Learning theory

• The learning theory of gender supports would suggest children have been operantly conditioned.

  It suggests they may have been positively reinforced for displaying cross gender behaviour or when young children have experimented their parents will have encouraged and complimented them.

  These reactions could contribute to the conflict of anatomical sex and acquired gender identity happening more in boys than girls.

  The theory would also state that gender dysphoria is from observing models modelling dysphoric behaviour and children imitating in order to receive similar reinforcement.
• AO3

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  Research to support this comes from Rekers who studied 70 gender dysphoric boys and found there was more evidence to suggest social factors had been the cause than biological ones.

  He said the most common factor was the absence of a stereotypical male role model.

  This therefore suggests that learning theory has an influence on gender dysphoria.
• AO3

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  Further support comes from the idea that it supports age related diagnosis.

  This is because conditioning experiences may explain why more children than adults are identified as gender dysphoric.

  If cross gender behaviours are acceptable, tolerated and encouraged as a child and a child grows up where external factors become more prominent, then they may be punished for behaving in gender inappropriate ways.

  This can then lead to conflictions and therefore this can explain gender dysphoria which increases validity.