GENDER ROLE DEVELOPMENT

Operant Conditioning and Observational Learning in Gender Role Development

Operant Conditioning and Observational Learning in Gender Role Development

Introduction

Traditional stereotypes portray males as unemotional, aggressive, and independent, and females as dependent, affectionate, and passive. Much has been written about Gender Role Development, with females being supported to be self-confident and businesslike and males being told it is all right to show feelings. But, though some gender limits might have relaxed in the past decades, gender roles stay as am element of today's culture. This paper discusses describes how people learn their gender role using the concepts of operant conditioning and observational learning (specifically Bandura's social learning theory). In other words this paper discusses how peole learn attitudes and behaviors regarding being male or female).

Discussion

Why do females are inclined to act in definite ways and males in others? Though natural differences between the two genders play various roles, social learning theorists and behaviorists incriminate an ultimate procedure of gender-role socialization. Children and grown-ups obtain and maintain gender-suitable actionss mainly through operant conditioning and surveillance learning. Anyone can observe the effects of operant conditioning whenever little children act in gender-inappropriate ways. Boys often make fun of one another for playing with dolls, crying, or showing an attention in sewing or cooking. Likewise, playmates tease girls when they act like tomboys. Simultaneously, boys are prized with friendship and parental nods for participating in soccer and standing up to those who attempt to shove them around. Girls succeed endorsement for demonstrating an attention in caring for babies and for acting cute and sweet. This prototype of punishments and rewards soon shapes conventional feminine and masculine mannerss. (Bandura 1977)

Gender Roles

Gender Roles are the prototypes of behavior thought to be fitting for male and female members of a given society. In other expression, they offer explanations of how girls and boys are shall act. The forms of occupations that males and females naturally follow are described by gender roles. For instance, a general gender role for females in the society is “nurse” or “secretary,” while an ordinary gender role for males is “doctor” or “construction worker”. As a grown person, one can consider that such typecasts are no longer correct symbols of our society; but research specifies that children tend to endorse the same gender roles today as they did in the past. Additionally, these gender-specific professions frequently keep on dominating by the gender with which they are linked. Gender roles also offer knowledge about the qualities that males and females naturally have. For example, society classically supposes males to be strong and less expressive than females. It is an interesting question that how children obtain information about their gender roles. (Dubanoski 2001)

Operant Conditioning

The word operant denotes actions which is modified as a consequence of its results. The term conditioning refers to a precise type of learning. Therefore, operant conditioning is knowledge constructed as a consequence of behavioral effects. More particularly, “operant conditioning” is conduct modification which results from the association between or ...