The influence of culture and media on gender roles

Question 1

What was Mead’s study of cultural groups on the island of Samoa?

Answer 1

• The Arapesh were gentle and responsive.
• The Mundugumor were aggressive and hostile.
• The Tchambuli women were dominant and organised village life, men were passive and considered to be ‘decorative’.

Question 2

What does Mead’s findings of the cultural groups in Samoa suggest?

Answer 2

There may not be a direct biological relationship between sex and gender and gender roles may be culturally determined.

Question 3

What did Mead concede in her later work?

Answer 3

She underestimated the universal nature of many gender-typical behaviours - she went on to argue the extent to which innate behaviours are expressed is largely the result of cultural norms.

Question 4

What did Buss find?

Answer 4

Consistent patterns in mate preference across 37 countries in all continents.

Question 5

What was the pattern in mate preference in all cultures?

Answer 5

• Men sought out youthful women who were physically attractive.
• Females sought out men who could offer wealth and resources.

Question 6

What did Munroe and Munroe’s study reveal?

Answer 6

In most societies division of labour is organised along gender lines.

Question 7

Culture and gender roles evaluation:
Influence of culture on changing gender roles is supported by evidence.

Answer 7

• Hofstede argues in industrialised cultures the changing status and expectations of women are a function of their increasingly active role in the workplace.
• This has led to a breakdown of traditional stereotypes in advanced industrialised countries.
• Suggests gender roles are very much determined by cultural context.

Question 8

Culture and gender roles evaluation:
Mead’s cross-cultural research has been crticised.

Answer 8

• Mead has been accused of making generalisations based on a short period of study.
• Freeman conducted a follow-up study of the Samoan people and argued that preconceptions of what she would find were flawed as she had been mislead by some participants - observer bias and ethnocentrism.
• Mead’s interpretations may not have been objective and calls into question the conclusions she drew.

Question 9

What does the media provide which children may identify with and imitate?

Answer 9

Role models

Question 10

What is there evidence that the media provides - Bussey and Bandura?

Answer 10

clear gender stereotypes that quite rigid - men = independent, ambitious ‘advice givers.’
Women = dependent, unambitious ‘advice seekers’

Question 11

What did Furnham and Farragher study of TV adverts find?

Answer 11

Men were more likely to show autonomous roles within professional contexts whereas women often seen occupying familial roles within domestic settings.
This suggests media may play a role in reinforcing widespread social stereotypes concerning male and female behaviour.

Question 12

What might the media do as well as confirm gender typical behaviour?

Answer 12

Also give info to males and females in terms of likely success or otherwise adopting these behaviours.

Question 13

When younger children see other people carrying out gender-appropriate behaviour what might this do?

Answer 13

May increase a childs belief that they are capable of carrying out such behaviours in the future - self efficacy.

Question 14

Mitra et al study of attitudes of people in India who had watched a programme made to challenge deeply rooted gender stereotypes:

Answer 14

• Detective drama that ran for 78 episodes.
• Girls who watched the programme were more likely to see themselves as capable of working outside the home tha non-viewers.
• Suggests self efficacy had changed as a result of media influence.

Question 15

Media and gender roles evaluation:
Theoretical bias

Answer 15

• Cultivation theory argues the more time individuals spend living in the media world the more likely they are to believe that this reflects social reality.
• Bond and Drogos found a positive correlation between time spent watching Jersey shore and permissive attitudes towards casual sex.
• The effect was still found to be true when researchers controlled the influence of factors e.g. existing sexual attitudes.
• Suggests media cultivates perception of reality and this affects gender behaviour.

Question 16

Media and gender roles evaluation:
may not be a casual relationship between gender roles and media

Answer 16

• Durkin argues that even young children aren’t passive and uncritical recipients of media messages.
• Norms within the child’s family may be the bigger determinant on the child’s gender attitudes and behaviour.
• If media representations confirm existing gender norms held by family then these are likely to be reinforced.
• If not such representations are likely to be rejected.
• Suggests media influences are secondary to other influences e.g. family