Cognitive Explanations Of Gender- Gender Schema Theory

Question 1

What is a gender schema

Answer 1

• a generalised mental representation of everything we know about gender and gender-appropriate behaviour derived from experience
• these schemas help a child make sense of the world as they form stereotypes about the ways that they think males and females behave

Question 2

Who developed the gender schema theory

Answer 2

Carol Martin and Charles Halverson (1981)

Question 3

What is the gender schema theory

Answer 3

According to Martin and Halverson, once a child has established gender identity around the ages of 2-3 years, he or she will begin to search the environment for information that encourages the development of their gender schema

Question 4

What similarities are there between the gender schema theory and Kohlberg’s theory

Answer 4

• both theories believe that a child’s thinking is at the basis of their development of gender role behaviours
• they both suggest that children’s understanding of gender increases with age
• they also share the view that children develop their understanding of gender by actively structuring their own learning, rather than passively observing and imitating role models

Question 5

What differentiates the gender schema theory from Kohlberg’s theory

Answer 5

GST argues that the process of acquiring gender-relevant information starts much earlier than Kohlberg suggested- children learn pre-programmed gender schemas between ages 2-3

Question 6

How does gender identity lead to in-group and out-group schemas

Answer 6

Through identifying as a boy or girl, children have a much better understanding of the schemas that relate to their own gender- they view their own group as the ‘in-group’ and the opposite as the ‘out-group’

Question 7

What are in-group gender schemas

Answer 7

Attitudes and expectations about ones own gender

Question 8

What are out-group gender schemas

Answer 8

Attitudes and expectations about the other gender

Question 9

What role do in-group and out-group schemas play in gender development

Answer 9

• in-group identity serves to increase the child’s level of self-esteem as they positively evaluate their own group and negatively evaluate outgroups (the other sex)
• this motivates the child to avoid the behaviour of the opposite sex and actively seek information about their in-group’s behaviour, acquiring an in-group schema
• it is not until children are a little older (around the age of 8) that they build more elaborate schemas for both genders

Question 10

Why are children’s gender beliefs resilient

Answer 10

A child holds rigid and firm gender schemas that are resistant to change, and this will drive them to ignore or misremember information that conflicts with their schemas (schematic anomaly) and selectively attend to gender-consistent information