Gender schema theory

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Developed by Martin & Halverson.

It argues that children’s understanding of gender increases with age, through actively structuring their own learning (similar to Kohlberg).

The difference is that children need not understand that gender is permanent.  Also, gender-relevant information happens before gender constancy and gender identity is all that is required.

Like SLT, children see learning ‘appropriate’ patterns of behaviour by observation.

Definition of gender schema - A mental representation of the world, an organised set of beliefs and expectations related to gender that are derived from experience.

Ingroup schemas - the group to which a person identifies.  We then positively evaluate our own group and negatively evaluate the outgroup.  This enhances self-esteem.

Gender schema theory (GST)

Around 2 years, a child has established gender identity and they can label their own sex, they actively seek their own environment for information to widen/reinforce their understanding of what it is to be male or female.

Child learns what things are associated with each sex, e.g. boys play with toy trains.

Child makes links between the different components of the schema for their own sex, e.g. a boy who plays

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