ALBERT BANDURA WHERE DO GENDER ROLES COME FROM?: A STUDY BY EMMA RODIN

WHO IS ALBERT BANDURA? Born 1925 – Mundare, Alberta, Canada Grew up working on a farm Enrolled in the University of British Columbia Paid for his education by working in a wood-working plant Took a psychology class to fill a gap in his schedule Earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology Clinical psychology graduate program at the University of Iowa Robert Sears and the social learning theory Professor Emeritus at Stanford University

SOCIAL LEARNING THEORY Definition = people can learn by observing the behavior of others, and the outcome of those behaviors Modeling Bandura divides the observational learning process into four components – Attentional Processes – Retention Processes – Motor Reproduction Processes – Reinforcement and Motivational Processes

1. ATTENTIONAL PROCESSES Paying attention to the model is a condition for learning The most attention-grabbing models are the most effective (e.g. television)

2. RETENTION PROCESSES We learn by internalizing information in our memories Mental picture of the behavior Stimulus contiguity

3. MOTOR REPRODUCTION PROCESSES Reproducing the behavior Must have the required motor skills to reproduce the behavior

4. REINFORCEMENT AND MOTIVATIONAL PROCESSES The will to perform a behavior If the perceived rewards outweigh the perceived costs (assuming there are any), the observer will be more likely to imitate the behavior

GENDER DEVELOPMENT AND GENDER ROLES Just like in learning anything else, gender roles are based on models Children will observe the behaviors of different genders, and at an early age, imitate “feminine” and “masculine” behaviors no matter their gender – Will eventually focus on gender-appropriate behavior which is dictated by societal norms – Rewards “Social Cognitive Theory of Gender Development” (1999)

“[S]ome of the most important aspects of people’s lives, such as the talents they cultivate, the conceptions they hold of themselves and others, the sociostructural opportunities and constraints they encounter, and the social life and occupational paths they pursue are heavily prescribed by societal gender-typing” - Bussey, Bandura 1999

HYPOTHESES How does age impact a child’s attitudes towards gender roles? – A younger child will exhibit attitudes towards gender roles that do not adhere to traditional standards (i.e. the mother is a homemaker, and the father is the provider), while older children will have attitudes that are more traditional, due to socialization. Do children that come from families that are more traditional in their dynamic have more of a tendency to display traditional attitudes? – Yes, the child’s model of a family will be modeled after their own. This means that children that come from families with non-traditional dynamics will display attitudes that are also non- traditional.

THE STUDY Survey form – 7 total questions: 6 agree/disagree questions, 1 question inquiring about the family dynamic – Simple scoring system 11 children – Elementary and middle school age – 5 children from traditional homes, 6 from non-traditional homes Questions – How does age impact a child’s attitudes towards gender roles? – Do children that come from families that are more traditional in their dynamic have more of a tendency to display traditional attitudes?

SURVEY QUESTIONS 1.A dad’s job is to earn money for the family, and a mom’s job is to take care of the household duties. Agree or disagree (circle one) 2. Men are better than women in the field of technology. Agree or disagree (circle one) 3. Women are better than men at art. Agree or disagree (circle one) 4. Men should help around the house with cooking and cleaning. Agree or disagree (circle one) 5. Women should want to become mothers. Agree or disagree (circle one) 6. A wife does not need to have a job if her husband has one. Agree or disagree (circle one) 7. Does your mom stay at home, or does she work? My mom stays at home. My mom works. (circle one)

1. A dad’s job is to earn money for the family, and a mom’s job is to take care of the household duties. Agree or disagree (circle one) 2. Men are better than women in the field of technology. Agree or disagree (circle one) 3. Women are better than men at art. Agree or disagree (circle one) 4. Men should help around the house with cooking and cleaning. Agree or disagree (circle one) 5. Women should want to become mothers. Agree or disagree (circle one) 6. A wife does not need to have a job if her husband has one. Agree or disagree (circle one) 7. Does your mom stay at home, or does she work? My mom stays at home. My mom works. (circle one) Pink answers indicate a traditional response. Purple answers indicate a non-traditional response. Scoring: > 3 answers of a particular type of answer indicate the type of attitude that the child has.

GenderAgeFamily Type Traditional Responses (#/6) Non-traditional Responses (#/6) Overall attitude Male6Stay-at-home mom24Non-traditional Female7Working mom15Non-traditional Female7Working mom24Non-traditional Male8Stay-at-home mom60Traditional Female8Working mom15Non-traditional Male10Stay-at-home mom24Non-traditional Female10Working mom33-- Male11Stay-at-home mom51Traditional Female12Working mom24Non-traditional Male13Stay-at-home mom42Traditional Female14Working mom06Non-traditional RESULTS

AGE DATA ANALYSIS* *this data includes all the responses; the final computation that excludes the inconclusive result will be shown in the conclusion

AVERAGE RESPONSES FOR THE DIFFERENT AGE GROUPS Younger children: – Traditional responses: 2.4  2 – Non-traditional responses: 3.6  4 Older children: – Traditional responses: 2.75  3 – Non-traditional responses: 3.25  3 Hard to tell if increasing age is an important factor in gender role attitudes based on this result.

FAMILY TYPE DATA ANALYSIS* *this data includes all the responses; the final computation that excludes the inconclusive result will be shown in the conclusion

AVERAGE RESPONSES FOR DIFFERENT FAMILY TYPES Children from families with stay-at-home mothers – Traditional: 3.8  4 – Non-Traditional: 2.2  2 Children from families with working mothers – Traditional: 1.5 – Non-Traditional: 4.5

CONCLUSION How does age impact a child’s attitudes towards gender roles? – For the most part, younger children’s attitudes towards gender roles are non-traditional, while in older children, the results are inconclusive. There are an equal amount of children who have traditional gender role attitudes as compared to those who have non-traditional gender role attitudes. This leads me to believe that other factors have more of an impact on gender role attitudes as children get older. Do children that come from families that are more traditional in their dynamic have more of a tendency to display traditional attitudes? – Yes, 83% of children that come from non-traditional homes have an attitude that matches their family dynamic; 60% of children that come from traditional homes have an attitude that matches their family dynamic. GenderAgeFamily TypeOverall attitude Male6 Stay-at-home mom Non-traditional Female7Working momNon-traditional Female7Working momNon-traditional Male8 Stay-at-home mom Traditional Female8Working momNon-traditional Male10 Stay-at-home mom Non-traditional Female10Working mom-- Male11 Stay-at-home mom Traditional Female12Working momNon-traditional Male13 Stay-at-home mom Traditional Female14Working momNon-traditional

LIMITATIONS Time Small sample size Language on survey for younger children Variables Not many survey questions Lack of researcher’s presence Creation of own study

WHAT WOULD I DO DIFFERENT? Have more participants Use gender as a variable as opposed to age Add more survey questions, or maybe just make the participants elaborate on their responses Be present when the participants take the survey

NATURE-NURTURE LINE Bandura Bandura believed that people learned best by observing the behavior of others Bobo Doll Experiment -- observed that children could learn aggressive behaviors simply by observing them NATURE NURTURE

WORKS CITED Albert Bandura. Retrieved April 10, 2016, from Bandura, A. (1977). Social Learning Theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall. Bandura - Social Learning Theory. Retrieved April 15, 2016, from Bussey, K., & Bandura, A. (1999). Social Cognitive Theory of Gender Development and Differentiation. Psychological Review, 106 (4), Crain, W. C. (1980). Theories of Development: Concepts and Applications. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall. Social Learning Theory (Bandura). (2015). Retrieved April 11, 2016, from The Age Old Debate of Nature Versus Nurture. Retrieved April 10, 2016, from