Gender: the cognitive approach Flashcards
who developed the cognitive-developmental theory of gender
Kohlberg
how does age affect gender
our understanding of gender becomes more sophisticated with age
what is stage 1 called and what age does it occur
age 2
gender identity
what is stage 2 called and what age does it occur
age 4
gender stability
what is stage 3 called and what age does it occur
age 6
gender constancy
outline stage 1
children can identify their own gender
by age 3 they can identify if others are male or female
they don’t understand gender is permanent and think it can change
outline stage 2
they understand gender is permanent and their gender won’t change over time
they’re confused by external appearances
(they think a man with long hair is a woman)
they think someone has changed sex if they engage in activities associated with the opposite gender (eg: female builder or male nurse)
outline stage 3
understand gender is the same regardless of time or situation
no longer fooled by appearance > may think a man in a dress is weird but still know its a man
they seek out gender appropriate role models to adopt gender appropriate behaviour
AO3: evidence to support
Slaby and Frey (1975) showed split screen images of males and females doing the same task > younger kids spent the same time watching each sex but older kids (age 6) spent more time watching the same sex person
supports idea that children seek out same sex role models
cross cultural replications in Samoa, Kenya and Nepal found the same thing > suggests stages are universal
AO3: constancy not supported
Bussey and Bandura (1996) found children as young as 4 reported ‘feeling good’ and playing with gender appropriate toys and ‘bad’ about gender inappropriate toys
contradicts Kohlberg and suggests children seek out gender appropriate role models earlier
AO3: methodological issues
he interviewed children about gender using structured interviews
children as young as 2 were interviewed and asked to explain their gender
children may understand the complexity of gender and just be unable to articulate it
their answers may not truly represent their understanding
therefore it lacks validity
