Gender: Social Influences on Gender Roles Flashcards
Who created Social Learning Theory?
Albert Bandura created the SLT, he later renamed SLT as Social Cognitive Theory to emphasise the role of cognitive factors in learning. Bandura proposed that gender role development is the result of learning from social agents who model and reinforce gender role behaviour.
What did Social Cognitive Theory Comprise of?
Bandura stated 3 ways in which children learn gender roles and stereotypes:
>Indirect Reinforcement
>Direct Reinforcement
>Direct Tuition
Describe Indirect Reinforcement
Children observe the behaviour of others and learn the behaviour (vicarious reinforcement). This info is stored as an expectancy of future outcomes. Learning such behaviours results in imitation.
Describe Direct Reinforcement
Although boys and girls may learn the characteristic behaviours of both sexes they don’t perform everything they learn. For example, boys may learn a great deal about the home-making role through repeated observation of their mothers but rarely adopt such activities in their everyday life. However Direct Reinforcement is learning through rewarded for wearing a pink dress.
Describe Direct Tuition
Children learn through vicarious reinforcement (indirect) but also through explicit (direct) instructions about appropriate gender behaviour. Children learn through social agents such as Parents, Media and Peers (PiMP)
Name 2 Studies which support Social Influences
> Perry and Busey
> Martin et al.
Describe Perry and Busey’s findings
They showed 8-9 year olds a film of children selecting either a pear or an apple (both genders) after film they were asked if they wanted a pear or an apple, and they found that the boys selected what the boy had in the film and the same with the girls, this supports SCT as it shows evidence of indirect reinforcement.
Describe Martin et al.’s findings
Martin et al. found that pre-school boys played with toys labelled as boys toys. However they wouldn’t play with girls toys even if they saw other boys playing with them. This supports SCT because it demonstrates evidence of direct reinforcement.
Name 2 studies which go against Social Influences
> Charlton
> Pingree
Describe Charlton’s findings
Charlton et al. observed children from 3-8 years old (observing behaviour) they did this before TV was introduced in 1994 and after which was 2000. They found no difference in behaviour. This suggests that media as a social agent is insignificant when it comes to influencing a child’s gender stereotypes.
Describe Pingree’s findings
Pingree showed that stereotyping was reduced when children watched things with women with non-traditional roles. Except pre-adolescent boys have stronger stereotypes after exposure to non-traditional roles.
AID: Biological Approach
Bandura did not deny the role of biological factors in social learning. In terms of gender he recognised that the starting point for social learning is knowing which sex you are, however this is largely based on biology (gender identification at birth).
AID: Nature v Nurture
A lot of the studies support the point that stereotypes are brought about by upbringing (Nurture), whereas studies like Pingree show it is a natural occurrence (Nature).
AID: Real World Application
Research has lead to pressure on broadcasters to alter TV shows to stop reinforcing gender stereotypes in order to alter such attitudes in society. For example, Pingree found that when children were shown commercials in which women were in non-traditional be done more frequently in regular broadcasting in order to weaken or change gender stereotypes.
