Polytyping within the framework of the theory of cognitive development
This theory primarily focuses on the primary agents of gender-role socialization of the individual. The process of sexual typing is carried out invariably, naturally, based on the general principles of cognitive development. In other words, from the perspective of cognitive development theory, because children need the cognitive stability of self-identification as women or men, this motivates them to value what seems more like themselves in gender terms. A gender-based assessment system, in turn, encourages the child to act actively in a gender-appropriate manner, by making appropriate efforts to master gender attitudes, and by giving preference to gender-identical peers.
Androgynous type
Androgynous gender implies a combination of masculine and feminine traits. It is believed that from the point of view of adaptability, this position is the most optimal - the personality, as it were, absorbs all the best from the two types. Numerous studies have shown that masculinity and femininity are not, in a strict sense, opposites of each other - their strict opposition is erroneous. It has been found that persons who strictly adhere to the characteristics traditionally attributed to their sex are often poorly adapted to life conditions. The following patterns were identified:
- women with low levels of masculinity and men with high levels of femininity are often anxious, helpless, passive and more prone to depression;
— women and men with a high level of masculinity have difficulty establishing and maintaining interpersonal contacts;
— young married couples who strictly adhere to traditional models of male/female behavior often have sexual and psychological disharmony in the family, as well as sexual disorders;
— androgyny, as a psychological characteristic, has a positive relationship with the level of self-esteem, motivation to achieve, a sense of internal well-being, etc.
An androgynous personality has a rich set of gender-role behavior, using it flexibly depending on the dynamics of changing social situations.
The formation of children's gender identity can take place in accordance with the gender role or gender position of the immediate environment. And here we should distinguish between two fundamental approaches: sex-role and gender.
Polytyping and social learning theory
Unlike psychoanalysis, social learning theory emphasizes the significant role of the reward-punishment system in the development of a child’s gender identity. If a child is punished for behavior that the parents consider unacceptable for his gender (or, conversely, is encouraged for what is acceptable), then the process of consolidating certain behavior patterns in the child’s mind occurs. The second significant aspect in the theory of social learning is the processes of observation and modeling.
Accordingly, social learning theory considers the source of sex typification in the sphere of socialization differentiated by sex. One of the advantages of this theory is the application to the development of female and male psychology of a general learning principle that is well known in relation to the development of many other types of behavior.
Feminine type
Often seen as the opposite of the masculine type. Feminine gender implies the presence in an individual of such traits as:
- femininity,
- responsiveness,
- passivity,
- softness,
- emotionality,
- compliance, etc.
At the same time, it was traditionally believed that femininity, like masculinity, is biologically determined. Accordingly, the dominant opinion was that these were purely feminine qualities, and every woman, to one degree or another, should correspond to them. The presence of such qualities in the male part of the population was considered, at best, strange, and at worst, unacceptable. However, feminist research has led to the discovery of a new view of the nature of femininity: it is not so much biologically determined as it is constructed from childhood. If a girl is not feminine enough, she is condemned by others. According to the concept of French feminist theorists E. Cixous and J. Kristeva, femininity is an arbitrary category that is assigned to women by patriarchy.
