Edited by Jamie (ScienceAid Editor), Taylor (ScienceAid Editor), SmartyPants, Kylieeleanne and 1 other Show
The Cognitive TheoryCognition is the mental process of gaining knowledge and through thought, the senses, and experience - the resulting comprehension. The theory we will be looking at is Kohlberg's Cognitive-Developmental Theory. The basic principle of the theory is that a child's understanding of gender develops with age. As part of the theory, Kohlberg identified three stages in gender development.
The Study: Damon 1977The study by Damon, in the table below, is the main one for this theory, but following the table, there is also mention of other research that either supports or contradicts these findings.
Martin and Halverson showed 5-6-year-olds pictures of sex consistent (a girl cooking) and sex-inconsistent behavior. They found that children distorted the memories to fit with their schema (understanding). Kuhn et al (1978) also looked into gender stereotyping by asking very young (2-3) children about dolls. They found strong stereotyping and they tended to give positive characteristics to their own gender but not the opposite. This shows that understanding of gender exists even at a very young age. EvaluationThe first issue with this theory is quite easy to get your head around; it is that the theory is descriptive rather than explanative. This means that the theory tells you what happens but not why. Another issue is that it may well be that children are at these stages earlier, but because of limits in their language skills, they are not able to verbalize this, therefore, it could be less of a theory of gender development, and more a theory of the ability to talk about different concepts of gender. And a final evaluative comment is that it takes a very broad approach. Not all children have the same understanding of gender and it doesn't account for how gender changes over time. For example, 50 years ago childcare would primarily have been the job of women, but nowadays it would seem odd if a father wasn't involved in childcare. Questions and AnswersWhat is the difference between gender stability and gender constancy?I don't find any major difference in these both stages. If a child has come to know that his sex will remain the same whole life at the age of 4 then what further he will know at the age of 5 or 7..? Kohlberg's cognitive developmental theory of gender is divided into three stages, the first being gender identity, the second being gender stability, and the third gender constancy. Each stage represents a different level of understanding that a child goes through during development. Kohlberg suggested that cognition comes before action and behavior, meaning that every action or behavior we act out is influenced by what we know and understand. This would mean, that as children develop or mature cognitively, they would, in turn, mature through their actions.
Referencing this ArticleIf you need to reference this article in your work, you can copy-paste the following depending on your required format: APA (American Psychological Association) MLA (Modern Language Association) "Kohlberg's Cognitive Developmental Theory of Gender." ScienceAid, scienceaid.net/psychology/gender/cognitive.html Accessed 1 Dec 2022. Chicago / Turabian ScienceAid.net. "Kohlberg's Cognitive Developmental Theory of Gender." Accessed Dec 1, 2022. https://scienceaid.net/psychology/gender/cognitive.html. CommentsCategories : Gender Recent edits by: Kylieeleanne, SmartyPants, Taylor (ScienceAid Editor) At what age does a child view gender as permanent quizlet?Stage 2 is known as gender stability, at about age 4-5, the child knows that they are a boy or a girl and that their sex will no change.
What is Kohlberg's gender stability stage?This is the second stage in Kohlberg's cognitive explanation of gender development. It occurs at around 4 years old and continues until a child is approximately 7. In this stage, children recognise that gender is consistent over time, and that boys grow into men, and girls grow into women.
What aspect of Kohlberg's cognitive developmental theory of gender typing has not received support?Which aspect of Kohlberg's cognitive-developmental theory of sex typing has NOT received support? Several researchers have reported that children show strong sex-role preferences and sex-typed behaviours long before they realize that gender is an unchanging attribute.
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