Social Learning Theory Gender

10 Key excerpts on "Social Learning Theory Gender"

• 

  eBook - ePub

  Gender Development

  • Judith E. Owen Blakemore, Sheri A. Berenbaum, Lynn S. Liben(Authors)
  • 2013(Publication Date)
  • Psychology Press

    (Publisher)

  2001 ). Children are exposed to many models, and not all behave alike. As some models, either figures in the media or in children’s own lives, change their gender role behaviors, children can see these new norms, and choose which behaviors to imitate. It is also the case that some people (e.g., some parents) may reward traditional gender roles, whereas others may reward nontraditional roles, and different children may be exposed to more or less traditional influences.

  The Transition to Social Cognitive Theory

  As social learning theory evolved, Bandura came to emphasize more cognitive factors in addition to basic learning mechanisms (Bandura, 1986 , 1992 , 1999 , 2001 ), and the theory has become known as social cognitive theory. Because of its emphasis on cognition, we will save our discussion of social cognitive theory for the next chapter.

  Evaluation of Social Learning Theory

  Social learning theory grew out of scientific research on behavior and has certainly served as a guide to research in many areas of psychology, including children’s gender development. The changes from learning theory to social learning theory to social cognitive theory also reflect the kinds of changes that epitomize a scientific approach: the theory is supposed to change when research findings cannot be accounted for by the current version of the theory. The major question of evaluation then, is to what extent research confirms or contradicts the theory’s predictions. Is there evidence that reinforcement, punishment, observational learning, and direct teaching influence children’s gender development? Because we have not yet discussed the research on parents’ and teachers’ treatment of children, the modeling of gender norms in books, television and other media, nor have we looked at children’s peer groups, this question is difficult to answer convincingly at this point. We will see later that there is certainly evidence in support of a learning approach, but also some in contradiction.

  Sign up to read

  Learn more about book
• 

  eBook - PDF

  Individuals as Producers of Their Development

  A Life-Span Perspective

  • Richard M Lerner, Nancy A. Busch-Rossnagel, Richard M Lerner, Nancy A. Busch-Rossnagel(Authors)
  • 2013(Publication Date)
  • Academic Press

    (Publisher)

  Cognitive theories of sex typing emphasize the acquisition of knowledge about one's own and others' gender and the active efforts of the individual to acquire and retain relevant sex-typed information. The development and utilization of this knowledge appears in a structured sequence and is motivated by the positive value attached to one's own gender assign- ment (Kohlberg, 1966, 1969; Lewis & Weinraub, 1979). Here, critics point to problems such as androcentrism, in that for Kohlberg the male is the prototype of development; females are assumed to value their sex-roles as strongly as do males; individual differences within each gender are either ignored or are treated as deviations from the normal; sex-role ster- eotypes are assumed to reflect some universal "givens" in h u m a n nature; sex-role identity is isomorphic to cognitive structures; and that the most cognitively mature position is a sex-typed one. Social learning theory emphasizes principles of observational learning, and direct, symbolic, and vicarious reinforcement and punishment as the major mediators of sex-role development. The theory provides for multiple sources of modeling and reinforcement, from which the individual grad- ually selects same-sex behaviors and develops standards for same-sex role behavior that become increasingly self-monitored. In addition, a distinc- tion is made between learning and performance, so that individuals have knowledge of many behaviors that they choose not to display. Flexibility is possible through variations in models, reinforcers, and novel situations (Mischel, 1966, 1970).

  Sign up to read

  Learn more about book
• 

  eBook - PDF

  Personality

  • Jerry Burger(Author)
  • 2018(Publication Date)
  • Cengage Learning EMEA

    (Publisher)

  342 Chapter 14 / The Behavioral/Social Learning Approach are aware of the different expectations our culture has for the way men and women are supposed to act, what psychologists refer to as gender roles. Traditional gender roles expect men to be aggressive, independent, and unemotional, whereas women are supposed to be passive, dependent, and affectionate. Much has been written recently about changes in these expectations, with men being told it is all right to show emo- tion and women being encouraged to be assertive and businesslike. Although some gender restrictions may have loosened in recent years, gender roles remain a part of our culture. Why do women tend to behave in certain ways and men in others? Although bio- logical differences between the sexes likely play some role, behaviorists and social learning theorists point to a lifelong process of gender-role socialization. Children and adults acquire and maintain gender-appropriate behaviors largely through oper- ant conditioning and observational learning. You can see the effects of operant con- ditioning whenever young children act in gender-inappropriate ways. Boys often tease one another for crying, playing with dolls, or showing an interest in cooking or sewing. Similarly, playmates make fun of girls when they act like tomboys. Boys are rewarded with camaraderie and parental nods for playing football and standing up to those who try to push them around. Girls win approval for showing an interest in caring for babies and dressing up in pretty outfits. You can appreciate the difficulty in changing these behavior patterns when you realize how early this operant conditioning starts. Even before the child can talk, Most little girls occasionally play “dress up.” Girls put on their mother’s clothes, jewelry, and makeup after identifying that this is something females, but not males, do. We would not expect to find little boys imitating this behavior.

  Sign up to read

  Learn more about book
• 

  eBook - PDF

  Personality

  • Jerry Burger, , , , Burger(Authors)
  • 2014(Publication Date)
  • Cengage Learning EMEA

    (Publisher)

  First, society ’ s expectations for men and women have undergone a great deal of reevaluation and change in the past few decades. In increasing num-bers, women are abandoning traditional gender roles to take important positions in business and government. Some men are experimenting with nontraditional male roles, such as assuming child-rearing responsibilities. Understanding why we make some of the gender-related choices we do requires an examination of how operant conditioning and observational learning shape those choices. We ’ ll look at these processes and individual differences in masculinity and femininity. Second, in response to the ever-present issue of violence in our society, many psychologists have focused their attention on the impact aggressive models have on aggressive behavior. Bandura ’ s observational learning model helps explain some of this process. We ’ ll look at relevant research and the question of how mass media violence affects the behavior of those who consume it. Third, applying animal research findings to human beings is a standard feature of the behavioral approach to personality. A particularly fruitful example of this application is the work on learned helplessness. From some surprising observations of dogs in a classical conditioning experiment, researchers have developed a theory with implications for depression and adjustment among the elderly. Fourth, we ’ ll look at one aspect of Rotter ’ s social learning theory. Indi-vidual differences in locus of control have been the focus of an enormous amount of personality research. Some of these findings provide important information about how our expectancies are related to our well-being and our physical health. Individual Differences in Gender-Role Behavior I would like to describe two friends of mine. The first is a very caring and loving person. This friend never forgets my birthday, is sensitive to my needs and moods, and is the person I seek first when I need someone to talk to.

  Sign up to read

  Learn more about book
• 

  Available until 14 Apr |Learn more

  Sex and Gender

  A Biopsychological Approach

  • Heidi R. Riggio(Author)
  • 2020(Publication Date)
  • Routledge

    (Publisher)

  Theories of gender may address individual gender identity development, adoption of gender roles, and development of social and cultural ideology about gender. Good theories are comprehensive, testable, and falsifiable, integrate findings from multiple domains, and serve as a guide to researchers. Biological explanations focus on genetic and physiological processes in development of gender identity, and links between hormones and gendered behaviors, including nurturance and aggression. Social learning and social cognitive approaches emphasize the learning of gender roles and identity through observation and modeling of others’ behaviors, especially important models of feminine and masculine behavior like parents. Cognitive development theories focus on gender identity as a developmental milestone and achievement of gender constancy, the recognition that one’s gender is stable and immutable. Gender schema theory emphasizes development of mental knowledge structures (schemas) representing gender categories and roles and the use of those structures in processing social information. Social role theory is a biosocial approach that links differences in reproductive roles and other physical differences between women and men to societal division of labor. Because women and men typically occupy certain roles, they come to be seen as possessing the characteristics necessary for role accomplishment, even when they do not occupy those specific roles. Parental investment is an evolutionary approach that predicts gender differences in aggressive and sexual behavior based on sex differences in reproduction and differential investment in each individual offspring. Social dominance theory asserts that societies exist in hierarchies, with people at the top of the hierarchy enjoying a disproportionate share of societal resources and benefits, while people at the bottom suffer a disproportionate share of societal shortcomings and liabilities. Finally, feminist approaches are psychoanalytic and focus on how mothers and their powerful presence in infancy affect gender identity development of girls and boys. Sometimes, men may experience gender role strain because of inconsistent and contradictory demands placed on men. Precarious manhood occurs when masculine identity is fragile and easily threatened, resulting in men’s compensatory demonstrations of masculine-typed behavior, including aggression.

  Sign up to read

  Learn more about book
• 

  eBook - ePub

  Sex Differences in Cognitive Abilities

  4th Edition

  • Diane F. Halpern(Author)
  • 2013(Publication Date)
  • Psychology Press

    (Publisher)

  There are also obvious differences among adults who model grown-up behaviors. Women may wear high heeled shoes, panty hose, make-up, nail polish, and dresses, while any man who wears these items is considered deviant. Men may wear wing-tipped shoes and men’s style clothing. Anyone who doubts that there are strong sanctions about something as simple as clothingtype should try to shop for shoes in the shoe department reserved for the other sex. The message that some shoe styles are appropriate only for women or men was probably never stated explicitly, but it was made clear just by observing. If you are a woman, you did not have to try to purchase shoes in the men’s shoe department, or if you are a man, you did not have to try to purchase shoes in the women’s shoe department to learn what is appropriate for your sex.

  Observational Learning

  Same-sex modeling can promote same-sex differentiated patterns of behavior. —Kay Bussey and Albert Bandura (1984, p. 1292)

  According to social learning theory, children learn about sex role behaviors by observing between-sex differences as they are played out in the lives of the other children and adults with whom they interact and in the media. They then imitate the behaviors and attitudes of same-sex models. Social modeling theory differs from learning theory in that it does not assume that rewards and punishments must be received in order to shape behavior or that the child personally engages in the behavior. Sex role learning can occur from observing others and imitating them. Appropriate imitation is likely to be rewarded, as in the case of a young girl who dresses up in her mother’s shoes and old dresses. Inappropriate imitation is likely to be punished, as in the case of a young boy who dresses up in his mother’s shoes and old dresses. Thus, through a combination of observational learning, appropriate modeling, and rewards and punishments received both by the role models and the children in their attempts to imitate the models, boys and girls learn society’s sex roles.

  An interesting implication of social learning theory is that much of the learning is done by watching others, which means that sex role messages can come from a variety of sources outside of the home. Even if parents did not differentially socialize their children based on each child’s sex, there are still many opportunities for children to learn about sex-typed behaviors including those presented on television, in school classrooms, on the playground, and in the homes of others. These messages can even be learned from Barbie dolls and GI Joes and the various characters found in video games, books, and other media. With messages about appropriate female and male behavior coming from so many different sources, these messages would be almost impossible to ignore.

  Sign up to read

  Learn more about book
• 

  eBook - PDF

  Child Psychology

  A Canadian Perspective

  • Alastair Younger, Scott A. Adler, Ross Vasta(Authors)
  • 2014(Publication Date)
  • Wiley

    (Publisher)

  SOCIALIZATION BY SELF So far, our discussion of socialization portrays children as largely responding passively to pressures from outside. However, a central premise of socialization accounts of gender-role development is that children participate actively in the process of socialization. Here, we discuss two ways that children can be said to “self-socialize” their gender roles. For Thought and Discussion What do you think about single-sex schools? Would single-sex schooling be more effective at certain ages? What criteria would you use to determine whether single-sex education “works” and benefits both sexes? 643 Socialization and Gender-Role Development One way is through their selection of models. Although children of both genders can learn male and female gender stereotypes by viewing models, they tend to focus on models of their own gender (Halim & Ruble, 2010). Children are better able to recall and imitate the behaviour of same-sex models (Bussey & Bandura, 1984, 1992; Perry & Bussey, 1979). In addition, chil- dren are sensitive to the gender appropriateness of the model’s activity. If a boy, for example, believes that a behaviour is “girlish,” he is unlikely to imitate it, even if it is modelled by a male (Masters, 1979; Raskin & Israel, 1981). The tendency to attend more to same-sex models is especially strong for boys, who often resist imitating behaviours modelled by females. In contrast, although girls prefer to imitate adult women, they will also imitate adult men (Bussey & Perry, 1982; Slaby & Frey, 1975). Second, external sanctions (such as negative reac- tions from parents and peers) are gradually internalized as self-sanctions. As children acquire knowledge about the likely consequences of gender-linked con- duct, they come to regulate their actions accordingly (Bussey & Bandura, 1999, 2004).

  Sign up to read

  Learn more about book
• 

  eBook - PDF

  Social and Emotional Development in Infancy and Early Childhood

  • Janette B. Benson, Marshall M. Haith(Authors)
  • 2010(Publication Date)
  • Academic Press

    (Publisher)

  The processes underlying early gender development and the developmental sequence of the earliest emer-gence of gender identity and gender differentiated beha-viors remains an area of active debate and research. Much of the debate concerning the influence of basic gender identity and gender labeling on the development of gender-typed behaviors is based on the assumption that gender-typed behavior emerges prior to labeling. In fact, few studies have looked at children’s early gender-typed behaviors and preferences. Because sex differences and children’s understanding of gender categories appear to emerge around the same age ranges, researchers need to closely examine the extent to which gender iden-tity influences the development of early gender-typed behaviors. Cognitive and Socialization Perspectives: Early Childhood Social cognitive theory Social cognitive theory proposes that the same processes, such as modeling and reinforcement, continue to influ-ence sex-typing in similar ways as children become older. Through such experiences, children develop outcome expectancies and self-efficacy beliefs that serve to moti-vate and regulate gender role conduct. As children mature, their social worlds expand beyond the home and limited peer contexts and they are exposed to a greater prevalence of male and female exemplars and social agents who teach and encourage sex-typed behaviors and attributes. According to social cognitive theory, as a result of this exposure and a greater ability to organize and abstract social information, children’s gender role learning increases. As children’s cognitive and verbal skills improve, parents are likely to broaden the scope of their gender socialization through their conversations and interactions with their children. At the same time, peers are thought to act as powerful socializing agents through modeling, social sanctions, and serving as comparative references for the appraisal of personal efficacy.

  Sign up to read

  Learn more about book
• 

  eBook - PDF

  Praeger Guide to the Psychology of Gender

  • Michele A. Paludi(Author)
  • 2004(Publication Date)
  • Praeger

    (Publisher)

  While knowledge about gender roles is gained early in life, the display of gendered behaviors will reflect considerable individual difference, as well as varying degrees of flexibility, during different life stages and circumstances. No matter the individual choices made, no one escapes the constant cultural messages regarding gender. In addition to influences considered in this chapter, many others have impact, including gendered in- stitutions such as schools, workplaces, and sports; various forms of media, such as television, books, and magazines; and one's constant exposure to gen- dered linguistic forms and conventions. Expectations of gendered behavior and related cultural messages are the sea that we swim in. Whether one adopts behaviors consistent with these messages, or struggles against them, they im- pact our lives in countless and long-lasting ways. References Adler, P. A., Kless, S. J., & Adler, P. (1992). Socialization to gender roles: Popularity among elementary school boys and girls. Sociology of Education, 65, 169-187. Alfieri, T, Ruble, D., & Higgins, E.T. (1996). Gender stereotypes during adolescence: Developmental changes and the transition to junior high school. Developmental Psychology, 32, 1129-1137. Amato, P. R., & Keith, B. (1991). Consequences of parental divorce for the well-being of children: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 110, 26-46. Antill, J. K. (1987). Parents' beliefs and values about sex roles, sex differences, and sexuality: Their sources and implications. In P. Shaver & C. Hendrick (Eds.), Sex and gender (pp. 294-328). Newbury Park, CA: Sage. Antill, J.K., Goodnow, J.J., Russell, G., & Cotton, S. (1996). The influence of parents and family context on children's involvement in household tasks. Sex Roles, 34, 215-236. Basow, S. A. (1992). Gender stereotypes and roles (3rd ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/ Cole. Basow, S. A., & Rubin, L.R. (1999). Gender influences on adolescent development.

  Sign up to read

  Learn more about book
• 

  eBook - ePub

  Handbook of Child Psychology and Developmental Science, Cognitive Processes

  • (Author)
  • 2015(Publication Date)
  • Wiley

    (Publisher)

  Once gender becomes a central social identity, the processes articulated in social identity theory can be observed in same-gender peer groups (see Leaper, 1994; Powlishta, 1995). First, social norms define a group. In this regard, some researchers have characterized children's same-gender peer groups as “gender cultures” (see Maccoby, 1998; Underwood, 2004). Two important processes that typically follow when children establish ties to same-gender peer groups are in-group favoritism and in-group assimilation. In-group favoritism has been demonstrated through children's more positive ratings of same-gender than cross-gender peers on likeability and favorable traits (Powlishta, 1995; Robnett & Susskind, 2011; Zosuls et al., 2011). The esteem gained from children's ties to their gender in-group can strengthen their motivation to conform to the group's norms (Tobin et al., 2010). To this end, Martin and Fabes (2001) documented a “social dosage effect” in young children's gender-segregated peer groups: The amount of time that preschool or kindergarten children spent with same-gender peers predicted subsequent increases in gender-typed behaviors over 6 months. Thus, children tended to assimilate to the gender in-group's behavioral norms.

  Social cognitive theory and social identity theory offer helpful models for understanding how the social dosage effect occurs in gendered peer groups. First, peer groups provide children with opportunities and incentives to practice gender-typed behaviors and to avoid cross-gender-typed behaviors. By practicing behaviors that are sanctioned in the peer group, children may gain feelings of self-efficacy in those domains (Bussey & Bandura, 1999). Furthermore, as children internalize the group's norms, gender-typed behaviors become more internally motivated (i.e., based on personal standards and interests) and less externally motivated (i.e., based on others' approval or disapproval). In this manner, children's gender-typed values serve a self-regulatory function as described in social cognitive theory (Bussey & Bandura, 1999), gender schema theory (Martin, 2000), and the gender self-socialization model (Tobin et al., 2010).

  Investment in an in-group also increases children's sensitivity to how others view them. That is, social identities become more salient in peer groups and personal identities may be more easily expressed in dyadic relationships (Deaux & Major, 1987; Harris, 1995). To the extent that boys tend to spend more time in peer groups and less time in dyads or triads compared to girls (Benenson, Apostoleris, & Parnass, 1997), boys may be subjected more frequently to conformity pressures that inhibit some facets of their personal identities; conversely, by participating in more dyadic friendships, girls may experience more flexibility to pursue a wider range of interests associated with their personal identities (see Harris, 1995).

  Although children primarily affiliate with same-gender peers during childhood, there are certain contexts when cross-gender interactions are seen (Sroufe, Bennett, Englund, Urban, & Shulman, 1993; Strough & Covatto, 2002). Competitive cross-gender interactions regularly occur to maintain group boundaries (e.g., cross-gender insults and teasing). However, cooperative cross-gender contacts also are seen in two kinds of settings (based on studies of American children). First, in private settings, such as children's homes, girls and boys commonly engage in cooperative cross-gender play when companion choices are limited (Strough & Covatto, 2002). Second, in public settings, such as classrooms, children are usually comfortable interacting positively with cross-gender peers when they can attribute the contact to an external cause (e.g., a teacher assigns students to a mixed-gender collaborative group). Otherwise, children who violate these conventions risk peer rejection (Sroufe et al., 1993).

  Sign up to read

  Learn more about book