cognitive explanations

Question 1

what did sandra bem argue

Answer 1

challenged the concept of just two gender types
a person can show both masculine and feminine traits

Question 2

androgyny definition

Answer 2

an individual that has both masculine and feminine characteristics

Question 3

why is androgyny a good thing

Answer 3

more psychologically healthy, flexibility and better adjustment

Question 4

how did bem measure gender

Answer 4

the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI)

Question 5

how was gender scored in the BSRI

Answer 5

masculine - high masculinity low femininity
feminine - high femininity low masculinity
androgynous - high masculinity high femininity
undifferentiated - low masculinity low femininity

Question 6

strength of androgyny

Answer 6

families with one or more androgynous parent have been found to be highest on scores of parental warmth and support
develop a sense of self-worth in children

Question 7

strength of BSRI

Answer 7

reliability - Bem readministered the BSRI to a sample of participants 4 weeks after they originally completed the test and found participants were consistent both times
suggests good test-retest reliability

Question 8

3 weakness of BSRI

Answer 8

• lacks temporal validity
  the inventory was based on what American students assessed as desirable traits for men and women in the 1970s and therefore has limited validity as a measure of masculinity and femininity in all societies at all times
• scale devised by a panel of judges all from USA and so their notions of maleness and femaleness may not be shared across all cultures and societies
• social desirability bias used in self-report method
  participants may exaggerate or lie which could lead to social desirability bias

Question 9

cognitive approach to gender considers

Answer 9

the development of our though patterns and cognitions

Question 10

kolhbergs first stage

Answer 10

basic gender identity

Question 11

kohlbergs second stage

Answer 11

gender stability

Question 12

kohlbergs third stage

Answer 12

gender constancy

Question 13

basic gender identity

Answer 13

age 2-3 years
children recognise themselves as boy or girl
merely labelling
no idea what it means to be a boy or girl
unaware sex is permanent

Question 14

evidence for gender identity

Answer 14

study found that two year olds were 76% correct in identifying their sex whereas three year olds were 90% correct
this supports kohlbergs theory that the child progresses through stages as their knowledge of gender increases

Question 15

gender stability

Answer 15

3-4 years
realise sex is permanent
confusion about stability of sex in others
confused by non-stereotypical appearances
sex is stable over time but not over situations

Question 16

evidence for gender stability

Answer 16

study asked young children questions such as ‘were you a girl or a boy when you were a baby?’ and ‘when you grow up will you be a mummy or a daddy?’
as predicted by Kohlberg, infants only started to give correct answers once they had recognised that gender is stable over time

Question 17

gender constancy

Answer 17

6 onwards
they realise sex is fixed for everyone across all situations regardless of appearance and behaviour
children begin to seek out gender appropriate role models, resulting in imitation and internalisation of gender appropriate behaviours

Question 18

evidence for gender constancy

Answer 18

in a study, children were presented with split screen images of males and females performing the same tasks
younger children spent roughly the same time looking at males and females, whereas those in gender constancy stage spent more time looking at the model the same gender as them
this supports Kohlbergs assumption that children will seek out same gender role models once they reach the gender constancy stage

Question 19

strength of kohlbergs theory of gender development

Answer 19

holistic - is a cognitive explanation of gender development but is compatible with biological explanations and social learning theory

Question 20

2 weakness of kohlbergs theory of gender development

Answer 20

• is able to describe the development of understanding about gender but is not able to explain it
  unable to explain why boys tend to show stronger sex-typing than girls. these differences are likely to be social in origin as boys may be told off or ridiculed more for playing with girls toys or taking part in activities that are perceived to be for girls
• stages appear to be universal - some stages are found in children in a range of cultures (e.g. kenya, belize, samoa)
  this suggests there could be potential biological factors involved in the formation of gender identity

Question 21

gender schema theory developed by

Answer 21

martin and halverson

Question 22

what is gender schema theory

Answer 22

suggests that children play a more active role in their gender development from an earlier age
children aged around 2-3 years old begin searching for rules or schema with regards to the world around them

Question 23

how is gender schema theory different from Kohlbergs theory

Answer 23

argues that children behave in gendered ways from a much earlier age
kohlbergs theory says that children start imitating gender appropriate role models at 6 years old whereas GST suggests children ages 2-3 years old begin searching for schemas

Question 24

what are gender schemas

Answer 24

gender schemas are a set of frameworks that outline how men and women should appropriately behave

Question 25

how do schemas help children

Answer 25

schemas help children to make sense of what is happening around them and the roles that men and women play

Question 26

in group and out group schemas

Answer 26

in group schemas - childrens enhanced interest in their gender
out group schemas - less interest

Question 27

weakness of gender schema theory

Answer 27

methological issues with interviewing children . children may be more subject to demand characteristics (answer they think will please the researcher) which might not be what they actually believe

Question 28

2 strengths of gender schema theory

Answer 28

a study found that children under the age of 4 showed no signs of gender stability let alone signs of gender constancy, but did display strong gender stereotypes about what boys and girls were permitted to do. this suggests that they have acquired information about gender roles before kohlberg suggested, in line with gender schema theory
a study found that children aged 3-5 have stereotypical beliefs about which toys and clothes go with each gender, which suggests they have developed gender schema by this age