Gender: gender schema theory

Question 1

who developed the theory

Answer 1

Martin and Halverson

Question 2

similarities with Kolberg’s cognitive theory

Answer 2

both suggest children develop their understanding by actively seeking out role models

Question 3

define gender schema

Answer 3

a mental representation regarding everything we know about gender appropriate and gender inappropriate behaviour based on prior experience

Question 4

at what age do children establish their gender identity

Answer 4

around 2 or 3
they search the environment for information that encourages them to develop their gender schema

Question 5

outline gender ingroups and outgroups

Answer 5

ingroup: children actively seek out info about how members of their group should behave

outgroup: they ignore information that doesn’t relate to their group

Question 6

how do gender schemas develop

Answer 6

through stereotypes and direct experience

Question 7

describe gender identity by age 6

Answer 7

their understanding is fixed and stereotypical
likely to disregard info that doesn’t fit in their schema

Question 8

AO3: research to support

Answer 8

Martin and Halverson found that children aged 6 were more likely to remember images of people doing stereotypical gender appropriate behaviour than gender inappropriate when tested a week later
they often changed the gender of the person carrying out inappropriate behaviour so that it was appropriate
shows they have a gender schema and ignore gender inappropriate behaviour

Question 9

AO3: research to go against

Answer 9

research suggests gender identity occured earlier than suggested
longitudinal study of 82 children found children labelled themselves as a boy or girl at 19 months, almost as soon as they began to communicate
suggests children understand gender identity but just can’t communicate it
suggests they underestimated children

Question 10

AO3: cultural differences

Answer 10

the theory explains cultural differences in stereotypical gender appropriate behaviour
Cherry suggests gender schema determines what is culturally gender appropriate
traditionally women are domesticated and men are career based > in societies with less rigid standards children have more fluid gender schemas
explains why different cultures have different definitions of what is gender appropriate

Question 11

AO3: other explanations

Answer 11

the idea that children play an active role in developing their identity has been questioned
psychodynamic researchers suggest it’s unconscious
Freud claims gender develops through the oedipus and electra complex and internalising behaviour of same sex parents
weakness as there are contradicting ideas from alternative explanations