Psychology of gender
John Hardin
Psychology of Gender
Professor Rickabaugh
Process of Developing Adult Gender Roles In a society so diverse with gender stereotypes and biases, children develop gender roles that are not always the same. In the transition from childhood into adolescence, children are exposed to many factors that affect their attitudes toward gender. While Biology plays a large role in gender development, the child’s environment is the major influence when shaping gender development. Environmental influence is basically the world around the child, with the strongest influence coming from the family setting. A child’s earliest exposure of what it means to be male or female comes from parents. Parental influence and the environment the child grows up in, will justify the type of gender role they will enter into as an adult. Gender Identity refers to identifying and accepting ones’ self as male or female, it is essential for children to get a sense of their gender identity at a very early age. Once a child has developed an identity of their own gender they need to accept that it is permanent trait, known as gender constancy. Gender constancy requires two components: Gender stability – the knowledge that their gender is a stable, and personal characteristic, and Gender consistency – the belief that people retain their gender even when they dress as the opposite sex, or adopt gender peculiar behavior. Children develop their gender identity through parental influence, cultural influence, and social influence by the child’s peers. Parental influence in the family setting is divided into separate roles for the parents. The father tends to be more involved when the child gets older, but fills a role to be more of a helper, while the mother is the primary caregiver. Parents encourage their sons and daughters to engage is sex-typed activities such as sports for boys, and house type activities for girls. Early in development, children
Psychology of Gender
Professor Rickabaugh
Process of Developing Adult Gender Roles In a society so diverse with gender stereotypes and biases, children develop gender roles that are not always the same. In the transition from childhood into adolescence, children are exposed to many factors that affect their attitudes toward gender. While Biology plays a large role in gender development, the child’s environment is the major influence when shaping gender development. Environmental influence is basically the world around the child, with the strongest influence coming from the family setting. A child’s earliest exposure of what it means to be male or female comes from parents. Parental influence and the environment the child grows up in, will justify the type of gender role they will enter into as an adult. Gender Identity refers to identifying and accepting ones’ self as male or female, it is essential for children to get a sense of their gender identity at a very early age. Once a child has developed an identity of their own gender they need to accept that it is permanent trait, known as gender constancy. Gender constancy requires two components: Gender stability – the knowledge that their gender is a stable, and personal characteristic, and Gender consistency – the belief that people retain their gender even when they dress as the opposite sex, or adopt gender peculiar behavior. Children develop their gender identity through parental influence, cultural influence, and social influence by the child’s peers. Parental influence in the family setting is divided into separate roles for the parents. The father tends to be more involved when the child gets older, but fills a role to be more of a helper, while the mother is the primary caregiver. Parents encourage their sons and daughters to engage is sex-typed activities such as sports for boys, and house type activities for girls. Early in development, children