cognitive explanations of gender development

• cognitive explanations: -focus on thinking - trying to explain how childrens thinking about gender changes and develops over time

  • explanations assume cognitive changes occur with maturation
• Kohlbergs theory: claimed there were 3 stages to gender development
• Kohlberg - Stage 1- Gender Identity: - 2-3 years old

  • can label / identify themselves
  • can label others
  • basis for identification heavily reliant on someones external appearance
  • dont understand the permanence of gender
• Kohlberg - Stage 2 - Gender Stability: - 4-6

  • children realise gender is stable over time
  • struggle applying this to others
  • still believe gender may change across situations
  • understanding still heavily reliant on gender stereotypes of external appearance
• Kohlberg - Stage 3- Gender constancy: - 7 plus

  • realise gender is constant over time and across situations
  • due to greater awarenss of anatomical differences and that these biological differences are linked to gender
  • Kohlberg predicted that only once a child has achieved gender constancy would they actively seek out gender appropriate behaviours from role models
• Gender schemas: -an organized package of knowledge about the characteristics and behaviours associated with males and females

  • built over time through experience of the world
  • gender schemas can result in the formation of sex-role stereotypes
• out group schema: opposite gender schema: what is appropriate for gender schema
• In group schema: own gender schema: what is appropriate for own gender
• Gender Schema theory: - child achieves gender identity at about 2-3 years + begin to search for gender related information.

  • gender schema becomes more developed forming their in-group schema
  • identify behaviours traits + activities associated with the opposite sex - formation of out-group schema
• Gender schema theory part 2: - attention directed towards activities associated with their own sex, in group schema and tend to ignore activities associated with the other sex, out group schema

  • in group schema strengthens child becomes even more motivated to behave in ways consistent with their in group gender schema as it increases their self esteem - more likely to show increased sex-type behaviour
• Gender schema part 3: - process of building and refining in group and out group schema results in increasingly sophisticated schema about what it means to be male or female

  • this is what drives gender development
• GST PREDICTS: Children begin to develop aquire gender schemas as soon as gender identity achieved
• RESEARCH - Slaby and Frey: - divided 55 children aged 2-5 into 'High gender constancy (GC)' or Low gender constancy (GC)' groups and asked them to watch a split screen programme

  • On one side was a man and on the other side of the screen was a female - both were performing a variety of interesting activities
  • Found High GC children spent significantly longer watching and paying attention to the same-sexed model, Low GC children = no clear preference.
• Kohlberg - Slaby and frey - strength: - Supports Kohlberg theory

  • Findings validate Kohlbergs prediction that active search for gender related info was only obtained once gender constancy has been achieved
• GST- Slaby and Frey - criticism: - Research by Slaby and frey criticises Gst theory

  • all children were of age to have fromed their in and out group schema and so if GST were accurate all children should have been paying mor eattention to the same gender model
  • questions validity of GST
• RESEARCH - Bandura and Bussey: - found children as young as 4 reported 'feeling good' after playing with gender appropriate toys

  • feeling bad about playing with toys that arent gender appropriate
• kohlberg - Bandura Bussey - weakness: - Findings contradict Kohlberg as cant account for why 3 year old children feel good or bad after playing with the appropriate toys as according to them they wouldn't have reached gender constancy and wouldn't have fully developed understanding of gender appropriate behaviours
• GST-Bandura and Bussey- Strength: - Findings validate GST as this theory predicts by age 3 children will have begun to develop their gender schema and such they will have developed an understanding of gender appropriate behaviours , explaining why they feel good for engaging in gender appropriate activities.
• Weakness - Methodological: p- research into cognitive explanation relies on measuring childrens cognitions

  1. not possible to be sure what they say is actually what they are thinking - research have to make inferences

  E - however its possible young children misinterpret questions or don't possess the relevant vocabulary to express their true knowledge, or whether the methods of testing result in demand characteristics