A03

• What is one strength of the social learning approach?

  Key principles are supported
• What did the study by Caroline Smith and Barbara Lloyd (1978) involve?

  Babies dressed in boys' and girls' clothes
• What behavior was encouraged for babies dressed as boys?

  Being adventurous and active
• What behavior was reinforced for babies dressed as girls?

  Being passive and told they were 'pretty'
• What does the study suggest about gender-appropriate behavior?

  It is stamped in at an early age
• What is a counterpoint to differential reinforcement in gender behavior?

  Innate gender differences may influence behavior
• What was the key finding of the study by Caroline Smith and Barbara Lloyd (1978) involving babies aged 4-6 months?

  Babies dressed as boys were more likely to be given a hammer-shaped rattle and encouraged to be adventurous and active, while babies dressed as girls were more likely to be handed a cuddly doll and reinforced for being passive
• What is a counterpoint to the social learning explanation for gender differences in behaviour?

  Adults may be responding to innate gender differences that are already there, rather than differential reinforcement causing the differences
• What is another strength of the social learning approach?

  It can explain cultural changes in stereotypically gender-appropriate behaviour
• How does the social learning approach explain cultural changes in stereotypically gender-appropriate behaviour?

  The shift in social expectations and cultural norms over the years has meant new forms of gender behaviour are now unlikely to be punished and may be reinforced
• What is a limitation of the social learning approach?

  It does not provide an adequate explanation of how learning processes change with age
• Why does the social learning approach's lack of a developmental sequence conflict with Kohlberg's theory?

  Kohlberg's theory states that children do not become active in their gender development until they reach gender constancy, which conflicts with the social learning approach's implication that modelling of gender-appropriate behaviour can occur at any age from birth onwards
• What are the strengths and weaknesses of the social learning approach to explaining gender development?

  Strengths:

  • Key principles are supported
  • Can explain cultural changes in stereotypically gender-appropriate behaviour

  
  

  Weaknesses:

  • Does not provide an adequate explanation of how learning processes change with age
  • Conflicts with Kohlberg's theory of gender development