Social explanations

• • All behaviour (including gender-related behaviour) is learned from observing others.
  • SLT draws attention to the influence of the environment in shaping gender development. For example the people the child interacts with (parents, teachers, peers.)
• Direct Reinforcement

  • Children are reinforced for gender-approrpriate behaviour. For example, a boy is praised for being assertive and active but punished for being passive and sensitive.
• Indirect Reinforcement

  • If the consequences of another persons behaviour are favourable then that behaviour is more likely to be imitated by a child. For example, a little girl starts playing with her kitchen set more often because her farther compliments her mothers cooking. VISE VERSA
• Modelling

  Children are more likely to 'model'/imitate a behaviour if that model is similar to them. For example, a little girls mother models stereotypical feminine behaviour like hoovering the house. The little girl then copies this behaviour when she models it by tidying her toys.
• Mediational processes (The cognitive factors that determine whether or not a behaviour is imitated).


  • Attention - A little boy watches what a footballer is doing.
  • Retention - He retains the skills the football player used.
  • Reproduction - Physically imitating that behaviour. (But the replicability is based on whether the observer possess the physical capability to replicate that behaviour).
  • Motivation - The child's reason for wanting to imitate said behaviour. (Perhaps he wants to be like his hero).
• A03

  Strength) It was observed that adults with babies who (irrespective of their biological sex) were dressed up in boys/girls clothes. The babies assumed to be male were encouraged to be adventurous and given a hammer. Those assumed to be female were reinforced for being passive and praised for being pretty.

  ->This suggests that gender appropriate behaviours are reinforced at an early age.
• A03

  Limitation) SLT doesn't account for the developmental process

  SLT states that 'modelling' can occur at any age. This is illogical as a 2 year old obviously doesn't learn the same way as a 9 year old would.

  ->This shows that SLT does not consider age and maturation as a factor in the learning of gender-appropriate behaviours.