Cognitive explanation- Gender schema theory (gender)

Question 1

Sees gender identity alone as providing
_________ to assume sex typed behaviour patterns.

Childrens understanding of gender changes with ___.

Answer 1

• MOTIVATION
• AGE

Question 2

GST brings together what two things?

Answer 2

• brings together SLT and cognitions

Social learning- children learn ‘appropriate’ behaviour by observation

Cognitive (+kohlberg) - Children’s active cognitive processing of information determines sex typing

Question 3

What are schemas?

Answer 3

• Children develop schemas that help them understand, organise and make sense of information.

—> gender is the basis of a VERY POWERFUL schema that can influence the way children interpret information.

Question 4

What did Martin and Halverson believe?

Answer 4

• Gender schemas organised into groupings of related concepts
• These begin to develop at 2-3 years once children have got GENDER IDENTITY
• they build up knowledge and organise into gender schemas
• Develop via experience
• Schemas provide a basis for interpreting the environment and selecting appropriate behaviour

Question 5

In group schemas a attitudes and expectations about a child’s ___ gender

Answer 5

Own

Question 6

Out group schemas are about the _____ other gender

Answer 6

Other

toys, games + objects become categorised for boys or for girls.

Question 7

___ group information is better remembered than ___ group information.

Answer 7

in, out.

Children pay more attention to info relevant to their own sex than the out group

–> at around 8 years a child develops sophisticated schema for both sexes

Question 8

Gender schemas undergo developmental changes as children’s general ________ ________ increase

Answer 8

cognitive abilities

Question 9

What happens to gender schemas in the teenage years?

Answer 9

• Gender ‘roles’ are understood as a social construct
• Gender schemas therefore become more flexible

Question 10

Study- Martin and Halverson
( aim was to demonstrate that children distort information that’d inconsistent with their gender schemas|)

Answer 10

• Used experimental method, showed 5-6 year olds pictures of children doing either gender-consistent things (boy playing with truck) or gender inconsistent things (boy cleaning the house)
• They asked the children to recall these pictures a week later
• During recall, children changed the sex of the child in the gender inconsistent picture

–> therefore shows how memory is distorted to fit in with existing gender schemas

Question 11

Bradford study (neutral objects)

Answer 11

• Children shown neutral objects like a pizza cutter or a fan and told that some were ‘boys toys’ and some were ‘girls toys’
• Found that children spent more time playing with toys they believed were appropriate to their sex
• A week later, the children could remember which object was associated with which sex

—> gender schemas affect behaviour and playing experiences

Question 12

Aubry- longitudinal study into preferences for gender related items

Answer 12

• Once belief formed that an object was for the opposite sex, there was a reduced preference for the object

—> gender schema affect behaviour