Kohlbergs Theory

• Kohlberg's theory claims that a child's understanding of gender develops with age, alongside his or her intellectual development as the child matures
• Kohlberg suggested 3 stages of gender development:

  • Stage 1 - Gender Identity
  • Stage 2 - Gender stability
  • Stage 3 - Gender constancy
• Stage 1 - Gender Identity (occurs from 2 years)

  • Child develops basic sense of gender identity
  • They can label themselves and others as male or female
  • Child is not clear whether gender is fixed or can change overtime
  • They rely on cues like hair and clothing to identify gender
• Stage 2 - Gender Stability (from around 4 years)

  • Child realises that their own gender is permanent and irreversible
  • They know their sex won't change but unsure whether this applies to others or that gender remains constant in different situations
  • Still rely on physical clues to identify gender
• Stage 3 - Gender Constancy (from around 6 years)

  • Child realises gender is constant in different situations even if an individual changes clothing or hair
  • Girls fully realise they will grow up to be women and vice vera
  • They look for models to assist them with learning their gender role, they look up to same sex models and become fully gendered
• Kohlberg believed that children will only develop their cognitive abilities to have developed enough to really understand that gender is not usually something that can change.

  This gives them a reason to find out everything they can about their own gender
• Children will imitate sam sex role models because they consider it appropriate, not because they are directly rewarded in any way for doing so. - this is a difference from SLT
• AO3 - Supporting evidence Slaby and Frey

  Showed children split screen images of males and females performing the same task.

  Young children spend around the same time watching either side of the screen, but older children who achieved gender constancy spent longer looking at the model who was same sex as them. Supports Kohlberg's theory of the age of gender constancy
• AO3 - Evidence against theory - Bussey and Bandura

  Suggested that gender appropriate behaviour starts much more earlier than Kohlberg suggested. 4 year olds said they felt good about playing with gender appropriate toys and bad about gender inappropriate toys, this contradicts Kohlberg but supports gender scheme theory
• AO3 - Historical bias, temporal validity

  Its possible that gender can change overtime with children cognitive development, but these changes may occur at a faster rate than originally suggested.

  This may now lead to an understanding of gender constancy at a younger age than Kohlberg suggested
• AO3 - experiment problems

  Kohlberg's theory was developed using interviews with children as young as 2 or 3, although he tailored the questions to the age groups he was asking, may be problems with the results.

  Children can be easily distracted or may be lying