AP PSYCH 6.7 Gender and Sexual Orientation
- Gender roles are expected behaviors for males and females based on culture
- Gender stereotypes are a schema children develop about the behavior of people based on their gender
Gender Schema Theory
- Proposed in 1981
- Children actively form mental categories (schemas) for masculinity and femininity
- They also recognize their own role and choose activities that match that role
- Children recognize and then align themselves with the norms of the culture
- Children may meet disapproval if they do not conform to gender norms, or feel pressure to fit into what they are told to
- More than just observational learning, but operant understandings as well