Gender schema theory

what is a gender schema

A set of ideas children create about gender based on their interactions

What is a schema relative to

Cultural norms

What do children develop after establishing their gender identity

In and out groups

What is an ingroup

The group that is associated with that gender

what do children do to their in groups

Postively evaluate it

Martin and Halverson (1981) main assumptions

Basic gender identity is enough for a child to take an interest in what is appropriate for their gender

resilience of gender beliefs

Children can hold very fixed gender attitudes because they ignore information that is not consistent with their ingroup

peer relationships

Play leads children to believe all girls and all boys have the same interests so avoid the other sex because they are boring

AO3- supporting research evidence Martin and Little (1990) findings

Found 4 year olds showed no signs of stability let alone constancy but children still display strong gender stereotypes

AO3- Martin and Little conclusion

Shows children acquire information as soon as they can identify themselves

AO3- opposing research Zosuls (2009) Findings

Found that children were using gender labels at 19 months

AO3- opposing research conclusion

Suggests that age related predictions by GST are wrong

AO3- can explain why children are so sexist

Children actively seek out gender appropriate schemas and ignore counter stereotypes

AO3- real life application in response to children’s sexism

Research shows how children acquire schemas so we can try to prevent it for future generations eg Disney films