Gender Schema Theory

Martin and Halverson

• children seek to acquire information about their gender
• gender labelling is sufficient for a child to pay attention to gender specific behaviours

Schema

Schema

• Schemas - organised clusters of info about gender-appropriate behaviour
• Children learn schema from their interactions with people - learning what toy/clothes are appropriate for their gender

Ingroup Processes

• Ingroup Processes - boys/girls focus on the processes that apply to their gender
• Out group processes - individuals ignore the processes that do not apply to their gender
• Leads to positive evaluation of the ingroup and negative evaluation of the outgroup

Resilience of Gender Beliefs

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• Children ignore info not consistent with gender beliefs
• So very difficult to bring about change

Peer Relationships

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• children believe same sex peers are 'like me' and therefore more fun to play with.
• They also learn to avoid negative consequences of ignoring schema's such as being teased

Life on the Edge

Research Support

Little and Martin (1990)

• found that children under the age of four, who showed no signs of gender stability or constancy, nevertheless demonstrated strongly sex-typed behaviours and attitudes
• Kohlberg - constancy is required before gender roles
• GST - roles identified much earlier

Even Earlier

Zosuls et 2009

• Zosuls (09) observed children playing and concluded that they were using gender labels by 19 months. However, they may show gender typed behaviour preferences earlier than this.

Consistent v Inconsistent images

Martin and Halverston

• showed 5 and 6 year old children pictures of people carrying out activities. Sometimes these pictures were schema-consistent (for example, a girl playing with a doll) and sometimes they were gender-inconsistent (for example, a girl playing with a gun)

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• recall for schema-consistent pictures was generally good. However, when schema inconsistent pictures were recalled they were often distorted so that the expected sex was remembered as carrying out the activity (for example, children recalled that the boy had been playing with a gun rather the girl)

Organise New Info

Bradbard

• found that 4-9 year olds took more interest in (paid more attention to) toys labelled as in-group and remembered more details about them.
• remembered more in-group items a week later
• Schema's help organise new information

Rigidity

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• This theory can account for why children's beliefs and attitudes about sex roles are so rigid. Children ignore behaviours which go against gender schemas, e.g. female mechanics Studies support this, e.g. when young children watch films which depict contradicting gender role behaviours, they tune them out

but.... there is hope

Hoffman 98

• reported that children whose mothers work have less stereotyped views of what men do.
• direct experience is required to challenge sterotypes

Bike