Week 10: identity and gender development Flashcards
When does identity development begin?
In infancy
When does identity development become a focus?
In adolescence
What did Erikson propose about trust in infancy?
By the second year of life, securely attached infants develop a sense of trust and confidence, becoming increasingly interested in new people, places and experiences
Coincides with new abilities to explore, think and communicate
More trust = the more safe you feel
Autonomy in toddlerhood?
Child’s capacity to be independent and self-directed
Is healthy when toddlers encounter a reasonable balance between freedom to explore and control
Sense of self in toddlerhood?
Infants develop a sense of self but before this, they don’t perceive themselves as any different from anyone else
Occurs in stages
- Self-recognition and awareness
- Self-description and evaluation
- Knowledge of standards and emotional response to wrongdoing
Self-identity in middle childhood?
They develop a deeper understanding of the kind of person they are and begin to understand the extent of their popularity, academic competence, confidence etc
By what age are children able to better integrate different traits and ideas about themselves?
10-12 years
What is achievement motivation and what are the 2 forms?
Showing initiative and persistence in attaining goals and increasing competence via
- Learning orientation: motivation that comes from within the learner
- Performance orientation: motivation that comes from significant others
What is almost forced onto adolescents?
The process of identity formation through increased cognitive capacity and societal pressure
Adolescence is characterized by risk-taking, what are the two kinds?
Risk taking can also be considered to be exploratory behaviours
Can be:
- Positive: enhance functioning, development, and identity without leading to compromising situations
- Negative: result in detrimental consequences to health, safety and relationship
Adolescence who are already sure of their identity are not as likely to…
Engage in negative risk-taking behaviours
Eriksons crisis of adolescence is….
Identity vs role onfusion
Involves the development of a coherent sense of self through exploration and belief system
What did Marcia propose?
Extended Erikson’s model arguing that the adolescent stage consists neither of identity resolution nor confusion but the degree to which one has explored and committed to an identity
What were the 2 main parts of Marcia’s adolescent identity development view?
Crisis: a time of upheaval when one’s values and choices are being explored and reevaluated
Commitment: when the crisis is being resolved, and one decides to invest in a course of action, role or value
What are Marcia’s actual stages of identity development?
- Identity diffusion
- Identity foreclosure
- Identity moratorium
- Identity achievement
Explain the identity diffusion stage of Marcia’s model
Neither crisis or commitment
Typical of early adolescents who have not yet experienced crisis nor made a commitment
Most unsophisticated identity status
If continue - making underlying identity insecurities
Explain the identity foreclosure stage of Marcia’s model
Commitment only
Committed to an identity but without exploration
Become what others want them to become without deciding for themselves
Often commit early to job and relationship and unlikely to change
A means to reduce anxiety
Explain the identity moratorium stage of Marcia’s model
Crisis/exploration only
Confused, unstable, disorientated, rebellious, and uncooperative, anxious
Generally have permissive parents
Explain the identity achievement stage of Marcia’s model
Crisis/exploration + committment
Can take many years
Evaluate their choices and come to their own decision
Self-acceptance, stable self-definition and commitment to a course of action
Which of Marcias stages is built from greater parental support and encouragement?
Associated with moratorium status but they may also be susceptible to foreclosure
In relation to Marcia’s stages, supportive peers can…
Inhibit foreclosure status (stop you conforming to parents views)
Teachers can…
Encourage students to be independent and encourage them to explore more things
Gender differences in identity development?
Males tend to form a form identity before entering intimate relationships
Female identity is more tied up with relationships than is male identity
What does Erikson say about identity in early adulthood?
The tasks of early adulthood are to develop the ability tp establish close committed relationships and tolerate the threat of fusion and loss of individual identity that comes with intense intimacy
What does Erikson say about identity in middle adulthood?
The tasks are to expand ego interest and to establish and nurture the next generation
Can be a time of significant change and often results in a reassessment of priorities
What does Erikson say about identity in late adulthood?
The task is to find integrity in the face of loss
Activity theory: those who maintain activity levels age more successfully
Disengagement theory: reduced social involvement is a natural and mutual process between older adults and society
What is sex?
Physiological fact
Possession of XX or XY chromosomes
Give rise to primary and secondary sex characteristics
What is gender?
A socio-psychological construct
One’s sense of being female, male or something else
A fundamental aspect of one’s social identity
Can set the parameters of social expectations
What are gender roles and their development?
Defined by the range of behaviours expected by a particular group
Learning to behave in ways that are consistent with group norms for males and females
Young children can be..
actually quite sexist
Gender stereotyping may…
Limit activities or opportunities for learning, males and females are treated differently right from birth
Male-female differences in social behaviours are established early and do increase with age. What do we see by the age of 2?
Girls: greater compliance and less independence than boys
Boys: actively explore their environment to a greater extent than girls
Overall, have there been consistent findings between males and females?
No. There are no strong and consistent personality differences between males and females
Sociobiological view of gender development?
Modern gender roles have their roots in prehistoric male-female role differences
Evolved over millions of years in response to environmental demands and natural selection
These roles are still played out today despite modern technology that make these roles largely interchangeable
Hormonal differences in gender development?
Male and female hormones may influence gender-typed behaviour
What evidence is there towards the hormonal view of gender development?
Mothers that have been given androgens (male hormones) during pregnancy, their daughters exhibit a greater preference for male companions and have more masculine play patterns and toy interests
And this is reversed if boys are exposed to higher levels of female hormones in utero
Boys with underdeveloped genitals or accidental castration, if bought up as a girl they express gender identity dissatisfaction at puberty
Social learning models of gender development?
Considers the social environment in the acquisition of gender roles and gender-typed behaviour
Seen to be learned through reinforcement of gender-appropriate behaviors via modelling (provided by adults, peers or wider societal models and media)and self-regulation
However, overall the influence of reinforcement by adults and the media is…
Quite modest
The social learning model does not account for
The fact that gender role rigidity varies across developmental stages (children are more and less likely to care about what boys/girls can or cannot do at different stages)
Doesn’t consider different developmental stages nor the role that maturation may play
Cognitive theories may address some of its weaknesses
Cognitive model of gender development?
Children as active processors/seekers of gender-based info
Construct their own roles by monitoring and selecting the environment
Largely self-socialise into their gender roles and seek information relevant to it and practise relevant behaviours
What is Kohlberg’s 3 stage cognitive development model of gender identity acquisition?
- Gender labelling: 2.5-3.5 years children learn to assign the labels of girl and boy or man and woman on the basis of appearance
- Gender stability: 3.5-4.5 years children become aware of the permanency of gender, but may be fooled by appearances
- Gender constancy: 4.5-7 years children see gender as consistent across time and context, no longer fooled by appearances
What is the gender schematic processing theory?
As soon as children have acquired their own gender identity, they begin to build a gender-based schema
Children are concerned about the gender appropriateness of objects and play activities
They filter information and opportunities according to an internalized cognitive framework (e.g. ignore things like their dad doing the dishes because it doesn’t fit their schema. if they see it enough, they will start to incorporate it in) - this may be an explanation towards relatively weak effects of modelling because they ignore some things
What are the weaknesses of cognitive models of gender identity acquisition?
Minimize the influence of the social environment
No clear links between gender-based cognitions and gender-types behavior
Flexible gender roles?
Allow males and females to behave in ways that freely integrate traditional gender-type behaviours
Gender-role transcendence?
Individuals are viewed as individuals, not masculine, feminine or androgynous
