Discuss social influences on gender roles

(8+16)

AO1 Parents

Parents may teach their children about gender related behaviour through operant conditioning. Behaviours which produce positive consequence such as compliments or attention are more likely to be repeated than those that produce negative consequences. Social learning suggests neat parented

reinforce behaviour that they don't deem gender appropriate in their children. for example parented may provide positive reinforcement and compliment their daughter when she is wearing a pretty dress, but not when she is wearing jeans. Parents may cheer for a son if he makes a tackle in football but not if he comes off crying. Parents may also punish their children for exhibiting gender inappropriate behaviour making them less likely to repeat the behaviour in the future.

AO2

Their is empirical research support from smith and Lloyd. Smith and Lloyd (1978) observed mothers playing with an infant who was either presented as a boy (in terms of name and clothing), or as a girl. The mothers selected gender- appropriate toys (e.g. a doll for girls or squeaky hammer for boys) and also responded more actively when a 'boy' showed increased motor activity.

Furthermore, such differential reinforcement does affect behaviour. For example, Fagot et 01. (1992) found that parents who show the clearest patterns of differential reinforcement have children who are quickest to develop strong gender preferences.

Further support comes from Maccoby and Jacklin who set out to test if parents in the 1970s treated boys and girls differently. They found that parents reinforced sex typed behaviours including games and toy choice as slt predicts.

AO1 Peers 

Peer also play an important role in reinforce and regulate what they perceived to be cross sex play. langlois and downs noted that when boys played with girls toys they were likely to be ridiculed and teased by their male peers. Archer and Lloyd found that children as young as 3 criticised peers who engaged in cross sex play and were less likely to play with them again.

AO2 

There is empirical Research support from Perry and Bussey (1979) who showed  film clips to children aged eight and nine. In the film boys and girls were seen selecting an apple or pear, both gender-neutral items. Later the children were given a choice of fruit. Boys selected the fruit they had seen another boy selecting, and the same for girls

AO1 Media 

Durkin has argued that television provides a plentiful source of sex role models, and gender roles and stereotypes is reinforced by the TV. The media usually portrays males as independent, directive, perusing engaging occupation where as females are usually portrayed dependent unambitious and emotional. Not surprisingly, those who have a higher exposure to these differential gender representations tend to display more stereotypic gender role conceptions than light viewers do. ( McGhee and Frueh)

AO2

Research evidence to support this comes from William who found that children in a Canadian town with access to multiple tv channels had more strongly Alex typed views than childrens in towns with 1 or no channels/TV. this suggests that exposure to gender stereotypes from TV increases sex typed views. However this is co relational therefore we are unsure of cause and effect, as we do not know whether TV causes sex typed stereotypes in children or whether the TV just reinforces these stereotypes.

AO2/IDA 

The approach can be commended as Bandura did not deny the role of biological factors in social learning, In terms of gender he recognised that the starting point for social learning is knowing which sex you are - as we have seen in this chapter, this is largely based on biology (gender identification at birth).

IDA 

The most notable criticism of the theory however is that most of the research described however is heavily aided towards western industrialised societies. It is likely that gender stereotypes will vary from culture to culture and so therefore research should be cautiously generalised.

IDA

Media research has real world implication in which has lead to pressure on broadcaster to alter TV shows to stop reinforcing gender stereotypes in order to alter such attitudes in society.For example Pingree found that when children were shown commercials in which women were in non traditional roles, stereotyping was reduced. This could be done more frequently in regular broadcasting in order to weaken or change gender stereotypes.