gender development Flashcards
sex
biology, people are genetically male or female
gender
socialisation which influences behavioural patterns of boys and girls
chromosome differences
male: xy
female: xx
what are the sex differences
-different genitals
-males tend to be taller, heavier
-males more vulnerable in childhood as xy so a problem in x means there is no other x chromosome
-males have higher birth aggression, females tend to be more verbally aggressive
-females tend to have better verbal abilities/ poorer spatial abilities
-however sex differences are actually quite small, differences only seen at the extreme ends
what are gender role standards
patterns of behaviour expected of the two sexes
what are gender role stereotypes
often mistaken beliefs or perceptions within a society
what is gender typing
socialisation processes where a child becomes aware of being either a boy or girl and learning to behave appropriately to the gender role
what are the stages of gender development
-from birth: babies treated differently e.g clothes, toys, engagement specific to gender
-end of 1st yr: infants can discriminate males + females e.g pair voices with faces
-from 2nd yr: prefer gender appropriate toys (Maccoby 1998), most choose same sex play mates
-2.5-3 yrs: basic sense of gender identity, label themselves as boy/girl
-2-3: gender stereotyping (Kuhn: toddlers shown male and female doll and asked which activity they are most likely to engage in)
-4 yrs: gender stable across lifetime
-5-7 yrs: sex constant and not changed by will
gender development at school age
primary
-rigid gender stereotypes
-older children more flexible
puberty
-attitudes around sex roles are more rigid
-physical/emotional changes mean they try to incorporate gender to their identity
-majority wish to attract the opposite sex
social learning theory for developing gender
Bandura
-role models, imitation
-2 learning mechanisms
1= differnetial reinforcement: shaping child to be way you want them to be e.g reinforcing girls for helping cook
2= observational learning: watching and imitating behaviours of parents
differential reinforcement
Fagot et al
-in 2nd yr of life parents reinforce gender appropriate behaviours
Fagan et al
-consistent parents= children with clearest and earliest gender roles
peer influence: 2 yr old boys disrupt other boys cross gendered play
boyd and bee 2010
-parents that treat sons and daughters the same still have children that learn gender labels
observational learning
children 6-7 attend better to same sex models
-looser gender differences in parents’ task = less gender typing in children (Serbin)
-less gender typing with male females siblings
cognitive theory for gender development
Kohlberg 1966
-Piaget stages
1. gender identity at 2-3 yrs
2. gender stability over time at 4 yrs
3. gender constancy over situations at 5-7 yrs
what is self socialisation
active process
-children realise they are a boy or girl then look for same sex models for how to behave
strengths and weaknesses of piagets stage theory
+ stage like progression over cultures
- Bem, stages of gender development do not correlate to piagets stages
- gender segregation apparent well before 5-7 yrs when they have developed full gender concept
