Cultural and media influences on gender roles Flashcards
What is culture?
Rules, customs, morals and ways of interacting that bind together members of a society or some other collection of individuals
Where did Mead study?
Papa New Guinea
What were the 3 tribes that Mead studied?
Arapesh, Tchambuli and Mundugumor
What were the Arapesh men and women like?
Kind, loving + nurturing
What were the Mundugumor men and women like?
Violent + aggressive
What was unique about the Tchambuli tribe?
They exhibited non-stereotypical gender role differences
What were the women in the Tchambuli tribe like?
Managerial, dominant + impersonal
What were the men in the Tchambuli tribe like?
Emotionally dependent
What are the 2 AO3 points for cultural influences on gender roles?
1) Cultural similarities
2) Methodological issues
Who studied mate selection preferences?
Buss
How many cultures did Buss study?
37
What did Buss find women look for in a mate, in all cultures?
Resources + security
What did Buss find men look for in a mate, in all cultures?
Youth + attractiveness
What did Eagly and Wood suggest about gender role consistency?
That biological differences between men and women allow them to excel at different tasks
Why may there be methodological issues with Mead’s study?
She was a Western psychologist studying non-Western cultures
What may Mead’s research suffer from?
Imposed etics
What is imposed etics?
The use of Western tests to measure behaviour in non-Western cultures
What do indigenous people often respond to?
Demand characteristics
What is media?
Tools used to store and distribute information
How does the media represent men?
independent + directive, pursuing both engaging occupations and recreational activities
How does the media represent women?
Dependent, unambitious and emotional
How does the media vicariously reinforce gender-specific behaviours?
It gives information about the outcomes of gendered behaviours
What are the 2 AO3 points for media influences on gender roles?
1) Research support
2) Effects of media may be insignificant
What type of study did Williams conduct?
A natural study
Where did Williams conduct her study?
Canada
When did Williams conduct her study?
1985
What were the pseudo names of the 2 towns in Williams’ study?
Multitel and Notel
What did Williams find?
That the Notel children’s attitudes became much more sex stereotyped after the introduction of TV - similar levels to children in Multitel
What is the issue with Williams’ study?
Natural experiment so cannot randomly allocate participants
What did one researcher suggest was more important on gender roles than media exposure?
Pre-existing community values
