A2 Level Psychology

PSYA3Gender

PSYA3 Gender

Specification

What is the difference between sex and gender?

• Sex = Biological differences between Males or femalesIdentify/draw on the work sheet the biological differences that determine a persons sex

• Gender = masculine or feminine behavioursIdentify the characteristics/behaviours of males and females expected by our society (gender role)

We are born male or female but we can become feminine or masculine

Nature and nurture Debate

•Whether behavioural traits are caused by innate or environmental factors.• E.g. intelligence: if Jane is more intelligent than John, is

that because she was born that way or because her environment & experiences made her that way?

•Apply the nature-nurture debate to gender development? •What would the different positions be?

Nature and nurture

Nature Nurture

Sex differences result from innate differences between

female and male (genes, chromosomes, hormones).

Gender differences result from the different

experiences that females and males have as they develop (learning from family, peers, society)

Activity -An experiment in child rearing

• Imagine a baby could survive on an island by himself/herself1. If the baby grows into a healthy male or female, would they show

typical gender role behaviours (masculine/feminine). Think about strategies they would use for obtaining food?

2. Lets assume that the individual was taken from the island and brought back to civilisation. How would you differentiate between the contribution of nature/nurture on their gender behaviour?

The Cognitive theory on Gender

DevelopmentKohlberg’s

Gender consistency Theory• How do we acquire our

understanding of gender?• How do children understand what

it is to be a boy or a girl?

gender

A child's understanding of gender is

determined by their cognitive capabilities

Kohlberg was a cognitive psychologistWhat determines children's understanding of

gender???????

For example…….Young children cannot understand that

certain things will remain the same despite change of appearance (can not conserve) .

Piaget proposed that children's inability to conserve is due to weakness in the way children think (don’t have the cognitive capability)

So Kohlberg argued that changes in gender thinking come about because of the natural stages of a child’s

cognitive development.

Once a child learns to conserve (7 years), they can move forward with their understanding of gender

There are a series of developmental stages that a

child goes through before their understanding of gender

is fully developed.

Kohlberg’s Gender consistency Theory

Kohlberg’s stages of understanding gender

gender

1) Gender Labelling / Identity

2 - 3 yearsLabel gender but only based on appearance.

2) Gender Stability 4 - 5 years Gender is consistent

over time but not across situations.

Appearance is still a factor

3) Gender Constancy/Consistency 6-7 + years

Gender is constant across time and

situations.

The ken experiment!Used to test what stage of gender development a child is at.

Phase 1: Gender identity

Children are presented with a male Ken doll.

They are asked: ‘Is this a boy doll or a girl doll?’

Phase 2: Gender stability

They are asked: ‘Will ken be a mummy or daddy when he is older?’

Phase 3: Gender consistency

Ken now has long hair and a skirt.

They are asked: ‘Is this a boy doll or a girl doll?’

Task: The Ken ExperimentWith the person next to you, discuss how a child at each of the following ages would answer the 3 questions e.g ‘Is this a boy doll or a girl doll?’ for each phase of the experiment.

1)2 years old

2)4 years old

3)8 years old

Phase A

Phase B

Phase C

The Ken Experiment

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZb2len6f18

This is how the children responded….

Task: Kohlberg Storyboards

Imagine you are following one child throughout their gender development.

Create a story board of what the child is thinking about their own gender at each stage of Kohlberg’s Gender Constancy Theory.