Gilligan’s work sharpens our understanding of both human develop- ment and gender issues in research. Yet the question remains, does nature or nurture account for the differences between females and males? In Gilligan’s view, cultural conditioning is at work, a view that finds support in other research. Nancy Chodorow (1994) claims that children grow up in homes in which, typically, mothers do much more nurturing than fathers. As girls identify with mothers, they be- come more concerned with care and responsibility to others. By contrast, boys become more like fathers, who are often detached from the home, and develop the same formal and detached per- sonalities. Perhaps the moral reasoning of females and males will become more similar as more women organize their lives around the workplace. Check Your Learning According to Gilligan, how do boys and girls differ in their approach to understanding right and wrong?
Gilligan’s work sharpens our understanding of both human develop- ment and gender issues in research. Yet the question remains, does nature or nurture account for the differences between females and males? In Gilligan’s view, cultural conditioning is at work, a view that finds support in other research. Nancy Chodorow (1994) claims that children grow up in homes in which, typically, mothers do much more nurturing than fathers. As girls identify with mothers, they be- come more concerned with care and responsibility to others. By contrast, boys become more like fathers, who are often detached from the home, and develop the same formal and detached per- sonalities. Perhaps the moral reasoning of females and males will become more similar as more women organize their lives around the workplace. Check Your Learning According to Gilligan, how do boys and girls differ in their approach to understanding right and wrong?
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