Chapter 4

ctto: pao n rb

biological

according to this theory, psychological and behavioral differences are due to the differences between males and females

socializaton

this theory of gender development view gender differences as a byproduct of the differential treatment girls and boys receive from the people in their lives

cognitive

this theory of gender development view children as active constructors of knowledge who seek, interpret, and act on information to match their behavior to their understanding of gender

sigmund freud

• was one of the most influential modern scientist to put forth a theory about how people develop a sense of self

• he believed that personality and sexual development were closely linked

• he posited that self-development is closely linked to early stages of development like breastfeeding, toilet training, and sexual awareness

psychosexual theory

according to this theory, behavior and development of a person are influenced by the interaction between the conscious and unconscious aspect of a person’s mind

id

• present at birth and represents everything that we inherit from our parents

• comprises of our needs that require constant fulfillment and operates on the pleasure principle

ego

• develops as a result of our attempts to satisfy our needs through interactions with our physical and social environment

• it arises from the id

superego

• judges what we should morally do or not do and guides us about the shoulds and should nots of our lives

• it arises from ego

oral stage

stage where a child derives pleasure from oral activities, such as sucking and tasting

anal stage

stage in which the ability to control bladder movement and the elimination or retention of feces is the cause of gratification

phallic stage

stage where the focus of pleasure is the genitals

latency period

in this stage, sexual urges are usually repressed and the individual spends most of his time interacting with the same sex peers

genital stage

stage in which sexual urges are reawakened and are directed to opposite sex peers, with genitals as the primary source of pleasure

charles cooley

• he asserted that people’s self-understanding is constructed, in part, by their perception of how others view them

• one of the pioneering contributors to sociological perspectives on self-development

george herbert mead

• advanced a more detailed sociological approach to the self

• he agreed that the self, as a person’s distinct identity is only developed through social interaction

• he further noted that the crucial component of the self is its capacity for self-reflection

me

represents the part of the self in which one recognizes the “organized sets of attitudes

i

represents the part of the self that acts on its own initiative or respond to the organized attitude of others

preparatory

stage in child socialization where children are only capable of imitation

play

stage in child socialization where children begin to imitate and take roles that another person might have

game

stage in child socialization in which the children learn to consider several specific roles at the same time and how those interact with each other

generalized

stage in child socialization where the children develop, understand, and learn the idea of the generalized other

moral development

prevents people from acting on unchecked urges, instead considering what is right and good for the society and others

pre conventional

young children who lack a higher level of cognitive ability, experience the world around them through their senses

conventional

stage where youngsters become increasingly aware of others’ feelings and take those into consideration when determining good and bad

post conventional

stage where people begin to think of morality in abstract terms

gender labelling

children can identify themselves and other people as girls or boys

gender stability

children recognize that gender is stable over time

gender consistency

children have a full appreciation of the permanence of gender over time and across situations

separation and connection

two moral voices that arise from two distinct developmental pathways according to gilligan

general strain theory

according to this theory, studies suggest that gender differences between individuals can lead to externalized anger that may result in violent outbursts

socialist feminism

a two-pronged theory that broadens marxist’s feminism’s argument for the role of capitalism in the oppression of women

social constructionism

a theory of knowledge in sociology and communication theory that examines the development of jointly constructed understandings of the world that form the basis for shared assumptions about reality

Cognitive Process

They focus on the ways in which children attend to and then process and organise this information, and have in common a justifiable emphasis on the active roles of children in shaping their own development.

Bandura’s social cognitive theory

builds on the earlier social learning approaches by addressing the fact that human development involves a complex interplay of many factors.

Model of causation

1. Behavior

2. Person

3. Environment

Cognitive Developmental Theory

assumes that basic sexual attitudes are not patterned directly by either biological instincts or arbitrary cultural norms, but by the child’s cognitive organization of his social world along with sex-role dimensions

Five different theories of gender development

1. Psychodynamic

2. Symbolic Interactionism

3. Social Learning

4. Cognitive Learning

5. Standpoint

Psychodynamic

rooted from Sigmund Freud

this sees that mothers have a crucial role in shaping one’s gender identity

Girls are like their mothers biologically while boys are biologically different from their mother

Symbolic Interactionism

by George Herbert Mead

is based on communication, it has particular applicability, because gender is learned through communication in cultural contexts

Communication

is vital for the transformation of such message

Social Learning

by Albert Bandura

is based on outward motivational factors, if the children receive positive reinforcement they are motivated, but if they receive punishment or other indicators of disapproval they are more motivated to stop what they are doing.

Four Mediational Processes

1. Attention

2. Retention

3. Reproduction

4. Motivation

Attention

The degree to which we notice the behavior

Retention

How well we remember the behavior

Reproduction

The ability to perform the behavior

Motivation

The will to emulate the behavior

Assumptions of Social Learning Theory

1. People learn through observation

2. Reinforcement and punishment have indirect effects on behavior and learning

3. Mediational processes influence our behavior

4. Learning does not necessarily lead to change

Cognitive Learning

This states that children develop gender at their own levels

Jean Piaget

Swiss psychologist, with significant contributions from other psychologists like Albert Bandura

Schema

a set of observed or spoken rules for how social or cultural interactions should happen

Gender Identity Age 2-3

Children can label themselves and others as male or female

Gender Stability Age 4

They begin to understand that gender is stable over time

Gender Constancy Age 6-7

Children grasp that gender remains the same across situations

Cognitive Learning

isn’t about memorization or repetition, It’s all about developing true understanding; it’s about learning how to learn

Standpoint Theory

Primarily developed by Sandra Harding and further elaborated by Nancy Hartsock and Patricia Hill Collins

places culture at the nexus for understanding gender development, theorists recognize identity markers such as race and class as important to gender in the process of identity construction

2 central principles of standpoint theory

1. Situated knowledge thesis

2. Inversion thesis

Situated knowledge thesis

claims that knowledge production is conditioned by social differentiation: knowers are always embedded in a particular historical moment and socio-cultural context

Inversion thesis

also called the Thesis of epistemic advantage

gives epistemic authority to those marginalized systems of oppression insofar as from oppression

First-wave standpoint theory

early standpoint theorists sought to understand the way in which the gendered identity of knowers affected their epistemic resources and capacities

Nancy Hartsock

provided one of the earliest articulations of standpoint theory combining object relations theory and a Marxist feminist perspective to interrogate gender socialization and the sexualized division of labor

Second-wave standpoint theory

While the critiques of standpoint theory are well founded, they have often failed to engage with the fundamental challenge that standpoint theory poses to conventional theories of knowledge-production, nor have offered constructive responses of their own

First-wave standpoint theory

View of “women”: Unified category

Standpoint: Singular, privileged standpoint of women

Influence: Marxist feminism

Focus: Gender as the key axis of oppression

Second-wave standpoint theory

View of “women”: Diverse, intersecting identities

Standpoint: Multiple, partial, and shifting standpoints

Influence: Postmodernism, intersectionality, critical race theory

Focus: Intersection of race, gender, class, sexuality, etc.

Standpoint theory / standpoint epistemology

is a theory found in some academic disciplines used for analyzing inter-subjective discourses.

This body of work proposes that authority is rooted in individuals’ personal knowledge and perspectives, and the power that such authority exerts

Standpoint

location, shared by a group, within the social structure that lends a particular kind of sense making to a person’s lived experiences

partial or incomplete

Situated Knowledge

idea that a person’s knowledge is rooted in context and circumstances

our unique experiences cause us to develop knowledge that is rooted in context and circumstances

Sexual division of labor

assignment of people to different tasks on the basis of sex and the exploitation that results from inequities in sex and wages

Domestic work is often viewed as being unworthy of wage

Practical Standpoint

We view ourselves as agents with values that we seek to realise. We think about the reasons we have for performing of forbearing from certain actions. We think about what is good, worthwhile, right and wrong

Theoretical Standpoint

We view ourselves as bodies or mechanisms that are subject to the laws of cause and effect. We trace the causal origins of our normative judgements and see how they depend on evolution, culture, history, and accident.