SLT on Gender development Flashcards
(8 cards)
How does direct reinforcement contribute to gender-development?
-Direct reinforcement is when a boy is praised and rewarded for displaying gender-appropriate behvaiour. For example, a boy may be rewarded for playing football and are encouraged to be active and assertive.
-Girls are more likely to be praised for being passive and looking pretty. For example a daughter may be told she looks pretty in a pink dress by her mother.
What is differential reinforcement?
-The way in which boys and girls are encouraged to show distinct gender-appropriate behaviour.
-It is through this that children find out what gender they are
How does Indirect (vicarious) reinforcement contribute to gender-development?
-Vicarious reinforcment is when a child observes favourable behaviour and imitates it as they want to be praised too.
-For example, if a daughter sees her mother praised for wearing make-up she may try to imitate that behaviour when she can
-However, if the behaviour is unfavourable the behaviour is less likely to be imitated
-For example, if a boy observes a boy getting bullied for displaying feminine behaviour it is less likely to be copied.
What is identification?
-Identification is when a child attaches themselves to a person they think is like them or who they want to be.
-These people are role models and may either be in immediate environment (parents or teachers) or may be in the media (footballers etc.)
-Role models tend to be high status, attractive and the same gender as the child.
What is modelling?
-Modelling is the behaviour that is demonstrated by a role model e.g. mother making dinner
-However, modelling is also the term used to describe how the observer learns e.g. when the daughter copies her mother it is also modelling
What are mediational processes?
-Attention: boy pays attention to how favourite footballer plays
-Retention: If the boy remembers how he plays
-Motor reproduction: If the boy is physically capable to reproduce the skills he watched
-Motivation: the desire to repeat and learn the skills because he wants to be like his role model
Strengths of SLT in gender development
-Research support: Caroline Smith and Barbara Lloyd (1978) dressed babies (4-6 months) in either boys or girls clothes (irrespective of their actual gender) and when playing with adults, boys were more likely to be given a hammer shaped rattle and encouraged to be active and girls were given dolls and told they were pretty. This suggests that gender-appropriate behaviour is stamped at a very early age.
-Cultural changes: The shift is social expectations and cultural norms which means new forms of gender behaviour are now unlikely to be punished and may be reinforced. This explains why there has been a significant change is norms and expectation since the 1950s for example.
Limitations of SLT in gender development
-Counter to research suppor: differential reinforcement may not cause gender differences and instead it may encourage innate gender differences.For example, boys may be encouraged to be more active as they were already exploring more often. This suggests that social learning is only part of the way that children develop gender-appropriate behaviour.
-No development sequence: the explanation does not provide an adequate explanation on how gender-development progresses with age. SLT suggests that modelling of gender-appropriate behaviour can occur at any age but it is illogical that 2 year olds progress at the same rate as 9 year olds. This contrasts Kohlberg’s theory which suggests that they do not become active in gender development until after gender constancy. Therefore slightly limited as does not consider age and maturation.
