THEORIES OF GENDER DEVELOPMENT (3):The Cognitive Approach

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Gender Issues In Psychology (PSY - 512)

Lecture 11

THEORIES OF GENDER DEVELOPMENT (3)

The Cognitive Approach

Recap:

The Behaviorist/ learning approach

The consequences of behavior and their impact

Shaping and the learning of gender roles

Observational Learning approach

The Cognitive Approach

The approach that focuses upon the thought processes underlying learning.

The approach that gives importance to cognition when understanding and explaining behavior.

This theory gives importance to the internal states of the person as well as the environmental events; however

it is the thinking and perception that is the key factor.

The term cognition refers to "knowledge" as well as "the process of knowing"

Cognitive approach emphasizes:

o Thoughts

o Feelings

o Thinking

o Values

o Expectations etc

o The core of the cognitive approach is the idea that people's thinking determines how they will

perceive the world, and how these perceptions will be acted upon.

The Cognitive Approach to Gender Roles

The theory proposes the interaction of mental schema and social experience in directing gender role behavior.

The cognitive approach focuses upon the child's "understanding". A child's understanding refers to the way

he/she perceives and tackles a phenomenon. Information about gender is organized into sets of beliefs about

the sexes i.e. gender schema Gender schema (plural schemata or schemas) is a mental framework that organizes

and guides a child understands of information relevant to gender. Example: information about which toys are

for girls and which toys are for boys forms schema that guides behavior.

Example: If a child has seen women being respected n his family, he will perceive women as a respectable

being; and if he has seen women being battered and maltreated he will perceive them as some low grade

creature.

Lawrence Kohlberg's Cognitive Development Theory: The concept of Gender Constancy:

Children understand gender just as they understand anything else. Children have experiences with people of

both genders, they think about their experiences, having made sort of mental notes of what males and females

do, and adopt behaviors performed by people of their own sex. Children do their own gender typing

themselves. They make classifications of themselves and of others as male or female, and organize their

behaviors around that classification. The gender roles that children adopt are organized around this

classification. Behaviors consistent with their own gender are adopted. This is reflected in their use of language,

clothes, toys etc. According to Kohlberg, acquisition of gender roles results from gender constancy i.e., a child's

understanding and awareness that his/ her sex is permanent, constant, and will never change. Gender

constancy is also known as sex category Constancy in modern literature. Gender appropriate behaviors are

adopted after the realization that sex is a permanent feature of personality. Gender constancy emerges

somewhere between 3-7 years of age. Gender constancy is the key to gender typing, according to Kohlberg.

Gender constancy is not a phenomenon that occurs at once, at one point in time. It takes place in three stages (

Ruble & Martin, 1998; Szkrybalo & Ruble):

Gender identity: Age 2-3 years; Becoming aware of one's own gender, and that of others.

Gender Issues In Psychology (PSY - 512)

Gender stability: Realization of boys and girls that they will grow up as men or women respectively, i.e.,

gender is a fixed, permanent, quality and an integral feature of their personality.

But at this stage they understand this on the basis of superficial, external appearances, and stereotyped

behaviors.

Gender Consistency: The awareness that gender remains the same no matter what one wears, how one

behaves, whatever hairstyle one has.

Although Kohlberg put forth the concept of gender constancy as a significant theme, there is not much solid

research evidence supporting it. Different researches have yielded findings quite different from, and even

contrary to, Kohlberg's hypothesis that gender constancy stage is the point where children actually learn gender

roles and relevant appropriate behaviors. It has been seen that at 2 ½ years of age children begin to prefer the

company of children of their own sex. Also, girls are more interested in dolls and boys in cars (Ruble & martin,

1998). Long before attaining the stage of gender constancy, children exhibit gender- typed preferences (Bussey

& Bandura, 1992; Ruble & Martin 1998). Children can categorize activities and objects by gender, know a lot

about what males and females do, and often acquire gender appropriate behaviors (G. D. Levy & Carter, 1989;

Leucke Aleksa, Anderson, Collins, & Schmitt, 1995). Five- year old boys having reached gender constancy, or

almost there, pay more attention to male characters on TV and watch more sports and action programs in

comparison to other age mates (Leucke- Aleksa et al., 1995). Children tend to develop more complex beliefs

about gender later on; also they tend to become more flexible in their views about gender roles (Ruble &

Martin 1998; M. G. Taylor.1996).

Gender Schema Theory:

"A schema is a mentally organized network of gender- related Information that influences behavior" (Papalia

et al. 2001).

Gender schema is a mental framework that organizes and guides a child's understanding of information

relevant to gender.

For example information about which toys are for girls and which toys are for boys form schema that guides

behavior.

According to gender schema theory, children first develop a simplified concept of male female distinctions

and later on apply it universally (Bem, 1989, 1993).

First of all children learn what sex they are.

Then they develop a concept of what it means to be male or female in their culture, and on the basis of the

development of this concept they begin to take on gender roles

Whatever observations they have of men and women, they organize those around the gender schema that they

have formed as a result of their observation of how their society classifies behaviors as male and female

including clothes and toys etc.

For example a child observes that it is always the mother who cooks, and the father is always the on who fixes

electrical appliances and faults. Gradually he develops the concept that household chores are meant to be done

by the mother (woman), and tougher tasks are handled by the father (man).

This leads to the assimilation of other similar ideas and perceptions, a realization that men are strong and

women weak.

If the father has to cook on a rare occasion, it doesn't match with the "all in control schema of the father" and

the child notes this discrepancy.

Gender schemata influence judgments about behavior thus promoting gender stereotypes.

Gender Issues In Psychology (PSY - 512)

The gradual process of development of gender schema:

Stage

Age

Description

Gender identification

2-3.5

Children believe it is possible to change sex by

years

wearing clothes of opposite sex. Can identify

household gender stereotypes: (mechanical tools used

by father and the mother works in kitchen). Gender

labeling is learned.

Gender stability

3.5-4.5

Sex is stable over time, not situations. Older peers and

years

siblings are models for social learning of gender roles.

Boys may play with the toys socially labeled as girl's

toys but do not own them ultimately. Child applies

labels to self and others, but they may be inconsistent

Gender consistency

4.5-7

Sex is stable. Children value and imitate same sex

years

behaviors. This leads to development of gender

appropriate attributes

Slaby and Frey (1975): children with gender consistency attend more to the same-sex model

Children use cognitive processes to choose appropriate gender-related behaviors. Cognitive theory argues that

gender behavior is learnt by viewing others' behavior through social learning process

Learning of Gender Roles by Preschoolers

Preschoolers do have an idea of gender roles, but their cognitive experiences are simple, not complex. They see

things in simpler terms i.e., at concrete level. They see males and females as total opposites, as they judge

things on their appearance and face value; for example, thinking that the volume of water changes when

poured into differently shaped glasses; or the volume of plasticine changes when its shape is changed. Past

experiences have not yet assimilated into their existing schema. Preschoolers' cognitive patterns are egocentric

and static. Children develop a simplified concept of male- female distinctions and then apply it universally

(Bem, 1989, 1993).

Children form a script describing what the various gender roles should be, and then intellectually follow that

script (Levy, & Fivush, 1993; Martin, 1993).

Children fit their cognitive experiences into the script they have. If their experiences are vague, ambiguous, or

contradictory, then preschoolers look for the script. In a study children were given gender neutral, unfamiliar

toys. Initially they tried to find out and decide if they were meant for boys or girls. Then they made a decision

considering which ones they wanted to play with or not (Martin et al., 1995).

The Concept of Self- socialization

Children are the protagonists in their own gender role socialization, and act as active agents.

Self- socialization is a three- step process:

Around ages 5-6, children learn to classify themselves as males or females, and sex as a permanent quality is

recognized

Children are motivated by this self- categorization to value characteristics and behaviors associated with their

sex

They try to bring their own behavior at participant with the behaviors considered gender appropriate in their

culture. (Geis, 1993).

So children identify and note gender behaviors, identify and note their gender identity, and make effort to

remove disparities between the two.

Gender Issues In Psychology (PSY - 512)

Piaget's stages of cognitive development and development of gender roles

Stage

Age

Description

Preoperational

2-4 years

Thinking is concrete, not logical, judges on appearance. Gender

Stage

labeling

Uses cues such as dress, hair, Can change sex if appearance is made

different.

Develop categories associated with sex/gender.

Identify them as male or female.

Use stereotypes as rules

Concrete

7-12 years

Thinking is logical, but limited to

operational Stage

concrete

Cognitive understanding of

permanence of gender develops

Formal Operational

12 year-

Thinking is scientifically logical, can be applied to abstract concepts.

stage

adulthood

Adolescents become more rigid in

sex-typing

Is the Cognitive Approach the Only Best approach?

This approach has ignored the role of biological factors that are involved in developing cognitive schema.

Cultural differences in forming gender roles are not addressed

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