Gender, as most would argue, is primarily a social construct that evolves with the society in which we live. What is deemed appropriate for one gender the corresponding gender tends to adopt, resulting in a variety of behaviours and stereotypes. If the environment a person grows up in labels a certain activity as a 'boy thing' or a 'girl thing', does that affect the development of their gender identity?
Kohlberg's cognitive developmental theory of gender attempts to tackle the idea of gender development.
- First, let's lay the groundwork for Kohlberg's cognitive developmental theory of gender.
- Then, we'll explore the strength of Kohlberg's theory.
- Let's then take a look at Kohlberg's theory of moral development.
- We will learn what's Kohlberg's moral understanding stage theory.
- Finally, we will discuss the major criticisms of Kohlberg's theory of moral development.
Kohlberg's Cognitive Developmental Theory: Overview
Kohlberg proposed the cognitive development theory of gender, which suggests that children's gender development is based on a stage-like manner. It is thought that children attain information from the world and other people.
Kohlberg's Cognitive Development Theory of Gender
Kohlberg's cognitive development theory of gender focuses on how children develop cognitive structures to conceptualise and understand their gender and the gender of people around them.
Cognitive structures are psychological constructs such as schema or mental models used to understand and process information.
The stages of gender development, according to Kohlberg, are as follows.
Kohlberg Theory: Gender Labelling
The labelling stage occurs between the ages of two and three and is when children begin to identify the gender expressions of themselves and the people around them. They can tell others their gender and recognise those of others from their outward appearances (e.g., someone with long hair is a girl).
Additionally, their perception of gender is highly fluid at this stage; they don't see gender as a constant and believe it changes based on superficial properties such as hair length or clothing.
A child in this stage could incorrectly identify a boy with long hair as a girl.
Fig. 1 From an early age, children learn gender roles (i.e. flowers, purses, and dresses are for girls).
Kohlberg Theory: Gender Stability
The stability stage occurs around age four when children begin to recognise how gender typically stays constant as they age. They understand how girls will grow into women, and boys will become men.
However, their concept of gender still isn't consistent.
They may believe a boy might turn into a girl if he does female activities.
Kohlberg Theory: Gender Consistency
The consistency stage occurs between six and seven years of age. It is characterised by when gender becomes a more fixed concept for the child.
They realise gender is consistent through time and different situations at this stage. For instance, they can understand external changes such as hair growth and clothing choices do not change people's gender identity.
Strengths of Kohlberg's Theory
Several researchers have conducted studies that support Kohlberg's theory of gender development. Let's take a look at what they found.
1. Thompson (1975)
In this study, researchers tested a group of children aged two and three on their ability to identify their gender and the gender of others correctly. Thompson found that the older children could correctly identify genders more often than the younger children, suggesting that this skill develops between these two age groups.
This finding supports the gender labelling stage Kohlberg describes in his theory.
2. Slaby and Frey (1975)
In this study, researchers tested children aged two to five on their level of gender development. They found that children with higher levels of gender consistency were more likely to seek out same-sex role models.
This study supports Kohlberg's stages as he also states older children will show higher gender stability and consistency.
In this study, the researchers found children across multiple cultures showed signs of progressing through the stages Kohlberg described, which supports the theory.
This research also suggests that Kohlberg's theory can be universal.
Strengths of Kohlberg's Theory vs Piaget's Theory
Kohlberg's stages of gender development line up with Piaget's stages of cognitive development, in particular the idea of conservation within the concrete operational stage, which ties in with gender consistency.
Conservation is a child's cognitive ability to understand that even when a person's or object's appearances change, the basic properties do not change.
Suppose you take two equal glasses of water and pour one into a taller, thinner glass and the other into a shorter but wider glass and ask the child which glass has more water.
A child who has acquired the skill of conservation could understand that both glasses still hold an equal amount of water.
In contrast, a child who has not developed conservation skills will think that the taller and thinner glass has more water.
Concerning the child's gender development, their conservation skill allows them to understand that a person's gender does not change based on external properties, such as the activities they participate in or the way they dress.
Kohlberg and Piaget found that this conservation skill became present around ages six to seven. Both researchers agree that children develop conservation at the same age, suggesting that Kohlberg's cognitive developmental theory of gender theory has high reliability.
Fig. 2 According to O'Brien et al. (1983), children learn which toys their 'supposed' to choose based on gender from an early age.
Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Development
Kohlberg had several other theories in addition to his gender development theory. Kohlberg's theory of moral development is another of his most important contributions. In this theory, Kohlberg attempted to understand the development of moral reasoning.
Moral reasoning simply refers to the thinking and critical analysis that occurs when we decide what's right and wrong.
Kohlberg agreed with Piaget in that, as children, our moral judgements are built on our cognitive development.
Kohlberg established three distinct levels or stages of moral development, each of which must occur in an unvarying sequence. In other words, a person does not skip back and forth between the stages; each stage occurs one after another.
Kohlberg established his three levels of moral development by presenting various scenarios to children, adolescents, and adults in what's now referred to as the 'Heinz Dilemma'.
He then asked if they thought Heinz's actions regarding his sick wife were right or wrong. His analysis of their answers helped develop Kohlberg's theory.
Kohlberg's Moral Understanding Stage Theory
Let's look at the three levels of Kohlberg's moral understanding stage theory.'
| Level (approx. age) | Description | Example |
|---|
| Preconventional morality (0 to age 9) | At this age, a child only obeys rules only to avoid punishment or to receive a reward. Self-interest is foundational to moral reasoning, e.g. it's right if it serves the person. | "If you help your classmates understand an assignment, your teacher will think you're a good student." |
| Conventional morality (early adolescence) | Children and teens at this age uphold the law to maintain social order. Gaining social approval also steers moral reasoning at this stage. | "You follow all traffic rules to keep the traffic flowing and avoid accidents." |
| Postconventional morality (adolescence +) | By this stage, moral development has advanced to more complex reasoning. Ethical principles such as individual rights direct a person's morality. Some adults may never progress through this stage. | "Lying is wrong because it will mean others cannot trust you." |
Criticisms of Kohlberg's Theory of Moral Development
While it has significantly impacted the field of psychology, there are several criticisms of Kohlberg's theory of moral development.
1) Kohlberg's sample was all male. As a result, differences between men and women were not considered. Kohlberg's theory is therefore criticised for not being generalisable to the entire population.
2) Kohlberg used hypothetical scenarios. A person's answer to a hypothetical scenario may be completely different to what they do in real life. This brings into question the validity of the results.
When research does not use real-life situations, it is criticised for lacking ecological validity.
3) Kohlberg's theory suggests that justice is the most fundamental moral principle. However, other psychologists, such as Carol Gilligan (1994), argued that caring is the most fundamental moral principle.
Kohlberg Theory - Key takeaways
Kohlberg's cognitive development theory of gender focuses on how children develop cognitive structures to conceptualise and understand their gender and the gender of people around them.
Several researchers have conducted studies that support the strength of Kohlberg's theory of gender development, including Thompson (1975), Slaby and Frey (1975), and Munroe et al. (1984).
Kohlberg had several other theories in addition to his gender development theory. Kohlberg's theory of moral development is another of his most important contributions. In this theory, Kohlberg attempted to understand the development of moral reasoning.
The three levels of Kohlberg's moral understanding stage theory are:
While it has significantly impacted the field of psychology, there are several criticisms of Kohlberg's theory of moral development, such as the fact that Kohlberg's sample, when forming his theory, was all male.
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