Research

According to this perspective, children learn about their gender through interaction with the environment and role modelling (Bandura, 1986; Bandura & Bussey, 2004). For example, a child will learn about what roles, activities, or toys are appropriate for girls and boys, and the self, by observing others. The role models that influence children include parents, siblings, and media images of girls/boys and women/men. The influence that each of these role models has on a child varies – children are more likely to be influenced by role models who are similar in age and of the same gender as them. Children learn which behaviours and activities are appropriate for girls and boys by observing reactions from others. For example, children will observe how a boy is treated by others if he likes to play with cars instead of dolls. If the boy is observed being praised or treated positively for this, children will understand that this choice is appropriate and encouraged for boys. Importantly, this learning is not based on only one or two observations but on many examples of women and men or girls and boys being treated positively or negatively for their gender-appropriate or -inappropriate behaviours. Critics of the social learning theory suggest that children are treated as blank slates receiving information on gender through observation. They argued that children are more active in creating mental representations of different gender categories and gaining knowledge about these categories.