Kohlberg's Cognitive Development Theory

Most toddlers are given one of two categories of toys: those for boys and then those for girls. When parents see that their kids are born as boys then they will probably start buying them blocks, race cars, balls, and action figures while for their daughters they will lean towards dolls, baby strollers, crowns, and kitchen sets. At sight, these toys seem harmless and innocent; that is to say what is wrong with a little boy and girl playing with their cars and dolls; however, these toys are the just the beginning of their molding. These kids are slowly being molded into their respective gender role: which are behaviors learned by an individual as appropriate to their gender. For example, gender norms or roles for a girl would be that they’re supposed to be thin, passive, and submissive to males. On the contrary, males are supposed to be dominant, stern, and sexually precious. Social media does a phenomenal job in enforcing these gender roles upon society; whether it’s a music video, movie, television show, or

To pose the question of whether the concept of gender is inherent, Orenstein references several examples that have sparked a considerable amount of discussion about how a child’s gender expression is molded by upbringing. For example, the author references a Swedish couple that adopted gender neutrality into the rearing of their

In this research study (experiment) a large amount of monkeys and rats were used to see the effects of drugs and drug addiction. The drugs tested on these animals included morphine, alcohol, codeine, cocaine and more. The researchers working on this case trained these animals to inject themselves with the given drug. The monkeys and rats were then left with a supply of their given drug and observed by the researchers. This caused the animals great stress, some ripping the fur off of their bodies, enduring withdrawals or even death.

Gender is something that is brought to the attention of people well before people are even brought into the world. Take for instance, when a woman finds out that she is pregnant and is about to have a child. The first question that that women is asked is “What are you having?” In doing this we are automatically emphasizing the importance of being able to identify whether or not to buy “boy” things or “girl” things. As a society we deem it important for each sex to practice a set of “norms” of how to behave via that sex. As a man, you are supposed to be dominant, strong, hardworking, provider, and the bread winner. As a woman, you are supposed to be submissive, weak, docile, and nurture. But where and when do these norms on how to behave

In today’s society women are still seen as fragile objects that can be broken. Moreover, Women are hired in cashier positions rather than a position that would require strength. Television depicts men as scientists thus teaching the youth that women are meant to be seen and not heard. Women have expectations and roles assigned to them even before birth. Immediately, a girl’s nursery is decorated with pink butterflies and she is expected to be gentle. Boys are told to not be a girl, that they cannot wear pink, and cannot play with Barbie’s. If a boy acts outside of this stereotype he is considered a homosexual. Stereotypes and traditional roles need to be squashed. Restricting a child to one set of behaviors can psychologically damage them. Maria do Mar Pereira, a sociological researcher, found in a study that “constant effort to manage one’s everyday life in line with gender norms produces significant anxiety, insecurity, stress and low self-esteem for both boys and girls, and both for ‘popular’ young people and those who have lower status in school” (Forcing

Unlike ‘sex’, which typically refers to the biological and physiological differences, gender is a sociological concept that describes the social and cultural constructions that is associated with one’s sex (Giddens & Sutton, 2013, p. 623-667). The constructed (or invented) characteristics that defines gender is an ongoing process that varies between societies and culture and it can change over time. For example, features that are overly masculine in one culture can be seen as feminine in another; however, the relation between the two should not be seen as static. Gender socialization is thought to be a major explanation for gender differences, where children adhere to traditional gender roles from different agencies of socialization. Gender

Following the approach of the Gender-Schema Theory, the child learns about gender in his or her society by observing behaviours of the people around him or her and then classifying the information as characteristic of different genders (Bem, 1983). The family environment and experience would therefore be central to helping the child construct schemas about gender roles since parents’ actions and attitudes are part of the information that the child receives from the environment that is integrated into the schema (McHale, Crouter, & Whiteman, 2003). Furthermore, it is possible that in mixed-gender families, the higher chances of comparisons between the two parents’ behaviours would reinforce specific ideas about gender roles than it would in families where parents are of the same gender (Endendijk et al., 2013). For example, it is often assumed in mixed-gender households that males are breadwinners of the family while females are caretakers, whereas in same-gender households, parents tend to be more open-minded about gender roles and do not necessarily subscribe to existing stereotypes (Sutfin, Fulcher, Bowles, & Patterson, 2008). Division of roles in terms of gender

Children and young adults are identifying with gender roles at a young age due to mass media. Children develop within a society that is gender-specific when it comes to social and behavioral norms. These come from the family’s structure, how they play with others and by themselves, and school.

Although some people believe that nature affects the gender identity, others argue that, based on the education an individual receives, it is actually nurture. For example, John Moore, a teacher at a female-only school, says, “My findings suggest that, in some senses, the single-sex school is strongly feminist” (Moore, 2005). On the other hand, many societies teach the children gender stereotypes to try and limit them from becoming against what the society feels is appropriate. Gender roles or stereotypes are “a set of qualities, behaviors, and attitudes that are considered appropriate for males and females based on their biological sex” (Whalen & Maurer-Starks, 2008). Most of the time, these stereotypes are taught and explained to the children in the early stages of learning, since as mentioned above, gender identity is most likely detected after the child is two years old. For example, some stereotypes say that men tend to study math and science, while women tend to study arts and literature, because they believe men are smarter than women. So, in some societies, if a woman likes to study math and science, it is considered wrong and odd. Still, not all societies believe men are smarter, but they believe women are. However, the debate on which sex is smarter is never-ending. Another gender stereotype found in many countries is that boys tend to play with toys like Lego pieces, trucks, or nowadays, one can

During the Imprint Period (0-7 years), gender stereotypes in toys affects kids development. From ages zero to seven, kids soak up everything around them “like a sponge” (“Teenager”). During the Imprint period, the "neural network for how to do things in life is being laid down," and kids develop life skills. During this time everything we see we accept as true, and

Gender roles, also known as gender stereotypes, are social and cultural norms on how females and males should conduct themselves within a society. Every culture has certain roles both genders are expected to follow. An example of this in traditional American culture is a man becoming a doctor while a female becomes a nurse or men being the hard workers and women being stay at home mothers. Gender development researchers, similar to other developmental researchers, focus on questions of change over time in gender related subjects (Ruble and Martin 1988). Research suggest that children are socialized to understand gender stereotypes at an early age. In fact, a study done in 2006 by indicated that children before 3 years of age understand concrete

2. The psychodynamic theory is associated with, Sigmund Freud and Erik Erikson. Theorists who support this theory state, early childhood experiences play a major part in later development of a child’s personality, even if it is buried in there unconscious. Psychodynamic Theorists also believe that children go through qualitatively distinct stages in their development. In my classroom, how I could apply this theory is by engaging the child on who they think they are, and how it will affect their future. Identity plays a major role in this theory, by engaging the child on who they think they are, I feel I will be able to assess their ability to learn.

This theory stresses that early experiences with parents shape one’s development. Freud is best known for his psychoanalytic theory. Freud believed that sexual motivation was behind development, so his 5 stages of development are known as psychosexual stages. Erikson believed that there were 8 stages of development as we go through life. According to Freud, the primary motivation for human behavior is sexual in nature and our basic personality is shaped in the first five years of life. According to Erikson, the primary motivation is social and reflects a desire to affiliate with other people and that development change occurs throughout the life span. Cognitive theories emphasize conscious thoughts. Piaget and Vygotsky are best known for cognitive theories. Piaget believed that children go through four stages of cognitive development as they actively construct their understanding of the world. Vygotsky’s had a sociocultural cognitive theory that emphases how culture and social interactions guide cognitive development. Behavioral and social cognitive theories emphasize continuity in development and argue that development does not occur in stage-life fashion. Skinner and Bandura are best known for there theories in behavioral and social cognitive theories. Skinner believed in operant conditioning, where the consequences of a behavior produce changes in the probability of

After baby enters the world, individuals are overwhelming with symbols and languages which build the concept of gender roles and gender stereotypes. Language fitted to girls by family might involve affection, expressivity, delicateness or frangible, on the other hand, language appropriated to descried boys by family is usually focused on physical characteristics and cultivated traits such as strength and agility. In additions, fathers play a major role of instilling their children with the strongest pressure for gender specific behavior (Long, 2011). They give rewards and positive feedback for gender behavior to daughter but punish sons for gender inappropriate behavior and given more on negative

And they start to prepare its arrival depending on which sex the baby is. The article questions the audience, “Does knowing all this makes a difference on how the parents treat the child?” Scientists are concerned about when and how do the children start to act according to their gender. The late 1960’s to 1970’s had been a turning point for the gender identification. For example, during this time period, women got the right to go out and work. The article states that, “Chronologically, another important contribution was Maccoby and Jacklin’s (1974) book, The Psychology of Sex Differences. This book presented an unparalleled synthesis of research findings on gender differences in development” (para. 9). It highlights that within-gender differences are often larger than those between the genders (a point still lost in many of the popularized beliefs held today) (Para. 9). This quote explains that the way a girl or a boy looks at the opposite gender, may not be the way the opposite gender looks at itself. It is not always what you think. Due to this reason, the book was challenging for them as it presented the idea about how the genders are different, without having any idea about how the people would react on it after having it read, as during that time a girl’s personality was the same in everyone’s views. The text further