Cogntive Explanations Of Gender- Kohlbergs Theory

Question 1

What is a cognitive-developmental theory

Answer 1

A theory which explains how children change as they get older in terms of changes in the way they think

Question 2

Who developed the first cognitive-developmental theory of gender

Answer 2

Lawrence Kohlberg (1966)

Question 3

What is Kohlberg’s theory of gender development

Answer 3

The idea that a child’s understanding and mental concept of gender becomes more sophisticated with age as a result of biological maturation

Question 4

How does Kohlberg’s theory link to Piaget’s theory of cognitive development

Answer 4

• Piaget described all children as egocentric until the age of around 6 or 7, that is that they assume everyone sees the world in the same way as they do
• Piaget also introduced the idea of conservation and suggested this also occurs around the age of 6 or 7
• this ideology is akin to kohlberg’s theory regarding gender; before the age of 6, children do not understand that a person remains the same even when their outward appearance changes

Question 5

What is conservation

Answer 5

The understating that the physical properties of an object or substance remain the same even when its outward appearance changes

Question 6

What are the three stages of kohlberg’s theory

Answer 6

1. Gender identity (2-3 years old)
2. Gender stability (4-5 years old)
3. Gender constancy (6 years onwards)

Question 7

What is gender identity

Answer 7

Children can recognise and correctly identify themselves and others as boy/male or girl/female, but this understanding does not stretch beyond simple labelling and children do not view gender as fixed- it is based on outward appearance

Question 8

What is gender stability

Answer 8

Children understand that their own gender is consistent over time and remains fixed but they cannot apply this logic to other people in other situations- still influenced by outward appearance

Question 9

What is gender constancy

Answer 9

Children understand that gender remains the same across time and situations, and they begin to identify with people of their own gender and start to behave in stereotypically gender-appropriate ways

Question 10

Name and outline a study which supports the sequences of stages in gender development

Answer 10

Slaby and Frey (1975):
- asked young children questions such as ‘when you grow up, will you be a mummy or daddy?’
- children were only able to recognise these traits were stable over time once they reached the age of 4