INFLUENCE OF MEDIA

Question 1

Media

Answer 1

• is the main means of mass communication, For example, TV, film, books, which provides RM
  which children may identify and want to imitate and this may play a role in reinforcing stereotypes on
  gender appropriate behaviours.
• E.g Bussey and Bandura found the media does provide very clear rigid stereotypes: men are depicted as independent , whereas women are depicted as dependent.

Question 1

Furnham and Farragher

Answer 1

• investigated the use of sex-role stereotypes in advertising, and found that men tended to be used in power positions and women in familial roles in domestic settings, and the voiceovers tended to be male suggesting that males are deemed to speak with more authority.
• And found there was a strong positive correlation- the more time kids spend watching TV, the more rigid their gender views became.

Question 2

One limitation of research into the influence of media is that it’s difficult to establish a causal (cause and effect) relationship.

Answer 2

• For example, the media has a great influence on the formation and maintenance of children’s gender stereotypes but it is unclear if the media create these or simply reflect prevailing social norms about males and females.
• This means we are unaware of the true impact of the media on gender roles, and there could be a third variable influencing gender roles- this being culture.
• This is a disadvantage as we are unable to see the true extent of the influence of the media on gender roles.
• Furthermore, it is difficult to establish the media’s effect without control groups.
• The majority of children are exposed to the media on a regular basis and therefore finding control groups of children who have not is difficult

Question 3

One strength is that there is supporting research for the influence of the media on gender roles.

Answer 3

• For example, Disney movie Brave depicts the main female character partaking in masculine activities.
• Pingree found that gender stereotyping was reduced when children were shown TV adverts featuring women in non-stereotypical roles.
• This shows that the media does in fact influence gender roles with their distinct stereotypes, and when children were presented with alternative views gender stereotyping fell.
• However it was also found that pre-adolescent boys’ stereotypes became stronger following exposure to the non-traditional models.
• It is argued that such a backlash may be explained by the boys’ desire to maintain a view that ran counter to the adult view

Question 4

Research into the effects of culture and media on gender roles provides support for the SLT
explanation of gender.

Answer 4

• SLT suggests we learn gender roles by observation of role models and we imitate the models we see, especially if we see them being rewarded for such behaviours.
• The media provides us with role models, and often males and females in the media are portrayed in gender-stereotypical ways; for example, females looking after children and males as breadwinners.
• If there are cultural differences in gender roles, we can explain these through socialisation and experience, which is how social learning theory suggests we acquire gender roles