Starters

1. Starters • Complete crossword exercise 6.7 PHG Gender pack • Check answers to T/F and drawing Turner’s and Kleinfelter’s • Answer exam question (4 marks) • Play domino activity

3. Answers • 1. David Reimer was raised as a girl for 14 years – True • 2. The twin boys were called Bruce and Ben – False, Bruce and Brian. • 3. The circumcision was when the boys were 7 months old – True • 4. The penis was cut off – False, it was burned off. • 5. Dr Money thought that nature was more important than nurture in developing a baby’s gender – False, he argued that nurture is more important. • 6. Hermaphrodites are the same as other children – False, they receive different amounts of hormones in the womb. • 7. Bruce was castrated at the age of 2 years and made into a girl called Brenda – True 8. Dr Money announced when Brenda was 7 that a boy if given the correct upbringing could be turned into a girl – True 9. Dr Money’s theory was called the ‘theory of gender humanity’ – False, it was called the ‘theory of gender neutrality’.

4. 10. Dr Money was not aware his theory and the gender reassignment was not working when he published his book – False, he only published positive aspects. Dr Money’s notes indicate that Brenda was showing some problems before he published the book. 11. Dr Money put pressure on Brenda to have surgery because he was concerned that his theory would fail – True 12. Dr Money stressed that Brenda was never to be told about her real identity for her gender change to work. – True 13. Brenda was 13 when she was told she was in fact born a boy – True 14. Dr Money published that his theory was not a success after David had a sex reassignment completed – False, he continued to publicise the case as a success. 15. The research supports the nurture side of the debate – False, the study shows that nature can’t be over-ridden by nurture.

6. Question 13 2017 Two mothers are talking about their respective children Ben and Dido. One of the children has Turner’s syndrome and the other has Klinefelter’s syndrome. Ben’s mum says, ‘He had problems at school, and there were physical differences too.’ Dido’s mum says, ‘She did better at schoolwork in some ways than other children. But physically, there will always be noticeable differences.’ Referring to the comments about Ben and Dido, outline Turner’s syndrome and Klinefelter’s syndrome. [4 marks]

7. Marks for this question: AO2 = 4 marks Application to Ben : Ben is male – Klinefelter’s syndrome is a chromosomal disorder occurring in males with an extra X chromosome (XXY pattern) • school problems mentioned by Ben’s mum might include: problems reading and writing; a tendency to get upset/depressed easily; passivity compared to other boys • physical differences referred to by Ben’s mum might include: extra height/long legs, small testes, lacking facial hair. Application to Dido : Dido is female – Turner’s syndrome is a chromosomal disorder occurring in females with a missing X chromosome (XO pattern) • effects at school mentioned by Dido’s mum might include: good language skills/reading • physical effects referred to by Dido’s mum might include: short stature, no breast development, short neck, later infertility. From the examiner’s report: This question was generally well answered, with many students gaining full marks. As it was an application question, students needed to refer to the stem to gain credit. This was usually achieved by simply stating that the ‘physical differences would be ….’ or Dido did ‘better at school because she …’. Some students confused Turner’s syndrome and Klinefelter’s syndrome completely. It was fairly common to see confusion about which of the two conditions involved better language skills, mathematical skills and spatial ability. Just occasionally, an otherwise very good answer did not receive full credit because the relevant sex chromosome patterns were omitted.

8. Cognitive Explanations for Gender Development Pages 156-157 Year 2 PHG book Very likely to come up this year as it hasn’t come up at all in 2017 or 2018 PSYB1 Specification Details: Kohlberg’s theory, gender identity, gender stability and gender constancy

9. The Cognitive Theory of Gender Development KEY QUESTION : How do children develop an understanding of gender? Kohlberg’s - Gender consistency Theory

10. Cognitive explanations • There are several explanations of gender development – two of these are cognitive explanations • They are specifically cognitive-developmental explanations because they share the view that a child’s mental concept of gender becomes more sophisticated with age (changes over time) • The first cognitive-developmental explanation was proposed on Lawrence Kohlberg (1966) who suggested that a child’s understanding of gender develops in three stages

11. Kohlberg’s cognitive-development theory So any differences in male and female behaviour is due to cultural differences in what is perceived as masculine and feminine. Kohlberg believed that these stages were universal – it doesn’t matter where in the world you are, children still go through the same cognitive development.

12. Gender Identity • Children begin to think about gender at approx. 2 years and are able to correctly identify themselves as a boy or a girl – this is gender identity. • At 3, most children can respond to questions such as ‘Which one of these is like you?’ when shown a picture of a man or a woman • Children believe that their sex can change – a girl may want to be a daddy when she grows up • Typical 2 year olds believe that changing clothes can change a person’s sex i.e. a boy in a dress becomes a girl • Children may show a preference for playing with children of their own sex – this is only because they see themselves as belonging to that particular group.

13. At the age of 4 (approx.) children begin to realise that their sex will not change over time – this shows they have acquired gender stability. Due to being egocentricthey do not realise that this also applies to other people Children still see certain characteristics as being masculine or feminine, and assume that someone doing a heavy labour job – like on a building site, must be a man. Gender Stability A woman doing a man’s job would be labelled ‘a man’. Egocentric: can only see things from their own perspective – they are the centre of the universe!

14. Gender Constancy • Approximately 6 years: children begin to appreciate that other people have a different point of view from their own – they are less egocentric – they ‘de-centre’. • They realise that everyone’s gender is constant and that changes in outward appearances do not influence whether someone is male or female – this is known as conservation. • A person’s sex is the same across time and different situations. • They might, however, still regard a man in a dress as strange or unusual • Kohlberg believed that it was at this time that children actively seek out role models to imitate to help them develop their sense of gender.

15. Piaget’s theory of conservation • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZtHLspSgks

16. Gender appropriate role models • Gender constancy is also significant in that children of this age begin to seek out gender-appropriate role models to identify with and imitate. (link to SLT) • This connects with ideas presented by the social learning theory (although SLT argue that these processes can occur at any age rather than after the age of 6) • For Kohlberg, once the child has a fully developed and internalised the concept of gender at the constancy stage, they embark upon an active search for evidence which confirms that concept

18. Supporting evidence Marcus & Overton (1978) • Using a flip book, children were shown ‘muddled’ pictures where hairstyles and clothes of a male and female character could be changed. The children were then asked what sex they thought the character was. • Younger children believed that changing clothes can change a person’s sex i.e. a boy in a dress becomes a girl • Older children understood that gender is constant and that changes in outward appearances do not influence whether someone is male or female

19. The Ken doll experiment • https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZb2len6f18 Now complete activities 6.8 and 6.9 PHG Gender pack

20. Evidence to support the sequence of stages • Slaby and Frey (1975) investigated the development of children’s understanding of gender in relation to the attention they give to the same-sex models • Children between age of 2-5 , divided into high and low gender constancy groups, shown a silent film. • 2 adult models, one male and one female carrying out stereotyped gender role activity (baking/changing a wheel), screen was split • Children watched both films and eye movement and direction of gaze were recorded to assess which film they looked at most. • They found that the child that had reached high levels of gender constancy spent more time watching same sex models than those with low levels of gender constancy. • Supporting Kohlberg's claims that children pay attention to same sex models after stage of constancy has been reached.

21. Evaluation • Constancy is not supported • Despite the supporting evidence, there is further evidence that suggests that many children begin to demonstrate gender-appropriate behaviour before gender constancy is achieved • Bussey and Bandura (1992) found that children as young as 4 reported ‘feeling good’ about playing with gender-appropriate toys and ‘feeling bad’ about doing the opposite • This contradicts what Kohlberg would predict but does support the gender-schema theory, which suggests that children begin to absorb gender-appropriate information as soon as they identify themselves as either male or female

22. Evaluation • Methodological issues • Kohlberg’s theory was developed using interviews with children who were, in some cases, as young as 2 and 3 years old • Although the questions asked were tailored toward the particular age group he was dealing with, Kohlberg may not have acknowledged that very young children lack the vocabulary required to express understanding • The children may have relatively complex ideas about gender but not the verbal ability to express these – therefore what they express might not truly reflect their understanding

23. Evaluation – comparisons with other approaches Comparisons with biological approach • The apparent universality of Kohlberg’s stages supports the idea that the sequence of gender development may have a biological basis because all males and females seem to progress in the same way. This suggests that it may be driven by nature because otherwise we would expect to see differences in different cultures if gender differences were solely due to environmental influences. Comparisons with social learning theory • SLT places much more emphasis on external influences on the child’s development, such as the role of socialisation, than Kohlberg does, Kohlberg proposes that gender development occurs as a consequence of natural processes of maturation.

24. Can you…? • Outline the difference in understanding of gender between the gender stability stage and the gender constancy stage. • Describe one study that investigated Kohlberg’s research into gender development • Explain one methodological issue with Kohlberg’s research into gender development • Briefly explain one ethical issue that often arises when using young children in investigations about their understanding of gender development

25. Learning Check Ensure you have written up your class notes to include the following: • The assumptions of Kohlberg’s theory of gender development • The names, ages and descriptions of Kohlberg’s stages of gender development • Research that supports Kohlberg’s theory • Evaluations of Kohlberg’s theory, including comparisons with other approaches

26. Evaluations – page 157 Make notes under these headings • Evidence to support the sequence of stages • Constancy is not supported • Methodological issues • Comparisons with other approaches