Cognitive Explanations of Gender

• According to cognitive explanations of gender…

  We use mental processes to understand gender and we develop an understanding of gender over the course of our childhood
• What does 'understanding gender' mean?

  Recognizing our own gender and recognizing what gender other people are.
• According to Kohlberg’s theory of gender, a child’s understanding of gender is influenced by biological factors, nature, nurture, and learning.
• According to Kohlberg’s theory of gender, our understanding of gender is constructed from our childhood experiences and refined by brain maturation.
• What does Gender constancy mean?

  The understanding that gender remains consistent across different situations.
• What does Gender stability mean?

  The understanding that gender remains consistent across time.
• Gender Labelling is where...

  Recognize their gender

  Recognize gender labels

  Hasnt gathered gender stability

  Hasnt gathered gender constancy
• According to Kohlberg, gender labeling is when children begin to recognise gender labels and their genders but have not achieved gender stability or consistency. (roughly aged 2-3)
• Kohlberg's theory of gender, also states that children can only begin to imitate same-gender models and adopt gender stereotypical behaviour after the final stage, when they have acquired gender constancy. 
• Slaby and Frey’s findings support Kohlberg’s idea that children imitate the gendered behaviour of same-gender models only if they have acquired gender constancy.
• Slaby and Frey's study was correlational and tested both children's understanding of gender and how much children paid attention to same-gender models.
• Slaby & Frey found that children first understand gender labeling, then acquire gender stability, and then acquire gender constancy. They also found that older children were more likely to pay attention to same-gender models.
• A limitation of the Slay's and Freys study is that they used self-report on younger children meaning there collected data may not be objective and may lack validity.
• First, Frey and Slaby’s study showed variation in the ages at which children entered each stage of Kohlberg’s theory of gender.

  behavior and, second, Bauer showed that there may be gender differences when children begin to imitate gender-stereotyped behaviour
• A 1990 study by Martin and Little found that children aged three to five lacked gender constancy, but still understood and followed gender-stereotyped behaviors.

  This suggests that children sometimes imitate same-gender models before they acquire gender constancy, which is a limitation of Kohlberg’s theory of gender.
• According to Martin and Halverson, (Challenging Kohlberg's theory) children begin to imitate models of the same-gender at the gender labelling stage.
• Martin and Halverson’s gender schema theory says that…

  Children acquire an understanding of gender through constructing gender schemas and that gender schemas influence children’s behavior.
• What is an In-group?

  An in-group is a group of people with whom we feel we belong and identify.
• What is an Out-group?


  An out-group is a group of people with whom we feel are different from us and that we don't identify with.
• Campbell et al (2000)​ supports the idea that...

  Young children pay more attention to in-groups.

  Children identify with people of the same gender before they acquire gender constancy.
• Martin and Little measured children’s gender constancy, as well as their understanding of gender stereotypes and their preference for gender-stereotyped activities.Campbell et al  observed young children, and compared the amount of time that children spent watching models of the same gender and the opposite gender.Both studies support gender schema theory’s prediction that children identify with same-gender models before they have acquired gender constancy.
• Martin and Halverson found that children were more likely to remember pictures of people behaving according to gender stereotypes and have gender schemas that bias their memory.
• An application of gender schema theory is…

   it explains why people have firmly-held beliefs about gender which don't change even when faced with evidence that goes against gender stereotypes.
• Campbell et al’s 2002​ study supports one aspect of gender schema theory, which is that we display gender-stereotyped behavior before acquiring gender constancy.
• Campbell et al found that there was no relationship between a child’s awareness of gender stereotypes and their tendency to behave in a gender-stereotyped way.

  Alexander et al found that gender-stereotyped behaviour may occur even earlier than suggested by Martin and Halverson.
• Two researchers called Martin and Halverson challenged Kohlberg’s theory of gender, by arguing that children imitate same-gender models as soon as they learn gender labels. They proposed that a child’s understanding of gender is actually acquired through developing gender schema, which then influence children’s behaviour. Once these have been developed, children identify with and imitate people of the same gender, because they see them as their in-group. They see people of the other gender as the out-group.
• In 2000, Campbell et al conducted an observational study in which they recorded the behaviour of infants aged 3, 9 and 18 months, while they were in the presence of a child either of the same gender or of a different gender. They found that infants displayed a significant preference for watching other children of the same gender as them. This suggests that children identify with children of the same gender well before they are old enough to acquire gender constancy. 
• Martin and Halverson showed children aged five or six pictures of people, some of whom were engaged in an activity stereotypical of that person’s gender. For example, the pictures included pictures of female nurses and male football players. Other pictures showed people engaged in an activity not stereotypical of that person’s gender, such as pictures of male nurses or female football players.
• Martin and Halverson found that children were more likely to remember the pictures which showed people behaving consistently with gender stereotypes, which supports the idea that children form gender schemas which influence their memory.
• Campbell et al’s study recorded the behaviour of infants aged 3, 9 and 18 months, while they were in the presence of a child either of the same gender or of a different gender. They found that infants displayed a significant preference for watching other children of the same gender as them. This suggests that children identify with children of the same gender well before they are old enough to acquire gender constancy, which supports gender schema theory.
• Campbell et al

  Found no association between a child’s awareness of their own gender, and gender-stereotyped behaviour. This would suggest that children don’t need to identify with an in-group in order to imitate these behaviours. Instead, the study might suggest that we display gender-stereotyped behaviour due to non-cognitive factors.
• Alexander et al. concluded from this study that there was a preference for gender-stereotyped toys very early on in cognitive development, before the age where gender schemas start to develop. This may indicate that cognitive factors such schemas have a less significant role than Martin and Halverson supposed. Instead, biological factors such as hormones and brain structure may be a more significant influence on gender development.