Gender Schema Theory

• What does Martin & Halverson’s Gender Schema Theory state about children's understanding of gender?

  It changes with age
• How does Gender Schema Theory relate to Kohlberg’s view?

  Children actively seek gender information
• What is a Gender Schema?

  An organized set of beliefs about gender
• What happens once a child establishes Gender Identity according to Martin & Halverson?

  They search for information to develop gender schema
• How does Martin & Halverson's view differ from Kohlberg’s regarding the development of gender schema?

  Martin & Halverson say it starts after Gender Identity
• How do Gender Schemas influence behavior in young children?

  They form around stereotypes
• What fixed idea do children have by age 6 regarding gender?

  What is appropriate for their gender
• Why are children likely to disregard certain information about gender?

  It does not fit their existing schema
• What do children understand better according to Ingroup Schemas?

  Schemas appropriate to their own gender
• How does ingroup identity affect a child's self-esteem?

  It serves to bolster their self-esteem
• What do children develop around age 8 regarding gender schemas?

  Elaborate schemas for both genders
• What research supports Martin & Halverson’s Gender Schema Theory?

  • Martin & Halverson (1983) study
  • Children under 6 remembered gender-appropriate behavior
  • They altered gender of inappropriate behavior in recall
• How do cultural differences affect gender schema according to Cherry (2019)?

  They influence processing of gender information
• What is a limitation of arguing specific ages in gender schema theory?

  Children may progress at different rates
• What does Zosuls et al's finding suggest about children's gender identity?

  Children label themselves earlier than thought
• What method did Zosuls et al (2009) use to collect data on children's language?

  Twice-weekly reports from mothers
• At what average age do children label themselves as a 'boy' or 'girl' according to Zosuls et al?

  19 months
• What does the finding about early gender labeling suggest about Martin & Halverson's theory?

  They may have underestimated children's abilities
• What is a strength for Gender Schema Theory?

  Research Support

  • Martin & Halverson’s (1983) study found that children under 6 were more likely to remember photographs of stereotypically gender appropriate behaviour when tested a week later
  • Children tended to change the gender of the person carrying out the gender-inappropriate activity in the photographs when asked to recall them
  • This supports the gender schema theory which predicts children under 6 would do this, in contrast to Kohlberg’s theory
• What is a strength for Gender Schema Theory?

  Cultural Differences

  • Cherry (2019) argues that gender schema not only influence how people process information, but also what counts as culturally-appropriate gender behaviour
  • In societies where perceptions of gender have less rigid boundaries, children are more likely to acquire more fluid gender schema, showing that gender schema theory can explain how gender schema are shared between members of a society
  • This contrasts with some other explanations of gender development, such as psychodynamic theory, which suggests gender identity is more driven by unconscious biological urges
• What is a strength for Gender Schema Theory?

  Specific Ages

  • It may not be appropriate to argue about specific ages for gender schema theory, as it suggests that the key point is the shifts in a child’s thinking and the ages are averages rather than absolute
  • It is possible that many children may move through stages quicker or slower than others, and it is the sequence of development that is more important
  • This suggests that Zosuls et al’s finding is not a fundamental criticism of the theory
• What is a limitation for Gender Schema Theory?

  Earlier Gender Identity

  • Zosuls et al (2009) collected data that was obtained from twice-weekly reports from mothers on their children’s language from 9 - 21 months, alongside videotaped analysis of the children at play
  • They key measure of gender identity was taken to be how and when children labelled themselves as a ‘boy’ or a ‘girl’, which occurred on average at 19 months, which suggests that children have a gender identity but just do not communicate it
  • This suggests that Martin & Halverson may have underestimated children’s ability to use gender labels about themselves