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Gender schema theory - Cognitive explanations for gender development -…
Gender schema theory - Cognitive explanations for gender development
Martin and Halverson developed this theory
Gender schema theory sees gender identity alone as providing children with the motivation to assume sex-typed behaviour patterns
The difference between this approach and kohlbergs is that for initial understanding of gender to develop, children do not need top understand that gender is permanent
The approach sees children learning appropriate patterns of behaviour by observation, but similarly to kohlberg, children's active cognitive processing of information also contributes to sex typing
Gender schema, an organised grouping of related concepts about each sex and sex appropriate behaviour, begins to develop at 2-3 years and once children have gender identity
Children then begin to accumulate knowledge about the sexes, organising this into gender schemas. These schemas provide a basis for interpreting the environment and selecting appropriate forms of behaviour - therefore childrens self perceptions become sex typed
In-group schemas are formed concerning attitudes and expectations about ones own gender and out-group schemas are about the other gender
Once the schemas are established any other information that does not fit into the schema is dirsegarded
Children show preference for same sex playmates and for gender stereotyped activities, ignoring the other gender
Developmental changes in childrens gender schema
Preschoolers learn activities and behaviour that go with each gender by observing other children and parents. They also learn 'gender scripts' which are sequences of events that go with each gender such as cooking dinner for females and building with tools for males
From the age of 4-6 children learn subtle and complex sets of associations for their own gender : what children of the gender like, how they play, how they talk, what kinds of people they spend time with. Not until 8-10 do children develop schemas of the opposite gender with the same complexity
At ages 5-6 childrens understanding of their gender becomes more elaborated and the activities and behaviours they should be doing becomes and absolute rule
By late childhood and adolescence it is understood that rules are just social conventions and gender role schemas become more flexible. Teenagers abandon the automatic assumption that what their own gender does is preferable
Masters - children between 4 and 5 years selected toys by their gender label rather than which gender was seen playing with the toy, illustrating the application of gender schemas
Campbell - found that even the youngest infants between 3 and 18 months had a preference for watching same sex babies. Shows that gender schemas form early on as young children are more attracted to watching same sex groups
Martin and Halverson asked children to recall pictures of people, finding that children under the age of 6 recalled more gender consistant ones such as a male footballer than gender inconsistant ones such as a male nurse
Evaluation
Explains why childrens attitudes and behaviour concerning gender are rigid and lasting, children only focus on things that confirm and strength their schemas
Explains why children are more likely to model gender appropriate behaviour than imitating same sex models demonstrating non gender appropriate behaviours
Scahffer argued that it could be the other way round, childrens monitoring of their own and others behaviour leads to the development of gender schemas
When children perform activities not normally stereotypical of their gender they adjust their thinking so that the activity becomes acceptable.This implies that thinking is affected by behaviour while the cognitive schema theory predicts the opposite
Gender schema theory is reductionist because it ignores the influence of biological factors, assuming that all gender orientated behaviour is created through cognitive means