Does Gender Influence Cognition - Essay Example

Does Gender Influence Cognition The influential nature of gender on cognition is psychologically logical as per various psychologically based hypothetical research works. Most contemporary theorists explaining the intertwined psychological nature of gender and cognition argues that cognitive process should be aptly considered in gender development. Cognitive process herein explains how the external social environment makes a tantrum mark on the child’s and individual’s gender development and how the individual human beings at their early developmental stages plays a sole role in the direction of their own gender development. Cognitive processes are liberally explained in psychology in relation to the socialization processes. Most cognitive theoretical perspectives relate to the children’s thinking in their thoughtful centrality nature to the primarily initiated gender development. Gender-based cognition theory empirically focuses on the ways under which children attend, process and organize their primary socializations as per their gender. Secondly, the gender subject behaviorally has in common a justifiable emphatic role on the active children role towards the shaping of their own development. Lastly, the active nature of child’s developmental stage helps individual psychologists to understand notably the influential nature of gender on cognition. This paper explains the influential nature of gender on cognition. Social cognitive theoretical view of the relationship between gender and cognition Gender refers to the sociological view of particular sexes in a male or female manner. Social cognitive theory on the other hand is an epistemological school of thought, which explains the relationship and influential nature of both gender and cognition critically. Tracing back in the early social learning theories; these theories’ focus psycho-socially were on simple, one-way environmental effect on behavior (Schommer, 2000). These theories nonetheless were criticized due to the psychological fact that they provided simple self-image and picture of human development and were narrower in scope. The overall idea of (SCT) henceforth is that these theories were established in relation to the fact that human development involves a complexity interplay nature of many factors. SCT is usually predominantly presented in relation to the causal agent terminology thus giving rise to the overall comparison between gender and cognition. What are the overall implications of social cognitive theory (SCT) in the understanding of gender development? Eminently, the negative parental and peer responses to individual’s behavior in most psychological scenarios aim at countering gender stereotypes. This gender stereotype counter check confirms the ideological statement that gender development psychologically is heavily and peripherally concentrated on the external sanctions in the early stages of development (Deaux & Major, 2007). Child’s developmental psychology and socialization history provides genuine information about femininity and masculinity from birth; for example, nursery décor, clothes, toys and the gender-based activities provided to the children. Consequently, there is equidistantly and undoubtedly, gender modelling stereotypes modeling in the social structures and institutions such as the family and the wider culture as a whole. When the children’s role playing motives in relation to gender are complemented, a gender role-inconsistency in behavior is achieved. The adults and peers thus resulting to a clarity as per motivational approach of the children to behave in a gender-stereotyped manner (Deaux & Major, 2007) adversely achieve this because of primary socialization fallback where the children are openly ridiculed. Additionally, there is often a logical evidence of choice and flexibility in children’s behavior, which is adversely the psychological entry point of cognitive processes. Socialization therefore plays a major role in the behavioral attribute in relation to gender. Gender as perceived in the primary socialization and cognitive behaviors present male gender as being predominant over the female gender. This has simultaneously resulted into patriarchy and male chauvinism in the social structures and institutions. Cognitive development theory: This theory postulates that the children’s self-image and view as male or female plays a critical role in the encouragement of the children to identify and endorse their gender-based roles. The cognitive development theory therefore presents itself as a critique to the social cognitive theory. Cognitive development theory critical views gender and cognition as entities, which do not necessarily focus on the cognition and internal self-regulation. Cognitive process refers to the elementary influential positions of cognitive processes in the analysis of children’s gender development (Schommer, 2000). Accordingly, basic sexual attitudes are not patterned directly by either arbitrary cultural norms or biological instincts, but by the child’s cognitive organization of their social world along the child’s ex-role dimension. For instance, boys are psychologically inducted into the social world as being masculine hence doing boys things and getting adversely an opportunity of doing boy’s things is rewarding. This cognitive perception of socialization greatly influences the general view of gender in relation to masculinity and femininity (Deaux & Major, 2007). Gender-role development henceforth is based on self-socialization; unquestionably, there is plenty of psychosocial information about gender role in the social environment. Therefore, the child actively organizes, seeks out and then behaviorally acts in accordance with the developmental stage cognitive behaviors. The gender and cognitive psychological approach to some extent traces the stages of gender development in relation to the influential nature of these psychological attributes. The first stage is the gender labelling: Children can easily identify themselves as well as other individuals as ether girls or boys (Schommer, 2000). This is the socialization epitome of gender. In this stage however, gender is not cognitively seen as a stable societal element over time or across changes in a superficially based physical paradigm such as clothing and length of individual’s hairstyles. Second attribute is the gender stability: Children liberally realize that gender stability is dependent on time. Boys as from the superficially early stage of development will grow up to be daddies whereas girls will grow up to become mummies. The unchanging nature of gender however, implies that cognitive gender recognition remains similar regardless of superficial appearance changes or activity choice whether appreciated or not. Gender consistency is the third stage of gender development. Children have emerged psychologically to have a fully triggered appreciation of the presence of gender in them across situations and over time. The gender labelling stage begins at around three years of age (Deaux & Major, 2007). At this cognitive stage, children are able to label themselves and others as eithers boys or girls. Nonetheless, the gender stability stage and appreciation as a classification would seemingly remain stable over time in the psycho-social growth and development stages. Gender schema theory epistemological relationship between gender and cognition: Cognitive processes act as a key role player in the determination of gender development drive. The role of gender constancy in the development of gender type of cognitive behavior beyond doubt influences the overall view of life in relation to femininity and masculinity. Gender schema presents the early cognitive processes that underlay the children’s ability to label themselves as either boys or girls that play the key roles in gender development (Schomer, 2000). The emergence of stereotypes in childhood is not predominantly purely a function of environmental input, but rather the normal and consequential perfection of children’s modes of information processing. Stereotype in the schema theoretical view is adversely the efficient system of predicting and handling larger socialization informational amounts. In the gender-based cognitive reasoning, if information is not categorized in an organized manner efficient life management is impossible just as the case in the early stages of cognitive development. Making psychosocial informational generalizations therefore is an important attribute in learning of the influential nature of gender on cognition (Deaux & Major, 2007). For children undergoing socialization exposure in their early developmental stages, enlightenment and simplification processes of the influential nature of gender to cognition progression is necessary in order to make sense of the complex world around them. In conclusion, the psychoanalytical view and perspective enlightens on the importance of early childhood cognitive behaviorism approach and experience on gender development. The psychoanalytical influence of gender on cognition should be studied emphatically in relation to psychosexual dynamics adversely experienced in the early psychosocial stages of development. A dominant psychosocial research in the modern contemporary world has methodologically embarked on gender development concerns as well as the relative influential nature of gender cognitive and social factors. Ideologically, social learning theoretical approach postulates eminently that children’s gender development from early stages is a product of their social experiences and induction into the societal ways of life. This theoretical view of gender prejudice in relation to cognition embarks on a serious scrutiny of the parental socialization. The focal point of social learning theory is on the reinforcement gender-typed behavior of peer and parents as well as on the children’s observational skepticism of gender stereotypes of the social world around them. Cognitive theory on the other hand is a more composed and revised theoretical approach on gender and cognition. This theory applauds the influential nature of gender on cognition through the active role of children in their societal observational learning processes. Lastly, the cognitive theory represents a modern and critical version of the influential nature of gender on cognition. This theoretical view of the psychosocial developmental life proposed a developmental sequence of stages in child’s gender conceptualization. The child’s life constancy of gender of gender theoretically underlies their tendency to aptly adhere to gender role information. References Deaux, K., & Major, B. (2007). Putting gender into context: An interactive model of gender- related behavior. Psychological review, 94(3), 369. Schommer, M. (2000). Effects of beliefs about the nature of knowledge on comprehension. Journal of educational psychology, 82(3), 498. Read More