What does this picture tell us about gender?

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What does this picture tell us about gender?
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Today we will

• Examine the social learning theory of gender
• Analyse gender development in terms of SLT
• Discuss some research from within the SLT
  tradition

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• What concepts does a behaviourist use to
  understand people?
• How might a behaviourist explain the development
  of gender?

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Social learning theory

• Based on behaviourism
• Adds two important ideas
• People learn by observing others
• People are active, not passive

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Social learning
Attention
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Social learning theory

• Observation
• Model modelling
• Imitation
• Reinforcement punishment
• Vicarious reinforcement punishment

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• In SLT, two important sources of models are the
  family, school and the media (e.g. TV ads
  programmes)
• What hypotheses can you make about what we will
  observe in families and the media if SLT is
  correct about the learning of gender identity
  role?

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SLT evidence

• Fagot Leinbach
• Teaching of gendered behaviour in the family, but
  not a typical finding
• Fagot Dweck et al
• Teachers peers react differently to male/female
  preferred behaviour
• Williams
• Introduction of TV to an isolated community
  resulted in increases in gender stereotyping

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• What evidence is there that children acquire
  gendered behaviour from the materials they learn
  from at school?
• Content analysis method
• Read up and make notes on Lobban (1974) and at
  least one other content analysis study

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Content analysis

• A quantitative observational study carried out on
  written or pictorial material (rather than
  people)
• Books, letters, diaries
• Pictures (e.g. in magazines)
• TV programmes/adverts
• Videogames
• Etc.

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Content analysis

• Decide what you are counting
• Decide how each instance will be classified
• Look for a pattern in the way instances are
  classified

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Pictures in Ladybird Books

• Look for instances of adult characters
• Classify them according to (1) gender (2)
  occupational role (i.e. the job they are depicted
  doing)
• Look for instances of child characters
• Classify them according to (1) gender (2)
  whether they are doing or watching

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Content analysis

• Convenient way of turning qualitative into
  quantitative data
• Can rely heavily on subjective judgements open
  to bias

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