A Schematic Processing Model of Sex Typing and Stereotyping in Children

Martin, Carol Lynn; Halverson, Charles F.

doi:10.2307/1129498

Cited by 628 publications

(288 citation statements)

References 83 publications

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“…Lipsitz-Bem(1983) claims that children of two to three years old will start to relate to binary categorisations of male and female. Additionally, Martin and Halverson (1981) suggests that children organise and attach meaning to the information observed. This gendering process is assumed to start when the child is able to classify her/himself as one of the binary categories.…”

Section: Gender Schemasmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perceptions of gender in early years

Wingrave

2016

Gender and Education

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This article presents an exploration of a group of Early Years Practitioners' (EYPs) perceptions of gender that may provide some insight into the growing divide between boys' and girls' educational performance (Burusic et al., 2012). I argue that the current media and educational interest in the gendered brain (Sax, 2005) and the influences that surround the child (Eckert and McConnell, 2013), can result in children acquiring social expectations and attitudes to learning that are different for both sexes. The frequent dimorphic treatment of boys and girls is often based on assumed biological differences (Baron-Cohen et al, 2004) that suggest that the sexes learn differently. This can result in the approaches to the care and education of children being established on their sex categories rather than their individual needs. My focus here is to explore practitioners' expectations and understanding of children's behaviour and learning in the nursery environment. The study is premised on the belief that practitioners' perceptions of gender could, as argued by Eliot (2009), result in self-fulfilling prophecies being (re)produced and (re)created. The deployment of stereotypical assumptions and practices could, I suggest, limit children's opportunities. The data used here is drawn from my doctoral study of the nature of gender as was understood by eight EYPs who took part in five discussion group sessions. An interpretative paradigm was adopted, where the EYPs' discussed their experiences and understanding of gender from their practice. Following Holloway and Wheeler (2013), the study explored experiences and perceptions in order to illuminate meaning and understanding. The findings indicated that there is a belief amongst the group of practitioners with whom I worked that gender is either innate or learned and that EYPs play no role in its development. The tentative conclusions suggest that changes to the education and training of EYPs are required in order to raise awareness of gender issues in nurseries. I suggest that there is a need to place gender back on the education and training agenda for EYP in order to support changes to practice that could, in turn, provide children with more equitable teaching and learning experiences.

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Section: Gender Schemasmentioning

confidence: 99%

Perceptions of gender in early years

Wingrave

2016

Gender and Education

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“…These shifts were in large part due to critique concerning the assumption that biological sex determines which gender role identity is 'appropriate' and functional (Pleck 1981). Information processing perspectives (such as Bem 1981a, 1981b, Martin and Halverson 1981 illustrate these shifts. Theoretical perspectives that share the assumptions of the gender role beliefs paradigm, argue that males and females experience external social pressure to achieve gender-related social norms.…”

Section: Theoretical Rationale Of Measuring Gender As An Individual Pmentioning

confidence: 99%

Beyond traditional understanding of gender measurement: the gender (re)presentation approach

Luyt

2013

Journal of Gender Studies

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This paper considers different approaches to measuring gender. It critically reviews gender role theorising and describes how this has informed two approaches to measuring gender as an individual phenomenon: gender orientation (the assessment of individual traits) and gender ideology (assessing individual endorsement, and internalisation, of social norms). It is argued here that social constructionist perspectives offer a viable alternative to gender role theory and that these inform an alternative approach to measuring gender as a social phenomenon: gender (re)presentation. This approach assesses group level endorsement of dominant gender representations. Endorsement is not seen to reflect individual traits or internalised social norms.Rather, it is understood as a social practice, made meaningful through shared understanding of dominant gender representation. This approach is introduced through critique of the traditional concept of attitudes and a reformulation thereof. The practical measurement implications and benefit of this reformulation are outlined.

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“…The cognitive approach to gender development gained even more momentum with the advent of gender schema theories, including the versions that focused on individual differences (Bem, 1981;H. Marcus, Crane, Bernstein, & Siladi, 1982) and those that focused on developmental issues (Liben & Signorella, 1980;Martin & Halverson, 1981). Although the versions of gender schema theory differed from one other and from Kohlberg's ideas, each of these cognitive approaches recognized the active and constructive processes involved in gender development.…”

Section: A Theoretical Debate Beginsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Kohlberg (1966) and others (e.g., Huston, 1983) fully acknowledged the influence of gender role socialization on children's behavior prior to the acquisition of gender cognitions. Martin and Halverson (1981), in their original proposal about gender schemas, also stated quite openly that "children could show some sex typing of behavior before the age at which schemas are present" (p. 1129). Cognitive perspectives have never denied that early gender-typed behavior may occur because of biological predispositions or because of processes emphasized by SCT, such as reinforcement.…”

Section: Discounting Cognition: Moving Against Integrationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cognitive theories of early gender development.

Martin¹,

Ruble

Szkrybalo

2002

Psychological Bulletin

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533

514

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The contribution of cognitive perspectives (cognitive-developmental theory and gender schema theory) to a contemporary understanding of gender development is evaluated. Recent critiques of cognitive approaches are discussed and empirical evidence is presented to counter these critiques. Because of the centrality of early gender development to the cognitive perspective, the latest research is reviewed on how infants and toddlers discriminate the sexes and learn the attributes correlated with sex. The essence of cognitive approaches-emphasis on motivational consequences of gender concepts; the active, self-initiated view of development; and focus on developmental patterns-is highlighted and contrasted with social-cognitive views. The value of cognitive theories to the field is illustrated, and recommendations are made concerning how to construct comprehensive, integrative perspectives of gender development.How individuals develop a "gendered" self and gender-typed differentiation has intrigued researchers of human behavior for as long as social development has been a field of empirical study. Initially, observations of clear gender typing in children as young as 5 years old led researchers to examine how socialization processes in the home might contribute to this early acquisition of gender-linked behavior (e.g., Sears, Maccoby, & Levin, 1957). In 1966, several important theories of gender development, including Kohlberg's cognitive-developmental approach and Mischel's social learning approach, were outlined in Maccoby's book on the development of sex differences. In the mid-1970s, a groundbreaking book by Maccoby and Jacklin (1974) broadened the discussion about the etiology of sex differences and gender typing and questioned the significance of socialization processes, thereby invigorating the field and generating considerable controversy. In the 1980s, Huston (1983Huston ( , 1985 called for researchers to develop a more integrative, comprehensive approach to the study of gender development. This integration was to include consideration of the many facets of gender that needed investigation, such as concepts, identity, preferences, and behavior, as well as a wide variety of factors that influence the development of these facets, including biology, cognitions, and social influences. This idea resonated with gender researchers and has been a driving force in the field ever since, leading to an expansion of theoretical approaches and the inclusion of multiple measures in empirical studies.Recently, Bussey and Bandura (1999) presented a socialcognitive theory (SCT) of gender development and differentiation. This theory represents a particular view of how gender-related behavior is acquired and maintained, based on contemporary social learning theory (Bandura, 1986). Because the theory has now integrated cognitive constructs and makes reference to biological underpinnings and sociostructural factors, Bussey and Bandura described their theory as comprehensive and integrative, consistent with Huston's (1983) proposal,...

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A Schematic Processing Model of Sex Typing and Stereotyping in Children

Cited by 628 publications

References 83 publications

Perceptions of gender in early years

Perceptions of gender in early years

Beyond traditional understanding of gender measurement: the gender (re)presentation approach

Cognitive theories of early gender development.

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