Media provides rolemodels of which children identify with and want to imitate.
Rigid Stereotypes
Media provides rigid stereotypes where men are seen as independent and women are dependant. A study found that TV adverts generally put men in more autonomous roles while women were in family roles.
->This suggests that the media has a role in reinforcing gender stereotypes.
Self -efficacy
Media also gives information to men and women about how to adopt certain behaviours. Seeing other people perform gender-appropriate behaviours increases a child's belief that they are capable of carrying out such behaviours.
A03
Limitation) Gender roles in media don't have a causal relationship.
It was found that young children are not passive recipients of media messages. In fact, media representations that affirm existing gender norms in a child's head are more likely to be reinforced. But if the media representation is not aligned with the child's gender norms than its likely to be rejected.
->Suggests that media is a secondary influence compared to that of a child's upbringing.
