Analyse cultural variation in gender roles.

Refer to the paper 2 assessment criteria when awarding marks.

The command term “analyse” requires candidates to bring out (emphasize) the essential aspects of cultural variation in gender roles.

Responses may address how sociocultural factors such as media, stereotypes, ethnic and cultural experiences, peer, school and parental roles influence gender roles. It is appropriate to address cross-cultural differences in gender roles related to behaviour such as aggression, workplace roles/status, parenting behaviour, domestic work, and so on.

Relevant research may include, but is not limited to:

• Eagly’s social role theory
• Bandura’s social learning theory
• gender schema theory
• Money’s theory on gender roles
• Mead’s (1935) anthropological study
• Best et al.’s (1977) cross-cultural study on gender stereotypes
• Cuddy et al.’s (2010) study on how gender stereotypes are shaped in different cultures with participants attributing positive traits to men
• Smith and Lloyd’s (1978) experiment on the perception of gender.

Examples of how candidates may show evidence of critical thinking may include, but are not limited to:

• evidence from studies concerning the existence of cultural variation in gender roles
• the methodological and/or ethical considerations of research
• whether sociocultural influences create gender differences or merely accentuate them
• whether differences between males and females are purely social constructs or a result of biological differences
• differences between collectivistic versus individualistic societies
• interaction between biological, cognitive and cultural factors.

Candidates may present one analysis of cultural variation in gender roles in order to demonstrate depth of knowledge, or may present a number of analyses of cultural variation in gender roles in order to demonstrate breadth of knowledge. Both approaches are equally acceptable.