Evaluation

• Research support

  One strength of Kohlberg's stage theory is that evidence suggests that gender stereotyping does begin around the age of 6 as he predicted:

  • Damon told children a story about a boy who played with dolls
  • Four-year-olds said that it was okay
  • Six-year-olds said that it was wrong
  • Therefore, this suggests that children who have achieved gender constancy have formed rigid stereotypes regarding gender-appropriate behaviour
• Counterpoint to research support

  • Bussey and Bandura found that children as young as four 'felt good' about playing with gender-appropriate toys and felt 'bad' about playing with the opposite
  • This contradicts Kohlberg's predictions but may support gender schema theory
• Methodological issues

  One limitation of Kohlberg's theory is that supporting research relies on unsatisfactory methods:

  • Methodological issues arise from interviewing children to investigate cognitive theories
  • Children do not have fully formed opinions or the vocabulary required to express them
  • They may also unknowingly conform to interviewer bias as they are more impressionable than adults
• Research support

  One strength of Kohlberg's theory is that there is evidence that supports gender-seeking behaviour:

  • Slaby and Frey showed children a screen with a male and female performing a task
  • Young children spent equal time watching both genders
  • Older children spent more time watching the model of the same sex
  • Therefore, this research supports Kohlberg's theory of seeking gender-appropriate role models to identify with