Social Learning

• Direct Reinforcement is where children are more likely to be reinforced (praised/encouraged) for demonstrating gender-appropriate behaviour
• Indirect (vicarious) Reinforcement is where the consequences of another person's behaviour makes it more or less likely to be imitated by the child
• Differential Reinforcement is how children learn their gender identity as they are encouraged to show distinct gender-appropriate behaviour
• Identification is the process by which a child attaches themself to a 'role model' who possesses qualities the child sees as desirable
• Role Models are same-sex figures who may be part of the child's immediate environment (e.g. parents, siblings) or the media
• Moddeling is the precise demonstration of behaviour by the role model, or the child's own attempts to imitate the behaviour
• There is research to support differential reinforcement e.g. Smith & Lloyd
• Smith & Lloyd used babies 4-6 months old and dressed them in girl/boy clothes 50% of the time regardless of their gender
• Smith & Lloyd observed that in interactions with adults boys were more likely to be given a hammer-shaped rattle and encouraged to be adventurous & active
• Smith & Lloyd observed that girls were more likely to be handed cuddly dolls, told they were pretty, and reinforced for being passive
• Social Learning theory of gender lacks gender bias as it acknowledges the effects of role models on both genders
• There is research to support the importance of similarity in attention e.g. Perry & Bussey
• Perry & Bussey showed children same-sex and opposite-sex adult models picking fruit and found that children tended to pick the same fruit as same-sex models
• Social Learning Theory is associated with soft determinism as it acknowledges that children choose to some extent whether or not they imitate the behaviour
• Social Learning explanations do not explain differences in gender between siblings with the same role model
• Social learning explanations does not explain how children from non-traditional households develop a traditional gender identity
• Social learning explanations can explain cultural changes in gender as there has been changes in cultural norms but no change in basic biology, so must have evolved through environmental interaction
• Social learning theory of gender does not provide a developmental sequence so does not explain how learning processes change with age