cognitive explanations: Kohlberg theory Flashcards
what is kohlberg’s theory of gender development
a child’s understanding of gender becomes more sophisticated with age
as the brain matures so does thinking
what is kohlberg’s 3 stage model
gender identity
gender stability
gender constancy
what happens in the gender identity stage
at age 2 - children can correctly identify themselves as a boy or a girl
age 3 -
correctly respond to questions like which of these is you when showed a picture of a man and woman
don’t understand gender is permanent
“When I grow up I’ll be mummy”
what happened in the gender stability stage
age 4 - realisation that they will always stay the same gender but can’t apply this to others
they are confused by external changes in appearance
(they may describe a man with long hair as a woman)
they believe people change gender when they engage with activities associated with the opposite gender ( e.g: male nurse or female builder)
what happens in the gender constancy stage
age 6 - children recognise that their gender stays constant across time and situations
they can apply this to other people’s gender as well as their own
they may regard a man wearing a dress as unusual but can understand he is still a man underneath
what type of theory is kohlberg’s theory
cognitive theory
(stage theory)
what also happens in the gender constancy stage
once a child has fully developed and internalised the concept of gender , they embark on a active search for evidence that confirms the concept
this leads to stereotyping behaviour and the development of role models
what are the 2 keywords for kohlberg
identify and internalise
