes and gets more sophisticated as we get older
name the three stages of kohlberg’s theory
- stage 1 - gender identity
- stage 2 - gender stability
- stage 3 - gender constancy
what is stage 1 of kohlberg’s theory
gender identity
what is stage 2 of kohlberg’s theory
gender stability
what is stage 3 of kohlberg’s theory
gender constancy
when does stage 1 of kohlberg’s theory occur
aged 2-3
when does stage 2 of kohlberg’s theory occur
aged 4-6
when does stage 3 of kohlberg’s theory occur
aged 7 plus
what are children in stage 1 of kohlberg’s theory understand
- correctly label their own gender
- know people are either boy/girl
- bases labelling off physical characteristics
what does a child in stage 1 of kohlberg’s theory not understand
- sex is permanent overtime
- that gender goes beyond superficial outward physical characteristics (eg length of hair)
what does a child in stage 2 of kohlberg’s theory undersyand
- gender is fixed over time (will always be a girl if a girl)
- THEIR gender doesn’t change even if outward appearance does
what does a child in stage 2 of kohlberg’s theory not understand
- other people’s gender doesn’t change even if their outward appearance does
- labelling other people is driven by sex role characteristics (long hair/activities typical of one gender eg builder)
what does a child in stage 3 of kohlberg’s theory understand
- everyone’s gender is fixed overtime, stays the same despite appearance changes
- begin learning gender appropriate behaviour
what is significant about stage 3 of kohlberg’s theory
children begin learning gender appropriate behaviour and seek role models
who came up with gender schema theory
Martin and Halverson
what is a schema
cognitive mental framework of expectations that help us organise information
what is a gender schema
expectations related to gender which help us understand our own and others gender appropriate behaviour
what do the cognitive explanations say about gender development
gender development lies in children seeking to acquire information about their own gender
in what two ways is the gender schema theory different to kohlberg’s theory
- the interest in gender appropriate behaviour begins before gender constancy
- schemas affect later behaviour
what is an ingroup schema
the group the person identifies with
what ingroups would a girl identiify with
- ‘girl’ ingroup
- singer she likes
- football team she likes
etc
what is an outgroup schema
the groups a person does not identify with
what effect on perception do ingroup and outgroup schemas have
- positively view ingroup, negatively view outgroup
(to enhance self esteem)
what effect does outgroup have on a person’s behaviour
avoid the behaviour resembling the outgroup
how can gender schema theory explain the power of gender beliefs
children hold fixed gender attitudes because they ignore any information that isn’t consistent with the ingroup information
what happens if information doesn’t fit with our gender schema
it is ignored or misremembered - leading to mistakes and influences perception of the world
how do gender schemas affect peer relationships
children think children of the opposite sex should be avoided because they are unlike them and therefore are not fun - will be teased if play w those of opposite sex
do gender schemas increase the likelihood of developing social relationships with same sex peers or decrease
increase
at what age does a child have a schema of the opposite sex as developed as theirs
aged 8-10
when does the assumption that what a childs own gender does is preferable get abandoned
adolescence
