K's theory draws on Piagetian idea that way we think changes
as we get older because of physical changes in brain
Brain becomes capable of increasingly
complicated + abstract thinking
Means changes in gender thinking are solely outcome of
age-related changes in child's cognitive capabilities
Consequence of this is that development occurs in stages
Children naturally progress from 1 stage to
the next as their way of thinking matures
Useful to recognise this progression through stages is
gradual process rather than one of sudden transitions
Stage 1: gender labelling
A01
Ages 2 + 3
Children label themselves + others as a boy or a girl, a man or woman
Label based on outward appearance only, such as
hairstyle or what a person is wearing
Children will change gender labels as appearances change
A02
Research support
Thompson
Found 2 year olds were 76% correct in identifying their sex, whereas 3 year olds were 90% correct
Shows increased ability to label themselves
Pre-operational stage
Lacks internal logic - kind of superficial logic but isn't internally consistent
Stage 2: gender stability
A01
Around 4
Children recognise gender is something
consistent over time
Doesn't yet recognise consistency
Don't understand that gender is also constant across situations ,
believing instead M might change into F if they engage in F activities
Under age of 7 still swayed by outward appearences
Concept of conservation
Lack the ability to conserve
McConaghy
Found young children shown a line drawing of doll where M genitals were
visible through dolls dress children under age of 5 judged doll to be F because of
external appearance despite contrary evidence that it was a boy
A02
Research support
Slaby + Frey
Asked young children Qs such as: 'Were you a little boy or girl when you were a
baby?' + 'When you grow up will you be a mummy or daddy?'
Answers given by children showed they didn't recognise that these
traits were stable over time until 3 or 4 years old
Genital knowledge
Sandra Bem
Argues its GK rather than gender constancy
that lies at root of gender development
Showed children a pic of a toddler in nude, asked them to identify its
sex when dressed gender inappropriately + appropriately
Found 40% of 3-5 year olds
capable of conserving gender
Tested children who didn't
conserve gender + found 77% of
these also failed a GK test
Simply didn't know what opposite sex genitalia looked like - couldn't conserve
anything because they didn't know anything had changed
When children are asked to resolve a contradiction between genitals +
clothing, child goes for cue which is most relevant in our society
Children who resolve this contradiction by identifying gender on basis of
clothing are simply showing they have learned about our world
Stage 3: gender consistency
A01
Around 6
Children comes to realise gender is
consistent across situations
Developed full gender constancy
Key feature is that they start to learn
about gender-appropriate behaviour
Up until this stage of constancy such info is not really relevant
because child believes his/her gender may change
A02
Research support
Slaby + Frey
Asked 'If you played football would you be a B or a
G?' +'Could you be a B/G if you wanted to be'
Found children who scored high on both stability +
consistency showed greatest interest in same-sex models
Suggests increasing sense of constancy leads children
to pay more attention to gender-appropriate models
Age underestimtaed
Slaby + Frey
Gender consistency appeared at
younger age - as young as 5
Not direct challenge but
suggests adjustments are
necessary to ages
Gender difference
Slaby + Frey
Found B tended to exhibit gender consistency before G
Huston
Points out relatively easy to get G to take on
masculine-type activities but same cannot be said of B
who generally resist
Difference
explained in
terms of SLT
Power = 1 factor that determines how
likely a person is to identify w/ a role
model
G less likely to identify w/ role models
because, even though RM are gender
appropriate they're less powerful
B = more likely to be punished for
gender inappropriate behaviour
than G
Therefore learn appropriate
gender behaviour more
rapdily
Theory = incomplete as SLT principles are also involved
Methodology
Bem
Criticised way children's
gender constancy is
measured
Claims that all being assessed is
child's understanding of our
social cues for indicating gender
Martin + Halverson
Analysed responses to Qs used by S + F
Judged children were adopting a
'pretend' mode - answering Qs
based on this rather than what they
really thought
IDA - Other approaches
Cognitive developmental approach
makes no mention of hormones + genes
Suggests changing way people think can alter gender
behaviours but evidence suggests while thinking may
change, behaviour doesn't
Many couples theoretically agree to sharing
domestic duties but practice doesn't happen
Perhaps because D of
gender roles has bio rather
than psych basis
Alternately, GR may be learned through
reinforcement - social approach
CD approach emphasises active role of
children in acquiring gender concepts
Social approach views gender development as more
passive process, outcome of direct + indirect
reinforcement from parents, peers + the media