SLT - culture

Question 1

Why is it good to study cultural influences on gender roles?

Answer 1

allows psychologists to assess the extent to which gender is a biological or a social construct

Question 2

What would it suggest if gender was the same in all cultures?

Answer 2

It is biological in nature

Question 3

What would it suggest if gender was different in all cultures?

Answer 3

Differences in gender roles between cultures would infer gender to be socially constructed

Question 4

What did Mead (1935) find?

Answer 4

• Conducted research into gender differences between tribes in Papua New Guinea.
• In the Arapesh, both males and females exhibited feminine caring behaviours.
• In the Tchambuli, the men exhibited what would be seen in Western culture as female behaviours, while women exhibited traditional western male behaviours
• In the Mundugumor, both men and women exhibited masculine aggressive personalities

Question 5

What did Barry et al (1957) find?

Answer 5

In nonwestern cultures nurturing was seen as a dominantly female characteristic, while self- reliance was seen as a dominantly male characteristic
As these match western culture, it suggests a biological basis for gender

Question 6

What did Whiting and Edwards (1988) find?

Answer 6

Found it was fairly universal for girls to do domestic and caring tasks whilst boys are socialised into tasks involving responsibility

Question 7

What did La Fromboise et al (1990) find?

Answer 7

Conducted interviews and observations to find that gender roles among various North American tribes were different from those in Western cultures

Question 8

What did Williams and best (1990) find?

Answer 8

There was universal agreement cultures about which characteristics were masculine and which were feminine, men perceived as dominant and independent and women as caring and sociable. Implies they’re biological in nature as universal

Question 9

What is imposed etic? (eval)

Answer 9

Researchers use research methods suited to their own culture rather than the cultures they are investigating

Question 10

What is the issue with imposed etic? (eval)

Answer 10

It can result in flawed conclusions

Question 11

What can globalisation contribute to? (eval)

Answer 11

The lessening of cultural different and there has been a global reduction in the differences between masculine and feminine gender roles, implying the social influences may be stronger than biological ones

Question 12

What is the interactionist view on gender?(eval)

Answer 12

Initial gender roles are biologically constructed with them being modified later by social influences