Gender: Cognitive explanations of gender development-Kohlbergs Theory Flashcards
Make 2 starting points about Kohlberg’s theory of gender development?
-it focuses on the childs understanding of gender
-children aren’t born with masculine/feminine behaviours , but they develop gender roles as their cognitive understanding of the world develops
What are the 3 main assumptions within Kohlbergs Theory?
-children develop an understanding of gender in 3 stages that are linked to age
-boys and girls only show differences in gender behaviour when they understand gender is constant and cant change
-this happens at about age 6
Name the 3 stages within Kohlbergs theory and the corresponding ages in which they occur
Stage 1-gender identity (age 2 to 3)
Stage 2-gender stability (age 4 to 5)
Stage 3-gender constancy (age 6 to 7)
Make 3 points about the gender identity stage
-at age 2 children can correctly identify themselves as male/female
-at age 3 they can also correctly identify other peoples gender
-gender is not seen as stable over time or across changes in physical appearance
Make 3 points about the gender stability stage
-children recognise their own gender is fixed over time
-they think that physical changes in appearance can lead to changes in their gender
-they believe people change sex if they engage in activities associated with the opposite gender
Make 2 points about the gender constancy stage
-child understands gender is constant over time for all people and remains same regardless of appearance and activity
-child pays attention to same sex role model-acts in a gendered way only when they reach gender constancy
Define the terms conservation and reversibility in terms of gender development
conservation-understanding gender remains constant over time
reversibility-understanding gender can go back to how it was before an appearance change
State and describe the 3 processes that drive transition through the 3 stages of gender development
maturation-understanding of gender develops as biological maturity increases
socialisation-children actively construct their social world by seeking out gendered experiences
lessening egocentrism-at the age of 6 , children begin to understand other peoples point of view therefore they can begin to understand the gender of others
What does egocentrism mean?
assuming/believing that everyone sees the world the same way that you do
When children are egocentric , what do they not show?
What process enables children to become less egocentric and see that other people are different to them?
conservation and reversibility
decentration
During the gender identity stage , are children egocentric?
Explain why making 2 points
children are egocentric , as they don’t show conservation(think gender can change over time) and they don’t show reversibility as they think physical changes and cause gender to change
During the gender stability stage , are children egocentric?
Make 3 points explaining this
children are still egocentric
decentration begins because children show conservation as they understand their gender is fixed , however they still don’t show reversibility as they believe physical changes lead to gender changes
Are children egocentric during the gender constancy stage?
Make 2 points explaining this
children are not egocentric , as decentration has occurred because they understand gender stays constant over time and that physical changes do not cause gender change
Give a piece of evidence that supports Kohlbergs theory
+Slaby and Frey 1975
showed 2 to 5 year old children a split screen film of man changing a tyre and a woman baking cakes
-they found children with gender constancy paid more attention to their same sex role models and children who hadn’t reached gender constancy were equally interested is both films
-this supports the theories assumption that children only pay attention to same sex role models when they are gender constant
Give another piece of evidence that supports Kohlbergs theory
+Munroe et al 1994
showed the 3 stages of development were similar in other cultures such as in Kenya , Nepal etc
-these similarities imply that cognitive maturation is a universal process so it most probably has a biological basis , this adds external validity to the theory
