Kohlberg's theory

• Gender development takes place through a process of maturation involving three stages
• stage one of maturation- gender identity-2-3 years, can identify own and others as boy/girl
• stage 2- gender stability 4-5 years, can identify as own gender along with that gender does not change over time, but doesn't understand it remains consistent across all situations.
• stage 3- gender constancy- 6-7 years, can identify- own gender, that gender doesn't change over time and gender remains consistent over all activities, eg a boy wearing a dress, also starts identifying with those of the same gender.
• strength- research support- slaby + frey- children below the age of 3 could identify their own gender, but didn't know what gender they would grow into. - supports the theory - children dont have stability at that age, valid explanation of gender development
• disadvantage- fails to consider the role of biology, if gender development is connected to cognition, it would change over time, like the way we think changes. Since this doesnt happen, gender development may have more of a biological basis eg Quadango- testosterone

  Theory may not be a full account of gender development, underestimates complex role of hormones
• Suffers from beta bias where diff is underestimated between girls and boys- Huston: easier to get girls to take on masculine behaviours than vice-versa, may be due to boys being punished more for gender-innapropriate behaviour than girls, furthermore, theory is limited, fails to explain this difference. Social learning theory principles involved in developing gender identity.
• gender identity/labelling, gender stability, gender constancy