Social learning theory

• Social learning theory suggests gendered behaivour is learnt from experience, through socialisation by observing and imitating gender role models. 
• Direct reinforcement: Children are directly rewarded for certain behaviours and punished for others. This leads them to repeat the behaviours that were rewarded and avoid the behaviours that were punished. For example, a boy may be told off by a parent for asking to play with dolls, so learning that this is not a masculine behaviour. 
• Indirect/Vicarious reinforcement: Children observe the praise others get from performing sex-appropriate behaivour.
• Children identify with people they see as role models who are same-sex e.g live models - older sibling and symbolic model- cartoon characters 
• Mediational processes of attention, retention, motivation and motor reproduction need to be present for the child to imitate the gendered behaivour.
• Differential reinforcement is when children are praised for different behaviours
• The case of David Reimer would contradict the expectations of SLT, as his upbringing as a girl (and all of the associated reinforcements) was overridden by biology, suggesting that the role of nature is underestimated in this theory
• SLT can explain the differences in gender-role expectations now compared to decades ago, as the result of changing norms, beliefs and therefore social influences. Biological explanations would find this much harder to explain.
• Smith and Llyod (1978) 32 new mothers were recorded playing with a strangers 6-month old baby. Theses babies were male or female but dressed either in sex-appropiate or cross-sex clothes. A range of toys were provided that were feminine, masculine or neutral. It was found that squeaky hammer (masculine) was offered to babies dressed as boys as the first choice of toy and dolls (famaine) to babies dressed as girls. Also the mothers verbally encourage physical activity significabntaly more with the babies dressed as boys.
• Smith and Llyod (1995) suggests that adults use differential reinforcement based on their stereotypes of appropriate gendered behaviour from infancy.