gender schema - cognitive

• Schema


  A mental representation, a cluster of concepts relating to something in particular, a packet of knowledge, acquired through experience
• Gender Schema


  Contains information about how males and females should behave (gender-appropriate behaviour)
• How children acquire gender schemas


  Through experience and interaction with their environment
• Age when children start to develop gender schemas

  Once children have a basic gender identity (at the age of 2-3 years)
• Gender Schema Theory vs. Social Learning Theory

  Both assume children learn 'appropriate' patterns of behaviour by observation, but Gender Schema Theory assumes children's active cognitive processing of information also contributes to sex typing
• Gender Schema Theory vs. Kohlberg's Theory


  Gender Schema Theory suggests children start to enrich their gender schemas as soon as they have a basic gender identity (2-3 years), while Kohlberg argued children need to reach Gender Constancy (6-7 years) first
• Ingroup schema


  Information that relates to a group an individual identifies with, in the context of gender it contains information about the individual's own gender
• Outgroup schema


  Information that relates to the group an individual does not identify with, in the context of gender it contains information about the opposite gender
• Assimilation


  Experiences are 'fitted into' existing schemas
• Once gender schemas have developed

  They can provide a basis for interpreting the environment and children can concentrate on learning which activities are more appropriate for their gender, showing ingroup favouritism and outgroup discrimination
• Over time, children's self-perceptions become sex-typed
• Peer Relationships


  • Children show a preference for same-gender playmates and for gender-stereotypical activities, actively ignoring the other gender
  • Play with other children leads children to believe all girls/boys share the same interests, causing them to avoid the opposite gender
  • Children also develop knowledge of the potential consequences associated with different social relationships, realizing their peers will tease them if they play with the opposite gender