The role of culture and media

• Outline the role of culture on gender roles. 1 


  Cultures have their own expectations about the roles that each gender should carry out (e.g. some cultures believe that women should take on nurturing and domestic roles while men take on the role of a breadwinner). 

  These expected gender roles within a culture are passed from one generation to another either explicitly or implicitly.
• Outline the role of culture on gender roles. 2 


  In terms of explicitly, boys and girls are told what is gender appropriate behaviour and what is not. In terms of implicitly, children observe and imitate the gender roles they see in same-sex role models.
• Outline the role of culture on gender roles. 


  Parents can therefore have an influence in that they reinforce gender roles (e.g. by buying girls dolls and praising them for this so that they are more likely to take on nurturing roles) and punishing children for showing gender behaviour that is not expected within their culture (e.g. punishing a girl for engaging in rough play as girls should not be aggressive).
• Outline the role of culture on gender roles


  Schools can also influence children into showing gender roles expected of their culture by reinforcing different activities for different genders e.g. contact sports such as rugby are offered to boys to encourage the gender role of them being more aggressive while non-contact sports such as netball are offered to girls to encourage the gender role of them being less aggressive.
• Outline the role of culture on gender roles.


  Finally, peers can have an influence in that they may model gender roles that others then observe and imitate or reinforce gender appropriate behaviour by providing feedback to their friends (e.g. boys might tease another boy for playing with dolls, thus stopping him from displaying the nurturing gender role typically expected of girls).
• Evaluate the role of culture on gender roles.


  Researcher observed 3 different tribes in Papua New Guinea. They found that within one tribe, the men and women were found to be more gentle and cooperative whereas in another tribe the men and women were found to be aggressive. Meanwhile, the final tribe showed the opposite gender-role behaviours seen in most cultures as the women were more dominant. This is a strength as it shows how gender roles can differ based on the culture an individual is brought up in and thus culture must have an impact on gender roles.
• Evaluate the role of culture on gender roles.

  A researcher observed children playing at home with their parents while recording the reinforcements and punishments the parents provided. It was found that boys and girls were reinforced for different behaviours - boys were reinforced for playing with toy bricks and punished for playing with dolls while girls were praised for playing with dolls and punished for rough play. This is a strength because it demonstrates how parents reinforce gender roles in children.
• Evaluate the role of culture on gender roles.


  hTere are similarities in gender roles between different cultures. E.g. food preparation and childcare is mainly carried out by females in all societies. This is a limitation because it suggests that, regardless of the culture we are in, there are certain qualities that are consistent in men and women. Indeed, biological psychologists would argue that it is biological rather than cultural influences that result in men and women showing their gender roles.
• Outline the role of the media on gender roles. 


  The media displays rigid gender roles that viewers then observe and imitate.

  E.g. TV shows typically portray males as the breadwinners going out to work while females stay at home to take on domestic and caregiving roles.

  Meanwhile, toy catalogues advertise combat-type toys to boys and dolls to girls, reinforcing the gender roles that boys should be aggressive while girls should be nurturing.
• Outline the role of the media on gender roles.


  The media also reinforces the gender roles they display, making viewers more likely to imitate them.

  E.g. in TV shows, people compliment the woman for how nice the house/food is. This acts as vicarious reinforcement which motivates female viewers into imitating their gender behaviour in hope of receiving the same reward.
• Outline the role of the media on gender roles.


  Young viewers such as children are especially likely to try to imitate the gender roles they see in the media as the actors are seen as attractive, popular etc. and so viewers identify them as they wish to be like them. This identification makes them more likely to imitate the gender roles they display.
• Evaluate the role of the media on gender roles.


  Research has found that children who have more exposure to popular forms of media tend to display more stereotypical gender roles. This is a strength because it suggests the gender stereotypes portrayed on TV can influence children’s gender-related behaviours. Therefore adds credibility.
• Evaluate the role of the media on gender roles. 


  Supporting evidence is typically correlational. This is because it often involves investigating the relationship between the amount of time consuming media (e.g. watching television) and how stereotypical an individual’s gender-related behaviours are. This is a limitation because it means cause and effect cannot be established. For example, it could be that children with already quite gender stereotypical behaviours seek media that reinforce this.
• Evaluate the role of the media on gender roles. 


  A researcher looked at Canadian towns that had never been exposed to television and compared them to towns with television. They found that those with no television exposure had weaker gender stereotypical attitudes and behaviours. Two years after all the towns had television, this was re-assessed and they found that the towns that were introduced to television had significantly more gender stereotypical attitudes and behaviours. This is a strength because it suggests that the introduction of television impacted gender roles.
• Evaluate the role of the media on gender roles.


  Not all types of media reinforce stereotypical gender roles. E.g. while video games are highly gender stereotypical (e.g. women are stereotyped as ‘damsels in distress’ and men are stereotyped as the saviours), books tend to present less gender stereotypical characters. This is a limitation because it means that the impact of media on gender roles depends on the type of media being assessed.