Cognitive explanations of gender development: Kohlberg's theory — gender identity, gender stability and gender constancy
Kohlberg argued that children actively think their way through three stages to understand their own gender. They move from simply labelling themselves, to knowing gender is permanent, to realising gender never changes regardless of appearance.
Real World
A two-year-old who calls every adult with long hair 'Mummy' demonstrates gender identity without stability — exactly the limited, appearance-based reasoning Kohlberg described at stage one.
Exam Focus
Sequence the three stages in order with approximate ages; 'discuss' questions expect you to evaluate Kohlberg using evidence such as Slaby and Frey (1975).
Evaluation Scaffold
A four-step framework for high-quality evaluation. Use this for 'assess', 'evaluate', and 'to what extent' questions.
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