influences of media and culture on gender development Flashcards
how do we research the role culture plays in the development of gender?
Our understanding of the role culture plays in the development of our gender comes from cross-cultural research.
what does cross-cultural research tell us about the development of gender?
Such research can give us a real insight into whether a particular behaviour (e.g. a gender related behaviour) is largely the result of nature or nurture.
what is Meads research into the influence of culture on gender development?
Mead, researched tribunal groups on the Island of New Guinea.
She observed 3 groups and saw that men and women behaved differently in each one. This suggests that culture must have an impact on the gender roles we adopt. Otherwise, men and women would have behaved in a similar fashion across all the tribunal groups, and this would be similar to how we behave in ‘the west’.
AO3: how is ‘nature of the evidence’ a limitation to the influence of culture on gender development?
one limitation to the influence of culture on gender development is that there are problems with the nature of the research. This is because we need to be cautious about the conclusions drawn from Meads research on the influence of culture on gender roles. For example, Freeman (1983) argued that Mead had been misled by some of her participants, as well as allowing her pre-conceived ideas to influence her interpretation of events encountered. Therefore, we have to be careful when using the findings of this research as they may suffer from both demand characteristics and researcher bias.
AO3: how is ‘cultural simialrities’ a limitation to the influence of culture on gender development?
one limitation to the influence of culture on gender development is that there are cultural similarities. This means that other research has challenged the idea that gender roles are determined by our culture stems. This is because other cross-cultural research has highlighted similarities between different cultures. For example, Buss (1996) found consistent patterns in mate preference in 37 countries across all continents. They found that Women sought men who could offer wealth and resources and Men sought women who offered youth and physical attractiveness. Therefore, this suggests that nature may be a more powerful influence on gender related behaviours than cultural influences.
how does the media have an influence on the development of gender roles?
It has been argued that the media can have an influence on the development of gender roles and gender appropriate behaviours in individuals and we can look to the social learning theory to understand this.
what does the media present us with that we observe behaviours from?
The media presents us with role models that we can observe participating in gender appropriate behaviours or gender stereotypical ways.
when is immitation most likely to occur?
- We identify with them (see them as being like us/ someone we would like to be)
- If we see them being rewarded for certain gender appropriate behaviours (indirect/direct reinforcement)
what did Bussey and Bandura (1999) suggest the media presents us with?
they suggested that the media tend to present us with fairly rigid stereotypes. Men are independent and ambitious, they are ‘advice-givers’, whereas, Women are dependent and unambitious, they are ‘advice seekers’.
what did Furnham and Farragher (2000) find about the role of men and women?
they found that Men were more likely to be shown in autonomous roles within professional contexts, whereas Women occupied familial roles within domestic settings.
AO3: how is ‘cause and effect’ a limitation to the influence of the media on gender development?
one limitation to the influence of media on gender development is that there are problems with cause and effect. This is because the nature of the research means that it is impossible to establish the direction of the effect with respect to the media and the influence on gender roles. For example, do men and women adopt stereotypical gender roles because that’s what the media tells us that we should do? Or is the media simply reflecting back at us the gender roles and differences that are already there. Therefore, this research is unable to claim causation due to the subjectivity of the findings.
AO3: how is ‘real life application’ a strength to the influence of media on general development?
one strength to the influence of media on gender development is that it can be applied to the real world. This is because if the media is now a vehicle for transmitting sex role stereotypes, we can understand how and why this occurs which can help us to bring about social change. For example, we can see a change after the recent ban from the Uks advertising watchdog on adverts that contain gender stereotypes that are likely to cause harm or serious and widespread offence from June 2019. In the recent years after the ban, media production companies have been encouraged to present more diverse images of men and women in their productions. Therefore, by promoting a wider, more diverse images of men and women in productions, the social learning theory suggests that if they are seen being rewarded in some way for particular behaviours that challenge existing stereotypes, other individuals are more likely to portray these behaviours and therefore challenge previous gender stereotypes.
