Gender Schema Flashcards
Define Schema
A cognitive framework that helps organise and interpret information in the brain.
Helps individual make sense of new information
Who created gender schema?
Martin and Halverson
What did Martin and Halverson claim?
- That process of acquiring gender relevant info happens before gender constancy
- happens at gender labelling/identity
What does Martin and Halverson suggest the acquisition of stereotypes/schemas do?
They affect later behaviour, especially in terms of memory and attention
How do children learn schemas?
Learn schemas based on stereotypes related to their gender from other children, adults and media. Therefore they are related to cultural norms
What is gender schema?
Children learn schemas related to gender from their interactions with other people and the media
What is an ingroup schema?
the groups with which a person identifies with. E.g. if your a girl you identify with girls. Also with other groups such as the town your from, football team or boy bands
What happens once a child has identified with a group?
- positively evaluate their own group and negatively evaluate the outgroup
Why do they positively and negatively evaluate?
It enhances their self esteem and in turn motivates them to be like their own group and avoid behaviour of other groups
What does the ingroup/outgroup schemas also lead them to?
Leads them to actively seek out information about what their ingroup does. (In GST, before gender constancy, children focus on ingroup schemas and avoid behaviours that belong to outgroup schemas)
How does the GST explain the power of gender beliefs?
- Gender beliefs lead children to hold very fixed gender attitudes
- They ignore any info they encounter that is not consistent within ingroup information
- E.G. if boy sees male nurse they ignore because its nor consistent with his ingroup schema
- Gender schema has a profound effect on what is remembered and our perceptions around us
How does peer relationships affect gender schema?
- Play with other children leads to believe every boy shares same interests (vice versa)
- Avoid other sex because they’re ‘not like me’ therefore less fun to play with
- Develop knowledge about potential consequences associated with different social relationships e.g. peers may tease them if playing with other sex
- Therefore GS influence a child’s likelihood of developing social relationships with the same/ opposite sex peers
What age des the GST suggest that children don’t have comprehensive understanding/schema for both genders?
Before age 8
A03 Strength is that it can explain children’s behaviour in the absence of gender stereotyped behaviour from parents
- Children frequently exhibit highly stereotypical views of gender appropriate behaviour despite best efforts from parents (toys)
- explanation is that children actively seek to acquire gender-appropriate behaviour and ignore counter stereotypes
- Pingree found that exposing children to counter-stereotypes in TV adverts, boys actually showed stronger gender stereotypes
- This finding can be accurately explained by ingroup bias supporting its validity
A03 supporting evidence regarding the age at which children learn gender stereotyped behaviour
- Martin and Halverson found children under the age of 6 were more likely to remember photographs of stereotypically gendere-appropriate behaviours (woman washing dishes) than gender inappropriate photos when tested a week later
- Provides support for GST as children under 6 have understanding of gender stereotypes and gender (kohlberg wrong)
- Only remember gender appropriate supports ingroup bias
