Theories of

Gender Development

Social Learning/Cognitive Theory by Albert Bandura

Introduction
Social Learning/Cognitive theory is based on outward motivational factors that argue that
if children receive positive reinforcement they are motivated to continue a particular
behavior. If they receive punishment or other indicators of disapproval they are more
motivated to stop that behavior.

In terms of gender development, children receive praise if they engage in culturally

appropriate gender displays and punishment if they do not.

For example, when aggressiveness in boys is met with acceptance, or a “boys will be boys”
attitude, but a girl’s aggressiveness earns them little attention, the two children learn
different meanings for aggressiveness as it relates to their gender development. Thus, boys
may continue being aggressive while girls may drop it out of their repertoire.
Observational Learning
The main way that gender behaviours are learned is through the process of observational
learning. Children observe the people around them behaving in various ways, some of
which relate to gender.

They pay attention to some of these people (models) and encode their behaviour. At a later
time they may imitate the behaviour they have observed.

They may do this regardless of whether the behaviour is ‘gender appropriate’ or not but
there are a number of processes that make it more likely that a child will reproduce the
behaviour that its society deems appropriate for its sex.
Observational Learning
Steps in Observational Learning
First Step:

The child attend to and imitate people it perceives as similar to itself. Consequently, it is
more likely to imitate behavior modeled by people of the same gender.
Observational Learning
Steps in Observational Learning
Second Step:
The people around the child will respond to the behavior it imitates. If the responses are
rewarding (ex. compliments rewards), the child will likely to continue repeating the
behavior thereby reinforcing it.

Reinforcement can be external (ex. praises from parents) or internal (ex. personal
satisfaction). It can also be positive or negative (ex. punishments, reprimands).

Positive (or negative) reinforcement will have little impact if the reinforcement offered
externally does not match with an individual's needs. Reinforcement can be positive or negative,
but the important factor is that it will usually lead to a change in a person's behavior.
Observational Learning
Steps in Observational Learning
Third Step:

The child will also take into account of what happens to other people when deciding
whether or not to copy someone’s actions. A person learns by observing the consequences of
another person’s behavior. This is known as vicarious reinforcement.

For example, a younger sister observing an older sister being rewarded for studying before
being told to do so will be more likely to repeat that behavior herself.
Observational Learning
Sample Case
Imagine three siblings, James (4 years), John (5 years) and Sarah (6 years). Sarah and John
play ‘dressing up’ and both put on dresses. Their dad reinforces Sarah for this, by saying
she looks pretty but punishes John by saying he looks silly and boys should not dress that
way.

In the future, Sarah is more likely to wear dresses and John is less likely. James, who has
been watching all this, is unlikely to imitate the behaviour of wearing a dress because he
has seen his brother (who he perceives as similar to himself) getting punished for doing it.
Mediational Process of Observational Learning
According to Bandura, humans are active information processors and think about the relationship
between their behavior and its consequences. Observational learning could not occur unless
cognitive processes were at work. These mental factors mediate in the learning process to
determine whether a new response is acquired.

Therefore, individuals do not automatically observe the behavior of a model and imitate it.
There is some thought prior to imitation, and this consideration is called mediational
processes. This occurs between observing the behavior (stimulus) and imitating it or not
(response)
Mediational Process of Observational Learning
The four mediational processes are:

1. Attention

The extent to which we are exposed/notice the behavior. For a behavior to be imitated, it has to
grab our attention. We observe many behaviors on a daily basis, and many of these are not
noteworthy. Attention is therefore extremely important in whether a behavior influences
others imitating it
Mediational Process of Observational Learning
The four mediational processes are:

2. Retention

How well the behavior is remembered. The behavior may be noticed but is it not always
remembered which obviously prevents imitation. It is important therefore that a memory
of the behavior is formed to be performed later by the observer.
Mediational Process of Observational Learning
The four mediational processes are:

3. Reproduction

This is the ability to perform the behavior that the model has just demonstrated. We see much
behavior on a daily basis that we would like to be able to imitate but that this not always
possible. We are limited by our physical ability and for that reason, even if we wish to
reproduce the behavior, we cannot.
Mediational Process of Observational Learning
The four mediational processes are:

4. Motivation

The will to perform the behavior. The rewards and punishment that follow a behavior will be
considered by the observer. If the perceived rewards outweigh the perceived costs, then the
behavior will be more likely to be imitated by the observer. If the vicarious reinforcement is
not seen to be important enough to the observer, then they will not imitate the behavior.
Limitations of Social Learning/Cognitive Theory
The theory places too much emphasis on social processes. This tends to ignore biological
processes that predetermines gender (ex. conception).

Social learning theory has difficulty explaining how children’s understanding of gender
changes over time. It also cannot easily account for how children’s preparedness to imitate
a gender role behaviour depends more on whether the behaviour is seen as gender
appropriate rather than the sex of the model demonstrating it.

It also doesn't explain why gender inappropriate behaviour persists in individuals despite
lack of positive reinforcement and with active discouragement and punishment. It fails to
explain where gender stereotypes come from in the first place. Gender stereotypes are
similar across cultures – the theory would predict that they would be different.

Freud’s theory suggests that gender develops in stages. Bandura’s would point that it
develops as a gradual process.