Hockenbury Discovering Psychology 5th txtbk

386 CHAPTER 9 Lifespan Development1993). One explanation may be that children of both sexes tend to valuethe male role more highly than the female role.As we’ve seen, there are very few significant differences between thesexes in either personality traits or intellectual abilities. Yet in many ways,children’s behavior mirrors the gender-role stereotypes that are predominantin our culture.Are Males More Interested in Sports ThanFemales? Anyone who’s watched a closelymatched girls’ high school basketball gamecan attest to the fact that girls can be justas competitive in sports as boys. Contraryto what some people think, there is noevidence to support the notion that girlsare inherently less interested in sportsthan boys. During the middle childhoodyears, from ages 6 to 10, boys and girls areequally interested in sports (Women’sSports Foundation, 2005). Especiallyduring adolescence, participation in sportsenhances the self-esteem of girls (Daniels& Leaper, 2006; Pedersen & Seidman,2004). Although boys are still providedwith more opportunities to participate insports, girls today receive much moreencouragement to compete in sports.Explaining Gender RolesTwo Contemporary TheoriesMany theories have been proposed to explain the differing patterns ofmale and female behavior in our culture and in other cultures (see Reid& others, 2008). Gender theories have included findings and opinionsfrom anthropology, sociology, neuroscience, medicine, philosophy, politicalscience, economics, and religion. (Let’s face it, you probably have afew opinions on the issue yourself.) We won’t even attempt to cover thefull range of ideas. Instead, we’ll describe two of the most influential psychologicaltheories: social learning theory and gender schema theory. In Chapter10, on personality, we will discuss Freud’s ideas on the development of gender roles.Social Learning TheoryLearning Gender RolesBased on the principles of learning, social learning theory of gender-role develop -ment contends that gender roles are learned through reinforcement, punishment, andmodeling (Bussey & Bandura, 2004). According to this theory, from a very youngage, children are reinforced or rewarded when they display gender-appropriatebehavior and punished when they do not.How do children acquire their understanding of gender norms? Children are exposedto many sources of information about gender roles, including television, videogames, books, films, and observation of same-sex adult role models. Children also learngender differences through modeling: They observe and then imitate the sex-typed behaviorof significant adults and older children (Bronstein, 2006; Leaper & Friedman,2007). By observing and imitating such models—whether it’s Mom cooking, Dad fixingthings around the house, or a male superhero rescuing a helpless female on television—childrencome to understand that certain activities and attributes are consideredmore appropriate for one sex than for the other.Gender Schema TheoryConstructing Gender Categoriessocial learning theory of gender-roledevelopmentThe theory that gender roles are acquiredthrough the basic processes of learning,including reinforcement, punishment,and modeling.gender schema theoryThe theory that gender-role development isinfluenced by the formation of schemas, ormental representations, of masculinity andfemininity.Gender schema theory, developed by Sandra Bem, incorporates some aspects ofsocial learning theory (Renk & others, 2006; Martin & others, 2004). However,Bem (1981) approached gender-role development from a more strongly cognitiveperspective. In contrast to the relatively passive role played by children in sociallearning theory, gender schema theory contends that children actively developmental categories (or schemas) for masculinity and femininity (Martin & Halverson,1981; Martin & Ruble, 2004). That is, children actively organize information aboutother people and appropriate behavior, activities, and attributes into gender categories.Saying that “trucks are for boys and dolls are for girls” is an example of agender schema.According to gender schema theory, children, like many adults, look at the worldthrough “gender lenses” (Bem, 1987). Gender schemas influence how people payattention to, perceive, interpret, and remember gender-relevant behavior. Genderschemas also seem to lead children to perceive members of their own sex morefavorably than members of the opposite sex (Martin & others, 2002, 2004).