Theories of Gender Development

Ch 5

Chapter Overview

I. Directed Free WritingII. “Quiz”III. Theories of Gender Development

A. PsychodynamicB. Social Learning TheoryC. Cognitive Developmental TheoryD. Gender Schema TheoryE. Gender Script Theory

IV. Y.J.U.V. Which one is best?

I. Directed Free Writing

What do women really want?

Bring to class

Button, needle, threadHair curlers Electric iron and shirt

NecktieShoe polishScrewdriver, board, and screw

II. “Quiz”

1. Freud thought women were inferior to men.

True

2. All girls wish that they had a penis.

According to Freud, true.

3. Boys work toward separation from mother, rejecting femininity and girls retain connectedness with mother, becoming feminine.

According to Chodorow, true.

4. Boys are punished for having feminine traits and rewarded for having masculine traits.

According to Social Learning Theory, true.

5. There are more boys in cartoons than girls.

True

6. Parents tend to choose masculine toys for boys and feminine or neutral toys for girls, even when the children are too young to care.

True

7. Very young children do not have gender constancy, e.g., they think that one can change his or her sex

True

8. If you raise a boy to be a girl, he will act just like a girl.

Watch the video.

9. Sexual stereotyping is good because it makes it easier to classify behavior and objects which can give people feelings that the environment is manageable and predictable.

True

10. Sexual stereotyping is bad because it leads to inaccurate perceptions of what is acceptable for men and women to do and it can cause failures to accept information that does not fit the stereotype.

True

III. Theories of Gender Development

A. Psychodynamic

1. Freud (late 1800’s)

a. What is the unconscious?

b. What are the Psychosexual Stages?

c. What is the Oedipal Phase?

c. What’s with Freud and Women?

2. Karen Horneya. Social emphasisb. Changed masculine

bias• Penis envy eliminated• Postulated men’s

claim of female inferiority covers male feelings of inferiority

• Female masochism is not normal

• Women’s problems are social.

3. Contemporary Psychoanalytic Theories try to remove the sexist elements from traditional psychoanalytic theory and try to reformulate psychoanalytic concepts.

a. Nancy Chododorow• Emphasis on Social• Concentrates on

mother-infant relationship (pre-Oedipal).

• Separation Differences• boys have to strive for

separation• girls don’t need the

same amount of separation.

• Antigone phase replaces Oedipus phase

• In a patriarchal family…• Men who do not

overcome the Oedipus phase treat women as extensions of themselves and their needs

• women who fail to overcome the Antigone phase never acknowledge their own needs.

b. Ellyn Kaschak

Antigone: The plot

• Ellyn Kaschak’ Theory– Antigone = the caregiver of her father– Antigone’s relationship w/ her father is like

women’s relationships w/ their fathers/husbands. – Social structure => subordination of women to men,

=> Antigone dilemma => women are caregivers.– Men treat women as extensions (aka property) of

themselves. Family violence perpetrated by the father/husband is based on the privilege derived from this position. Johnson (1995) called it “patriarchal terrorism.”

– Women who separate from fathers (resolve Antigone phase) => more independent..

B. Social Learning Theory:1. Gender is learned

2. Methods of learning

a. Operant Conditioning: (reinforcement, and punishment)

b. Albert BanduraObservational Learning:

Children observe gender-related behaviors from many models & display appropriate gender behaviors due to observation & modeling.

Kindergarten Cop

Flower Drum Song

Demonstration:

1. List some skills that you have you developed that are unique to your gender role.

2. Try something the other gender has to learn.

3. Write your reaction to this demonstration.

C. Cognitive Developmental Theory 1. Learning gender-related behaviors is part

of children's cognitive development 2. Developed from Piaget’s Cognitive

Developmenta. 0-2 year-olds have no gender identity. b. Eventually children learn correct labels for

themselves & others. c. Gender constancy is an important learning

3. Problem: research indicates that gender constancy does not necessarily develop before other gender knowledge

4. Advantage: it correctly predicts gender stereotyping which is common among children.

D. Gender Schema Theory1. Children develop schemata for gender.

• What’s a schema?

2. Gender-related behaviors appear from:a. general cognitive development

b. adoption of schemata related to gender. (Children come to understand masculinity and femininity, and they attend to and come to behave in ways consistent with their schema.)

3. Gender schemata influence information processing, memory, and attitudes, causing gender stereotyping.

Stereotyping

Preconceived Notion of

Group Traits

Consistent Information

InconsistentInformation

InformationRetained

InformationMostly

Forgotten or Seen as an Exception

Stereotype Strengthened

No Effect on

Stereotype

IV. YJU: Which one is best?