Cultural and media influences on gender roles

Cultural influences- All of the psychological factors are influenced by gender rules of the culture.The effect of culture can be seen in the way gender expectations vary from one culture to another. For example, across cultures there is a general belief that women are more conformist than men. However, this different varies with culture. Berry et al (2000) reported that conformity is highest in tight societies i.e. groups that don't travel a lot, with a correlation of +.78 between this sex difference and an ecocultural index (measure of enviroment people live in). We can also include historical changes when considering cultural differences in gender roles. In the UK, women continue to perform more domestic duties rhan men and to occupy less powerful positions. However this gender gap has been decreasing, which supports the role of changing cultural infuences (Alleye, 2011). One of the classic studies of cultural differences was conducted by Margaret Mead (1935) looking at social groups in Papua New Guinea. She provided evidence of cultral role differences. She found the Arapesh men and women to be gentel, responsive and cooperative. The Mundugumar men…