Gender development Flashcards
(13 cards)
Biological underpinnings of gender development
Determination of sex multistep process
-from chromosomes XX or XY and primarily absence/ presence of SRY through gonads— ovaries or testes
—hormones— primarily low/ high levels of testosterone to internal reproductive structures and external genetalia
—sex assigment/ sex. of raring
—psychological and biological sex
timeline of theories
—initially observations of clear gender typing in children as young as 5 years old— led to researchers to examine how socialisation processes- 1957
Cognitive-development theory of gender— kohlberg
—stresses the role of cognitions: the product of self driven processes— concepts of body/ physical/ social world around us/ category of relationships
—children develop gender related beliefs and behaviours as a result of their own basic conceptions around the world
—attitudes towards gender radically change with age development
—three cognitive achievements, gender identity, gender stability and full gender constancy
Cognitive developmental stage theory of gender— kohlberg 1966
Gender identity— refers to childrens ability to idenitfy themselves as boys/girls
—accomplished when children as young as 2/3 years old
—when they recognise their own sex— seem to do same-sex things
—activities that relate to their sex
—at this stage children find engaging in activities rewarding
Gender stability — refers to the understanding of lasting nature of gender
—happens around 4/5 years old
—before this age, children show confusion about continous nature of going from boy to man/ girl to woman
Gender consistency/ constancy— understanding that individuals gender is fixed, and it remains constant— even in the face of various superficial changes in appearance
Strengths:
—research support— children around 2/3 years old tested on ability to identify own gender/ gender of others correctly
—showed older children more able to identify gender than younger children
—suggests gender identity formed between ages of 2/3
cross culture support
Limitations:
—descriptive theory rather than explanatory
—describes what process looks like but doesn’t explain
—doesnt explain children that dont identify with genders
Gender schema theory— liben/signorella
—childs own qualities thought to play an active role in gender outcomes
—primary focus is on how childrens basic understanding of gender (own attitudes/knowledge ab gender) affect interactions with the world and the processing of objects, people, or events in world
—gender schemas— affect childs cognitive processes— like perceiving, interpreting or remembering gender related matierial— effects on developmental outcomes
Kids build schemas (mental categories) for gender
• Schemas guide what they notice, remember, and do
• Leads to in-group bias (preference for own gender roles
Gender schema theory
Schemas— defined as naive theories that guide information processing by structuring experiences, regulating behaviour and providing bases for making interpretations
gender schemas presumed to arise from tendency to categorise info— combined w. fact that gender categories can be physical or salient/ functionally used in surrounding enviro
—long hair— women/ short hair men
In-group/out group schemas— 2 types of schemas
—schemas work to regulate behaviour
—lead individuals to attend to information
—consistent info that children need to categorise behaviours traits and roles either for own sex or opposite (in/out)
—contain information for what culture defines being appropriate for females/males
Own sex schemas
—narrower/ detailed information that children have about objects/behaviours/traits and roles that categorise their own sex
Dual pathway GST
GST developed further into dual pathway
—pays attention to role of individual differences
—earlier gender schemas— there was no further consideration for individuality— category of biological sex— either u fit into it or don’t
—dual— takes into account the fact that we are different even if we fit into these categories— there are still individual differences
2 pathways
—attitudinal pathway—suggests that gender attitudes play a major role in child’s decision for engaging in some behaviour— if they believe that dolls are for girls— this pathway will lead girls to play with dolls— boys to avoid them
—personal pathway— which suggests that childs engagement in some activities will affect their attitudes about that activity— so a boy that does ballet will believe that ballet is for both girls and boys-not just girls
recognises that child is an active participant in determining outcomes— rather than passive recipient of world around them
Attitudinal pathway model
—attitudes are key here
—content of schemas reflect if we will engage in something or not
— 2 individual differences highlighted in this model— help us form our attitudes
- encounter— with an object/person/event (e.g. encountering dolls for the first time)
- gender salience filter— look into schema u already have from the world— ask myself do i have any knowledge about these— (dolls—do i know theyre for my own sex or opposite sex)
if yes, next step
- gender schema filter— who do i believe this object is for— do i believe this object for girls or for boys
if believe its for males— avoid those
if females— goes to interest filter
- interest filter— do i actually like this thing— this is where individual differences come in and where attitudes come in
if yes— engage with it
if not— ignore/ stop processing
Personal pathway model
—diff between these is that this one starts with interest
1.Encounter—object/person/event
2. interest filter— is it. of interest to me
if yes, engage with it
if no, ignore it
- goes to gender salience filter— do i have any schemas about these
if yes
I am interested in dolls, wasnt appropriate for me, but i decided to engage with them
leads to revise gender schema— actually this is ok for both boys and girls
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Cognitive foundations of gender schema theory
—children do need to identify themselves as boys or girls (gender identity) to motivate the processes of developing and enacting detailed information — ab activities, objects, behaviours — that are related to their own sex
—children also must be able to identify others as members of male/female categories
—must be able to link things like toys/activities/ occupations/clothes to males/females
Limitations
—GST cant explain why children with same environments— respond diff to gender appropriate behaviour
—e.g. cant explain why some girls prefer action figures/ boys barbies— even when in the same family/environmental influences
—research done in western societies— less cross cultural evidence
Social cognitive theory— mischel
—rooted in learning theory— mechanisms: reinforcement and punishment
—learning/behavioural change occurs because of what is encountered in environment
—in gender domain— boys/girls behave differently because of the consequences of reward/ punishment
—e.g. boys might be praised if they play football— girls might be discouraged from playing sports
—reward/punishment play major role in what behaviours boys and girls acquire
Social cognitive theory— bandura
developed theory to have more of triadic influence
triadic influence— behaviour, personal cognitions and perceptions including biological factors— and external environment
—gender roles learnt thru—modelling— observing parents/ peers/media
—reinforcement— being praised punished for gendered behaviour
—self regulation— children monitor own bahviour and adjust to match gendered norms
3 main ways that gender development is learned— imitation and modelling of gendered behaviour— experience the consequences of childs own gender linked behaviour: direct teaching of gender roles
what aspects of gender development does learning and social influence affect?
—knowledge and competencies including behvaiours— e.g. cooking/throwig a ball
—expectations about gendered behaviour and roles— wearing makeup/ nail polish/ staying at home
—standards to evaluate ones own behviour- -does one conform to gendered standard
Self efficacy beiefs— extent to which people believe that thye have control over the events that happen to them
infants as young as 3/4 months of age able to distinguishguish between categories of female and male faces— as demonstrated in habituation
by 6 months— infantsts can discriminate faces and voices by sex
by 10 months— infants ableto form stereotypic associations betweenn faces of women/ men and genderred typed objectscts
