Social learning theory explanation

Question 1

What is SLT?

Answer 1

learning through observations and imitating behaviours that are rewarded

Question 2

What did Bandura propose about gender development?

Answer 2

Gender development is the result of learning from social agents who model and reinforce gender role behaviour

Question 3

What is indirect reinforcement?

Answer 3

• Child learns through vicarious reinforcement
• Sees examples of gendered behaviour through media, people, home,
• by observing they gradually learn about gender appropriate behaviour
• Thus learning behaviour (through observation) and whether they are worth repeating

Question 4

Why is vicarious reinforcement vital?

Answer 4

Although boys and girls may observer characteristics of both sexes, only likely to repeat behaviours of people they identify with

Question 5

What is the role of mediational processes?

Answer 5

• info about reinforcement is stored as an expectancy of future outcomes
• When appropriate opportunity arises in the future, children will display behaviours if they observed a greater reward than punishment
• This display of such beh is modelling or imitation but depends on indirect reinforcement and opportunity

Question 6

What is maintenance through direct reinforcement?

Answer 6

• if rewarded for certain gendered related behaviour = more likely to repeat action in similar situation.

Question 7

A03 there is supporting evidence

Answer 7

• bandura’s bobo doll study
• demonstrated effects of adult model on children aggressive behaviour also shown for gender
• Perry and Bussey showed film clips to children age 8 - 9
  selecting apple, pear or gender neutral item
• when given choice they pick items of the same sex gender
• suggests children are more likely to imitate gender behaviours from gender-appropriate models supporting the key idea of identification and imitation in SLT.

Question 8

A03 However children only imitated same-sex behaviour as long as the behaviour was not counter to gender stereotypes.

Answer 8

• e.g. man wearing a dress
• Suggests that there are factors that influence the imitation of gender appropriate behaviours
• may be better explained by the GST
• SLT alone cannot account for all gender development

Question 9

A03 Limitation as it does not provide adequate explanation of how learning processes change with age

Answer 9

• the general implication of SLT is that modelling of gender appropriate behaviour can occur at any age i.e. from birth onwards
• it is oversight to say children who are 2yold learn the same as 9yold
• Conflicts with kohlberg’s theory that children are not active in the gender development until constancy is reached
• Suggests that influence of age and maturation is not considered by SLT
• Calls into question whether it is a complete explanation

Question 10

A03 Strength it explains cultural differences in gender development which is not considered like in biological explanations

Answer 10

• Exists a clear cut distinction to what people thought as stereotypically masc/fem behaviour than in 1950’s
• Shift cannot be attributed to biological changes
• likely shift in societal and cultural norms mean that new forms of gender behaviour either punished or reinforced
• equally, social learning and cultural norms can explain why some cultures show different behaviours to typical western views of masc/fem (mead’s research)
• Therefore SLT can explain gender development throughout time, increasing historical validity.