Kohlbergs theory
what does cognitive explanations of gender tell us
we develop understandings of gender over the course of our childhood, we use mental processes to understand gender
what does kohlbergs theory of gender tell us
gender is contructed from our childhood experiences, refined by brain maturation and when our brain gets bigger and more complex
what is gender stability
gender remains consistent across time
what is gender constancy
gender remains consistent across differentg situations
what is gender identity
child can label themselves and others correctly as male and female
what is kohlbergs stage theory
1- gender identity- occurs 2-3 years old
2- gender stability- occurs 3-4 years old
3- gender constancy- occurs 5-6 years old
kohlbergs theory on imitation of role models
once they read gender constancy and undertsand gender remains constant across different situations they willl begin to imitate same gender models and adopt gender stereotypical behaviour.
what was slaby and freys study
a correlational study where they tested 55 childrens understanding of gender and how much they paid attention to same gender models by interviewing them they found that children first understand gender identity, then acquire gender stability and then gender constancy. They also found that older children are more likely to pay attention to same gender models this support kohlbergs theory
however they used interviews and self report methods so the children may be too young to understand so lacks validity
eval for kohlbergs theory
w- there are indivudal differences in child development with respect to gender also slaby and frey found that boys tend to show gender constancy before girls
s- kohlbergs theory is a holistic theory and takes into consideration social learning theory and biological factors however it lacks explanantory as it doesnt explain how development occurs