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Gender role and sex are two areas that greatly impact child development and

socialization. While our sex dictates physical development, how we come to perceive our gender

role is psychological. Gender role theories attempt to understand the mechanisms that help to

shape the individual’s opinions and perceptions about what constitutes appropriate behavior for

their sex. There are four theories pertaining to how our sense of gender role develops:

psychoanalytic, social learning or social cognition, cognitive development, and gender schema.

Sometimes unusual circumstances provide valuable windows of insight into that which

influences the perception of gender, such as when examining the behavioral development of

twins of the opposite sex.

At the core of each theory on its development is that a child recognizes the role of gender

as a gradual awareness through social experiences. In the psychoanalytic theory a child typically

identifies more with the behaviors of the parent of the same sex, but thereby they seek the

attention and approval of the opposite parent by a greater margin or even in mimicry of they with

whom they most identify. An example offered for this theory would be a young boy that is

naturally fearful and humble before his father while loving and compliant with his mother. The

theory holds that because the child is male and their father is male, that the child will believe his

father to be displeased by the more open love he seeks from his mother, when in fact he is just

developing his own sense and desire over his gender role.

The theory of social learning or social cognition states, similarly to psychoanalytics, that

typically a child engages in gender appropriate ways since this is when they will most likely be

praised or rewarded for their actions. Some common activities such as a little boy helping his

dad work on his car, an act typically done by a man, or a little girl helping her mom cook and

clean will have a large influence in what children perceive to be correct behavior for the role of
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their gender. Adding to social learning is the theory on cognitive development, which explains

that at around the age of 5 or 6 a child will have come to realize the existence of different gender

and begin to identify and desire new activities within the context of this prism. So even if she

has never done it, a little girl might pretend to put on make up after identifying that it is

something pleasing that only girls do, or conversely a little boy might fantasize about being a

football player, since it is a sport in which he only sees men.

The last theory is called the gender schema theory, which links gender role exclusively

with the way one comes to perceive their own personal identity. A schema refers to the

gathering of experiences and understandings. According to this theory, as a child develops and

their schema grows, they begin to perceive and understand what is appropriate for each gender.

They observe the consequences of the behavior around them and based on their conclusions they

commit to belief whether or not a certain act is appropriate for the opposite sex. The perception

that women should only be homemakers is an example of a popular gender schema within our

culture. How we act within our gender role comes first and foremost down to how we perceive

ourselves.

One of the more unusual and teachable insights into the development and role of gender

comes from relationship that twins of the opposite sex share. Typically a child that is born into

the world on its own is going to either show signs of acting, playing, and conducting activities

with others of the same sex. However, the extensive interaction shared between twins can lead

them to act in more gender neutral ways, with desires and inclinations towards activities not

normally characteristic to their gender role. The obvious example is a little girl being a tomboy:

wanting to run around with the boys, playing sports and “horsing around.” However opposite

exists with little boys that come to enjoy dramatic play and the liberal arts. While in most cases
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as the twins grow and become more socially aware of the standard gender role they will behave

in a more male/female way, it is simply likely that because the children are so close and tend to

do most things together, they just do not have a very large perception of a great difference in

gender roles when it comes to what activities one should or should not do.

Theories on the role of gender attempt to discuss the way a child comes to perceive and

obtain an opinion on what is appropriate for each gender. Whether it is for the attention of a

parent, as a result of the desire for praise, a cognitive realization through a process of action, or

an attitude that is shaped through the collection of our experiences, there is no question that the

way we perceive our gender role is both greatly impacted by and greatly impacts our

socialization process.