Cognitive and Social Learning Theories of Gender Role Formation

Parents’ Gender Roles Predict Children’s Aspirations and Beliefs Summary How do parents’ beliefs about gender and their gendered behaviours affect their children’s aspirations? This study conducted tests with 326 children and their parents to investigate this question. It found that mothers’ explicit beliefs about gender roles – such as associating women with the home and men with work – predicted their children’s beliefs. Further, fathers’ participation in domestic work and their implicit beliefs about gender roles specifically impacted their daughters’ aspirations. For example, when fathers contributed to domestic work, daughters were more likely to aspire to less gender-stereotypical occupations.

Feminine Traits & Stereotypes Our society has a set of ideas about how we expect men and women to dress, behave, and present themselves. What are gender roles? Gender roles in society means how we’re expected to act, speak, dress, groom, and conduct ourselves based upon our assigned sex. For example, girls and women are generally expected to dress in typically feminine ways and be polite, accommodating, and nurturing. Gender Roles and Identity in Children It’s common for people to think of the terms ‘sex’ and ‘gender’ as being the same, but they mean different things. Someone’s sex refers to their physical biology: being male or female. A person’s gender identity, however, is a person’s sense of who they are – male, female, both or neither.

How Stereotypes in Movies and on TV Impact Kids' Development [downloadable] - CHC Resource Library A new Common Sense Media study shows that learning gender roles from movies and TV shows has real consequences on kids’ self-esteem, relationships, and even their future careers. The Common Sense Media report, Watching Gender: How Stereotypes in Movies and on TV Impact Kids’ Development analyzes more than 150 articles, interviews, books, and other social-scientific research and finds that gender stereotypes in movies and on TV shows are widespread and very influential — teaching children what the culture expects of boys and girls. According to the report, a lifetime of viewing stereotypical media becomes so ingrained it can ultimately affect kids’ career choices, self-worth, relationships, and ability to achieve their full potential. Key Findings:

Harmful Gender Norms & Roles Can Create a Lifelong Cycle of Gender Inequality All children deserve to grow up and achieve their dreams – regardless of their gender. Tragically, inequitable gender norms rob millions of girls and boys of their childhoods – and risk their futures. Often, these damaging expectations directly contribute to the violation of children’s human rights. Gender norms describe how people of a particular gender and age are expected to behave in a given social context. Introduction to Social Learning Theory and Gender Development Social Learning Theory states that individuals develop gender by imitating role models. SLT states that observational learning takes place, and that this learning is reinforced vicariously. Vicarious reinforcement occurs when a person witnesses a model being rewarded for behaving in a gender-appropriate way (e.g. a girl being praised for playing quietly with her dolls). Vicarious reinforcement makes it more likely that the model’s behaviour will be imitated in the future.

What Media Teach Kids About Gender Can Have Lasting Effects? Story highlights Gender stereotypes are incredibly effective at teaching boys and girls what the culture expects Luckily, parents can assert control over the messages that Hollywood dishes out Gender stereotypes are messing with your kid. It’s not just one movie. More About Differential Reinforcement Differential reinforcement is a strategy used in applied behavior analysis (ABA) to address challenging or undesirable behavior, usually in children. While there are a number of techniques used in differential reinforcement, the goal is always the same: to encourage appropriate behavior by giving or withholding reinforcement. The theory behind differential reinforcement is that people tend to repeat behaviors that are reinforced or rewarded and are less likely to continue behaviors that aren’t reinforced. Differential reinforcement consists of two components:

Gender Stereotypes in a Children's Television Programmes Introduction Women are underrepresented in domains that require intensive mathematical skills (National Science Foundation, 2015; National Science Board, 2016). This bias is crucial to the larger economy and contributes to gender inequity in income: More women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) would diversify the workforce, and mathematically intensive STEM fields usually provide high-status career options (National Science Foundation, 2015). Drawing on expectancy-value theory (Eccles et al., 1983), gender differences in STEM careers can be linked to early emerging gender differences in math motivational dispositions. Start by understanding gender roles Understanding Gender Roles Have you ever really considered why the toy aisles at your favorite department store are divided into “boys” and “girls” sections? What makes a toy a “boys” or a “girls” toy? If you’re like many parents you may find your daughter wearing a Spider-Man shirt and shopping for Star Wars figures and your son feeling empowered by strong Disney Princesses like Elsa or Moana. What if your son’s baseball team chooses pink jerseys or your daughter wants to compete against boys in athletics or academics?

Social Learning Theory Application: School Nearly a half-century ago, educational theorist and researcher Albert Bandura coined the term ‘Social Learning Theory’ to describe the transfer of knowledge among students who learned not just from a teacher expert or a textbook but from each other. Even though all learners were at the same developmental stage, they observed each other, imitated learning actions and modeled them for others. Implicit in this practice are the attitudes and emotional responses to environments that are modeled and imitated as well. Social learning creates a social context.

How Gender Stereotypes in Children’s Books Shape Career Choices This week has seen National Careers Week, World Book Day, and today International Women’s Day. All three have highlighted important issues (not least how to whip up a costume in no time). But in the middle of these three issues is a ‘sweet spot’: the representation of gender in children’s books and how this might affect the types of careers that young people are aware of and aspire to be in. How careers aspirations are shaped by characters