5 Gender Schema Theory

TRS Psychology

9 Nov 201805:58

Summary

TLDRThis screencast explores gender schema theory, a cognitive explanation of gender development. It explains how children's thinking about gender evolves through active observation and structuring of their experiences. Gender schema theory suggests that children form gender identity early, motivating them to adopt sex-stereotyped behaviors. Their understanding of gender becomes more complex as they grow, with rigid gender schemas in early childhood becoming more flexible by late childhood and adolescence. The screencast highlights key developmental stages, including the emergence of gender constancy and the flexibility of gender roles in later stages.

Takeaways

🧠 Gender schema theory is a cognitive explanation of how children's thinking about gender develops.
👦 Children actively structure their own experiences and observations of gender roles, not just passively learning from models.
👀 Gender identity motivates children to adopt sex-stereotyped behaviors even before they understand that gender is permanent.
📦 A schema is like a mental box that organizes related concepts, including ideas about gender.
👶 Gender schema starts developing around ages 2 to 3, after children become aware of their own gender identity.
🧩 Children create in-group schemas based on their gender (e.g., boys learn about boy activities and behaviors, girls about girls).
📈 Gender schemas become more complex and flexible as children's cognitive abilities grow.
🧍‍♂️ Around ages 5 to 6, children develop gender constancy, realizing that gender remains the same across time and situations.
👗 Children also understand that external factors (e.g., clothing) do not change one's gender identity.
🧒 By ages 8 to 10, children develop more complex schemas for both their own gender and the opposite gender, eventually becoming more flexible and understanding that gender roles are social conventions.

Q & A

What is the main focus of gender schema theory?
-Gender schema theory focuses on how children's thinking about gender develops, suggesting that children actively structure their own experiences related to gender by observing role models and developing organized groups of concepts called schemas.
How does gender schema theory differ from social learning theory?
-Gender schema theory suggests that children are active participants in structuring their gender experiences, while social learning theory views children as more passive, learning gender roles primarily through observation and imitation of others.
At what age do children begin developing gender schemas according to gender schema theory?
-Children begin developing gender schemas around the ages of 2 to 3, after they have established a sense of their own gender identity.
What is a schema, and how does it relate to gender development?
-A schema is an organized group of related concepts, like a mental framework for understanding specific ideas. In gender development, children create schemas about gender roles, behaviors, and expectations, which help them understand what is appropriate for their gender.
What motivates children to adopt sex-stereotyped behaviors according to gender schema theory?
-Children's gender identity motivates them to adopt sex-stereotyped behaviors. Once they recognize themselves as male or female, they begin selecting behaviors they believe are appropriate for their gender.
When do children develop gender constancy, and what does it mean?
-Children develop gender constancy around ages 5 to 6. This means they understand that gender remains consistent over time and situations, realizing, for example, that a boy remains a boy even if he wears a dress.
How do gender schemas evolve as children grow older?
-As children grow older and their cognitive abilities improve, their gender schemas become more complex and flexible. Early on, their schemas are rigid, but with age, they begin to see gender roles and behaviors as more flexible and less stereotypical.
What is the difference between in-group and out-group schemas?
-In-group schemas are the behaviors and roles children associate with their own gender, while out-group schemas are associated with the opposite gender. For example, a boy's in-group schema might include behaviors typical of boys, while his out-group schema includes behaviors typical of girls.
At what stage do children start developing complex out-group schemas, and what does this entail?
-Between ages 8 to 10, children begin developing more complex out-group schemas, understanding the behaviors, roles, and preferences of the opposite gender with the same level of complexity as they understand their own gender.
How does gender schema theory explain changes in gender stereotypes in adolescence?
-In late childhood and early adolescence, children begin to see gender roles as more flexible and realize that many gender-related rules are simply social conventions. As a result, they start abandoning rigid stereotypes and become more accepting of gender non-conformity.

Outlines

00:00

🧠 Understanding Gender Schema Theory

In this section, the speaker introduces gender schema theory, a cognitive explanation of gender development. The theory emphasizes that children actively structure their experiences to develop gender identity, unlike social learning theory which views children as passive learners. Gender schema theory posits that gender identity motivates children to adopt stereotypical behaviors and that understanding gender as a permanent concept comes later in their development. The speaker also explains the concept of a schema, describing it as a mental framework or 'box' into which children organize information, including about gender roles and behaviors.

05:02

👶 Development of Gender Schemas in Early Childhood

This paragraph discusses how children's gender schemas begin to develop between the ages of 2 to 3, after they have already established their gender identity. The speaker explains that children observe and accumulate information about the sexes, which informs their selection of gender-appropriate behaviors. These behaviors are influenced by in-group (same gender) and out-group (opposite gender) schemas. As children's cognitive abilities grow, these schemas evolve and become more flexible, though in the early stages they are quite rigid.

📚 Gender Schema Flexibility and Developmental Stages

Here, the speaker outlines how preschoolers initially learn through observation, such as associating short hair with men and long hair with women. They develop in-group schemas based on their gender and follow gender scripts, such as 'women cook dinner.' Between the ages of 4 to 6, children's understanding of gender roles becomes more complex, and gender constancy (the idea that gender remains the same across time and situations) develops. By ages 5 to 6, children realize that gender does not change even with superficial changes in appearance, such as clothing choices.

🧒 Expanding Gender Schemas for Opposite Genders

This section explains that by ages 8 to 10, children start to develop more complex schemas for the opposite gender, similar to the detailed schemas they previously developed for their own gender. This expansion of understanding marks a significant developmental milestone in their cognitive gender development.

👫 Flexibility in Gender Rules During Late Childhood and Adolescence

The final paragraph focuses on the increasing flexibility of gender schemas in late childhood and early adolescence. Children begin to understand that gender rules are social conventions and not rigid, leading to more flexible attitudes toward gender roles. This is exemplified by the appearance of androgynous behaviors and the abandonment of earlier stereotypes. The speaker concludes with a review task for the audience, prompting them to explain cognitive gender theory, the stages of development, and examples of behaviors children can and cannot do at each stage.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Gender schema theory

Gender schema theory is a cognitive explanation of gender development, which suggests that children actively structure their understanding of gender by creating mental frameworks or 'schemas.' These schemas guide how they perceive and behave according to their gender. In the video, it is explained that children observe models around them and categorize behaviors into 'appropriate' male or female roles.

💡Cognitive explanations

Cognitive explanations refer to how mental processes influence a child's understanding of gender. This approach emphasizes that children are active participants in forming their gender identity, as opposed to passive recipients of gender norms. In the video, this is contrasted with social learning theories, which view children as more passive in their acquisition of gender roles.

💡Gender identity

Gender identity is the personal sense of one's own gender, which can be male, female, or somewhere along a spectrum. According to the video, gender identity develops early in life and provides children with the motivation to adopt sex-stereotyped behaviors even before they fully understand the permanence of gender.

💡Schema

A schema is an organized group of related concepts or mental frameworks that help individuals process information. In the context of gender, children form gender schemas—mental representations of what it means to be male or female—starting around the ages of 2 to 3. These schemas become more complex as the child grows.

💡In-group schema

In-group schema refers to the mental framework a child develops about the behaviors and roles of their own gender. For example, a boy's in-group schema would encompass behaviors and characteristics associated with being male. In the video, this concept explains how children identify with their gender group and adopt behaviors aligned with it.

💡Out-group schema

Out-group schema refers to the mental framework children develop about the opposite gender. A boy's out-group schema would relate to how girls behave, dress, and play. In the video, this is presented as a complementary concept to in-group schema, illustrating how children differentiate between male and female roles.

💡Gender constancy

Gender constancy is the understanding that gender remains the same over time and across different situations. In the video, this developmental milestone is mentioned as occurring around ages 5 to 6, when children grasp that even if a boy wears a dress, he remains a boy.

💡Gender scripts

Gender scripts are specific behavioral expectations or sequences of actions that children associate with their gender. For example, children may learn that 'women cook dinner' or 'men have short hair' as part of their gender scripts. The video highlights how preschoolers observe and internalize these scripts, which then guide their behavior.

💡Developmental stages

Developmental stages refer to the various phases children go through as they cognitively and socially develop their understanding of gender. In the video, these stages are discussed in terms of how children’s gender schemas evolve—from rigid, inflexible understandings in early childhood to more flexible and nuanced views in adolescence.

💡Sex-typed behaviors

Sex-typed behaviors are actions that are traditionally associated with one gender. For example, boys might play with trucks, and girls with dolls. The video explains that children's motivation to engage in sex-typed behaviors comes from their gender identity and is reinforced by their gender schemas.

Highlights

Gender schema theory is a cognitive explanation of how children actively structure their understanding of gender roles.

Children are not passive observers; they actively structure their experiences and observations regarding gender.

Gender identity alone provides motivation for children to adopt sex-stereotyped behaviors.

Children do not need to understand that gender is permanent for initial gender understanding to develop.

A schema is an organized group of related concepts, which children use to categorize information, including gender.

Children start developing gender schemas around the ages of 2 to 3, before fully understanding gender permanence.

Schemas allow children to select behaviors that are appropriate for their gender based on accumulated knowledge.

In-group and out-group schemas develop early, with children categorizing behaviors for their own gender and the opposite gender.

As cognitive abilities grow, gender schemas become more complex and flexible over time.

Preschoolers initially have rigid gender schemas, which become more flexible as they grow older.

At ages 4 to 6, children start developing more complex associations related to their gender, including likes, dislikes, and behaviors.

Gender constancy, the understanding that gender remains constant over time, develops between the ages of 5 to 6.

By ages 8 to 10, children develop complex schemas for both their own and the opposite gender.

In late childhood and early adolescence, children begin to see gender roles as more flexible and open to interpretation.

Stereotypes and rigid gender assumptions start to be abandoned as children understand that gender rules are social conventions.