SAQ enculturation

Potential Q

Explain 1 study of enculturation.

What is enculturation?

Learning one’s role in society.

What do cultures say about gender?

There are different norms for a boy and girl should behave because gender and social roles are importantly in culture.

What is one study that shows this and the aim?

Smith and Lloyd wanted to investigate whether the perceived gender of a child influences the behaviour of adults.

What was the design?

Observation

What was the method?

• mothers of firstborn infants were videotaped playing with a 6-month-old baby. Even though the mothers did not know it, the baby they played with was cross-dressed. This means that if it was a boy, it was dressed as a girl and had a girl’s name. If it was a girl, it was dressed as a boy and had a boy’s name.

• The mother and the child were put into a room that had a collection of “gendered” toys – like a football (male) and stuffed animals (female).

What were the results?

researchers found that the mothers chose toys that matched their perception of the child's gender. They also were more active with the child when they thought it was a boy.

What’s the conclusion?

shows that parents' interactions with children may play a role in enculturation by teaching the child what is appropriate behaviour in their culture.

In this case, this includes which toys they should play with and the accepted level of physical activity.