Social Learning Explanation of Gender Development

• Social learning theory

  • Acknowledges role of social context in development
  • Suggests gender is learned from observation
• Direct reinforcement

  1. Praised/encouraged for behaving gender-appropriately

  2. Encouraged to show distinct gender identities by differential reinforcement
• Indirect (vicarious) reinforcement


  1. Likely imitate if favourable consequence

  2. Unlikely imitate if unfavourable consequence
• Identification

  • Child attaches to role model because they want to be like them as they possess desirable qualities
  • Role model must be same-sex as child, from immediate environment or media
• Modelling

  1. Demonstration of behaviour that may be imitated by observer

  2. Observing behaviour from observer perspective
• Mediational processes

  Central cognitive processes in learning gender behaviour: attention, retention, motivation, motor reproduction
• AO3 support

  Evidence for differential reinforcement - Smith & Lloyd 1978 et al.
• Smith & Lloyd 1978

  • Observed adults with 4-6 month olds; babies assumed as boy - be adventurous, active and given hammer-shaped toy, babies assumed as girls - be passive, play with doll and praised for pretty therefore gender-appropriate behaviour stamped from young, via differential reinforcement (encouraged to show distinct acts), supports SLT explanation
• AO3 limitation

  • Not a developmental theory - mediational processes; Dubin 1992 et al.
• Andrew Dubin 1992


  • Imitation of behaviour not until later in age; modelling doesn't occur from birth, eg motor reproduction - kids aren't physically nor intellectually capable to perform act, fits Kohlberg's theory - capable from gender constancy therefore not consider influence of age and maturation, undermines the mediational process = low internal validity
• AO3 support

  Explains change in Western gender roles - androgyny
• Androgyny

  • Less distinction between masculine and feminine behaviour than in 1950s; there's a shift in social expectations and cultural norms over time, new forms of acceptable gender behaviours therefore explains shift better than biological approach because there's not been a change in people's basic biology - only behaviours
• AO3 limitation

  • Comparison to Psychodynamic, unconscious processes challenge identification
• Freud's unconscious internal conflict between tripartite personalities vs conscious mediational processes


  • Mediational processes occur through identification where the child will choose their model and decide if they want to imitate based on consequences. There's psychic determinism in the unconscious internal conflict because they'll have no control over the conflict resolution thus no control of own gender development therefore unconscious forces more important than social influences in gender development, undermines influence of social learning