“Outline and evaluate social influences on gender role”
A01 –
SOCIAL COGNITIVE THEORY
Explains impact of social influences on gender development in terms of
cognitive processes
Bandura emphasized importance of cognitive factors in learning, arguing
source of information is social (parents, peers, media) and what’s learnt is
a cognition (mental process)
Bandura – gender role development results from social agents who model
and reinforce gender role behaviours, argued there are different ways
gender role behaviours are reinforced through:
1) Indirect reinforcement – children learn from consequences of a
behaviour by observing others (vicarious reinforcement). This info
stored as expectancy of future behaviour. This results in
imitation/modelling.
2) Direct reinforcement – although children learn characteristic
behaviours of both sexes, they don’t perform everything they learn e.g.
boys may observe mothers doing housework but don’t repeat it.
3) Direct tuition – children learn through direct instructions about
appropriate gender behaviour. This begins as children acquire linguistic
skills.
SOURCES OF SOCIAL INFLUENCE
Parents
Reinforce gender appropriate behaviour but not gender inappropriate
behaviour
Peers
Offer a model of gender appropriate behaviours
Reinforce each other for gender appropriate activities
Punish gender contact that is considered inappropriate for that gender
This may involve direct tuition
Media
Tend to portray stereotypical gender behaviours
Those who have a high exposure tend to display more stereotypic gender
role attitudes
Media gives info about likely outcomes of behaviours for males and
females
A02 –
RESEARCH 1 – Perry and Bussey
POINT – support the social cognitive theory of modelling
EVIDENCE – showed film clips to 8 and 9 year olds, showing boys and girls
selecting an apple or a pear (gender neutral item). Later when given choice of
fruit, children chose same type of fruit they had seen their same gender model
select in video clip.
EXPLAIN – the findings demonstrate the effect that modelling has on gender
development because children were more likely to model behaviours of their own
gender
A01 –
SOCIAL COGNITIVE THEORY
Explains impact of social influences on gender development in terms of
cognitive processes
Bandura emphasized importance of cognitive factors in learning, arguing
source of information is social (parents, peers, media) and what’s learnt is
a cognition (mental process)
Bandura – gender role development results from social agents who model
and reinforce gender role behaviours, argued there are different ways
gender role behaviours are reinforced through:
1) Indirect reinforcement – children learn from consequences of a
behaviour by observing others (vicarious reinforcement). This info
stored as expectancy of future behaviour. This results in
imitation/modelling.
2) Direct reinforcement – although children learn characteristic
behaviours of both sexes, they don’t perform everything they learn e.g.
boys may observe mothers doing housework but don’t repeat it.
3) Direct tuition – children learn through direct instructions about
appropriate gender behaviour. This begins as children acquire linguistic
skills.
SOURCES OF SOCIAL INFLUENCE
Parents
Reinforce gender appropriate behaviour but not gender inappropriate
behaviour
Peers
Offer a model of gender appropriate behaviours
Reinforce each other for gender appropriate activities
Punish gender contact that is considered inappropriate for that gender
This may involve direct tuition
Media
Tend to portray stereotypical gender behaviours
Those who have a high exposure tend to display more stereotypic gender
role attitudes
Media gives info about likely outcomes of behaviours for males and
females
A02 –
RESEARCH 1 – Perry and Bussey
POINT – support the social cognitive theory of modelling
EVIDENCE – showed film clips to 8 and 9 year olds, showing boys and girls
selecting an apple or a pear (gender neutral item). Later when given choice of
fruit, children chose same type of fruit they had seen their same gender model
select in video clip.
EXPLAIN – the findings demonstrate the effect that modelling has on gender
development because children were more likely to model behaviours of their own
gender
