Gender Schema Theory

What is a gender schema?

• A generalised mental representation of everything know about gender and gender-appropriate behaviour derived from experience

• These schemas help a child make sense of the world as they form stereotypes about the way they think males and females behave (i.e what toys to play with, what to wear, how to act etc.)

Who developed the gender schema theory (GST)?

Carol Martin and Chalres Halverson (1981)

What is the gender schema theory (GST)?

According toMartin and Halverson, once a child has established gender identity around the ages of 2-3 year, he or she will begin to search the environment for information that encourages the development of their gender schema

What similarities are there between the gender schema theory and Kohlberg’s theory?

• Both theories believe that a child’s thinking is at the basis if their development of gender role behaviours

• They both suggest that children’s understanding of gender increases with age

• They also share the view that children develop their understating of gender by actively structuring their own learning, rather than passively observing and imitating role models

What differentiates the gender schema theory from Kohlberg’s theory?

• GST argues that the process of acquiring gender-relevant information starts much earlier than Kohlberg suggested (children learn pre-programmed gender schemas between ages 2-3)

• Goes further than Kohlberg by suggesting how the acquisition of schemas affects later behavioural (in terms of memory and attention)

How does gender identity lead to in-group and out-group schemas?

Through identifying as a boy or girl, children have a much better understading of the schamas that relate to their own gender - they view their own group as the ‘in-group’ and the opposite as ‘out-group’

What are in-group gender schemas?

Attitudes and expectations about one’s own gender

What are out-group gender schemas?

Attitudes and expectations about the other gender

What role do in-group and out-group schemas play inn gender development?

• In-group identity serves to increase the child’s level of self-esteem as they positively evaluate their own group and negatively evaluate out groups (the other sex)

• This motivates the child to avoid the behaviour of the opposite sex and actively seek information about their in-group’s behaviour acquiring as in-group schema

• It is not until children are a little older (around the age of 8) that they build more elaborate schemas for both genders

Why are children’s gender beliefs resilient?

A child holds rigid and firm gender schemas that are resistant to change, and this will drive them to ignore or misremember information that conflicts with their schemas (schematic anomaly) and selectively attend to gender-consistent information