10.1.15

Media Influence on Gender Development

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Media Influence on Gender Development

Social learning theory not only examines the impact of parents and peers on gender development, but also media (TV, film, video games, books, magazines). This was demonstrated in a study done by Williams (1986).

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Media

  • Media is a broad category that can include many things:
    • Film, video games, TV, computer games, magazines, etc.
  • Media tends to portray gender as being stereotypical or at the very least, gender typical.
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Gender typical media

  • There are hundreds of these examples.
  • Many TV shows portray mothers as the primary caregiver and fathers as the breadwinner.
  • They also show male children as being mischievous and female children as the 'good ones.'
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The Simpsons

  • A specific example would the TV show 'The Simpsons':
    • Bart portrays boy typical behaviour (getting into trouble, skateboarding, swearing).
    • Whereas Lisa portrays girl typical behaviour (working hard in school, polite, caring).

Studies Investigating Media and Gender

An important study published in 1986 by Williams demonstrated the impact of media on gender development.

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Williams (1986)

  • The study was done in Canada.
  • She looked at the effect of the introduction of TV in a town (fictionally referred to as Notel) on gender stereotyping.
  • She compared Notel to a town that was nearby and already had TV (fictionally referred to as Mulitel).
  • Multitel had higher levels gender stereotyping behaviour compared to Notel.
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Williams (1986) findings

  • She discovered that gender stereotyping behaviour increased in Notel over the course of the study, eventually matching the levels of Multitel.
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Williams (1986) strengths

  • The experiment had high ecological validity because it was a natural experiment.
  • Other studies have also drawn similar conclusions on the impact of media on gender development.
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Leary (1982)

  • Leary (1982) is another study that supports the fact that media has an influence on gender.
  • It was a correlational study that concluded that the more TV a child watched, the more likely they were to have gender stereotypes.

Jump to other topics

1Social Influence

2Memory

3Attachment

4Psychopathology

5Approaches in Psychology

6Biopsychology

7Research Methods

8Issues & Debates in Psychology (A2 only)

9Option 1: Relationships (A2 only)

10Option 1: Gender (A2 only)

11Option 1: Cognition & Development (A2 only)

12Option 2: Schizophrenia (A2 only)

13Option 2: Eating Behaviour (A2 only)

14Option 2: Stress (A2 only)

15Option 3: Aggression (A2 only)

16Option 3: Forensic Psychology (A2 only)

17Option 3: Addiction (A2 only)

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