3. Slaby & Frey (1975)
◦What did they find?
◦Do their findings support or refute Kohlberg’s Theory
of Gender Constancy?
4. AO2 – Kohlberg (1966)
◦1. The Ken Doll Experiment
◦2. Gender Constancy level and observation of same-
sex role model
5. Slaby & Frey (1975)
◦ Slaby and Frey (1975) set out to determine whether children’s attention to same-sex
models was influenced by their level of gender constancy.
◦ Fifty-five 2- to 5-year-olds’ level of gender constancy was assessed by using a series of
fourteen questions and counter-questions. Several questions tapped gender labelling.
For instance:
◦ Is this a girl or a boy? (showing boy/girl doll)
◦ Are you a girl or a boy?
◦ Further questions tapped gender stability. For instance:
◦ When you were a little baby were you a little girl or a little boy?
◦ When you grow up, will you be a mummy or a daddy?
◦ A final set of questions tapped gender consistency. For instance:
◦ If you wore [opposite of child’s sex] clothes, would you be a girl or a boy?
◦ Could you be a [opposite of child’s sex] if you wanted to be?
6. Slaby & Frey (1975)
◦ Children were classified as low on gender constancy if they answered incorrectly on the
gender labelling or gender stability items, and otherwise were identified as high on
gender constancy.
◦ Several weeks after this interview the children were shown a short film showing a man
and a woman engaging in simple parallel activities on different sides of the screen. The
amount of time that children’s eyes were fixated on each side of the screen was
measured.
◦ Slaby and Frey found support for their hypothesis that children with higher levels of
gender constancy would show more selective attention to same-sex models.
7. Slaby & Frey (1975)
◦ Higher Gender Constancy in children predicts greater same-sex role
model observation
◦ “Actively seeking correct same-sex behaviour from role models”
9. Weinraub (1984)
◦Observed in a room full of gender stereotyped and
gender neutral toys.
◦Children who had mastered gender identity made more
sex-stereotyped toy preferences than children who
hadn’t acquired gender identity
10. Weinraub (1984)
◦Once children identify themselves, they behave in
ways that they think individuals of that sex should
behave
11. Gender Identity
2-3.5
Gender Stability
3.5-5
Gender Constancy
5-7
Child recognises he/she is
a boy/girl
Awareness that gender is
fixed for life
Gender is constant
despite changes in
appearance
Weinraub (1984) Ken Doll Experiment Slaby & Frey (1975)
18. Cognitive Development
To Start: Schema?
3 minutes
You have three minutes to discuss:
1) What is a Schema?
2) How can we define a Schema?
3) How do Schemas relate to gender
development?
19. What is a Schema?
Cognitive Development
Organised clusters of information.
A mental blue print of information.
E.g. When we say picnic, what do we think of? What is
expected?
A cognitive framework which helps
us to organise and interpret information. They focus on things
which help us to confirm our pre-existing ideas or beliefs and
often contribute to stereotypes.
So, what gender schemas exist..?
20. Ingroup and Outgroup Schemas
Cognitive Development
5 Minutes
Ingroup: Groups we identify with. E.g. if you’re a girl you identify with girls.
Outgroup: Groups that we don’t identify with. E.g. if you’re a girl you don’t identify with
boys.
Once a child has identified with a group, this leads them to positively evaluate their own
group. This leads them to be like their own group and avoid behaviours of the outgroup. They
focus on ingroup schemas before gender constancy.
21. Gender Schema Theory
◦Gender Schemas are building blocks of knowledge we have
about each gender
◦Gender Schemas can be made up of stereotypes we have
about men and women, (behaviours; clothes; roles).
◦Gender Schemas become less rigid with experience and
knowledge
22. Gender Schema Theory
Martin and Halverson (1981)
Cognitive Development
Gender is acquired by gathering information about
our own gender. But this happens before Gender
Constancy.
Being able to identify oneself as a girl or boy is
enough for us to get involved in gender-appropriate
behaviours.
23. Schemas
Cognitive Development
5 Minutes
Children learn gender schemas from their interactions with other children and adults.
They learn what toys are appropriate to each gender.
They are naïve theories about appropriate behaviour for men and women.
24. Resilience of Gender Beliefs
Cognitive Development
5 Minutes
Gender beliefs lead children to hold very fixed schemas of gender because they ignore any
information they encounter which is not consistent with the ingroup.
Individuals do not alter their gender schema when they see gender inappropriate behaviour.
Therefore gender schemas are essential in determining what is remembered.
25. Gender Schema Theory
Cognitive Development
Are stereotypical gender schema’s still valid? Are schema’s generational? Why?
Do people always follow their schemas? Are schemas reliable in predicting behaviour?
Gender schema theory emphasises how schemas develop but not where they originate; cognitive
aspects tend to overlook the impact of parents, friends, school and the media on the development
of gender schemas.
Does it explain why children are frequently highly sexist despite the best efforts of parents.
Children do insist on playing with Barbie dolls and toy guns.
26. Gender Schema Theory
Cognitive Development
As soon as Children can label themselves as male or female, the environment provides
information about certain toys or activities that are either masculine or feminine
This allows the child to create in and out-group schemas
Children will be driven to explore in-group activities
27. Timeline of Gender Schema
development
◦ Young children concentrate on their own gender and ignore the
information about the opposite sex.
Age 6 Age 12
Male Schema
Female
Schema
28. Martin (1989)
◦ Aim: To show that children’s understanding of gender becomes more
flexible with age and experience
◦ “Jenny is a 5-year-old girl. Here is a picture of
Jenny. Jenny's best friend is a boy and Jenny likes
to play with trains.”
Editor's Notes
Male and female annotate
Once this understanding is present and the environment provides information about certain toys or activities as masculine or feminine (which is organised in the in-group – out-group schema), children will be driven to find out more about the in-group set of toys or activities. In this way, the in-group – out-group schema determines what information goes into the more detailed and elaborate own sex schema:
They do timeline for girls too on worksheet
Which toy would jenny play with? Younger children would only say gender –typical toy regardless of other information
