IB Psychology SL 3.2.2 Sociocultural Factors Questions

Refer to the paper 2 assessment criteria when awarding marks.
The command term "explain" requires candidates to give a detailed account, including reasons for, or causes of, cultural variation in gender roles.

Responses may address how sociocultural factors such as the media, stereotypes and parental role influence gender roles in relation to aggression, working behaviour, parenting behaviour, domestic work, and so on.

Examples of how candidates may show evidence of critical thinking could include:
- using evidence from studies that support or disconfirm the existence of cultural variation in gender roles.
- analysis of the methodology 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
- analyzing differences between collectivistic versus individualistic societies
- analysis of the interaction between biological, cognitive and cultural factors.

Relevant theories may include, but are not limited to:
- Eagly's social role theory
- Bandura's social learning theory
- Money's theory on gender roles
- gender schema theory.

Relevant studies may include, but are not limited to:
- Mead's (1935) anthropological study
- Best et al.'s (1977) cross-cultural study on gender stereotypes
- Smith and Lloyd's (1978) experiment on the perception of gender
- Cuddy et al.'s (2010) study on how gender stereotypes are shaped in different cultures with participants attributing positive traits to men.

Candidates may present one or a number of explanations of cultural variation in gender roles. Both approaches are equally valid.