Influence of culture and media on gender roles

Question 1

what’re the benefits of cross cultural research

Answer 1

contributed to the nature-nurture debate in gender,
eg if a particular gender role is consistent in many cultures it can be considered innate (nature),
whereas if only in a specific culture we may assume shared norms and socialisation is the cause (nurture)

Question 2

what were the 3 tribes Mead studied

Answer 2

the Arapesh, Mundugumor, and Tchambuli tribes of New Guinea

Question 3

what were the findings of the Arapesh tribe’s gender roles

Answer 3

both sexes gentle/responsive (similar to western stereotypes of femininity)

Question 4

what were the findings of the mundugumor tribe

Answer 4

both sexes aggressive/hostile (similar to western stereotype of masculinity)

Question 5

what were the findings of the Tchambuli tribe

Answer 5

• women were dominant and they organised village life; men passive and considered to be decorative
• females took care of trade and were independent, whereas men sat around gossiping and seen as incapable of decision making

Question 6

what does meads study suggest about the determining between sex and gender in cultures

Answer 6

• may not be a biological relationship between sex and behaviour, and that gender roles may be culturally determined
• Mead believes that there are some innate gender-typical behaviours, but that the extent to which they’re expressed is the result of cultural norms

Question 7

who researched cross cultural studies of gender roles

Answer 7

Mead (New Guinea)
Buss (Country-wide)
Munroe & Munroe (Division of labour)

Question 8

what did Buss do

Answer 8

• studying cross cultural research, he found consistent patterns in mate preference un 37 countries across all continents
• in all cultures, women sought men who could offer wealth and resources; men looked for youth/physiological attractiveness in potential partners

Question 9

what did Munroe & Munroe find

Answer 9

in most societies division of labour is organised along gender lines - males typically the ‘breadwinners’ and females the ‘nurturers’

Question 10

outline the strengths/limitations of cross cultural research

Answer 10

+ research support for culture and gender
- Limitation of Mead’s research

Question 11

how is research support for culture and gender a support for Cross cultural research

Answer 11

• Hofstede argues that in industrialised cultures the expectation of women is that they’re expected more often to be in the workplace and not in the home.
• led to a breakdown of traditional stereotypes in advanced societies.
• however in less industrialised/more traditional societies, women still occupy the role of house-maker - likely due to social, cultural and religious pressures
• suggests gender roles to be very much determined by cultural context

Question 12

what is a limitation of Meads cross cultural research

Answer 12

• not separating her own opinions from her descriptions of the lives she saw (observer bias)
• also made large generalisations based on a short period of study
• Freeman said that her findings were completely flawed as she’d been misled by previous preconceptions of Samoan gender roles and her imposed etic of gender roles
• limited research supporting gender roles being culturally determined

Question 13

how does the media and gender roles affect gender stereotypes

Answer 13

• children may identify/imitate media role models
• likely to select role models who are same-sex and engage in gender appropriate behaviour (likely to be positively reinforced)

Question 14

in part of Bussey & Bandura’s research, how are men perceived differently from women

Answer 14

men: independent, ambitious ‘advice-givers’
women: dependent, unambitious ‘advice seekers’

Question 15

what did Furnham and Farragher find in TV adverts

Answer 15

men were likely to be shown in autonomous roles within professional contexts; women occupying familial roles in a domestic setting

Question 16

what is self efficacy

Answer 16

• the media may give men/women info about the likely success of them adopting different gendered behaviour
• if a person is seen in a successful gender appropriate role, it increases their belief that they’re capable of carrying out the behaviours in the future

Question 17

what did Mitra find in a study into self-efficacy

Answer 17

girls in india who watched a programme challenging gender stereotypes were more likely to see themselves as capable of working outside the home more than non-viewers

Question 18

what was the study into gender roles in Notel, Unitel, and Multitel

Answer 18

• 1970s, a town was about to receive a tv signal for the first time, nicknamed ‘notel’
• similar concepts included ‘unitel’ (1 channel) and ‘multitel’ (several)
• extensive surveys/research into behaviours/attitudes carried out prior to TV introduction
• follow up 2 years after
• Notel children showed evidence of increased gender stereotyping by the end of the study compared to the original few

Question 19

what’re 2 supports for the Media and it’s influence on Gender roles

Answer 19

+ cultivation theory
+ (-) media challenging stereotypes

Question 20

how is cultivation theory a support for the media and gender roles

Answer 20

• argues that the more media someone consumes, the more likely they are to believe that this reflects social reality
• positive correlation between time spent watching ‘Jersey shore’ and positive attitudes towards casual sex
• suggests that what we view to be true ‘reality’ is ‘cultivated’ by consumption of media and this affects gender behaviour (eg sexual behaviour)

Question 21

how is media challenging stereotypes a strength but also weakness of media and gender roles

Answer 21

• many recent counter-stereotypes in the media (eg hunger games) which challenge traditional notions of masculinity/femininity
• pingree found gender stereotyping was reduced when children were shown tv adverts featuring women in non-stereotypical roles.
• however pre-adolescent boys became stronger following exposure to the non-traditional models. the ‘backlash’ may be explained by the boys’ desire to maintain a view that counter the adult view
• strength as the research shows male infants are more ‘set in their ways’, suggesting that there are significant gender differences in their perception of their own and the opposite genders traditional stereotype in a role
• however weakness as not all media is used to reinforce traditional gender stereotypes

Question 22

what is a limitation of the media and gender roles

Answer 22

• argument that that even very young children aren’t passive recipients of media messages, family norms are a bigger influence
• if media representations confirm gender roles held by the family, norms are reinforced in a child’s mind. if not, then they’re likely to be rejected
• weakness as it suggests that media influences are secondary to other influences such as family