Gender schemas

• The Gender schema theory is a cognitive-developmental theory which argues that children's understanding of gender increases with age.
• What is a Gender Schema?

  An organised set of beliefs and expectations related to gender that are derived from experience.
• Once a child has established a gender identity they will begin to search the environment for information that encourages the development of gender schema.

  • contrasts with Kohlberg as he views that the process only begins after they have progressed through all stages
• Schemas are likely to be formed around stereotypes and these provide a framework that directs experience as child's understanding of themselves.

  • Children are likely to disregard information that does not fit with their schema
• Children tend to have a better understanding of the schema that is appropriate to their gender - the ingroup
• less likely to pay attention to the opposite gender - the outgroup
• around age 8

  • children develop elaborate schemas for both genders
• the ingroup identity also serves to strengthen their own self-esteem
• Halverson's study found that children under the age of 6 were more likely to remember photographs of gender-consistent behaviour when tested a week later

  • children would change the sex of the gender-inconsistent photographs when asked to recall them
• Martin and Little found that children under 4 showed no signs of gender stability or constancy, but demonstrated strongly sex-types behaviours and attitudes.
• The Gender Schema theory can account for the fact that young children tend to hold very fixed and rigid attitudes

  • children ignore things they don't understand because it doesn't fit in their schema
• Children display a strong in-group bias in terms of how they process information this explained by the fact children pay more attention to information that is relevant to themselves
• the Gender Schema theory overemphasises the role of individual gender development

  • likely that the importance of schemas is exaggerated
  • may not be sufficient attention paid to the role of social factors such as parental influence

  Does not fully explain why gender schemas develop.