10.3.4 Social Learning Theory & Gender Development

Social Learning Theory (SLT): Gender Development

Social Learning Theory (SLT) is a psychological idea that explains how we learn our gender roles by watching and copying others. This theory was introduced by a psychologist named Albert Bandura. It suggests that our understanding of what it means to be male or female isn't just something we're born with, but something we learn from the people around us.

How Social Learning Theory Explains Gender Development

1. Observing and Imitating: SLT says that we learn how to act like boys or girls by watching others, especially those we see as role models, like parents, older siblings, teachers, or even characters on TV. For example, a boy might watch his father fixing things around the house and later try to do the same because he sees that as "male" behaviour.
2. Vicarious Reinforcement: This is a fancy way of saying that we learn from seeing others get rewarded or praised for their behaviour. For example, if a girl sees another girl being praised for playing quietly with dolls, she might decide to play with dolls too, thinking that's what girls are supposed to do.

3. The Four Steps of Learning: According to Bandura, for us to imitate behaviour, four things need to happen:

• Attention: We need to pay attention to the behaviour of others. For example, boys might pay more attention to what other boys do, and girls to what other girls do.
• Retention: We need to remember what we've seen. This means storing the behaviour in our memory so we can recall it later.
• Reproduction: We need to be able to actually do the behaviour. For instance, if a girl watches her mother cooking, she needs to have the skills to try cooking herself.
• Motivation: We need to want to copy the behaviour. If we see that certain behaviours lead to praise or rewards, we're more likely to try them ourselves.