Cognitive Explanations of Gender Development Flashcards
How does Kohlberg cognitively explain gender development?
Draws on own levels of moral development - that there are biologically predetermined stages we all go through when forming new ideas.
- Pre-conventional (obedience&punishment / individualism&exchange)
- Conventional (interpersonal relationships / authority&social order)
- Post-conventional (social contract / universal principles)
What is object permanence?
When you know something is there even if you can’t see it anymore.
What is conservation?
The idea that things are the same over time.
What are Kohlberg’s 3 stages of gender development?
- Gender Labelling
- Gender stability
- Gender constancy
What is the Gender Labelling (1) stage of Kohlberg’s cognitive theory?
~ 2-3 years old
~ Children label others and themselves
~ Pre-operational thinking
- lacks internal logic
- Not consistent because it’s based on external factors that can change
- Children gain schemata for simple masc. and fem. characteristics
What is the Gender Stability (2) stage of Kohlberg’s cognitive theory?
~ 4-7 years old
~ Children realise gender is stable over time
~ No concept of conservation
~ Children start to realise that gender and appearance are separate - anyone can perform any behaviour.
What is the Gender Constancy (3) stage of Kohlberg’s theory?
~ 7+ years
~ The belief that gender is entirely independent of time, place or appearance
~ Show preferences for gender-appropriate behaviour
~ Result of understanding that gender can’t change
~ Gender is fixed in child’s mind
~ Children will reject gender-inappropriate behaviour afterwards
Evaluate Kohlberg’s cognitive theory?
P - Lacks construct validity
E - Research shows boys develop constancy before girls, and girls perform masculine tasks for much longer than boys perform feminine tasks. Indicates a single stage for both genders is invalid.
E - Huston (1985) suggests due to SLT, male role models are more socially powerful so boys under greater pressure to identify with role models & do so quicker.
L - Highlights nature-nurture debate; Kohlberg & Piaget’s assumption of fixed, generalised stages based on biological determinism & ignore social learning factors.
What did Martin & Halverson (1981) add to Kohlberg’s (1966) theory?
Proposed 2 changes:
- Learning of gender-relevant info happens before gender constancy
- Gender labelling is enough to self-identify as a boy/girl.
- Children will show preferences for gender-appropriate behaviour here.
- The gender schema you form will have effects on your psychological functioning later in life - especially cognitive abilities like memory or attention span.
How does GST explain schemata?
- Children’s schemata are formed using info from TV/parents/school/etc.
- They contain information coloured by cultural norms.
- Gender schemata are therefore very simplistic and ‘black and white’ at first - they’re full of stereotypical info.
What is in-group and out-group bias?
- As children develop, they form schemata about other people as well as building their own gender schema.
- Links are made between parts of your self-schema and groups you identify with.
- Cognitive processing develops an in-group/out-group bias - this is natural and has evolutionary benefits
~ Maximisation of in-group positive qualities
~ Maximisation of out-group negative qualities